MAKING THE MOST OF SHELTERING AT HOME

Make the most of it.  
Yes, you can still get things done in the middle of a pandemic while you're stuck sheltering at home. You can use this time as a respite from normal busyness. I've noticed people getting quite creative. Some are doing something to contribute to the cause like sewing masks for convalescent homes. One of my friend's nine year old granddaughter is sewing masks for others. That touches me.

More Suggestions Than You Know What To Do With

1. Do yard work, spring cleaning, room painting, whatever sounds good

2. Read novels, magazines, tomes, different genres, and comic books

3. Eat healthy, plan meals in advance, vary the menu, practice your culinary skills

4. Choose to smile often... just because, lighten your mood

5. Laugh as you find humor in a variety of situations

7.  See beauty, see wonder, see goodness

8. Watch classic movies/classic TV shows/comedy/documentaries

9. Meditate, contemplate, pray, connect with your spiritual life

10. Play board games/cards/dominoes/caroms ...

11. Do puzzles, the bigger the better

12. Take home videos, make podcasts, blend tech mediums

13. Learn something new that you've always wanted to know how to do

14. Clean, organize, sort dresser drawer items, go through closets

15. Paint/color/sew/craft/crochet/knit/cross stitch/wood work. . .

16. Bake, cook, make shakes, read cookbooks, try new recipes

17. Write, journal, do word games, write letters or encouraging notes

18. Sing/play instrumental music/listen to music from multiple genres

19. Create/discover/experiment/garden/think outside the box

20. Exercise, dance, swim, walk, jog, run, lift weights, be active...

There you have it!  
The list isn't exhaustive, of course, but I'm sure a couple of these might be just the ticket for filling in the time or to help keep depressed feelings at bay. I'm doing some long over-due yard work. It's nice to see the progress.

Happy Sheltering in Place!

.....

On a more sobering note. 
Some day you will look back at the C-19 pandemic and remember something you or someone else did that was beneficial to your or their mental health or physical health or spiritual health. Our human losses are its sting. Loss is difficult no matter which way you look at it. I'm not diminishing the impact of loss on our lives, it's a terrible part of this, but loss is not the whole story of  the Caronavirus pandemic. Human resiliency and the will to overcome is as much the story of the past couple of months as the hard story that we've endured "alone...together."

I pray God's blessings on you and yours.

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

Dunrobin Castle, Scotland

Christian life is one of progressive spiritual awareness.

 

What in your life needs God’s help ? 

Prayer and planning are powerful tools that help us. We ask for God to guide us as we heal, strengthen, and restore. Maybe we need to release something or someone to His care. Movement forward takes a willingness on our part.

Change what is in your ability to change. Invite God to help you and to go through it with you. Healing of hurts or whatever the issue when addressed through God’s loving intervention prevents you from being filled with resentful bitterness and keeps you from remaining in a wounded state.

I think it’s much like carrying a burden that weighs you down but is unseen by others. Most don’t know what wounds you bear, but God does. He knows your internal suffering and your worries and fears.

One of the nice thing about a relationship with God is He knows us through and through. He knows our concerns and what we bear. When God goes before us He enters the battle to help us overcome and to set us free.

 

The battle belongs to the Lord.

We may not like the imagery but for me it is like a fortress that protects a castle. God is our protector and helper. God never leaves us or forsakes us. We may not be aware of His presence all the time but that’s intentional. He wants us to grow strong in our faith.

We learn to trust through our faith, not by our sight. I’ve had some scary situations where I was in need and I called on God. I was all alone and afraid. I made it out okay. He got me through the difficulty by providing what I needed at just the right time. It was in answer to my prayers.

Deep growth comes according to God’s timetable and our willingness to deal with our struggles. I wouldn’t want you to think it’s easy to move forward for it’s not. Healing and change come in layers. I encourage you to trust God in every situation. Call on Him and He will be found.

Keep moving forward and never stop.
---
Photo by Colin Horn, Unsplash

WHEN ISOLATION is GOOD for YOU

  A tree is not only a tree, it is a gift, a miracle, and a delight from God.

 

 SOLITUDE IS GOOD FOR YOUR SOUL 

Your soul partakes of the beauty found in quietness.

 
We may not like being in isolation, having so much time away from others, but the simple ways have extra benefits in unseen ways. 

We hear better when we aren't so busy or distracted.

When we take moments of quiet reflection while in-tune with God, nature, and our surroundings, God creates something extraordinarily beautiful in us. God's presence speaks peace, love, and truth to all who seek Him.

To live simply is good for a person. I read about a young man who left his well-to-do family to join a monastery. Through this he learned the value of having less. He speaks about it to others.

The young man was a participant in the monastery for almost two years. He found what it is to soak in the light of God’s presence. He took that practice with him back to the outside.

There are times now when he finds himself staring at a tree, contemplating in the silence. Rarely is he angry. He is a changed person; he’s at peace on the inside. This presence is a gift to his soul.

What do we make of such a thing? He tasted something sweet that endures within him. His inner being absorbed meaning as it gave life to his soul. Something lasting in beauty took hold in him.

Those who meditate become aware of peaceful presence. Their mind, spirit, and soul partake of meaning beyond the physical. A tree is not only a tree, it a gift, a miracle, and a delight from God.

Seeing the sublime in the ordinary changes the ordinary into something extraordinary. Take a wildflower, for instance. Look at its intricate lines, its magnificent hue and its delicate design.

Let the simple overwhelm and you will go away changed in your sensitivities.

MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY and the CHURCH

FURTHER STILL
God takes us further still.
 Our beliefs inform our actions. Beliefs evolve as well. A decade ago my faith journey was shaken and shaped by unexpected events that initiated my search across the church divide. 

I found what I wasn't looking for, and I began to see why we hold fast to Christ alone as our true truth. As I turned my gaze on Christ, He began to show me what I had not seen before because I had blinders on and had some mistaken beliefs.

FORWARD HO
God says to follow Him.
In 2009 the Lord was guiding me to another level of spiritual understanding. Holy Week took on greater significance as I attended my first Maundy Thursday service and my first Stations of the Cross at a liturgical church and later, in 2014, at a Trappist monastery. 

My beliefs were birthed in traditional Evangelical Protestantism but have found a measure of community with other faith groups that follow Christ as the head of the church and believe in Christ for salvation. We are one in Christ, one at the cross of Christ, and one as beloved children of God.

WHERE TO
God says to love one another.
Christianity is represented in three predominant groups: Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Within those three groups are a myriad of branches, each with their own strong church biblically-based doctrines which link to their Christian theology, based on interpretation of the Hebrew and Greek of the sacred text. The Christian fold, um, family, has too much in-fighting and dysfunction, and has in some ways lost its first love. Christ is the answer.

Though that is a rather simplistic statement--it is much more complicated than I have stated--it somewhat explains the broad tent of Christianity. According to the Word, unity is found in Christ. We in the Church are to follow Christ, first and foremost. To do that we must follow the teachings in the Word of God. Other sorts of beliefs aren't rooted in biblical teachings. We must look to Christ. 

What I found that I wasn't looking for is people of God and historic writers not of the Protestant tradition that love God with the same fervor as I do. And that makes Easter extra special. I can celebrate Christ's resurrection with them and with my church tradition. 

Hallelujah! Christ has risen. He is alive!

*Photo by Tony McLachlan on Unsplash