We have some things making "history" around here these days.
They sure are worth recording here on my blog!
Can you guess what it is? I'm pretty sure you can!...:)
At times I can hardly even believe what this has come to!
It has shaken the world at its core. The whole world seems to be affected by this in some way.
It has closed down our every day normal in every way.
It has closed our schools doors.
Closed all sports. Even on TV!
Closed church doors.
Halted many jobs.
Wiped out all social gatherings and parties from our calendar for many weeks.
Travel is on pause and we have gotten familar with this thing called "Zoom". Dave was supposed to be in Dallas this weekend for his "Secrets of Successful Syndication" event. He was to take part as a Speaker. It all happened on Zoom from home!
Its a virus!
A sickness!
Its called COVID-19 or CoronaVirus.
Its a strain of a flu that is highly contagious and it attacks the lungs. The elderly and those with compromised immune systems are at the highest risk during this time. We are all being told over and over to wash our hands very often and do not touch your face! This virus lives on surfaces for a longer period of time then most.
This virus thing came upon us kind of slowly because we were seeing it play out in China for the past few months but when it hit our country it kind of shut us down quickly and all of the sudden our normal way of life came to a halt and we were told to stay at home unless someones life depended on going out! The grocery stores became huge hot spots and the toilet paper all got wiped off the shelves!!
This whole thing might have surprised us but it did not surprise God at all! I'm so glad I'm not he right now! I'm so glad though that he leads us and he has got his people totally on his mind just as much now as always.
So God said to us (the world) "Stop and Be Still" Just like he said to the wild storm on the Sea of Galilee.
He gives PEACE to every anxious heart.
He gives wisdom when it feels like the world has gone mad.
Fear is a spirit and God casts out fear with His perfect Love!
Do we still feel fear at times? Yes. I do. But that opens the way for opportunity for Faith to play out in a powerful way.
This "Test we face will bring Testimony".
We will get through this.
We the people will not come out of this thing on the other side the same.
We are at home. Every. Single. Day.
Every single thing has gotten cancelled.
This is not really a problem for me. I like to stay home anyway...:)
My family is kind of another case...;)
Dave still goes to his office.
He still goes to play Aquire with his friends and brothers.
Its funny to watch the different personalities come out with this whole social distancing thing!
It has been a challenge keeping anybody but me at home! The kids have been so thankful for cousins and new baby animals next door!! They spend hours at the barn!
For now we are doing school at home.
It has been interesting.
I love having the kids home but I think we will all be happy when we can go back to school to see friends and teachers again!
School gets done in the morning and some reading and spelling practice in the evenings.
Zoom class meet ups happened last week for each classroom. That was fun to watch as they all logged on and greeted each other...:)
The teachers and school staff have been doing an awesome job communicating all the expectations for each week! We are so very THANKFUL for the Linville Hill School community during this time!
Dave and I still get out for morning runs. We are so THANKFUL that we can still get that fresh air into our lungs each morning!
This was a morning that we ran from Justin's house... Much is happening up there these days!
I love this block so much!! It is so quiet and pretty! The woods behind Justin's house and the open fields out the front are so beautiful!
My dad doing his thing at Justin's house last week... Color looks great on the walls!
Brother Allen adding the details...
She paints... Outside on this day...:)
This is how we did spelling practice...:)
This is how we do church... It will feel so good to go back to church and see everyone face to face again!
Pastor Leroy is doing a great job leading from a distance!
A walk Dave and I took through a quarry. We walked over to my sister Kath so Dave could meet baby Jonah... It was a long walk!
Our Block on a morning run... I'm so THANKFUL to still be able to get out of the house multiple times a day to run or work in the yard or garden!
Spring is here and life is popping up all around us. It has been a beautiful March so far with just enough of rain to water the new grass and garden seeds!
This is what it is right now... We no longer need an excuse to "Stay at Home"! It has become an order! (gulp)
Even our Belize Island is on lockdown. All doors are shuttered up and closed! It must be a sight to see on that bustling busy BEAUTIFUL island! It is always so full of golf carts!! Many local islanders went to the mainland because of health care concerns. They have had two known cases of the virus on Ambergris Caye so far.
Dave and I and Linford and Bernice went to our Church Leadership Retreat to share a bit on the DISC profile program with our Leadership Team. They fed us an AMAZING crab boil supper with homemade cheescake for dessert. We then did a time of sharing about the different DISC personalities and also some prayer time. This was planned long before Coronavirus happened and since it wasn't a large crowd we kept in on and it was a very special time!
This was just outside the Retreat Door... I just wanted to soak it all in as things in our world around us were changing by the hour over this particular time...
Sweet Baby Jonah... He is so very LOVED!! I'm sad we are not seeing more of him right now. We will sure appreciate when we can all be together again!
This was a Bible Verse that stood out to me this week... "Isaiah 26:20. Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by."
I don't think I ever thought of the Israelites so much as during this time right now. What it must have been like to get each ones household inside and to get that blood applied to the door post. This was the sign the death angel needed to "pass over" so not to kill the oldest child of that household. I had to wonder if they struggled to keep kids at home the way we have been this week... ?? The big boys have been going to cabins and hanging with friends. They did cancel all the large group type activities but they still have a smaller group of friends they have been gathering with pretty regularly.
Ball practice is normally starting up at this time but for now all parks are closed and nobody is seen playing in any type of groups.
As we wait we seek the Lord. We question so much as things change on the daily. Yet the peace in knowing he is working in all the world is so amazing to watch as it is unfolding. Can you believe we the church of Jesus Christ are here for "such a time as this"? So much opportunity to show God's Love during this time!!
This is a song I like... It fits well with these days... Click below to listen
Sovereign Over Us
Everybody and everything talks about the Coronavirus. It can be distracting yet still it shut down all things distracting (its weird like that)! I hope one day real soon it will all leave us yet I do know and realize we have many things to learn and many ways to grow through all of this! It is about way more then this whole virus thing but its so jumbled and hard to figure out if we get to wrapped up in it all! God is still on the throne and he wins the victory so lets raise up a loud "Hallelujah" and Praise His Name!!
Let us not miss what God is trying to teach us!! Lets be awake and alert and ready to do his Kingdom Work with every breath he gives us! Let us be THANKFUL for things we took for granted! Lets work on those relationships God has given to us and lets consider it a privilidge to show LOVE to those that we can during this time!
Have a very BLESSED week!! Lets be in prayer for those that are sick with this virus and for our Nations Leaders this week!! Lets make a difference in the Kingdom of God this week!!
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