Church Attendance

[Edwin]

Well, this is getting to be like a broken record. This is Saturday night, and on Saturday night I get on here and say we are going to church Sunday morning. Then when Sunday morning comes Carol cannot get out of bed. She has never been like this in her life, and she doesn't feel well a lot, so when she says she can't get up to go, that is the way it is. She started on insulin some time back, and now she is up to 52 units with a dial pin. She has been really discouraged about it, because she maxed out her medication that she could take before she went on insulin, and her glucose readings were too high all the time. Now finally 52 units is keeping her glucose level readings lower, and in fact twice in the last few days her glucose reading dropped too low, at least that is the way she thought about it. Our daughter who is a nurse said her readings are not too low, but her body is not used to it, so she feels like it is too low. Well, this is Saturday night, Carol went to bed early and says we are going to church in the morning, but I will believe in the morning if she actually gets out of bed and says we are going!

[Edwin]

Well, this is Sunday morning and we are going to church. Carol, on Sunday mornings for almost a month now has not been able to get out of bed on Sunday morning to go to church, but this morning she did get up, we had a bowl of cheerios with milk, and we are going to church, so I guess she must feel better today. With her we never know because she does not feel well a lot of the time. She is taking almost 70 units of insulin and still increasing, and where it will end at this time we do not know. Her blood glucose level is down a little, but it is still jumping up and down, so it is not leveled out yet, but maybe soon. The sun is shining, and it is a beautiful day, although it is a little cold. It has been staying close to the freezing level most of the day lately. We should be getting warmer weather soon, as it is February, and that should mean no more bad storms, and higher day time temperatures, although it can still be cold at night, and we can still have lots of snow and storms possibe, just not as severe.

[Edwin]

We actually did get to church this past Sunday morning. Our daughter went with us, and it was the first time she had been in church for I don't know how long. She kind of hit the bottom in a number of ways, and she is coming back up again, and we are thankful. She met with a friend with whom she had worked with at the hospital as a baby nurse. She was the baby nurse, and she delivered a quite a few babies before the doctor could get there. She also delivered babies when the doctor did not feel compitent to do that. One doctor asked her if he was going to deliver the baby, or if she was, and she told him that if he had to ask she had better do it. Some doctors have expertise in other areas, but delivering babies is not alway their specialty. Anyway our daughter found this other nurse that she used to work with and they had a great reunion. They they went out to lunch the next day and caught up on old times. It was good for our daughter, and this other lady told our daughter that she needed her for a friend. Well, our daughter might need her for a friend more, actually. The church had 3 worship teams that take turns, and they were all given a break, so there was very little worship music. Instead there was some canned music that we all sang with. It was good. We are very happy that we were all able to go to church together.

[Edwin]

It is nice once again to say that we attended church, rather than saying that Carol didn't feel well, so she couldn't get out of bed, which happened a lot for a while. Last week we missed attending as we went to the place where we lived in the North Cascade Mountain Range for 10 years. We were invited by some people who live there, to come stay with them from Friday through Monday to enjoy fireworks. Most everyone in the USA shoots off fireworks on July 4th to celebrate the independence of our country from Britain. In this place there are too many trees, and the grass and brush gets very dry that time of the year, and setting off fireworks would almost guarantee a forest fire, which no on wants. So each year this one family invites every one in the valley and a few people like us out of the valley to come on February 11th or near that date, and they set off fireworks in the snow. It is great fun for everyone. The kids have safe fireworks that they can play with, like sparklers, and such, while 2 or 3 men who are skilled set off the more dangerous kind. They know what they are doing so it keeps it all safe. We hang out with these people for a few days, and then on the 11th there is a huge potluck dinner for everyone attending the fireworks. This family furnishes the hotdogs, buns, hamburgers, buns while other people bring deserts and other types of foods. We thoroughly enjoy that each year. This particular family belong to the UPC Faith, or Jesus Only, also known as oneness. They believe that as opposed to the teaching of the triune God. This is a divided family sad to say. The father and the children attend, but the mother is Catholic, so she will not attend as Catholics believe in the trinity. When we are there we just visit with everyone one and have a good time. We are friends with all these people regardless of what doctrine they have. We have fellowship with them as brothers and sisters in Christ. They have lots of guns, and very often they take all their guns out the back door and do target practicing, shooting 22s, 44s, or 45s, and there was one more powerful rifle they are using. While they were out there doing that I found their church song/hymn book and played hymns, so that was fun. The piano was an upright grand, late 1800s Kimbal piano. We had an eye doctor who when he was young played that piano for money when it was in the Hotel, which was interesting.

