Wait! But what about Scripture?!?!

 I could choose to turn off my phone, never listen to the radio, and erase my Facebook account, but something about living in ignorance seems so wholly dangerous. Isn't that show Marxism raced through Russia leaving millions to die at the hand of communism? Isn't that how the holocaust was allowed to transpire because no one wanted to admit to the evil burning in their own backyard?

No. I wont walk about stupidly hoping an individual whom I have never met truly has my best interests at heart. I will research and investigate all spectrums of the news. Because the more I know the less I am afraid. Suspicious - Oh most certainly. However, I am learning about the "Science" we seem so adamant to project. Quite frankly the "Science" does not lead me to be fearful. It leads me into a further understanding we are beautifully and fearfully made. And as humans we don't know it all. 

Yet I am concerned of the reaction or the lack there of or the remedy. In defense I have been focusing on these Bible passages and the truth sets me free. The Lord is good. The Lord of heaven and earth has formed a plan long before the formation of the world.

Isaiah 1:4-26 

4Woe to the sinful nation,

a people whose guilt is great,

a brood of evildoers,

children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the Lord;

they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on him.

5Why should you be beaten anymore?

Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

your whole heart afflicted.

6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

or soothed with olive oil.

7Your country is desolate,

your cities burned with fire;

your fields are being stripped by foreigners

right before you,

laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

8Daughter Zion is left

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a hut in a cucumber field,

like a city under siege.

9Unless the Lord Almighty

had left us some survivors,

we would have become like Sodom,

we would have been like Gomorrah.

10Hear the word of the Lord,

you rulers of Sodom;

listen to the instruction of our God,

you people of Gomorrah!

11“The multitude of your sacrifices—

what are they to me?” says the Lord.

“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,

of rams and the fat of fattened animals;

I have no pleasure

in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

12When you come to appear before me,

who has asked this of you,

this trampling of my courts?

13Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—

I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.

14Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals

I hate with all my being.

They have become a burden to me;

I am weary of bearing them.

15When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I hide my eyes from you;

even when you offer many prayers,

I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

16Wash and make yourselves clean.

Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

stop doing wrong.

17Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed. ^a

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

18“Come now, let us settle the matter,”

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

19If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the good things of the land;

20but if you resist and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

21See how the faithful city

has become a prostitute!

She once was full of justice;

righteousness used to dwell in her—

but now murderers!

22Your silver has become dross,

your choice wine is diluted with water.

23Your rulers are rebels,

partners with thieves;

they all love bribes

and chase after gifts.

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

the widow’s case does not come before them.

24Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes

and avenge myself on my enemies.

25I will turn my hand against you; ^b

I will thoroughly purge away your dross

and remove all your impurities.

26I will restore your leaders as in days of old,

your rulers as at the beginning.

Afterward you will be called

the City of Righteousness,

the Faithful City.”

Jude 1:8-25

8In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ^d 10Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

11Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

12These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ^e 16These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

20But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. ^f

24To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Psalm 9:7-20

7The Lord reigns forever;

he has established his throne for judgment.

8He rules the world in righteousness

and judges the peoples with equity.

9The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

10Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;

proclaim among the nations what he has done.

12For he who avenges blood remembers;

he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

13Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

14that I may declare your praises

in the gates of Daughter Zion,

and there rejoice in your salvation.

15The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;

their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

16The Lord is known by his acts of justice;

the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. ^c

17The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,

all the nations that forget God.

18But God will never forget the needy;

the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

19Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;

let the nations be judged in your presence.

20Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal. 

James 1:2-7

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, ^a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

God's words are unshakable. They are everlasting and cannot be destroyed. Generations come. Generations go. But the Lord shall endure forever. HIs love shall endure forever!

What my struggles are

I know many people are wanting to write 2020 off as a loss and hopefully 2021 will look more promising.  I am not sure what to think. My hear breaks for all those who are suffering. All the elderly locked away confined to their room hoping for at least a telephone call. Kids with special needs testing the patience of their parents. Business owners grasping for one more day of commerce. And here am I coasting along. Sure I have my good days and bad, but overall I personally have very little reason to complain.I will admit when the evolution of this virus touched ground in our country I was a roller coaster of emotions. I was super worried about Ebola back in 2015. Yet nothing really came of it. Not even my missionary friends who are doctors in central Africa were feeling any fear. After talking with my mother, who is an intensive care nurse at a hospital in middle Tennessee, she was completely uninterested in all the hype, especially since H1N1 turned out to be a big nothing-burger. I hoped Covid-19 would be the same conclusion. Then everything shut down. Grocery shopping required an early morning arrival without dragging my kids. I couldn't find toilet paper. I prepared to use cloth diapers for the baby. Searched for yeast and flour to make bread. Hunted for ingredients to make our own hand sanitizer. Then came the notifications of one cancellation after another. I became neurotic with my kids and germs. They were not allowed to touch anything, not that they listened. I placed mittens and masks when they were allowed in public. I was uptight and deeply distraught by the effects of asking thousands and thousands of businesses to shut their doors.I became consumed with the virus spending my every free moment reading about any new research revealing any new discoveries. I dived into every scientific article research paper I could latch with my eyes. The most common statements I grew weary of reading was "its theorized" and "we still don't know." It was redundant and frustrating to me. "Why don't we know more?" "We've got the entire scientific world researching this bug and we have no facts." Governments are making world altering economic decisions on stats and metrics that have no factual truth. There is no "science" in the decisions being made to govern businesses and commerce. Facts are not the driving force. The public is dependent on the feelings and opinions of officials and "experts."I have finally come to the understanding either get busy living or get busy dying. Covid-19 as a virus no longer worries me. I no longer disinfect my kids every time they touch something. I wear my mask as required, but my kids no longer wear mittens and masks (The baby never did).The papers and articles I have read lead me to understand we as a family have very little to worry about. We are not in the high risk groups. Though I do believe genetics play a role (I have never had the flu) high fat and high sugar diets eventually leading to obesity and diabetes I think play a bigger role. My mother, the nurse, informed every patient admitted into her unit had one common factor. Obese. We exercise, eat reasonably well, and take vitamins particularly with Vitamin D. Therefore, we trying to live as normally as society will allow.My sister recently got married in June. Even my granny of 92 years attended. She does not worry about catching Covid-19. "Nope. That's not what is going to take my life," she remarks with a smirk. If my granny at the age of 92 can be fearless then I can have hope too. What hurts more is watching all the suffering. All the grocery store workers are overworked. My sister who worked as a counsellor for a non-profit home for troubled teens was laid off from a lack of donations. My fear still wains, but for the reaction of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is so much despair and death without the interaction of the virus itself. My aunt lost her significant other to cancer. I can't visit for her fear of transmitting the virus to her in my travel. All the food banks are struggling to meet demand. Addictive habits have been rediscovered. My kids, mostly my oldest, are desperate to play with friends. Five years from now will we look back and wonder was it all worth it?

