Early Church

A couple of weeks ago, we got up early and went to early church. We went to bed in the morning, and got up a few hours later, which is usual. We took Nicolas with us - into the sanctuary, as there isn't anywhere else for him to go at the first service. During the second service, he usually attends children's church - which is awesome, fun, loud and full of Scripture, fun and more noise... and, I think Nicolas is bored (or something) there. I don't know what it is; and I do know that half of the battle is just getting him there... and he likes CC, once he is there. But... But, he knows the Bible. He knows most of the Bible stories. And, so - we did a little experiment and allowed him to be with us, in the sanctuary.

I was prepared to miss most of the sermon and as it turned out, I didn't miss a single word. I brought along a mini Etch-a-sketch and a mini/travel sized Magna-doodle. He has to be doing something with his hands at all times and those seemed to satisfy his need. I knew that he was listening, even if he never looked up. And - he was.

On the way home from church, Nicolas was able to tell us about the sermon, the Bible verses used and the stories told. He comprehended it all!

I know that many people keep their kids with them during church services, and that's ok. However, with a child like Nicolas, unpredictable and loud, I wouldn't have imagined it. It was early and he was pretty mellow/tired, and he had a full tummy. We had that in our favor - plus, we filled him up with lots of protein for breakfast, before we left.

I don't know if Nicolas will go back to kids' church or not. I do know that we made it through a Sunday without much incident and I got a lot accomplished at home that day. This is a busy time -- getting ready to start school, maintaining the garden/weeds and just cleaning up all the things that have accumulated over the summer.

We sang the song, "Let It Rain/Heartbeat of Heaven" and I heard Nicolas singing it later in the day. It was the first time he had heard it and didn't I just post this song, recently? It sounded much different with an amazingly talented young woman singing it in the sanctuary.

This week, Nicolas is going back on his strict rgimen of supplements. I have printed out charts so we can remember ALL of his supplements. I have been a little bit relaxed about giving him his suplements and it shows. It shows in his behavior and more than that: in his skin color and the large, dark ciricles under his eyes. Clear indication of malnutrition or food allergy - in our case. Or something...


As with most things, time will tell.