Welcome to my Spiritual Column with Thoughts and Prayers
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Time for the Golden Rule
The Golden Rule is based on several biblical verses:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:36-39).
“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
The Golden Rule is often used to convey a company’s principles and guidelines regarding ethical behavior. Companies that emphasize a code of ethics remind their employees to treat others as they want to be treated.
Fortunately, many people adhere to some code of ethics, while others don’t. We’re in an era when demonstrations drive negative agendas and free speech can put an assault on any category of people. No one is immune from attack. If you’re not in a particular group, you may not be safe from their attention.
We acknowledge Black History Month, as Carter G. Woodson initiated it to celebrate the achievements of African Americans. We observe Valentine’s Day as a time to express love and care for special people. We use Presidents’ Day to acknowledge the Commander in Chief, who, in one of the most critical roles, cares for the safety and security of the citizens of our country. Perhaps the mandates of February are a time for The Golden Rule, or time to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help everyone remember to treat others as they want to be treated. We pray for peace worldwide and peace in the United States. Please deliver a way to prevent hostile demonstrations and attacks from dividing and destroying our nation's greatness. In God we trust. Amen.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:36-39).
“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
The Golden Rule is often used to convey a company’s principles and guidelines regarding ethical behavior. Companies that emphasize a code of ethics remind their employees to treat others as they want to be treated.
Fortunately, many people adhere to some code of ethics, while others don’t. We’re in an era when demonstrations drive negative agendas and free speech can put an assault on any category of people. No one is immune from attack. If you’re not in a particular group, you may not be safe from their attention.
We acknowledge Black History Month, as Carter G. Woodson initiated it to celebrate the achievements of African Americans. We observe Valentine’s Day as a time to express love and care for special people. We use Presidents’ Day to acknowledge the Commander in Chief, who, in one of the most critical roles, cares for the safety and security of the citizens of our country. Perhaps the mandates of February are a time for The Golden Rule, or time to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help everyone remember to treat others as they want to be treated. We pray for peace worldwide and peace in the United States. Please deliver a way to prevent hostile demonstrations and attacks from dividing and destroying our nation's greatness. In God we trust. Amen.
Living A Wise Life In Christ
We are saved by grace through faith, a gift from God, not our efforts. God's grace forgives us when we choose to be saved from sin.
To be like Christ, we should follow God’s example. See what He does, then do it, like children who learn appropriate behavior from their parents.
Therefore, become imitators of God as His children.
To be imitators, do more for each other. As God forgives our sins and missteps, we should forgive others. He blesses us with gifts beyond our daily needs, and we should bless others.
God has given us fruits of the Spirit. Experience these fruits by treating others with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
As imitators of God, we can follow the Apostle Paul’s ways to live a wise life in Christ. First, we should take a close look at how we live. Second, we should make the most of our time. Third, we should understand the will of God and don’t act foolishly.
The Message Bible, Ephesians 5:11-20, clearly states the mandate: “Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busy work, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness that no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep. Climb out of your coffins. Christ will show you the light!
Watch your step, use your head, and make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”
We know the world is God’s good creation and that every day is a special gift. This is the time to live in the good works for which God created us.
Seek God’s will. Discerning God’s will involves sifting through our desires and using the data and information gathered about each choice before deciding. When we see an option that increases faith, hope, and love, trust it, knowing it’s from God.
"Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is,” (Ephesians 5:17, New International Version).
How then? Prayer puts us in touch with Him. Regardless of what’s going on in life, “a still small voice could be heard,” (Exodus 3:2). God communicates and makes His will clear. Pay attention.
To be like Christ, we should follow God’s example. See what He does, then do it, like children who learn appropriate behavior from their parents.
Therefore, become imitators of God as His children.
To be imitators, do more for each other. As God forgives our sins and missteps, we should forgive others. He blesses us with gifts beyond our daily needs, and we should bless others.
God has given us fruits of the Spirit. Experience these fruits by treating others with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
As imitators of God, we can follow the Apostle Paul’s ways to live a wise life in Christ. First, we should take a close look at how we live. Second, we should make the most of our time. Third, we should understand the will of God and don’t act foolishly.
The Message Bible, Ephesians 5:11-20, clearly states the mandate: “Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busy work, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness that no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep. Climb out of your coffins. Christ will show you the light!
Watch your step, use your head, and make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”
We know the world is God’s good creation and that every day is a special gift. This is the time to live in the good works for which God created us.
Seek God’s will. Discerning God’s will involves sifting through our desires and using the data and information gathered about each choice before deciding. When we see an option that increases faith, hope, and love, trust it, knowing it’s from God.
"Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is,” (Ephesians 5:17, New International Version).
How then? Prayer puts us in touch with Him. Regardless of what’s going on in life, “a still small voice could be heard,” (Exodus 3:2). God communicates and makes His will clear. Pay attention.
Prayer: Loss And Grief
Since 2020, we've been in a perpetual season of Grief. We have collectively lost mothers, fathers, husbands, sisters, brothers, cousins, close friends, church members, and colleagues. Their names are etched in our hearts, and we hold onto cherished memories of each one. We are still hurting, yet we strive to find solace in the sweetness of those memories.
Our Dear Lord, You said, to everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to mourn and a time to dance.So we mourn and then gather to celebrate their lives.
In today's world, we have time to prepare to die, as in going to Hospice, where we prepare to transition from life to death. We pray for those who are in Hospice for care that focuses on comfort as they are approaching the end of life. Lord, remind them that You love them, no matter what they are going through.
God, we are grateful for your constant presence in our lives. We may not comprehend when and why illness and death enter our lives, although sometimes, as unexpected guests, we find comfort in the knowledge that you walk every step of life's journey with us.
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Lord, we are always mourning someone or something filling us with loss, grief, and regret.
We know that grief and loss can be burdens but also anchors. We get used to the weight and how it holds us in place, and we learn, grow, and continue to ask for help while suffering. We believe that You are our God over everything.
You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. You remind us to Be still and know that You are God. Lord, as we surrender our worries to You in our mourning, we find solace in the stillness. We ask for your guidance, wisdom, and light to order our steps and illuminate our paths. We trust that we will find peace, comfort, and blessed assurance in Your loving hands. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Our Dear Lord, You said, to everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to mourn and a time to dance.So we mourn and then gather to celebrate their lives.
In today's world, we have time to prepare to die, as in going to Hospice, where we prepare to transition from life to death. We pray for those who are in Hospice for care that focuses on comfort as they are approaching the end of life. Lord, remind them that You love them, no matter what they are going through.
God, we are grateful for your constant presence in our lives. We may not comprehend when and why illness and death enter our lives, although sometimes, as unexpected guests, we find comfort in the knowledge that you walk every step of life's journey with us.
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Lord, we are always mourning someone or something filling us with loss, grief, and regret.
We know that grief and loss can be burdens but also anchors. We get used to the weight and how it holds us in place, and we learn, grow, and continue to ask for help while suffering. We believe that You are our God over everything.
You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. You remind us to Be still and know that You are God. Lord, as we surrender our worries to You in our mourning, we find solace in the stillness. We ask for your guidance, wisdom, and light to order our steps and illuminate our paths. We trust that we will find peace, comfort, and blessed assurance in Your loving hands. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Mental Health Awareness
In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives designated July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. So, it’s an excellent time to communicate about mental health. Campbell was an author, advocate, and co-founder of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. This designation of July aimed to bring awareness to the unique challenges that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States face when it comes to mental illness.
Unfortunately, less than 50% of African American adults with mental illness receive any treatment because they tend to encounter negative experiences when seeking help. People of color who experience racial traumas are more likely to have some mental stress. As adults, they pass these stresses on to the next generation. Some can trace the roots of mental health stigma back to long-lasting sadness and social drama in their living environments.
Spirituality can have a positive impact on our emotional well-being. When we pray for wisdom and comfort, we fully believe the Lord will hear and deliver us from our troubles. When we meditate, seeking guidance, we expect to receive a path to overcome disorders related to mental health. Such disorders may include mood swings, excessive fear or worry, and social withdrawal.
Treatment is a factor in recovery. In addition to seeking counseling, a doctor’s advice, and medication, using the Bible as a resource may generate helpful thoughts. Below are three Bible verses that may provide pause when we think we’re entering a phase of mental illness or a family member or friend may be showing signs. These Scriptures are related to mental health and remind us that God is near, even when we’re not sure why we’re crying out for help. “But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will restore, support, strengthen, and establish you” (Philippians 4:6).
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:7–8).
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
Finally, a Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we often find ourselves lost in the depths of depression, worry, and hopelessness. In these moments, we need your guidance and strength more than ever. Please help us to condition our minds to be pure and worthy of your mercy and care. Guide us to the healing experiences that come along with counseling and medication. O Lord, we pray for your healing touch on our minds, bodies, and souls. Amen.
National Suicide Hotline for those experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis - 988. National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1-800-273-8255.
Unfortunately, less than 50% of African American adults with mental illness receive any treatment because they tend to encounter negative experiences when seeking help. People of color who experience racial traumas are more likely to have some mental stress. As adults, they pass these stresses on to the next generation. Some can trace the roots of mental health stigma back to long-lasting sadness and social drama in their living environments.
Spirituality can have a positive impact on our emotional well-being. When we pray for wisdom and comfort, we fully believe the Lord will hear and deliver us from our troubles. When we meditate, seeking guidance, we expect to receive a path to overcome disorders related to mental health. Such disorders may include mood swings, excessive fear or worry, and social withdrawal.
Treatment is a factor in recovery. In addition to seeking counseling, a doctor’s advice, and medication, using the Bible as a resource may generate helpful thoughts. Below are three Bible verses that may provide pause when we think we’re entering a phase of mental illness or a family member or friend may be showing signs. These Scriptures are related to mental health and remind us that God is near, even when we’re not sure why we’re crying out for help. “But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will restore, support, strengthen, and establish you” (Philippians 4:6).
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:7–8).
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
Finally, a Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we often find ourselves lost in the depths of depression, worry, and hopelessness. In these moments, we need your guidance and strength more than ever. Please help us to condition our minds to be pure and worthy of your mercy and care. Guide us to the healing experiences that come along with counseling and medication. O Lord, we pray for your healing touch on our minds, bodies, and souls. Amen.
National Suicide Hotline for those experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis - 988. National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1-800-273-8255.
New Year's Resolution - 2024
In late January 2022, I finally made a New Year’s resolution for 2023. With the best of intentions, I planned to improve my prayer life by consistently journaling my prayers. Sadly, my effort to maintain a New Year’s commitment for the entire year could have been better. Of 52 weeks in 2023, I journaled for 25–not quite 50% of the time.
Looking back, I can see where I struggled. I had the right intentions, but to succeed, I needed to commit and set a specific time. I wanted to improve my relationship with God through prayer because prayer is more than making a special request and waiting for His answer; it is how we communicate and maintain a relationship with Him.
This year, in 2024, I am attempting the same resolution with some adjustments to ensure I succeed. Instead of having to go through the multiple steps of logging on to my computer and opening a document for my prayers or using the handwriting composition book on my desk, I purchased a tiny 2″ × 3″ pocket-size notebook to keep in my purse. When I am not at my computer or my desk, I will jot down communiqués wherever the inspiration strikes me. Or maybe I’ll do it in the morning when I first get out of bed. Regardless, I will try to journal formally and informally in an effort to be more intentional, always keeping my tiny book close at hand.
Also, I am going to pray daily. When I open my eyes in the morning, a simple “Good morning, Lord” is a respectful start. Since I will focus on communicating and being prayerful, I must start by thanking him for the ability to talk to Him in this way. As for His listening ear, Proverbs 15:29 says that God “hears the prayers of the righteous.” As I have chosen to be prayerful, I will request something special and then ask, "Lord, what would You have me do for You today?"
No matter what happens in my resolve to pray, I believe in His message: “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a promising future” (Jeremiah 9:11). Believing His promise to me, I promise Him to make every effort to communicate my prayers in writing daily.
Spiritually Speaking - Count it all Joy
The Christmas season brings many reasons for rejoicing. At no other time of the year does joy seem so abundant. Joy is in the air because we’re celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament prophesied, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). And the prophecy was fulfilled. “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then, they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:10–11).
Joy is in the air, and we’re still giving gifts. Christmas is coming, and we anticipate colorful lights and decorations. Even though we experience many emotions and traumas during this time, we forge on making joy all the sweeter. The joy all around reminds us of a hopeful ray that overshadows the gloom of darkness and replaces it with the right pleasures.
We’re joyous and filled with a spirit of love, hope, and serving. Truly, there’s no other time during the year when we can count everything as joy than during the Christmas season. We should give thanks for the trials we’ve been through all year and the ones we’re going through now to bring joy to our loved ones.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2).