Anyway this morning we went to chruch and had a good time. It was a very good church service. After that we went to our friends' house and had the noon meal; ribs, lettuce salad, potato salad, some kind of pancet dish, black beans, rice, cake and icecream. Then after that we looked at pictures of their most recent trip to the Philippines, and I saw a lot of people that I knew from the Philippines from the year before when I went with them. I was invited for that trip, but circumstances would not allow me to go. They told me that they want me to go with them on their next trip, so I hope that will work out, as I loved every part of my last trip to the Philippines. Some of the pictures had me in them from their trip the year before, and that was fun to see.

[Edwin]

We have been blessed to be able to be in church quite regulary lately, and that is nice. Our daughter has been going with us, and that is a switch in her life, and we are very happy about that. Her 18 year old daughter came back to live with her and finish her 12th year of high school, and she has been going to church also along with Carol and I, and our daughter, so it is really great. She knows a lot of the people there as she started in preschool there in that town. Last Sunday we had an 18 year old fellow bring the message, and he did quite well. He had everyone in this church, a large church, gather around the outside, hold hands, and sing the Doxology, which was quite nice. It was very effective. The pastor has been on vacation, and so manly the youth pastor has been taking his place.

[Edwin]

It might be a mistake to write this as more than a month ago I would write here, saying tomorrow is church, and we are going. Then later on Sunday I would write again, and say well, Carol didn't feel well, and couldn't get out of bed. That happened a lot for a while for some reason. I do think we will be going to church tomorrow, and that is always something to look forward to. They don't play the piano at all, or very, very seldom, and I would enjoy hearing the piano being played, but they are blessed with guitars and drums, but we are surviving it anyway.

[red]

That happens sometimes, I guess better not say it out loud that you intent to go church on Sunday because the devil will hear it. And devil will do everything to hinder your intention.

[red]

Last Sunday my eldest said Mommy I am not going with you to church. I said why, she said because I want to stay home watch TV i said okay fine your auntie will not buy you Barbie doll. So she changed her mind. I think kids as young as they are should go to church attend Sunday school class with other kids. It will develop them spiritually, to have fear to the Lord.

[Edwin]

Yes, the Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." It is important to set the example by going to church, and then ecourage, or make the young kids go to church as well. You lose some control after your children are grown, but you can do what you are able to while they are growing. Your daughter, Red, wanted that barbie, huh? There is a fellow from Carol's high school class that says that he resents his parents making him go to church, but I don't think he minded it at the time. It is just that he is not living right, and he is thinking about how much fun he could have had if his parents had not forced him to go to church. He knows though, so hopefully he will come around to it before it is over with. He had a brother who was kind of the same way, but he came to the Lord and returned to attending church before he died, and that was very good.

[red]

I attend to Assembly of God church, my eldest daughter attended her kindergarten at school which is affiliated to Baptist Church and is using the curriculum of Bob Jones University. I am amazed of her training there in that school. She can memorize 5 verses in one week. And they have Catechism subject. So my daughter doesn't really like attending Sunday school for kids at our church because she wanted just like at their school speaks pure English. In our church all kids speaks Bisaya. She complaint to me that she cant understand them and so the Sunday school teacher. So, now we have a neighbor that goes to Baptist Church she goes with them because that is the church of their school. As young as she is I will respect which church she can be comfortable worshiping to the Lord.