Over the river and through the woods to enjoy the great outdoors

As apart of the Covid-19 lockdown some of our more visited hiking destinations were either closed or so highly populated because there was little else to do I was in want of some more places to explore.

Within the last two months I have discovered two new trails to add to my repertoire and have loved exploring and sharing the discovery with my oldest child. Though the most dainty she is proving to me tolerant and even curious of my shenanigans.

It works especially well when I tell my daughter we are doing something special that no one else knows about and we get to enjoy it all to ourselves. Like, taking a trail through the woods that leads to a playground otherwise barricaded for a driving entrance.

  

Having outside exercise has never been more important. Its even better if I can get us outdoors before the heat intensifies. I am extremely grateful there are plenty of places to explore and discover and hopefully there will be many more to find.

The Unthinkable

Imagine a great evil force destroying all good and peaceful society. What would be the targets?

First: Isolation. Locking people in prison preventing social interaction or companionship. There is a declaration any exchange of friendship is strictly forbidden, except by digital air. The soul would be injured. The will to hope would be smashed. The same four walls are the only four walls you get to see. Soon you wonder, "Does anyone care?" You start to feel forgotten, unimportant, invisible. Its the same day every day. Nothing changes. Nothing new. The breath of your spirit is squashed.

Second: Your livelihood has been forced closed. You are told your skills or service are no longer important. You sit empty day after day with no work no income believing you are no longer necessary. The world keeps spinning yet no one seems to notice your absence form society. Your confidence is diminished.

Then come the accusations. You are a criminal. You are hateful. You are ignorant. You are completely unfair. You don't deserve your life or your desires. You are wrong. Everything about who you are is wrong.

Next: Mass confusion is flung catching like wildfire. Reports of truth then turns to lies. News is no longer news. They are tricks. Then other news speaks completely contradicting the orignal news. Mistrust runs rampant because no one knows what truth looks like. Like a giant megaphone noise keeps belting forth hurting your ears. You have no idea how to turn off the volume. Insanity is the only ringing you can hear.

Finally, anger turns to rage flashing in red spraying across one household to the next. The rage pounds on your door ready to knock it down as you cower in darkness hoping it will all pass as a very dreadful nightmare.

The perfect recipe to topple a freedom loving society has been formed. Everyone has been injured, demoralized. No one can trust or rely on one another. Feelings of revenge and raging injustice reign supreme. All of it will burn in consuming flames leaving nothing but ashes. Can you imagine?

What makes me disheartened about this virus more than battling an actual virus of human cells is we are fighting a disease that is destroying the human psyche. Which is becoming much more destructive every day. Whether today's climate is a creation of human design or nature's natural selection the results are quite nefarious with sinister opportunities. Looking around I see person after person who is suffering. Not because they are sick with SARS-COV-2 but because the economy is creating job loss, people are dying from other causes without family or friends to comfort, there helplessness without a shoulder to lean on. There is so much pain. Then me as a mother, how do I interpret all the changes to my children? I could say the world is a crazy place and we are better off not interacting with it. Originally I was willing to hide and stick my head in the sand waiting for everything to blow over. However, I have read a lot of research papers and I am no longer afraid of a sphere shaped invader. I am afraid we will forget how to love one another with a hug and acts of kindness. This disease that is attacking every mind across the planet. Yet, I pray will be defeated by the loving victorious arm of Jesus Christ. I haven't been a perfect mom locked up with my kids, but I have had plenty of life lessons to teach we are not perfect, we need God, and the virus will lose. The End

Its been a long time.

My apologies for being absent for so very long. It is my goal to write more regularly. Hopefully I will be more inspired to take time to address my thoughts. I have three children. Unless God would like to work a miracle I will only have three children. I am still homeschooling. My eldest is starting first grade this year. If you notice the date of this post you are well aware of the crazy times amongst us. It is my intention to address these times and my feelings as a mother, a wife, and a citizen of this planet. If I organize my thoughts carefully it will get political. Hopefully spiritual. Most certainly honestly. This is my heads up. Lord willing it can be helpful. Best wishes, my friends!