Even during the Christmas season, some struggles may occur that could dampen your spirit and even knock you off your feet, but James 1:2 reminds us to count it all joy!
We’re joyous and filled with a spirit of love, hope, and serving. Truly, there’s no other time during the year when we can count everything as joy than during the Christmas season. We should give thanks for the trials we’ve been through all year and the ones we’re going through now to bring joy to our loved ones.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2).
Even during the Christmas season, some struggles may occur that could dampen your spirit and even knock you off your feet, but James 1:2 reminds us to count it all joy!
Spiritually Speaking - Jesus was full of Joy
There are several accounts about the sorrows of Jesus, including three times in Scripture when he wept: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35); “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it” (Luke 19:41); and “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7).
Despite his sorrow, Jesus rejoiced when his 72 chosen followers, whose names were in Heaven’s book, returned with successful accomplishments. The followers had completed their specific directions: Go two by two ahead of Jesus to every town and place in which he planned to travel. Tell people about the coming of the Kingdom. Pave the way.
“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name’” (Luke 10:17). They were joyful, and it was a celebratory atmosphere.
He replied, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven. At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, prayed, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’” (Luke 10:20–21).
He rejoiced, realizing that his appointed followers had been part of something phenomenal because they believed in him. Jesus thanked God the Father for His work in the disciples’ lives.
Jesus was filled with joy for his chosen followers of past times. We, as believers, are his chosen followers today. Therefore, we can bring him joy by following him to the Kingdom of God, knowing that God is all around us.
Despite his sorrow, Jesus rejoiced when his 72 chosen followers, whose names were in Heaven’s book, returned with successful accomplishments. The followers had completed their specific directions: Go two by two ahead of Jesus to every town and place in which he planned to travel. Tell people about the coming of the Kingdom. Pave the way.
“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name’” (Luke 10:17). They were joyful, and it was a celebratory atmosphere.
He replied, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven. At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, prayed, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’” (Luke 10:20–21).
He rejoiced, realizing that his appointed followers had been part of something phenomenal because they believed in him. Jesus thanked God the Father for His work in the disciples’ lives.
Jesus was filled with joy for his chosen followers of past times. We, as believers, are his chosen followers today. Therefore, we can bring him joy by following him to the Kingdom of God, knowing that God is all around us.
Spiritually Speaking - To Follow Him
The writings in the Bible's book of Luke convey a simple message to follow Him. The Lord wants us to follow Him first and do the tasks He asks of us while continually praying.
As Jesus and the disciples walked along the road, a man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Jesus told everyone surrounding him at that time to remember Lot's wife as a warning not to waver or look back because we must be about going forward to follow Him.
Once, when sending out his twelve apostles to do more work, Jesus said, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. And wherever people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them and move on “ (Luke 9:3-5).
God is telling us to do the task he assigns, to take nothing beyond what He gives us because that is all we need, and to do His work. He gives us power and authority to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom and to be His agents of meeting, greeting, and healing those in need. Today, move on when people are unresponsive. He will allow another time for you to engage others and watch Him perform miracles.
He says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). If we choose to follow Him, we must continually pray while we rethink our individual lives; put away our old selves, desires, and behaviors; and begin to act in the way God commands.
Guide us forward, Lord. Amen.
As Jesus and the disciples walked along the road, a man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Jesus told everyone surrounding him at that time to remember Lot's wife as a warning not to waver or look back because we must be about going forward to follow Him.
Once, when sending out his twelve apostles to do more work, Jesus said, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. And wherever people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them and move on “ (Luke 9:3-5).
God is telling us to do the task he assigns, to take nothing beyond what He gives us because that is all we need, and to do His work. He gives us power and authority to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom and to be His agents of meeting, greeting, and healing those in need. Today, move on when people are unresponsive. He will allow another time for you to engage others and watch Him perform miracles.
He says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). If we choose to follow Him, we must continually pray while we rethink our individual lives; put away our old selves, desires, and behaviors; and begin to act in the way God commands.
Guide us forward, Lord. Amen.
Spiritually Speaking-Prayer for our Fathers
Heavenly Father, we bow before You in adoration and praise of You as our only eminent Father. We look to our earthly fathers to play varied roles for adults and children. Lord, we ask our fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles, and other men to fill critical positions in our families' and churches' lives. Guide them to teach us more about relationships and how to treat our mothers, sisters, and others around us by example. Give us father figures who can show children unconditional love and discipline. Proverbs 3:11-12 says, "My child, accept the Lord's discipline and don't be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights." The Bible mentions several exemplary fathers, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Joseph. These fathers played noble roles in exemplifying the importance of fatherhood through strength and responsibility. Today, we are grateful for the earthly fathers You have bestowed upon us. Thank You for showing us today's fathers as financial providers because of the necessary care they show us when we are in need. We appreciate them, as they dedicate their time to making us laugh and ensuring that we have fun. We are grateful for these fathers as they teach us to be strong in our endeavors. Dear God, touch their hearts so they can feel Your presence each day. Remind them of their children and the need to be present. Order the steps of these men as they try to fulfill the roles of fatherhood You have for them. Please help both fathers and children respect one another and heal any hurt between them. Thank You for leading both parents and children. Amen.
Spiritually Speaking about Mothers
Our mother is often the first person we encounter in life, providing us with a loving presence to guide us through the ups and downs of our journey. From nursing us as babies and helping us learn to ride a bike to taking exams for career guidance, our mother is a constant source of support and encouragement as we navigate the many experiences that shape us into the people we become. The Bible speaks of the incredible strength and wisdom embodied by mothers, describing them as wearing "strength and dignity" and possessing a deep well of patience and wisdom. These traits are essential in shaping our character as we learn to embody the love, faithfulness, and gentleness that our mothers have shown us over the years. “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26). Therefore, we must “Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate” (Proverbs 31:31). Whether she offers support in times of need, shows empathy when we are struggling or provides guidance when we are unsure of our path, our mother’s influence can be felt throughout our lives. By being both supportive and authoritative, she helps steer us toward success in our personal and professional pursuits. Mother’s Day is a special occasion that allows us to celebrate the incredible impact that our mothers have had on our lives. Whether she is the biological, adopted, or stepmother, this is an opportunity to show appreciation for all the love and care we have received over the years and thank them for shaping us into the people we are today. As a mother, I am grateful for the privilege of raising my son and daughter, and I feel honored to be a part of their lives. Even after 50 years, my children’s goodness and kindness continue to inspire me.
Easter is Resurrection Sunday
Easter is also known as Resurrection Sunday. It celebrates Jesus rising from the dead three days after His crucifixion and burial.
The Easter date changes yearly because it falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. We equate Easter with the first signs of spring, such as the coming of a new season and new life for plants and trees.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the English word “Easter” comes from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. On Easter Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. About the same time, the Jewish people celebrate Passover in memory of Moses, who led the people out of slavery in Egypt. Christians see Easter as freedom from sin as Jesus is our rescuer.
Around the year A.D. 30, on what came to be known as Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey, to denote his humbleness, as foreseen by the prophets. He was traveling with His disciples to celebrate Passover. His presence caused a stir in the temple. The whole Easter story began and ended in one week.
On Monday, Jesus saw the money changers and robbers in front of the temple and tells them to go away. He wanted to restore proper respect for the temple as a place of worship. Jesus said to them, "My temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13).
During the middle of the week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jesus spent time in Bethany teaching His followers, indicating that all the people around Him were not believers. At the same time, the Jewish authorities are working on a plot against Him.
Jesus hosted the Last Supper in the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday and talked about humility and service to His disciples. While washing their feet, He prophesied His betrayal. Jesus broke the bread before they ate, gave thanks, and drank his last cup of fruit from the vine before his last meal. Afterward, they went to Gethsemane, where Jesus agonized over His coming death.
On Good Friday, Judas the Betrayer guided the authorities to Jesus. They arrested and subjected him to a trial before the Jewish and Roman authorities. At the behest of the Jewish leader, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, pronounces a guilty verdict against his better judgment. Jesus was crucified. Good Friday is so-called because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and His victory over death. Holy Saturday observes the day Jesus Christ lay in the tomb after His death. Many people abstain from celebrations and treat it as a Sabbath day. The day honors the vigil Christ's followers held for Him outside His tomb, waiting for His Resurrection. On Resurrection Sunday, the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead. His rising was a new beginning when He called together His disciples and followers over 40 days before ascending to Heaven. He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After saying this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight (Acts 1:7–9). Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for letting us rise to see another new spring day filled with Your glory and graciousness. Thank You for making us understand that Jesus was raised from His tomb to show us You have a new life and plan for each of us. Please create opportunities for us to make a difference in this world for Your glory, as Jesus did. It is with the hope that we, as Your followers, trust there will be life after death in Heaven. Amen.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the English word “Easter” comes from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. On Easter Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. About the same time, the Jewish people celebrate Passover in memory of Moses, who led the people out of slavery in Egypt. Christians see Easter as freedom from sin as Jesus is our rescuer.
Around the year A.D. 30, on what came to be known as Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey, to denote his humbleness, as foreseen by the prophets. He was traveling with His disciples to celebrate Passover. His presence caused a stir in the temple. The whole Easter story began and ended in one week.
On Monday, Jesus saw the money changers and robbers in front of the temple and tells them to go away. He wanted to restore proper respect for the temple as a place of worship. Jesus said to them, "My temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13).
During the middle of the week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jesus spent time in Bethany teaching His followers, indicating that all the people around Him were not believers. At the same time, the Jewish authorities are working on a plot against Him.
Jesus hosted the Last Supper in the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday and talked about humility and service to His disciples. While washing their feet, He prophesied His betrayal. Jesus broke the bread before they ate, gave thanks, and drank his last cup of fruit from the vine before his last meal. Afterward, they went to Gethsemane, where Jesus agonized over His coming death.
On Good Friday, Judas the Betrayer guided the authorities to Jesus. They arrested and subjected him to a trial before the Jewish and Roman authorities. At the behest of the Jewish leader, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, pronounces a guilty verdict against his better judgment. Jesus was crucified. Good Friday is so-called because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and His victory over death. Holy Saturday observes the day Jesus Christ lay in the tomb after His death. Many people abstain from celebrations and treat it as a Sabbath day. The day honors the vigil Christ's followers held for Him outside His tomb, waiting for His Resurrection. On Resurrection Sunday, the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead. His rising was a new beginning when He called together His disciples and followers over 40 days before ascending to Heaven. He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After saying this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight (Acts 1:7–9). Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for letting us rise to see another new spring day filled with Your glory and graciousness. Thank You for making us understand that Jesus was raised from His tomb to show us You have a new life and plan for each of us. Please create opportunities for us to make a difference in this world for Your glory, as Jesus did. It is with the hope that we, as Your followers, trust there will be life after death in Heaven. Amen.
He has plans for us
'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:1).
For the Lord to implement these plans, however, we must do a couple of things. First, we must believe in the Lord and his word. Second, we must read and obey his word.
God has plans to prosper us. He will love us despite our inabilities and will always be available to us. He'll never leave or forsake us but will be there to see us through our trials and tribulations. "There is nothing too hard for God" Jeremiah (32:17).
That God plans to prosper us does not mean we will never encounter trouble. We will experience pain, heartache, disappointment, and adversity. However, it is a blessing to know he plans to see us through everything because, after each accomplishment, we can testify, "Look how far God has brought me." Because God has plans for us, we ought to have some plans for him! We should plan to praise the Lord, learn more about him, acknowledge him in all our ways, be a witness for him, and serve him with gladness.
God has plans for us no matter what's going on in our lives, good or bad. There are several memorable scripture passages to hold on to whenever we feel abandoned: · "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We all have memories of something bad turning good.· "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations" (Psalm 33:11). I remember my mother, great-grandmother, grandmother, and aunt praying, an activity they passed down to my generation.· "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you" (Psalm 32:8). It is a blessing to know God watches over us and gives guidance.· "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5–6). All we have to do is trust God, and follow his lead. His plans are to prosper us, give us hope and a future. Amen.
For the Lord to implement these plans, however, we must do a couple of things. First, we must believe in the Lord and his word. Second, we must read and obey his word.
God has plans to prosper us. He will love us despite our inabilities and will always be available to us. He'll never leave or forsake us but will be there to see us through our trials and tribulations. "There is nothing too hard for God" Jeremiah (32:17).
