Ah, The Sabbath Again

The In-Laws

Mother and Father (that is what they asked me to call them when Daniel and I became engaged. Doesn't really roll off of the tongue, but I like to be dutiful) visited this weekend and it was great to see them. We all get along well even though I think that we all secretly think the other has some crazy tendencies, but then again, who doesn't? They are Quakers (Daniel was raised Quaker) and it humors me that we seem to have Communion every time that they visit. Quakers do not partake in Communion (they have what they call Communion of the Spirit), but they enjoy the opportunity to take it when visiting other denominations. They enjoyed the whole experience. Said the sermon was great, liked the music, but said it would take some getting used to ( I totally understand that. They have not heard much Contemporary Worship singing), but here is the kicker. I asked how they liked Amazing Grace since we sang that in the "traditional" style and they said that it wasn't what they were used to either. How, you ask? They said that it was kind of slow for them... I thought that they went a little crazy for a second and forgot what the word slow meant, but Father responded " We Quakers do most things slow, but we sing Amazing Grace fast!!!" Who would've known????

KIDZone

I always enjoy my time in KIDZone. Pastor D taught about self-control today and I learn just as much as the kids. I have to be careful to remember that I am helping and not just "one of the kids" as we go. I am still struggling with the sign language for the Fruits of the Spirit. Heaven help the child that watches me when we are going through them. Have you ever not known how to spell a word so you make sure the first and last letters are correct and legible, but then you kind of do an elegant scribble in the middle...well, that is how I am with the sign language. I start out right and usually end up right, but in the middle is a lot of not-so-elegant scribble. It usually involves a lot of hand rolls. Maybe I should just start throwing things in for fun to see how it goes over. Next week may be the John Travolta dance move.

The Sabbath

I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying about the Sabbath. I think that I am asking God and listening to Him, but I fear that I do most of the talking and he spends most of the time drumming his fingers on His heavenly table wondering when I am actually going to let Him get a word in edgewise. I am not sure if I am a good listener. Anyways, I digress. Yesterday, we were at the church for a moment while the garage was being worked on and Mother commented "You sure wouldn't see a Quaker doing that on Sunday". She did not mean it as an accusation at all, it was just an observation. My mother-in-law never hesitates to speak her mind, so if she was really disturbed, she would have been out of that car in a flash and shaking her cane at everyone on the garage commanding them to come down and repent

*A little aside: Mother & Father are both hard of hearing and wear hearing aids in both ears. This can make a lot of things difficult for them, so before the service started yesterday, Mother asked me if Scott was going to talk from the platform. One of their biggest pet peeves is when Speakers do not use the platform and stay on ground level thus making it so they cannot see their lips and it makes it really hard for them to determine what is being said. I assured her that Scott would be up on the platform and she said that she was glad or she would have marched right up to him before service started and told him that wasn't right and he needed to talk where everyone could see him. In hindsight, I wish that I had told her "No, not only does Scott not use the platform, he sits Indian Style in the front of the church to deliver his sermon" just to see what kind of "What for" she gave him before service began .

Anyway, I felt like I had grown some since working like that on the Sabbath would've also been taboo in my family, but I hadn't even thought twice when I saw them working on the garage. I had a wonderful discussion about the Sabbath at Dairy Queen following a rousing evening at District Assembly (I now decree that all spiritual discussions should be done over ice cream. I am sure that is the way God intends it to be) and I think that God and I are working this out. I'll share more when my fingers aren't so tired. This entry is too long.

Prayer Requests:
**I don't know the Gaulers very well at all, but I saw Brin in passing yesterday and asked how he was and he said he had a lot of anger right now. I don't want to be the person that just says "I'm sorry" and forgets about it, so I want to really remember them in prayer this week.