WIND & RAIN

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:6

Help me find the secret place Where I may pray to You,

And surely find your blessings Which I know will not be few.(RP)

It is raining and windy today. This is a good day to be inside. Margie did not have a real good night, but finally did get some sleep. Yesterday's Bible class went well and there were 35 present. We were pleased. Tonight at our church Dr. Tom Hoyle will be presenting a science and Bible message. He is always good. We will say more about it later. We appreciate prayer for our trip to Redmond, WA Monday morning, to take Margie to the allergy doctor for re-testing.  Thanks for praying. 

CLASS

For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. 

Hebrews 12:6

Kids never like a whipping; I never found any who thought they were any fun,

Parents do it anyway because it is their duty; what joy when they were done!

God's love for us is divine, and we know His discipline is hard for us to take,

His scourges and chastening are based on His love; He never makes a mistake.(RP)

We are always glad for Friday to arrive. The Bible class is a blessing. The attendance varies because with a wide-range of students, that's the way it is. Genesis is a rich book and the class is learning it contains so many spiritual lessons.  Margie continues her preparations for allergy testing next Monday. Before the test she is supposed to eat food items she normally avoids. This will help in the test to determine to what degree she is allergic to each food. We appreciate your prayers for our trip to Redmond, Washington on Monday. Thanks for praying.

REGULAR SCHEDULE

Proverbs 3:9 

Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 

When we honor God with what we have, we know His blessings come,

It is so much better than hoarding goods, and to selfishness succumb.

Learn, my friend, to give Him His portion first of all the money you make,

Because He will bless you immensely when you of this principle partake.

If you do this from the heart, a new world of blessings will come to you, 

You will soon see that you have enough for living, as you His will pursue.(RP)

Margie had a good night. We are thankful. This morning she gets her hair done. She would do it herself but her arms don't work that well to finish the task. In the afternoon we go to prayer meeting. Last night we were honored again to have an invitation from Armond Daws and his daughter Linda and son-in-law Carl for a delicious meal at Anthony's in Bellingham.  What a treat and delight to be with these dear friends. We trust you all have a good day. Thanks for praying.

MORE TESTS

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 

James 5:16

When we sin against others, James instruct us here, on what we ought to do,

We should go to them and confess our wrongs and see our problem through.

Prayer for each other is a must you see, for by it many hurts are healed,

And as we do, we give proof to our friend, that to God we submit and yield.

As Christians, we all have the duty to pray, and our heavenly Father repays,

By giving results to the prayers of His saints and we marvel at His loving displays.(RP)

Margie called yesterday for another allergy testing session with her allergist. Lord willing that will take place Monday morning in Redmond, WA.  We ask for prayer for the trip and the testing. It will be a long day. Yesterday Margie's sleep doctor gave her some more suggestions on how maybe to improve her ability to sleep. She certainly has problems with sleeping. Today we are washing clothes, and I also work up the weekly prayer sheet for our church. This will keep me going most the day. Margie had a pretty good night for which we are thankful.  Thanks for praying.

SLEEP DOCTOR

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

God's promises are rich, and are all so tested and tried,

And always work for Christians who in Him faithfully abide.

How wonderful to think God helps us in our daily needs,

And always works on our behalf; He strengthen and feeds.

We ask according to His will; these are the things he gives,

And what a blessed truth is this: in our hearts He ever lives.(RP)

This morning Margie sees the sleep doctor. She can no longer use the sleep apnea machine, so we are returning it. She scheduled an appointment with her allergist for next Monday. She needs to be retested. Maybe this will help her sleep better. Yesterday was a more leisurely day, however we did get more done in preparation for future Genesis classes. I also wrote a number of e-mails that needed to be sent. There is never a dull moment even in leisurely days. We are glad. Thanks for praying.

FAMILY

Titus 3:5 

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Man can never save himself; Jesus does it all,

We all are sinners, and upon Him we must call.

Because He is merciful, He will save us right now,

If you will just come to Him and at His feet bow.

Jesus' blood washes clean all who will come to Him,

And the Holy Spirit renews the soul that before was dim.

Trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, and He will save your soul,

Your sins will be forgiven, and he will make you completely whole.(RP)

Rain, sunshine, wind and even a trace of snow. These were all present at different times yesterday. The best part of the day was when our three grandchildren and daughter-in-law sat with us in church. Later in the day Nathan and Gina visited us. It was very nice. At our welcome room at church after the service Benny ate a cookie but did not know it had cashews in it. A violent reaction followed. A quick trip to the drug store for some Benadryl and soon he was calm. We heard encouraging reports of the Saturday night Trunk or Treat ministry outreach at the church. Over 400 New Testaments were distributed plus many other pieces of literature containing the gospel message. People were personally witnessed to also by faithful church members busy evangelizing. Thanks for praying

AFTER THE STORM

Hebrews 12:1 

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...

The heroes of faith we read in God's Word give courage to us today, 

Their dedicated lives and devotion to the Lord, are lessons on display.

In this life we are in a race, and to succeed there are things we must do,

All things that impede our run, should be cast aside as His will we pursue.

We need God's help to endure, and be faithful in this race we are in,

And if we neglect to press on, we know that for us it's because of sin. (RP)

The weather was threatening to hinder the trick or treaters, and at our church a big event was all set up. Fortunately all worked out well, as far as we know. We attended the memorial service of our good neighbor Pastor Bud Lee. The church was filled for the service and what an inspirational service it was! Margie did not have the best night but still plans on going to church this morning. She will rest this afternoon. As I write, the sun is shining. It looks great out there, even though they predict more rain today. We thank you for your prayer support.