That God plans to prosper us does not mean we will never encounter trouble. We will experience pain, heartache, disappointment, and adversity. However, it is a blessing to know he plans to see us through everything because, after each accomplishment, we can testify, "Look how far God has brought me." Because God has plans for us, we ought to have some plans for him! We should plan to praise the Lord, learn more about him, acknowledge him in all our ways, be a witness for him, and serve him with gladness.
God has plans for us no matter what's going on in our lives, good or bad. There are several memorable scripture passages to hold on to whenever we feel abandoned: · "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We all have memories of something bad turning good.· "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations" (Psalm 33:11). I remember my mother, great-grandmother, grandmother, and aunt praying, an activity they passed down to my generation.· "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you" (Psalm 32:8). It is a blessing to know God watches over us and gives guidance.· "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5–6). All we have to do is trust God, and follow his lead. His plans are to prosper us, give us hope and a future. Amen.
What's the Fourth of July to You
Many people pause to read parts of Frederick Douglass' July 5, 1852 speech at celebrations across the country. Douglass initially delivered the speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held in Rochester, New York. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Douglass stated, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine... But, both for your sakes and ours, would to God that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful…For who is there so cold, that a nation's sympathy could not warm him? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation's jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man.
But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice. I must mourn..." On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the Mall in Washington, D.C. He uttered a memorable line in it: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we're free at last." These words remain symbolic, yet, 59 years later, not much has changed in the tenor of Black lives. Vandals removed the statue of Frederick Douglass from its base in a park in Rochester, N.Y., and then dumped it near a river gorge on Sunday, July 5, 2020—the same day that marked the 168th anniversary of Douglass' Fourth of July speech. Local leaders speculate that the damage might be in reaction to the national concern over minorities damaging Confederate monuments around the country. These issues remain unsolved. Douglass believed the Church could make a difference if we followed the Word of God. Further, we are supposedly independent people on earthly terms, but we are free because of Jesus and now become dependent upon God on heavenly terms. Douglass told a slave that celebrating Independence Day "reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Prayer: Heavenly Father, this federal holiday brings to mind that although slavery ended more than 150 years ago, injustices remain in myriad forms to attack employment, education, race relations, health care, poverty, gun use, abuse, civil rights, voting rights, and cultural disparities. We persevere daily to take matters into our own hands and correct the wrongs. Because we are unsuccessful, we call upon You for grace and justice and peace for those who encounter injustices. Help us meet Your requirements to achieve justice, love, and kindness. Guide us to stand firm with You. Show us Your mercy! Amen.
But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice. I must mourn..." On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the Mall in Washington, D.C. He uttered a memorable line in it: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we're free at last." These words remain symbolic, yet, 59 years later, not much has changed in the tenor of Black lives. Vandals removed the statue of Frederick Douglass from its base in a park in Rochester, N.Y., and then dumped it near a river gorge on Sunday, July 5, 2020—the same day that marked the 168th anniversary of Douglass' Fourth of July speech. Local leaders speculate that the damage might be in reaction to the national concern over minorities damaging Confederate monuments around the country. These issues remain unsolved. Douglass believed the Church could make a difference if we followed the Word of God. Further, we are supposedly independent people on earthly terms, but we are free because of Jesus and now become dependent upon God on heavenly terms. Douglass told a slave that celebrating Independence Day "reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Prayer: Heavenly Father, this federal holiday brings to mind that although slavery ended more than 150 years ago, injustices remain in myriad forms to attack employment, education, race relations, health care, poverty, gun use, abuse, civil rights, voting rights, and cultural disparities. We persevere daily to take matters into our own hands and correct the wrongs. Because we are unsuccessful, we call upon You for grace and justice and peace for those who encounter injustices. Help us meet Your requirements to achieve justice, love, and kindness. Guide us to stand firm with You. Show us Your mercy! Amen.
Prayer for Fathers
Heavenly Father, we bow before you in adoration and praise of You as our only eminent father. We look to our earthly fathers to play varied roles for adults and children. Lord, we ask our fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles, and other men to fill essential roles in the lives of our families and our churches. Guide them to teach us more about relationships and show us how to treat our mothers, sisters, and others around us by example. Give us father figures who can show children, unconditional love, along with discipline. Proverbs 3:11-12 says, “My child, accept the Lord’s discipline and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” The Bible mentions several exemplary fathers, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Joseph. These fathers played noble roles in exemplifying the importance of fatherhood through strength and responsibility. Today, we are grateful for the earthly fathers You have bestowed upon us. Thank You for showing us today’s fathers as financial providers because of the necessary care they show us when we are in need. We appreciate them, as they dedicate their time to making us laugh and ensuring that we have fun. We are grateful for these fathers as they teach us how to be strong in our endeavors. Dear God, touch their hearts so they can feel Your presence each day. Remind them of their children and the need to be present in their lives. Order the steps of these men as they try to fulfill the roles of fatherhood You have for them. Please help both fathers and children respect one another and heal any hurt between them. Thank You, God, for leading both parents and children. Amen.
Prayer for Mothers
Heavenly Father, we understand we arrived here with Your assistance and the direction You gave our mothers. We thank You for bringing us safely to this point in our lives. What's more, this outing called life has been challenging, especially with the pandemic, international wars, and many crises that You are helping mothers and families navigate.
We recognize the lifeblood You assign to mothers. We cheer in realizing You are the source of our needs and blessings. Thanks for the grace You provide our mothers without them asking. We see You as a living, loving, and forgiving god. Along these lines, we ask that You pardon our wrongdoings, the intentional ones, and those we committed by not focusing on the direction You sent through our mothers. "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." Deuteronomy 4:9.
Please give mothers guidance in childrearing to proceed with diligence and love. Help each one find the eternal significance You place on parenthood. Help her comprehend that a most critical – world-changing event may occur through her child, with Your direction and care. Thank You for every mother you have depended on with Your valuable children. We appreciate the penance each mother gives for her youngsters with the time she allows, regardless of whether she is a homemaker, working mother, or one who has blended the two. We particularly appeal to You for single mothers who must lean exclusively on You for fathering their youngsters. We thank You for encircling children who may never know their natural fathers. We likewise appeal to those who never had the pleasure of bearing youngsters yet they reach out to needy children who enter their lives. "But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and soul." Deuteronomy 4:29.
Please touch the hearts of Your chosen mothers. Instruct them to be coaches and role models to their children. Guide them. Show mothers how to respond with eagerness, persistence, commitment, and genuine love. Grant them insight and wisdom when enemies attack.
Lord, we ask you to hurl refreshing downpours of favor upon all mothers. Lift their spirits when there is, by all accounts, no explanation in troublesome times. We pray that children observe a difference in their mothers because of Your presence within them. We trust that mothers appreciate the opportunity to indulge in motherhood to watch their offspring develop with Your help. Dear God, keep our families safe. Amen.
We recognize the lifeblood You assign to mothers. We cheer in realizing You are the source of our needs and blessings. Thanks for the grace You provide our mothers without them asking. We see You as a living, loving, and forgiving god. Along these lines, we ask that You pardon our wrongdoings, the intentional ones, and those we committed by not focusing on the direction You sent through our mothers. "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." Deuteronomy 4:9.
Please give mothers guidance in childrearing to proceed with diligence and love. Help each one find the eternal significance You place on parenthood. Help her comprehend that a most critical – world-changing event may occur through her child, with Your direction and care. Thank You for every mother you have depended on with Your valuable children. We appreciate the penance each mother gives for her youngsters with the time she allows, regardless of whether she is a homemaker, working mother, or one who has blended the two. We particularly appeal to You for single mothers who must lean exclusively on You for fathering their youngsters. We thank You for encircling children who may never know their natural fathers. We likewise appeal to those who never had the pleasure of bearing youngsters yet they reach out to needy children who enter their lives. "But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and soul." Deuteronomy 4:29.
Please touch the hearts of Your chosen mothers. Instruct them to be coaches and role models to their children. Guide them. Show mothers how to respond with eagerness, persistence, commitment, and genuine love. Grant them insight and wisdom when enemies attack.
Lord, we ask you to hurl refreshing downpours of favor upon all mothers. Lift their spirits when there is, by all accounts, no explanation in troublesome times. We pray that children observe a difference in their mothers because of Your presence within them. We trust that mothers appreciate the opportunity to indulge in motherhood to watch their offspring develop with Your help. Dear God, keep our families safe. Amen.
Blogs during the Pandemic Blog 58 - Journaling about COVID-19 Masks and Face Covers
Across the country, people are pushing through the coronavirus storm and learning how to dance in the rain by returning to work, dining inside and outside restaurants, shopping in partially opened shopping centers, and moving about outside. We celebrated Mother's day with little trouble and lots of joy. Now we're prepared for genuine journeys. However, the issues that face us individually and collectively mandate wearing masks and social distancing.
Blog 18 looks at how we achieved fruitful Mother's Day celebrations, despite COVID-19. I saw children with signs and balloons with expressions of adoration in Grandmas' yards. Youngsters were playing musical instruments on lawns with signs saying Happy Mother's Day. Video gatherings and video chats filled the day of numerous Mothers. A few of my friends' sons and daughters picked up food from their favorite restaurants and delivered them in masks.
Face coverings of any kind serve as protective gear. Masks don't offer complete protection from the coronavirus. However, experts report that wearing a mask ensures against transmission by the nonrevealing virus carriers. Data show that one in four people infected with Covid-19 is asymptomatic and unaware of their contamination.
Ohio's Governor insisted that Ohioans wear face covers inside stores. Then he changed the order, in light of so much rapid opposition. He adjusted his perspective inside 24 hours. The mask protesters won their freedom and individual rights to decide how they remain safe, to the detriment of others. I accept they're overlooking the central issue of wearing a mask. The advantage of wearing a face cover is to protect the individuals around you. Coronavirus transmits from people without symptoms to new bodies. Wearing a mask blocks germs from coughing, wheezing, or even breathing that allows for the transmission of infected beads. Wearing a mask lessens the probability of individuals spreading the sickness.
One study shows that if 80% of the population wear masks, up to 45% of projected deaths over the next two months will lessen. Today, there are 4.5 million coronavirus cases in the world, and 1.4 million the U.S. Deaths total 306,050 around the globe and 86,850 in the U.S. The magnitude of those numbers gives us cause to wear masks to protect people close to you, as we move about and return to life's everyday journeys.
The U.S. health authorities updated guidelines for reopening schools, businesses, and other people-centered organizations. The specifics still include wearing masks and spacing workers or students 6 feet apart and wearing masks. In any case, health experts say cloth coverings will help stop the spread of the coronavirus that has affected more than 6.5 million around the globe of more than 7 billion inhabitants.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to handle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to venturing into collectibles. Secure an empty box for masks only, noting the date and place of each acquisition. Take photographs of everyone, in the event you part with it as a blessing or lose it. This memorabilia will have such historical interest in a few years and for the next generation.
Psalm 32:1 New International Version (NIV)
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we are asked to cover our faces with masks so that we may not hurt others by merely breathing into their faces. Help us to understand that we will not forgive ourselves if we hurt others. Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those whom we trespass against us. Give us a sense of comfort as we cover the sin of spreading the coronavirus. Thank you for the opportunity to help one another. Amen. May 17, 2020
Blog 18 looks at how we achieved fruitful Mother's Day celebrations, despite COVID-19. I saw children with signs and balloons with expressions of adoration in Grandmas' yards. Youngsters were playing musical instruments on lawns with signs saying Happy Mother's Day. Video gatherings and video chats filled the day of numerous Mothers. A few of my friends' sons and daughters picked up food from their favorite restaurants and delivered them in masks.
Face coverings of any kind serve as protective gear. Masks don't offer complete protection from the coronavirus. However, experts report that wearing a mask ensures against transmission by the nonrevealing virus carriers. Data show that one in four people infected with Covid-19 is asymptomatic and unaware of their contamination.
Ohio's Governor insisted that Ohioans wear face covers inside stores. Then he changed the order, in light of so much rapid opposition. He adjusted his perspective inside 24 hours. The mask protesters won their freedom and individual rights to decide how they remain safe, to the detriment of others. I accept they're overlooking the central issue of wearing a mask. The advantage of wearing a face cover is to protect the individuals around you. Coronavirus transmits from people without symptoms to new bodies. Wearing a mask blocks germs from coughing, wheezing, or even breathing that allows for the transmission of infected beads. Wearing a mask lessens the probability of individuals spreading the sickness.
One study shows that if 80% of the population wear masks, up to 45% of projected deaths over the next two months will lessen. Today, there are 4.5 million coronavirus cases in the world, and 1.4 million the U.S. Deaths total 306,050 around the globe and 86,850 in the U.S. The magnitude of those numbers gives us cause to wear masks to protect people close to you, as we move about and return to life's everyday journeys.
