October 18. A very chilly morning. In the mid-forties again. Nice weather for sleeping. Woke up yesterday morning with the middle finger of my left hand hurting. Didn’t think much about it because it didn’t hurt that much, and I often have various parts of the body that will hurt for a while and then stop so I figured it would go away after a while. This morning, however, the pain in the finger was much worse, so much so that I couldn’t hold onto anything with my left hand, and could hardly even touch the middle finger without feeling severe pain. We thought of all kinds of things—sprain, strain, fracture, out of joint, pulled ligaments, insect bite…. Couldn’t remember having hurt it in any way. No sign of a spider bite or anything. Nothing seemed to fit. No swelling, until late this afternoon when not only was the middle finger swollen, but also the back and the palm of the hand just below the fingers. By the time we got home from church this evening, the swelling had increased, and the pain was quite intense, and I was ready for ibuprofen. After breakfast and quiet time, most of this morning was spent writing e-mails, getting the updates sent out to supporters. Later in the morning, I made up the weekly shopping list. This afternoon, I went through some of our old journal notebooks and found one of Daddy’s notebooks that covers April ‘82 to April ‘86. Otherwise I haven’t been able to find any information on those years, except for one letter that Daddy wrote to his mother. Then I did the dishes and had supper so we would be ready to go to church. C&C left a little early so they could pick up Cindie. On the way down the road as we headed for church, "Jokay" was at D B’s house and waved us down. He said he would come and see us tomorrow. Pastor Ogle taught from Exodus 30:17-21 on the brasen laver. Such a good message, bringing out the need to be clean before we can have fellowship with the Lord. The once-for-all cleansing took place at the brasen altar with the shedding of blood. The daily cleansing took place at the brasen laver with the washing of the hands and feet. The brasen laver was the only piece of furniture that was never covered, signifying that one can come at any time and wash. The laver was made of the ladies’ looking glasses (Exodus 38:8), reminding us that as we look into the water of God’s word, we can see that we are dirty, and we can wash and become clean. There are many New Testament references to our being cleansed through the word and being clean for fellowship with the Lord—John 15:3; II Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:26: Hebrews 10:22, etc. How we appreciate the time and effort Pastor obviously spends in studying and organizing these lessons from the Old Testament! “26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:26,27 October 19. Took a while for the pain in my hand to subside last night so I could get to sleep. Woke up this morning with less pain, but the hand still swollen. Doesn’t hurt quite so much to touch it and moves a little more freely. Pain starting to go up the ring finger now. Before bed last night, Connie suggested an auto-immune problem. This seems more likely, especially as we think back to my having a similar type problem with my left foot a couple months ago. Soon after quiet time and breakfast this morning, we went out shopping—to Aldi and WalMart as usual, but making an extra stop at Dollar Tree on Marion for a few items that are hard to get anywhere else. It was just about noon when we got home. Put away food and had lunch and nap. Finished writing up yesterday’s journal notes after nap, but still having a hard time using my left hand to do typing so am not doing much on the computer today other than today’s journal notes. “And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.” Ezra 6:22 October 20. Well, just as he said he was going to do, Jimmy (or "Jokay" as we thought his name was) came by early in the evening (yesterday) to see us. How we desire to be able to share more of God’s word and purpose for our lives with the people around here, but something turns them off from wanting to hear. Kyle said that was so even with him. Many people in the area know him as “preacher” and will ask him to pray for them, but they don’t want to listen when he starts talking about their need of salvation. Satan has such a strong hold on people’s lives here, but not so strong that God can’t break it. Didn’t sleep very well last night, but am thankful that my hand is doing much better today. After quiet time and breakfast, I put a load of laundry in to wash, made the bed, folded and put away Tuesday’s laundry, hung out clothes, and put a second load (small load) in to wash—Connie’s blanket, our bath mat, Lew’s cap, and my nightgown which I forgot to put in the first load. Then I set to work in our bedroom and spent most of the day in there, putting things out of sight that we have been collecting to pack but haven’t had time to pack yet, plus secret sister gifts that I’d been getting together. Trying to get things as neat as possible as it looks like a missionary couple will stay here with C&C while Daddy and I are away. They’ll be coming for the missionary conference at ABC which will be the same week that we are at the missions conference in Michigan. We are thankful that someone will be here with C&C a good part of the time we are gone. “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” Ezra 7:10 Before we can teach others, we must prepare our own hearts to seek God’s law and do it. We cannot expect others to do what we are not doing.
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