The U.S. health authorities updated guidelines for reopening schools, businesses, and other people-centered organizations. The specifics still include wearing masks and spacing workers or students 6 feet apart and wearing masks. In any case, health experts say cloth coverings will help stop the spread of the coronavirus that has affected more than 6.5 million around the globe of more than 7 billion inhabitants.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to handle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to venturing into collectibles. Secure an empty box for masks only, noting the date and place of each acquisition. Take photographs of everyone, in the event you part with it as a blessing or lose it. This memorabilia will have such historical interest in a few years and for the next generation.
Psalm 32:1 New International Version (NIV)
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we are asked to cover our faces with masks so that we may not hurt others by merely breathing into their faces. Help us to understand that we will not forgive ourselves if we hurt others. Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those whom we trespass against us. Give us a sense of comfort as we cover the sin of spreading the coronavirus. Thank you for the opportunity to help one another. Amen. May 17, 2020
Blog 57 - The Lord answers complaints about violence and injustice.
This is the Lord’s answer to Habakkuk’s complaint about violence, destruction, and injustice.Habakkuk 1:5 Look at the nations and watch— And be utterly amazed I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, Even if you were told.
Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. We come before you asking you to allow us to take refuge in you. Rescue us.
Dozens of cities in more than half of our United States are under siege. Curfews are mandatory as nightfall brings about destruction and Violence.
National leaders say they are outside groups from the far-left and the far-right who are leading this devastation. If they are such extremists, how can they come together for a noble cause? I cannot believe there is such an extensive network that exists. Their roots are not in sympathy with the peaceful protesters, who are trying to reiterate and shout out loud that across the country, police officers have a history of treating African Americans improperly that leads to their death and injustice in the legal system.
Oh Lord, we are overwhelmed by COVID-19. Now people are destroying public and private properties in our cities decimating businesses in poor neighborhoods. Please bring these internal urban wars to a close. Please dismiss the coronavirus.
Bless our nation during this extraordinary turmoil that repeats almost every few years, when the police execute injustices and exceed their authority, by killing black men.
Our Lord, show us your glory so that we can be utterly amazed. Give us a peace that would far exceed expectations and beliefs.
We give you praise and beg for peace that hosts a shining star. Let us awaken to find a new brighter day. Let us find joy in the morning. Let us close our eyes, and thank you for allowing us to witness Your work. We give you praise and honor. Amen. June 2, 2020
Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. We come before you asking you to allow us to take refuge in you. Rescue us.
Dozens of cities in more than half of our United States are under siege. Curfews are mandatory as nightfall brings about destruction and Violence.
National leaders say they are outside groups from the far-left and the far-right who are leading this devastation. If they are such extremists, how can they come together for a noble cause? I cannot believe there is such an extensive network that exists. Their roots are not in sympathy with the peaceful protesters, who are trying to reiterate and shout out loud that across the country, police officers have a history of treating African Americans improperly that leads to their death and injustice in the legal system.
Oh Lord, we are overwhelmed by COVID-19. Now people are destroying public and private properties in our cities decimating businesses in poor neighborhoods. Please bring these internal urban wars to a close. Please dismiss the coronavirus.
Bless our nation during this extraordinary turmoil that repeats almost every few years, when the police execute injustices and exceed their authority, by killing black men.
Our Lord, show us your glory so that we can be utterly amazed. Give us a peace that would far exceed expectations and beliefs.
We give you praise and beg for peace that hosts a shining star. Let us awaken to find a new brighter day. Let us find joy in the morning. Let us close our eyes, and thank you for allowing us to witness Your work. We give you praise and honor. Amen. June 2, 2020
Blog 56 - No more sorrowfulness. A brighter day is coming.
Revelation 21:4 New International Version (NIV)“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Heavenly Father, we come with heavy hearts but sound minds as we’re watching millions protest around the globe about police brutality and injustice against people of color. Lord, show us the new order of things and teach us how to accomplish your work amid the pandemic and protests. Thank you for allowing us to awaken headed for brighter days that you make in new mornings. Amen. June 9, 2020
Heavenly Father, we come with heavy hearts but sound minds as we’re watching millions protest around the globe about police brutality and injustice against people of color. Lord, show us the new order of things and teach us how to accomplish your work amid the pandemic and protests. Thank you for allowing us to awaken headed for brighter days that you make in new mornings. Amen. June 9, 2020
Blog 55 - David continues a prayer of commemoration as he looks forward to God fulfilling His promise
Psalm 22:24-25 New International Version (NIV)For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one;he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you, I will fulfill my vows.Heavenly Father, around the world, people are suffering and dying from the coronavirus. Others are protesting about the pain from continued injustice brought by police officers regardless of the cry for reform and defunding.Lord, show us your face. Please show us your glory. We ask that you give ear to the sound of our voices as we pray for help and answers, as you granted David. God, answer our petition for peace, calm, and justice. Guide our leadership as they react. Save them. Save us. Stay faithful to your promise to us. We believe in you. We trust you. We fear you. We praise you.Thank you for your promise to fulfill your vows to us. We’re waiting to hear from you. Amen. June 16, 2020
Blog 54 - Paul speaks of his fearless resolve for his belief in God
Philippians 4:6-7 New International Version (NIV) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Heavenly Father, around the world, people are suffering and dying from the coronavirus. Others are protesting about the pain from continued injustice brought by police officers regardless of the cry for reform and defunding. Bless these people. Influence our President and other government leaders while they react to the citizens' cries from the streets. Let them feel your presence. Bless our government leaders. We recognize the patience and understanding we need to help shape our children's lives. We pray for your guidance to support them with proper instruction and love. Bless our children.Lord, show us your face. Show us your glory. We ask that you hear us as we pray continually for help and answers. Be our refuge.Guide us during the coming weeks as we continue to pray and obey your word. Thank you for your promise to fulfill your vows to us. Be our guide. Thank you for loving us before we loved you and staying with us. We believe in you. We trust you. We fear you. We praise you. Oh Lord, Bless us. Amen. June 23, 2020
Heavenly Father, around the world, people are suffering and dying from the coronavirus. Others are protesting about the pain from continued injustice brought by police officers regardless of the cry for reform and defunding. Bless these people. Influence our President and other government leaders while they react to the citizens' cries from the streets. Let them feel your presence. Bless our government leaders. We recognize the patience and understanding we need to help shape our children's lives. We pray for your guidance to support them with proper instruction and love. Bless our children.Lord, show us your face. Show us your glory. We ask that you hear us as we pray continually for help and answers. Be our refuge.Guide us during the coming weeks as we continue to pray and obey your word. Thank you for your promise to fulfill your vows to us. Be our guide. Thank you for loving us before we loved you and staying with us. We believe in you. We trust you. We fear you. We praise you. Oh Lord, Bless us. Amen. June 23, 2020
Blog 53 - The righteous man prays for deliverance from suffering
Psalm 5:3-10 New International Version (NIV)In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies.The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, LORD, detest.But I, by your great love, can come into your house;in reverence, I bow down toward your holy temple.Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me.Psalm 5 shows David going to the Lord in the morning and receiving the strength and happiness he needs to make it through the day against many enemies.
Heavenly Father, We are approaching you for help. We pray continually throughout each day and wait for answers. We pray for relief from the coronavirus pandemic and injustice during these turbulent times. Adversaries are everywhere in all positions sending new messages. These leaders have rebelled against you Lord We want to take refuge in you and discover the joy in our lives again in each new morning. Show us your favor, Oh Lord. Amen.June 30, 2020
Heavenly Father, We are approaching you for help. We pray continually throughout each day and wait for answers. We pray for relief from the coronavirus pandemic and injustice during these turbulent times. Adversaries are everywhere in all positions sending new messages. These leaders have rebelled against you Lord We want to take refuge in you and discover the joy in our lives again in each new morning. Show us your favor, Oh Lord. Amen.June 30, 2020
Blog 52 - Proverbs provides wisdom
Proverbs’ 31 chapters in the Bible represent expressions of wisdom that help us to understand the conditions of God’s promises and rewards. These verses are filled with directions that keep us walking on the right path and steer us away from negativity. Should we choose to live according to God’s Word, blessings and prosperity are promised to us.
Proverbs holds many verses that offer advice for ailing and unhappy hearts. For instance, Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Many other verses provide guidance on how to trust and obey God and live according to His Word.
Proverbs is often referred to as a roadmap for life. It helps us with difficulties, suffering, torment, vulnerability, deception, friends, and foe. Most of its words of wisdom are brief declarations that express truths about life. The most important topics it covers address wisdom, understanding, commandments, the laws of God, and linking God’s way with man’s way.
Proverbs is an accumulation of words written in parables and wise sayings as instruction, teaching, understanding, justice, equity, righteousness, and guidance, all of which are meant to provide wisdom to help you fear the Lord.
Proverbs suggests that you must look to God for answers. “Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what He wants, and He will help you go the right way” (Proverbs 3:5–6). If we think of this as a map, we must refer to it frequently to find words of wisdom to visit on our journey with the Lord.
The main author of Proverbs is Solomon; he wrote most of the chapters as advice and counsel for everyday life. In this Book we find strategies for how to use God’s Word to establish moral order in our lives. He promises us that if we follow His Word, we will live prosperous, happy lives. We give thanks to God for these promises.
Proverbs 1:5 in the Easy-to-Read Bible says, “Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your promise to help us use these Proverbs as Your guidance to get through each day. Help us to live righteously and make You the center of our lives so that we may draw closer to You. Amen.
Proverbs holds many verses that offer advice for ailing and unhappy hearts. For instance, Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Many other verses provide guidance on how to trust and obey God and live according to His Word.
Proverbs is often referred to as a roadmap for life. It helps us with difficulties, suffering, torment, vulnerability, deception, friends, and foe. Most of its words of wisdom are brief declarations that express truths about life. The most important topics it covers address wisdom, understanding, commandments, the laws of God, and linking God’s way with man’s way.
Proverbs is an accumulation of words written in parables and wise sayings as instruction, teaching, understanding, justice, equity, righteousness, and guidance, all of which are meant to provide wisdom to help you fear the Lord.
Proverbs suggests that you must look to God for answers. “Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what He wants, and He will help you go the right way” (Proverbs 3:5–6). If we think of this as a map, we must refer to it frequently to find words of wisdom to visit on our journey with the Lord.
The main author of Proverbs is Solomon; he wrote most of the chapters as advice and counsel for everyday life. In this Book we find strategies for how to use God’s Word to establish moral order in our lives. He promises us that if we follow His Word, we will live prosperous, happy lives. We give thanks to God for these promises.
Proverbs 1:5 in the Easy-to-Read Bible says, “Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your promise to help us use these Proverbs as Your guidance to get through each day. Help us to live righteously and make You the center of our lives so that we may draw closer to You. Amen.
Blog 51 - Newness in September
September is best known for going back to school; it marks a new beginning for students all the way from preschool to postgraduate school. It’s a new beginning for new issues when we return to work after our summer vacations. It’s a time when senior staff and board members are finalizing the following year’s budget and plans. Spiritually speaking, given the impact that COVID-19 has had and continues to have on our lives, we must believe that God has another plan for this new fall season. We prepare for it with a new outlook clad in refreshened abilities and sharpened tools to do our work.
September requires us to reengage after our summer hiatus. We transform by renewing our minds so that we can meet the test of God’s good and perfect will. We have talents to use in our roles as leaders and followers. Jesus was the leader of his disciples, and his disciples were leaders and followers in various positions on their own respective journeys. Like the disciples, God has given all of us different gifts, according to His redeeming grace.
The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. The Spirit gives faith to one person, and he gives the gift of healing to another. He gives to one person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy, and to another the ability to judge what is from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages, and to another, he gives the ability to interpret those languages (1 Corinthians 12:8–10).
We exercise our God-given gifts daily. Yet, if we are to be strong in the Lord and access His mighty power, we put on His full armor when we take a stand. We may struggle against authorities, dark powers, negative thinking, and enemies who can do nothing of themselves. In the midst of it all, we recall the following declaration made by the Lord: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Look around. Can’t you see that He is doing new things by creating new paths? In the same way, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
As we engage in the newness of it all, thought and discernment are required. So whenever you eat, drink, or do anything else, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Prayer: Dear God, we see You as our refuge and ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore, though the storms flood, fires sweep the land, and the Delta variant has increased the number of infections and is spreading faster than the original COVID-19 strain, we will not fear. We ask you to stand beside us as we move through new paths using the talents You have distributed to each of us. With the newness of this fall season, we’re on a journey of learning with many curves. We need Your help with our mere being. Guide us as we put our faith in You. Show us the way to joy in the newness of this September. Amen.
September requires us to reengage after our summer hiatus. We transform by renewing our minds so that we can meet the test of God’s good and perfect will. We have talents to use in our roles as leaders and followers. Jesus was the leader of his disciples, and his disciples were leaders and followers in various positions on their own respective journeys. Like the disciples, God has given all of us different gifts, according to His redeeming grace.
The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. The Spirit gives faith to one person, and he gives the gift of healing to another. He gives to one person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy, and to another the ability to judge what is from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages, and to another, he gives the ability to interpret those languages (1 Corinthians 12:8–10).
We exercise our God-given gifts daily. Yet, if we are to be strong in the Lord and access His mighty power, we put on His full armor when we take a stand. We may struggle against authorities, dark powers, negative thinking, and enemies who can do nothing of themselves. In the midst of it all, we recall the following declaration made by the Lord: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Look around. Can’t you see that He is doing new things by creating new paths? In the same way, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
As we engage in the newness of it all, thought and discernment are required. So whenever you eat, drink, or do anything else, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Prayer: Dear God, we see You as our refuge and ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore, though the storms flood, fires sweep the land, and the Delta variant has increased the number of infections and is spreading faster than the original COVID-19 strain, we will not fear. We ask you to stand beside us as we move through new paths using the talents You have distributed to each of us. With the newness of this fall season, we’re on a journey of learning with many curves. We need Your help with our mere being. Guide us as we put our faith in You. Show us the way to joy in the newness of this September. Amen.
Blog 50 - Repeat Blog 22: Journaling about LGBTQ Supreme Court Law
Writing in your journal during the Pandemic appears to be required to record extraordinary occasions affecting the whole world. During this coronavirus season and protests for civil rights, the work by our nation goes on. The Supreme Court remains in session even though some Justices telecommute. The Supreme Court ruled on a milestone social equality law barring sex discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender workers in the work environment.
Blog 21 states that millions of people protest in large gatherings, and few are wearing face coverings. Thus, it seems that the danger of spreading COVID-19 complicates a cause that addresses racial disparities that include black people dying at almost twice their proportion of the population.
Black, white, brown, and yellow people are marching with their parents, children, and grandchildren to show their support for a human cause to benefit all individuals. But, unfortunately, in crowds are LGBTQ people, who, time after time, feel the brunt of over-zealous police officers and social inequities.
The LGBTQ community walks among the crowds while remembering their battle for social justice. The fatal shooting of a black transgender man in Tallahassee, Florida, recently sparked local protests. In contrast, mass protests and violence continue to erupt in cities around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers.
Outcries for human value and common equity, and civil justice have gone on since the 1800s. Yet, for the third time since 2003, the Court extended LGBTQ human rights, this time by applying workplace protections to them as employees. At issue is the text of the 1964 civil rights law barring employment discrimination based on sex.
When Congress enacted civil rights legislation in 1964, the American Psychiatric Association deemed homosexuality a "psychiatric disorder," and many states criminalized gay behavior. With limited constitutional protections, members of the LGBTQ community faced discrimination and persecution.
Promulgated to protect African-Americans at the height of the civil rights movement, Title VII of the 1964 bill prohibited discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." However, lawyers say that despite the acknowledgment of LGBTQ workers, most jurisdictions in the United Stated offer no employment protections for these individuals. Now comes forth the Supreme Court's decree protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" defines journaling in Chapter One. It describes Six Facets of Journaling, which monitor activities and actions by listing the time and making notes when something significant happens. So, for example, we should note the Supreme Court's decision about LGBTQ lives in our journals as changes occur in our lives and others around us.
Psalm 31:7 New International Version (NIV)
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
Heavenly Father, for years, the courts have wrestled with the pros and cons of civil and human rights granted to citizens of our country. We continue to protest for changes that include everyone. We are at odds with those who cause unfair practices in the workplace and violent acts of force by others. Fill the air with unrequited love for one another that we might move forward, treating everyone equally. Whatever pain we hold, calm that affliction and anguish of our souls. Please continue to help our leaders to prepare a framework of law that includes all citizens. Thank you for guiding the Supreme Court to eliminate further discrimination toward the LGBTQ people. Amen. June 18, 2020
Blog 21 states that millions of people protest in large gatherings, and few are wearing face coverings. Thus, it seems that the danger of spreading COVID-19 complicates a cause that addresses racial disparities that include black people dying at almost twice their proportion of the population.
Black, white, brown, and yellow people are marching with their parents, children, and grandchildren to show their support for a human cause to benefit all individuals. But, unfortunately, in crowds are LGBTQ people, who, time after time, feel the brunt of over-zealous police officers and social inequities.
The LGBTQ community walks among the crowds while remembering their battle for social justice. The fatal shooting of a black transgender man in Tallahassee, Florida, recently sparked local protests. In contrast, mass protests and violence continue to erupt in cities around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers.
Outcries for human value and common equity, and civil justice have gone on since the 1800s. Yet, for the third time since 2003, the Court extended LGBTQ human rights, this time by applying workplace protections to them as employees. At issue is the text of the 1964 civil rights law barring employment discrimination based on sex.
When Congress enacted civil rights legislation in 1964, the American Psychiatric Association deemed homosexuality a "psychiatric disorder," and many states criminalized gay behavior. With limited constitutional protections, members of the LGBTQ community faced discrimination and persecution.
Promulgated to protect African-Americans at the height of the civil rights movement, Title VII of the 1964 bill prohibited discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." However, lawyers say that despite the acknowledgment of LGBTQ workers, most jurisdictions in the United Stated offer no employment protections for these individuals. Now comes forth the Supreme Court's decree protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" defines journaling in Chapter One. It describes Six Facets of Journaling, which monitor activities and actions by listing the time and making notes when something significant happens. So, for example, we should note the Supreme Court's decision about LGBTQ lives in our journals as changes occur in our lives and others around us.
Psalm 31:7 New International Version (NIV)
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
Heavenly Father, for years, the courts have wrestled with the pros and cons of civil and human rights granted to citizens of our country. We continue to protest for changes that include everyone. We are at odds with those who cause unfair practices in the workplace and violent acts of force by others. Fill the air with unrequited love for one another that we might move forward, treating everyone equally. Whatever pain we hold, calm that affliction and anguish of our souls. Please continue to help our leaders to prepare a framework of law that includes all citizens. Thank you for guiding the Supreme Court to eliminate further discrimination toward the LGBTQ people. Amen. June 18, 2020
49. We need fathers
We need father figures to give children unconditional love, provide extreme patience, and show self-sacrifice and express encouragement. There are fathers in the Bible who played notable roles in exemplifying the importance of fatherhood through honesty, strength, and responsibility.
The Bible mentions some exemplary fathers: God the Father, Adam - The First Man, Noah - A Noble Man, Abraham - Father of the Jewish People, Jacob - Father of the Tribes of Israel, King David – Fathered the royal line from which Jesus was born, Joseph - Human Father of Jesus.
Colossians 3:21 – New Living TranslationFathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
Proverbs 3:11-12 – New Living TranslationMy child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline and don’t be upset when he corrects you.For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the fathers You have bestowed upon us. Touch their hearts so they can feel your presence in their lives. Remind them of their children and the need to be present in their lives. Teach them to fulfill the roles You have for them in their children’s lives. Let them see how to become involved fathers, influential fathers, committed fathers, loving fathers, and model fathers. Heal the hurt that exists between father and offspring. Show them Your glory. Thank you for guiding us to speak kindly about our fathers. Amen.
The Bible mentions some exemplary fathers: God the Father, Adam - The First Man, Noah - A Noble Man, Abraham - Father of the Jewish People, Jacob - Father of the Tribes of Israel, King David – Fathered the royal line from which Jesus was born, Joseph - Human Father of Jesus.
Colossians 3:21 – New Living TranslationFathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
Proverbs 3:11-12 – New Living TranslationMy child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline and don’t be upset when he corrects you.For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the fathers You have bestowed upon us. Touch their hearts so they can feel your presence in their lives. Remind them of their children and the need to be present in their lives. Teach them to fulfill the roles You have for them in their children’s lives. Let them see how to become involved fathers, influential fathers, committed fathers, loving fathers, and model fathers. Heal the hurt that exists between father and offspring. Show them Your glory. Thank you for guiding us to speak kindly about our fathers. Amen.
48. A time for everything
We call upon our Heavenly Father asking for healing grace to restore our physical and mental health and our broken hearts as we grieve for our lost loved ones. He knows where we need healing to cover every broken place and to relieve our pain and suffering.Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 – New International VersionThere is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens:a time to be born and a time to die,a time to plant and a time to uproot,a time to kill and a time to heal.Prayer: Dear Lord, render Your healing upon us. Give us the patience to wait until You decide the time. You make everything beautiful in its time. We thank You for being willing to do far more than we could ever imagine. Forgive us for not acknowledging how much we need You above everything. We love You for showing us your awesome glory in Your time. Amen.
47. Let's Read Scriptures
Let us return to reading Scriptures. There is so much to learn from His Word. As we see the pandemic lessening and life returning to a new normal, we must include the Heavenly Father in our thoughts and meditation.
II Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I have not been reading unfamiliar Books in my Bible. I am missing some messages. Help me to read more of your whole word so I may become better able to be of service to you. Thank you for your guidance. Amen.
Source: The Prayor: One Who Prays by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton.
46. Pentecost
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His followers to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit.Acts 2:1-4 – New International VersionWhen the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. The Holy Spirit entered Jerusalem to establish His presence to the followers and instructed them to spread the news that Jesus forgives transgressions and reunites sinners to God. Before Pentecost, His disciples were hiding from the public for fear of persecution. After Pentecost, Jesus' followers felt encouraged to carry on His ministry. Jesus' followers were in Jerusalem celebrating Pentecost when the Holy Spirit arrived. For Christians, Pentecost marks the birthday of the Christian Church, the day when Peter preached, and in response to that sermon, there was a harvest of many souls converted. Pentecost marks the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that equips us to do the work of God. After the year 2020, we are yet rejoicing and thanking God for His many blessings. Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai. Since Shavuot occurs 50 days after the first day of Passover, it is sometimes known as Pentecost, a Greek word that means "fifty." The earlier celebrations of Shavuot related to the harvesting season 50 days later. They rejoiced by giving their first fruits to the Temple and thanked God for their material blessings.
John 14:16-18 – New International VersionAnd I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the Spirit of Truth intertwined in our lives. We are inspired to obey You and love You first. We understand Your teachings and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit mesh together as one. We are encouraged by the multitude of blessings You bestow upon us, especially the diminishing of the pandemic. We give thanks to God with our hearts and will remind every one of His wonders. Bless our land and all the peoples who dwell upon it. Amen.
John 14:16-18 – New International VersionAnd I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the Spirit of Truth intertwined in our lives. We are inspired to obey You and love You first. We understand Your teachings and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit mesh together as one. We are encouraged by the multitude of blessings You bestow upon us, especially the diminishing of the pandemic. We give thanks to God with our hearts and will remind every one of His wonders. Bless our land and all the peoples who dwell upon it. Amen.
45. Prayer for Mothers
Heavenly Father, as we stroll along the shores of life that encompass us, we understand we got here with Your assistance and the direction You gave our mothers.
Many thanks for bringing us safely to this point in our lives. We are all in your grasp. What's more, this outing called life has been extraordinary and challenging, especially with the pandemic and multitude of crises You are helping us to overcome.
We recognize Your essence in this world. We cheer in realizing that You are the wellspring of every one of our needs and endowments. We thank You for the grace You provide for us uninhibitedly without our inquiring. We see You as our living, loving and unforgiving God. Along these lines, we ask that You pardon our wrongdoings, the intentionally ones, and those we committed by not focusing on Your direction as we raise our children.
Deuteronomy 4:9 – New International VersionOnly be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Please give mothers guidance in childrearing to proceed with diligence and love. Help her to find in each commonplace undertaking the everlasting significance that You place on parenthood. Help her to comprehend that a most critical – world-changing event may occur through her child, with Your direction and care. Gracious Father, we thank You for every mother upon whom you have depended with Your valuable children. We thank You for the penance each mother gives for her youngsters. We thank you for the endowment of time allowed for her little ones, regardless of whether she is a homemaker, working mother, or one who has blended the two. We thank You for the adaptability of mothers, for their eagerness, persistence, commitment, and genuine love.
We particularly appeal to You for single mothers, who must lean exclusively on You for fathering their youngsters. We thank You for encircling children who may never know their natural dad. We likewise appeal to You for moms who never had the pleasure of bearing youngsters, yet who are reaching out to needy and destitute children, who enter their lives.
Deuteronomy 4:29 – New International VersionBut if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Dear God, touch the hearts of Your chosen mothers. Instruct them to be coaches and role models to their children. Show them the way. Guide them. Grant them insight, peace, strength, wisdom, faith and hope when the enemy attacks in any way.
Lord, we ask you to hurl refreshing downpours of favor upon all mothers. Lift their spirits when there is by all accounts no expectation. Be their comforter in troublesome times.
We pray that our children actually observe a difference in us because of Your presence within us. As mothers, we appreciate the opportunity to indulge in motherhood to watch our offspring develop with Your help. Dear God, keep our families safe. Amen.
Many thanks for bringing us safely to this point in our lives. We are all in your grasp. What's more, this outing called life has been extraordinary and challenging, especially with the pandemic and multitude of crises You are helping us to overcome.
We recognize Your essence in this world. We cheer in realizing that You are the wellspring of every one of our needs and endowments. We thank You for the grace You provide for us uninhibitedly without our inquiring. We see You as our living, loving and unforgiving God. Along these lines, we ask that You pardon our wrongdoings, the intentionally ones, and those we committed by not focusing on Your direction as we raise our children.
Deuteronomy 4:9 – New International VersionOnly be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Please give mothers guidance in childrearing to proceed with diligence and love. Help her to find in each commonplace undertaking the everlasting significance that You place on parenthood. Help her to comprehend that a most critical – world-changing event may occur through her child, with Your direction and care. Gracious Father, we thank You for every mother upon whom you have depended with Your valuable children. We thank You for the penance each mother gives for her youngsters. We thank you for the endowment of time allowed for her little ones, regardless of whether she is a homemaker, working mother, or one who has blended the two. We thank You for the adaptability of mothers, for their eagerness, persistence, commitment, and genuine love.
We particularly appeal to You for single mothers, who must lean exclusively on You for fathering their youngsters. We thank You for encircling children who may never know their natural dad. We likewise appeal to You for moms who never had the pleasure of bearing youngsters, yet who are reaching out to needy and destitute children, who enter their lives.
Deuteronomy 4:29 – New International VersionBut if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Dear God, touch the hearts of Your chosen mothers. Instruct them to be coaches and role models to their children. Show them the way. Guide them. Grant them insight, peace, strength, wisdom, faith and hope when the enemy attacks in any way.
Lord, we ask you to hurl refreshing downpours of favor upon all mothers. Lift their spirits when there is by all accounts no expectation. Be their comforter in troublesome times.
We pray that our children actually observe a difference in us because of Your presence within us. As mothers, we appreciate the opportunity to indulge in motherhood to watch our offspring develop with Your help. Dear God, keep our families safe. Amen.
44. We witness miracles daily
Have Faith in GodHebrews 11:1— New International VersionNow faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
When thinking about faith, we refer to Hebrew 11:1, which defines faith. The Bible reports many miracles done by faith. All of those wonders led to something wonderful. We remember a few: Walking on Water, Feeding the Five Thousand, Raising Lazarus from the Dead, Changing Water into Wine, Catching a Large Number of Fish, Calming a Stormy Sea, and The Resurrection.
Today, we don’t see faith in the same way. We have so much automation and myriad resources we miss the opportunity to witness the miracles. Yet, in the past year, a number of events occurred that may be in the phenomenon or wonder class.
The Coronavirus spread throughout the world spinning economies, yet we’re surviving that pandemic. Other countries and the United States are protesting fair and free elections, but democracy prevails. Climate disruptions continue as we envision the intensity of a new climate normal. Stimulus funds are distributed to people to avoid hunger and strife. Injustice is being addressed for racial inequities as the world looks on.
Now we need faith. With so many miraculous happenings, we don’t even realize our faith, which is a gift from God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 – NIV)”
Our faith pleases God as we pray knowing He sees how we live by faith in His word. “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17 – NIV)”
For many people having faith means more stuff, more money, bigger houses, and fancier cars. For me faith means a greater knowledge and presence of God in my life. Greater faith for me would lead to spending more time with God. We all need faith to seek God not for what He can give, but just for Him. We can trust God!
Someone said that “Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to live by the faith You supply. Direct us to pray for the people who are yet mourning the dead from COVID-19 issues and others You called home. Bless those who are in poor mental states from a year of pandemic stillness. Grant wisdom to those in leadership positions. Give us confidence that You will continue to bestow upon us, the desires of our hearts. Thank you for your grace. Amen.
When thinking about faith, we refer to Hebrew 11:1, which defines faith. The Bible reports many miracles done by faith. All of those wonders led to something wonderful. We remember a few: Walking on Water, Feeding the Five Thousand, Raising Lazarus from the Dead, Changing Water into Wine, Catching a Large Number of Fish, Calming a Stormy Sea, and The Resurrection.
Today, we don’t see faith in the same way. We have so much automation and myriad resources we miss the opportunity to witness the miracles. Yet, in the past year, a number of events occurred that may be in the phenomenon or wonder class.
The Coronavirus spread throughout the world spinning economies, yet we’re surviving that pandemic. Other countries and the United States are protesting fair and free elections, but democracy prevails. Climate disruptions continue as we envision the intensity of a new climate normal. Stimulus funds are distributed to people to avoid hunger and strife. Injustice is being addressed for racial inequities as the world looks on.
Now we need faith. With so many miraculous happenings, we don’t even realize our faith, which is a gift from God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 – NIV)”
Our faith pleases God as we pray knowing He sees how we live by faith in His word. “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17 – NIV)”
For many people having faith means more stuff, more money, bigger houses, and fancier cars. For me faith means a greater knowledge and presence of God in my life. Greater faith for me would lead to spending more time with God. We all need faith to seek God not for what He can give, but just for Him. We can trust God!
Someone said that “Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to live by the faith You supply. Direct us to pray for the people who are yet mourning the dead from COVID-19 issues and others You called home. Bless those who are in poor mental states from a year of pandemic stillness. Grant wisdom to those in leadership positions. Give us confidence that You will continue to bestow upon us, the desires of our hearts. Thank you for your grace. Amen.
43. Continue to pray for our country
Romans 8:26-27 – New International VersionIn the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people following the will of God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, when I am at peace with calm and thanksgiving in my heart, I pray the Lord’s Prayer. When asked to pray aloud, I often use the Acronym A.C.T.S. for adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication. Today, my heart is heavy as we’ve been praying for our country’s leaders, increasing crime and violence, and the spirit of anger and vengeance that we feel for one reason or another. More than one mass shooting per day has occurred in 2021. There were 148 shootings where four or more people died. We pray for the lives lost in senseless killings. In Minneapolis, the murder case against former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury yesterday. We pray for peace, calm, and justice. Dear God, we continue to ask, how shall we pray? In these times, we don’t even understand what our secret hopes are. Yet, we believe You know our hearts. We ask You to hear our prayers and guide us. We search for wisdom, love, and compassion for others outside our circle of family and friends. Please help us. The deepest desires of our hearts are hidden, but we believe in You. We continue to ask for an end to the pandemic and civility among all peoples in our country. Come quickly, Lord. Let Thy will be done. Amen. 1 John 5:14-15 – New International VersionThis is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, when I am at peace with calm and thanksgiving in my heart, I pray the Lord’s Prayer. When asked to pray aloud, I often use the Acronym A.C.T.S. for adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication. Today, my heart is heavy as we’ve been praying for our country’s leaders, increasing crime and violence, and the spirit of anger and vengeance that we feel for one reason or another. More than one mass shooting per day has occurred in 2021. There were 148 shootings where four or more people died. We pray for the lives lost in senseless killings. In Minneapolis, the murder case against former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury yesterday. We pray for peace, calm, and justice. Dear God, we continue to ask, how shall we pray? In these times, we don’t even understand what our secret hopes are. Yet, we believe You know our hearts. We ask You to hear our prayers and guide us. We search for wisdom, love, and compassion for others outside our circle of family and friends. Please help us. The deepest desires of our hearts are hidden, but we believe in You. We continue to ask for an end to the pandemic and civility among all peoples in our country. Come quickly, Lord. Let Thy will be done. Amen. 1 John 5:14-15 – New International VersionThis is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
42. Still Praying for Our Country
2 Chronicles 7:14 - Modern English VersionIf My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, there seems to be a pervasive sense of dismay across the country. Therefore, we pray for our country. We ask You to bestow upon us wisdom, love, and compassion. Help our leaders to become people who are pursuing You and Your plans for us - individually and corporately.
We live in a troubled world with increasing crime and violence within our cities led by crime-driven adults and uncared-for youth. We ask You to remove the hatred and contention from their hearts. Forgive all of our sins of aiding and abetting them and bring healing to the chaos.
We pray for those carrying the spirit of anger and vengeance. Render a miracle that suddenly a light from heaven shines around those who do not know You but can feel Your presence.
Thank you for the availability of vaccines while the coronavirus increases.Thank you for the freedom to move about more while the pandemic lingers on. Thank you for the increase in employment, while new jobs are limited.Thank you for the warmth of spring while families yet endure storms and fires.Thank you for peace in times of mourning while more pass from COVID issues daily.Thank you for the trial that has begun for George Floyd’s death while we pray for justice. Amen.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, there seems to be a pervasive sense of dismay across the country. Therefore, we pray for our country. We ask You to bestow upon us wisdom, love, and compassion. Help our leaders to become people who are pursuing You and Your plans for us - individually and corporately.
We live in a troubled world with increasing crime and violence within our cities led by crime-driven adults and uncared-for youth. We ask You to remove the hatred and contention from their hearts. Forgive all of our sins of aiding and abetting them and bring healing to the chaos.
We pray for those carrying the spirit of anger and vengeance. Render a miracle that suddenly a light from heaven shines around those who do not know You but can feel Your presence.
Thank you for the availability of vaccines while the coronavirus increases.Thank you for the freedom to move about more while the pandemic lingers on. Thank you for the increase in employment, while new jobs are limited.Thank you for the warmth of spring while families yet endure storms and fires.Thank you for peace in times of mourning while more pass from COVID issues daily.Thank you for the trial that has begun for George Floyd’s death while we pray for justice. Amen.
41. Easter and Pentecost
Last Sunday, we celebrated Easter as the resurrection of Jesus with special church services and family meals as well as Easter baskets filled with goodies for children. Despite the pandemic, some of us went to sunrise church service and shared commemorative white lilies.
Celebrating Easter marks the spirit of rebirth and life and a remembrance of Jesus' great sacrifice for humankind. The resurrection symbolizes Christ's victory over death and the promise of eternal life to those who believe in him.
We will celebrate Pentecost on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) from Easter Sunday, commemorating the Holy Spirit's descent upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ. In the meantime, we will submit prayers for the state of our country. We ask God to bless our leaders with wisdom, love, and compassion. Grant us healing from COVID amid abject disagreement, poverty, crime, and violence. Forgive us of our sins and bring restoration to this hectic land.
Acts 2:1 and 18 – Living BibleSeven weeks had gone by since Jesus' death and resurrection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived. The believers met together that day.'But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.'
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we believe in Your resurrection and feel Your presence around us. Just as You came as the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, we thank You for being with us now. No matter what rhetoric we use to pray or meditation practice, we shall always be grateful for Jesus' great sacrifice for humankind. We accept as truth Christ's victory over death and the promise of eternal life to those who believe in him. Thanks for helping us to believe in You. Amen.
Celebrating Easter marks the spirit of rebirth and life and a remembrance of Jesus' great sacrifice for humankind. The resurrection symbolizes Christ's victory over death and the promise of eternal life to those who believe in him.
We will celebrate Pentecost on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) from Easter Sunday, commemorating the Holy Spirit's descent upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ. In the meantime, we will submit prayers for the state of our country. We ask God to bless our leaders with wisdom, love, and compassion. Grant us healing from COVID amid abject disagreement, poverty, crime, and violence. Forgive us of our sins and bring restoration to this hectic land.
Acts 2:1 and 18 – Living BibleSeven weeks had gone by since Jesus' death and resurrection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived. The believers met together that day.'But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.'
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we believe in Your resurrection and feel Your presence around us. Just as You came as the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, we thank You for being with us now. No matter what rhetoric we use to pray or meditation practice, we shall always be grateful for Jesus' great sacrifice for humankind. We accept as truth Christ's victory over death and the promise of eternal life to those who believe in him. Thanks for helping us to believe in You. Amen.
40. Lent Ends Holy Week Begins
Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week, which commemorates Christ's arrival before the crucifixion. Palm Sunday is known as such because churchgoers will often receive palm fronds to remember Christ's coming in Jerusalem. This Holy Week is unique, as is Holy Thursday. Christians have been praying for a year since the coming of the pandemic. We are saying we believe God is still in charge, yet, COVID-19 tests our faith.
Like plagues in the Bible and history, this pandemic will pass, and after we grieve losses of our loved ones, we will think back and recall how much our lives can change in a year.
With the spread of COVID-19, we discover many individuals we love who feel the virus' impact. Holy Week humbles us and helps us remember Jesus' command to love one another and do service for one another.
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus advised his disciples to love one another and be of service to people. He knew something unprecedented was happening. A year ago, we prayed for an end to the pandemic by Easter. Yet amazing things happen every day, and we are getting through the pandemic with newfound loved ones.
For Holy Week, it alludes to the commandment Jesus provided for his disciples in the wake of finishing his final act of service for his disciples.
John 13:34-35 – New Living TranslationSo now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, the Holy Weekdays between Palm Sunday and Easter give us a particular time to recollect the Passion of Jesus Christ and recall Your incredible love for us. We celebrate Your commandment to love one another. COVID-19 makes it a time filled with sadness but with hope ahead through the vaccines. Help us to honor You and remember Your Holiness as this Lenten season ends. Amen.
Like plagues in the Bible and history, this pandemic will pass, and after we grieve losses of our loved ones, we will think back and recall how much our lives can change in a year.
With the spread of COVID-19, we discover many individuals we love who feel the virus' impact. Holy Week humbles us and helps us remember Jesus' command to love one another and do service for one another.
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus advised his disciples to love one another and be of service to people. He knew something unprecedented was happening. A year ago, we prayed for an end to the pandemic by Easter. Yet amazing things happen every day, and we are getting through the pandemic with newfound loved ones.
For Holy Week, it alludes to the commandment Jesus provided for his disciples in the wake of finishing his final act of service for his disciples.
John 13:34-35 – New Living TranslationSo now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, the Holy Weekdays between Palm Sunday and Easter give us a particular time to recollect the Passion of Jesus Christ and recall Your incredible love for us. We celebrate Your commandment to love one another. COVID-19 makes it a time filled with sadness but with hope ahead through the vaccines. Help us to honor You and remember Your Holiness as this Lenten season ends. Amen.
39. The Lenten Season
We are in the Lenten season, which began on February 17, Ash Wednesday. We observe Lent as a period of fasting, repentance, self-denial, and spiritual discipline to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ. This Christian season is one of spiritual acknowledgment before Easter.
Since Lent 2020, we continue praying for help during the pandemic while hoping to return to our everyday lives and new normalcies worldwide.
There are 34 days left in this Lenten season. I suggest we choose a couple of days to fast and pray. Humbly present our desires before the Lord. Ask for forgiveness of our sins. Bow down in His presence with gratitude for blessings. Fast by denying ourselves of some food or activity that we put before our God. Pray daily to help get back into the praying habit we have slackened.
Let us take time to reflect on last year when we walked in the shadow of many deaths and felt His presence. Consider Jesus’ suffering, His sacrifice, His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Yet, He lives in our hearts today.
Joel 2:12 - New King James Version“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart,With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”1 Peter 5:6 - New King James VersionTherefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for getting us through a pandemic-filled year. We appreciate Your power, whereby You have shown that nothing is impossible, and You bring bright new days each morning. As we fast, we acknowledge Your presence in our lives, ask You to forgive our sins, and say thanks for Your many blessings. Please let some good come to our neighbors as we share our love for others. Humbly, we say Let Thy Will be Done. Amen.
Since Lent 2020, we continue praying for help during the pandemic while hoping to return to our everyday lives and new normalcies worldwide.
There are 34 days left in this Lenten season. I suggest we choose a couple of days to fast and pray. Humbly present our desires before the Lord. Ask for forgiveness of our sins. Bow down in His presence with gratitude for blessings. Fast by denying ourselves of some food or activity that we put before our God. Pray daily to help get back into the praying habit we have slackened.
Let us take time to reflect on last year when we walked in the shadow of many deaths and felt His presence. Consider Jesus’ suffering, His sacrifice, His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Yet, He lives in our hearts today.
Joel 2:12 - New King James Version“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart,With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”1 Peter 5:6 - New King James VersionTherefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for getting us through a pandemic-filled year. We appreciate Your power, whereby You have shown that nothing is impossible, and You bring bright new days each morning. As we fast, we acknowledge Your presence in our lives, ask You to forgive our sins, and say thanks for Your many blessings. Please let some good come to our neighbors as we share our love for others. Humbly, we say Let Thy Will be Done. Amen.
38. Praying for a new normal
We have been praying for a return to our normal lives while we continue to look toward a new normal for the country.
Each day as more and more people receive doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, restaurants and other closed businesses are reopening.
More stimulus funds are forthcoming. Students are going back to school buildings, and families are planning summer vacations.
Things are looking somewhat normal after a tumultuous year.
We are thankful for our blessings. Psalm 37:4 says, if we "delight ourselves in the Lord and commit our ways to the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts."
He has given us far more than we ask for and more than we deserve. More joy comes each morning.
Proverbs 20:24 – Easy to Read VersionThe Lord guides our steps, and we never know where he will lead us.Psalm 30:5 – Easy-to-Read Version--The night may be filled with tears, but in the morning, we can sing for joy!
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your promise to guide our steps. The pandemic still diverts numerous aspects of our lives while taking other lives. When things feel wrong and go wrong, we gain pure pleasure, knowing You will lead us toward joy in the morning. Thank You for caring for us. Amen.
Each day as more and more people receive doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, restaurants and other closed businesses are reopening.
More stimulus funds are forthcoming. Students are going back to school buildings, and families are planning summer vacations.
Things are looking somewhat normal after a tumultuous year.
We are thankful for our blessings. Psalm 37:4 says, if we "delight ourselves in the Lord and commit our ways to the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts."
He has given us far more than we ask for and more than we deserve. More joy comes each morning.
Proverbs 20:24 – Easy to Read VersionThe Lord guides our steps, and we never know where he will lead us.Psalm 30:5 – Easy-to-Read Version--The night may be filled with tears, but in the morning, we can sing for joy!
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your promise to guide our steps. The pandemic still diverts numerous aspects of our lives while taking other lives. When things feel wrong and go wrong, we gain pure pleasure, knowing You will lead us toward joy in the morning. Thank You for caring for us. Amen.
37. COVID-19 Vaccines
36. COVID numbers are lessening
Nationally, surveillance indicators tracking the COVID pandemic levels of associated illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths remain elevated but show decreasing trends in recent weeks. (Source CDC: Key Updates for Week 4, ending January 30, 2021) We pray these trends reflect a lessening of deaths. We have seen statistics showing far too many are passing away from the pandemic. You promised that if we obey Your commands, we would have good lives. We have witnessed our loved ones as they lived good lives. We watched them share the wealth You bestowed upon them. We see the results of the wisdom they communicated. We still feel their love. We pray for peace as you said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Thousands have died. I beg of you to comfort the rest of us right now. We need peace as we grieve in this time of bereavement. Send new blessings into the lives of those the COVID attacked and did not take away. You understand the pain of loss and grief as you are our refuge and help in these horrific times. Come, Lord. Proverbs 3:26 – Easy to Read VersionYou can trust the Lord to protect you. He will not let you fall into harm. Proverbs 4:18 – Easy to Read VersionThe Path of those who live right is like the early morning light. It gets brighter and brighter until the full light of day. Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You for the opportunity to learn about our friends, family members, the famous and infamous who live under your protection without harm until you call them home. We thank You for picking them up in the early morning light and taking them to heaven’s home. Please ensure those who were hurt or died from COVID see the full light of day in heaven or on earth. We thank You for allowing us to understand that You remain in charge and the numbers are decreasing. Thank you for helping us to stay the course of righteousness and exist in your light. Amen.
35. Look out for one another
Across the country, people are speaking up and looking out for others who are not getting justice or fairness. From all avenues, we see individuals trying to prevent the continuation of misguided injustice.
The year 2020 made us tired and weary. Many are doing necessary work as government leaders, scientists, physicians, economists, and communicators to look out for all. Even though there is so much more to do, those of us who seek Him and follow Him never complain that we have lost our way. Instead, we look out for one another because we believe God will protect us when we follow Him.
Matthew 11:28-30 (ERV) says, “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.”
If we depend on God and seek Him for wisdom, He will enable us to keep on the paths of sound judgment. He guards and guides our ways and provides the counsel we need to avoid stumbling and falling.
The Lord presents his power and grace in an easy way to follow.
Proverbs 2:7-8 ~ Easy-to-Read VersionHe gives good advice to honest people and shields those who do what is right.He makes sure that people are treated fairly. He watches over His loyal followers.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your promise to make sure your people treat one another fairly. We are Your faithful followers. Protect those who are around us and let them feel Your presence through us. Please, give us Your guidance to do what is right. Amen.
34. Recall 2020 - A Sonnet
Recall 2020. I watched yet yearn.Preoccupied with news while staying home,I watched justice and injustice returnfrom around the world whaling with bemoan.Hungering for clarity and accordI watched COVID counts increase to thousands,then mourned for those who passed from such discord.I called Mercy, to those left in houses.Examining my impatience each daywith more burdens in educationand in elder care and prisons to stay,we were told, mask-up across our nation.I watched our government flourish at start.I watched their fade-away missing the mark.
Blog 33 - 50 Ways to tackle journaling
There are many ways to tackle journaling beyond writing. The point of getting hold of your life by journaling is to do it in a way that gets you to where you want to be. Because it’s all about you, use the tools that help you get in touch with yourself in the best way to capture your emotions, dreams, or challenges.With some of these tools, you must be engaged in a private place of your own where you can laugh, cry, sing, or dance about it. Once the journal has begun, hide it in a secure location that is truly your hiding place, because it is for your eyes only.A blank paper and pen offer an opportunity to take a stab at writing a few words or a sentence or two and write for a few minutes without stopping about whatever is on your mind or issues that made the day or destroyed it.1. Write in a conversational tone as though you are telling a secret to a trusted friend. Spit it out. Just say it.2. Write precise details to explain a situation clearly with great specificity. Review it at a later time and compare the writing to your memory. It may be different. 3. Write stories about problems that you solve as if it is going to be a movie. Include the drama. Write your story so that it can become an interesting movie script4. Write persuasively to change your mind about an issue or present both sides of the debate going on in your mind. Convince yourself that your dream is achievable.5. Write one or two sentences that capture the gist of what happened during the day. Review it tomorrow so it can help make plans for the next day.6. Write creative questions that encourage you to do research and find answers to your wonderings. For example, how much will this venture cost? How long will it take? 7. Write summaries of your day in 20 words or less. When journaling gets boring, limiting the number of words moves the task along and very little time is spent. 8. Write one word per day in giant letters that says it all. One word may also start a paragraph or two. One word for the meal may be scrumptious. One word for the restaurant may be beautiful. One word for the company may be delightful.9. Writing new words each day may require research to explain your message. If your goal is to increase your vocabulary while you think you’re losing words in your mind, this is a good tool.10. Write poems for the day’s journey. Poems make songs. It can become your favorite self-expression for a specific emotion or feeling. It can be something that arouses memories of the past or foretells the future. 11. Write complete descriptions of where you want to be next year on this date. Make it a short story that fictionalizes your dream, includes where you are today with a few good memories of the past. 12. Write a text that screams out your feelings for the day and explains why you are in this or that kind of mood.13. Weekdays can stimulate memories related to the day of the week. Write something that starts with each letter, such as Sunday. For example:S-Something happened at Church that brought me joy. The Choir sang my favorite song.U-Unless I get home in time to fix lunch, we will have to dine at Parker’s for brunch. Good.N-No one spoke of the pastor’s wife, who was not in church today. Hmmm.D-Do not forget to call Mrs. Green’s daughter as she is in the hospital.A-As I was driving to Church, my car was making strange noises under the hood. I must call my mechanic ASAP.Y-Yes. It was a good day at Church and I had a restful day reading the paper and starting a new book.14. Use things that don’t require writing. Simply make a few notes and talk to yourself. A famed excuse is that I don’t write well or spell well and did not do well in creative writing classes. Forget the past and try something new.15. Smart Phones all have the App Store, which has hundreds of daily journals, sketchbook journals, notebooks, diaries, and more to keep you returning to capture your thoughts. 16. Photo Journals confirm your thoughts as you capture something significant that has bearing on your emotions, memories, and dreams. Alongside each photo post a description of the memory it brings forth or the feeling it still captures. 17. Framed photographs of people whom you wish to emulate can be hanging in a prominent location where you will see them daily. Post something you did that reminded you of them and your dreams of being like each one of them. 18. Smash Books – Smash Booking is a scrapbook look-a-like. Tools include a notebook, pen, and glue-stick. Unplanned and on-the-move writing, posting photos, and memorabilia. I pasted the funeral service program of a friend who committed suicide in my Smash Book and wrote him a note about how much I will miss him.19. Thermometers drawn with clear degree numbers can be used to show your opinion of your emotions for the day, whether you were cold, warm, or hot. Most people are most comfortable at 75 degrees, which is where you can put a star, and every day you feel your best, post a star. Post a red mark when you’re feeling down.20. Calendars provide a method for documenting events and plans on the correct days. Whatever the challenge, dates are germane to when something began or when it ended.21. Newspapers clippings prove what happened at certain times and can serve as a description of the status of your dream or plan. I’m dying to write a cookbook. All the stars are writing them; even Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey, whose new book was featured in today’s newspaper. I clipped the article for safekeeping.22. Collectibles require more space, so gather a box for them and describe them noting the date and the place of the acquisition. You may need a photograph of the contents to ensure you can remember and identify it, as it may be in a box on the top shelf. 23. USB Flash Drive is a perfect place to store jokes, stories, and poems in a private creative journal for safekeeping and to avoid losing your carefully crafted thoughts. Since I keep my journal on my computer, it is imperative that back it up daily and use a thumb drive as a second source.24. Speak your Journal out loud. Speak into your smartphone or a recorder to create a recorded journal. When listening, you will discover much from the quality of your voice tone and terminologies.25. Draw cartoons that put face, expression, and action on a specific occurrence.26. Clip cartoons to describe a happening in your life that clearly state how you feel about a specific subject.27. Interview friends and family members and record the interview as part of gathering information for your memoir.28. Sketch anything that depicts your current feelings, events of the day, or a perfect dream that you want to remember.29. Look at journaling differently. Consider your surroundings, your environment, and new tools.30. Change your scenery periodically to help move you into a journaling mood. Go to a special place on the porch, at the coffee shop, in bed, or at your desk. 31. Choose a ritual such as squatting, doing exercises, putting on a special garment, using a special pen, or listening to specific music before you begin to write. 32. Mind maps draw graphical pictures to present information that helps to examine, reminisce, and create new ideas. 33. Colored pencils can represent the meaning of your mood color; such as yellow is the color of sunshine and relates to joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.34. Complete lyrics or lines from your favorite song to describe the day. Or write a new song.35. Instant Messaging chats can be memorialized and filed in your smartphone or printed and filed in a journal.36. Magazine surfing can produce unique pictures that capture the day’s feelings and happenings to clip and insert into your journal.37. News quotes from television and radio sum up unforgettable news and events that may impact your life.38. Journey Journals help you record your travels. Use the recorder on your smartphone while driving to speak your thoughts about the environment and surrounding happenings you want to remember. 39. Travel Journals certify the reality of a trip with photos, ticket stubs, receipts, and memorabilia. 40. Speaking dreams into a recorder helps to capture it before it takes flight from your mind. Speak as much of the dream as you can recall and later describe it in writing to see if it made sense as a concept or a story. 41. Coloring adult books is used to move to a place of peace. While coloring on one page, place a piece of paper nearby to make notations regarding the thoughts and ideas that you want to remember.42. Chalkboards or whiteboards are popular places for messaging and communicating with others in a household. Make notes on the chalkboard to remind you to journal about a specific subject. 43. Daily Devotionals can inspire different subjects for a journal to enhance the purpose of an endeavor or provide direction to the new and different side of you.44. Journal mapping with a map of the United States is perfect when trying to change your environment. Choose new cities and determine what, when, where, why, and how they could meet your needs if you visited or considered moving. 45. Partnering with a soulmate will provide good company and conversation as you start the day with a pleasant hello and voice your feelings and plans for the day. Your thoughts are journaled in your memories of one another.46. Coffee, tea, or milk tastes different some days, even when you drink from the same container. When it smells or looks different, it’s time to take notice and journal how you’re feeling and why. Determine if it’s physical or mental? 47. Coaching yourself involves describing why you need a change, confirming the change is a reality, involving others who can help, and appreciating the winning outcome. 48. Money tracking tells you a lot about your life and how you live it. Make a chart and list every cent you spend and for what reason and examine it periodically to help determine your money position or what you want it to be.49. Hanging tablets with pens to journal in places you frequent in your home, such as in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and near the television. When the thought hits, jot it down on the spot and avoid having to go and get a pen and paper to write. Collect these periodically and incorporate them into one of your main journals.50. Handwriting tells you about your personality and feelings. Examine your handwriting in your journal and make notes on what it is saying to you about your feelings and emotions. November 4, 2020
Blog 33 - Begin your COVID-19 Journal
What are you doing with all the thoughts and emotions swirling inside your head during these incredible COVID-19 days? Never have we watched so much TV news and so many YouTube videos. Nor have we been so impacted by scientists, professors, previous government personnel, and those needing to get a viral video to add to their résumés. We're learning new words from doctors, legal advisers, and interviewers. Our psyches are trying to make sense of what we'll do with all this information.
Journal it! Memorialize these COVID-19 days by journaling in real-time as change happens. Tragically, since January 2020, almost 7.5 million people in the U.S. have contracted this coronavirus, and nearly 210,000 people have died. During the same time, millions have protested for police reform and better human relations for African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and the LGBTQ community.
Change is occurring in our lives and around the globe dangerously fast. Who are we going to be when these strange times end? The 1918 pandemic kept going for two years. Could you fathom wearing a mask and sheltering in place for 20 more months? We should fill our daily journals with notes, memorabilia, news clippings, video streaming on our phones, and comments about the environment.
Every youngster who can write or talk ought to memorialize what's happening. Their senses are processing new sights, sounds, touches, smells, and tastes. Writing about these impressions will help train youngsters for the next phase of their lives. Indeed, this is true for all of us.
The Spanish Flu of 1918 ended in 1920, when there was a collective immunity, despite the virus never completely went away. Scientists say the virus officially ended when there was no uncontrolled community transmission, and cases were at lower levels.
Following the pandemic, survivors found the Roaring Twenties filled with euphoria and a stable economy. Despite the Prohibition, alcohol flourished, making millionaires of many and criminals of many more. The era birthed a new woman who could vote, coiffed with short hair, and wearing a short skirt. Clashes emerged between the young and old about jazz music and living in urban areas. Also, the cultural civil war started with the migration of African Americans from the South, displaying a novel culture of jazz and blues, along with literary giants in the Harlem Renaissance. At the same time, the Ku Klux Klan was expanding and intimidating black communities with support from Jim Crow laws.
Shall we look forward to a booming bastion post-COVID-19?
Can you imagine perusing your great grandparents' Journal during the Spanish Flu and the Roaring Twenties? If you begin your Journal now, your grandchildren will be visualizing history intimately while learning more from Grandma or Grandpa than they ever expected to share.October 8, 2020
Journal it! Memorialize these COVID-19 days by journaling in real-time as change happens. Tragically, since January 2020, almost 7.5 million people in the U.S. have contracted this coronavirus, and nearly 210,000 people have died. During the same time, millions have protested for police reform and better human relations for African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and the LGBTQ community.
Change is occurring in our lives and around the globe dangerously fast. Who are we going to be when these strange times end? The 1918 pandemic kept going for two years. Could you fathom wearing a mask and sheltering in place for 20 more months? We should fill our daily journals with notes, memorabilia, news clippings, video streaming on our phones, and comments about the environment.
Every youngster who can write or talk ought to memorialize what's happening. Their senses are processing new sights, sounds, touches, smells, and tastes. Writing about these impressions will help train youngsters for the next phase of their lives. Indeed, this is true for all of us.
The Spanish Flu of 1918 ended in 1920, when there was a collective immunity, despite the virus never completely went away. Scientists say the virus officially ended when there was no uncontrolled community transmission, and cases were at lower levels.
Following the pandemic, survivors found the Roaring Twenties filled with euphoria and a stable economy. Despite the Prohibition, alcohol flourished, making millionaires of many and criminals of many more. The era birthed a new woman who could vote, coiffed with short hair, and wearing a short skirt. Clashes emerged between the young and old about jazz music and living in urban areas. Also, the cultural civil war started with the migration of African Americans from the South, displaying a novel culture of jazz and blues, along with literary giants in the Harlem Renaissance. At the same time, the Ku Klux Klan was expanding and intimidating black communities with support from Jim Crow laws.
Shall we look forward to a booming bastion post-COVID-19?
Can you imagine perusing your great grandparents' Journal during the Spanish Flu and the Roaring Twenties? If you begin your Journal now, your grandchildren will be visualizing history intimately while learning more from Grandma or Grandpa than they ever expected to share.October 8, 2020
Blog 32 - More Ways to Journal
Since the coronavirus set foot in the U.S., I have been writing about the pandemic and how I see it and how it impacts our lives. Today, I want to remind you of 50 ways to tackle journaling. In my upcoming class, we will practice some of these strategies to determine which one fits you. Participation in my Journal It class is free if you purchase one of four books by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton. They are The Prayor: One Who Prays, The Prayor Worships with Isaiah, Feeling Wheels, and Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling. To sign up, send me an email at gwen@gwendolyncaroletipton.com.
In Chapter 3 of my book, Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling, there are 50 ways to tackle journaling. Over the next four weeks, this Blog will incorporate some of those tools. Here is an excerpt from that addresses these strategies and explains five suggestions.
“Here are 50 Ways to Tackle JournalingThere are many ways to tackle journaling that go beyond writing. The point of getting hold of your life by journaling is to do it in a way that gets you to where you want to be. Because it’s all about you, use the tools that help you get in touch with yourself in the best way to capture your emotions, dreams, or challenges.
With some of these tools, you must sit in a private place of your own where you can laugh, cry, sing, or dance about it. Once the Journal has begun, hide it in a secure location that is genuinely your hiding place, because it is for your eyes only.
A blank paper and pen offer an opportunity to take a stab at writing a few words or a sentence or two and write for a few minutes without stopping about whatever is on your mind or issues that made the day or destroyed it.1. Write in a conversational tone as though you are telling a secret to a trusted friend. Spit it out. Just say it.2. Write precise details to explain a situation clearly with maximum specificity. Review it at a later time and compare the writing to your memory. It may be different. 3. Write stories about problems that you solve as if it is going to be a movie. Include the drama. Write your account so that it can become an exciting movie script4. Write persuasively to change your mind about an issue and present both sides going on in your mind. Convince yourself that your dream is achievable.5. Write one or two sentences that capture the gist of what happened during the day. Review it tomorrow so it can help make plans for the next day.”September 3, 2020
With some of these tools, you must sit in a private place of your own where you can laugh, cry, sing, or dance about it. Once the Journal has begun, hide it in a secure location that is genuinely your hiding place, because it is for your eyes only.
A blank paper and pen offer an opportunity to take a stab at writing a few words or a sentence or two and write for a few minutes without stopping about whatever is on your mind or issues that made the day or destroyed it.1. Write in a conversational tone as though you are telling a secret to a trusted friend. Spit it out. Just say it.2. Write precise details to explain a situation clearly with maximum specificity. Review it at a later time and compare the writing to your memory. It may be different. 3. Write stories about problems that you solve as if it is going to be a movie. Include the drama. Write your account so that it can become an exciting movie script4. Write persuasively to change your mind about an issue and present both sides going on in your mind. Convince yourself that your dream is achievable.5. Write one or two sentences that capture the gist of what happened during the day. Review it tomorrow so it can help make plans for the next day.”September 3, 2020
Blog 31 - Journaling - 100 years since Women's Right to Vote
We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote. In the early 1800s, women began petitioning, protesting, and picketing for the right to vote. Congress passed the Amendment in 1878, and it took until 1919 to pass and 1920 to ratify. Several generations of women suffrage supporters who organized, marched, and lobbied, did not live to see the affirmation in 1920.
Blog 30 renders my approval of Vice President Biden naming Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Such a historic announcement deserves memorializing in my journal. Harris is the first Asian American and the woman of color in American history to be a general election candidate for vice president for either of the two major political parties.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote on May 21, 1919. The U.S. Senate followed two weeks later with the 19th Amendment that was finally ratified and became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920.
Today the 19th Amendment prohibits states from denying the vote based upon sex, just as the 15th Amendment forbids states from using race when determining voting rights. Yet many Black American women do not have the absolute right to vote. The coronavirus pandemic appears to stretch the entitlements of election officials, who are restricting polling locations and hours and limiting vote-by-mail. Such modifications may drive fewer women to cast ballots on November 3, 2020.
Women have come a long way since the ratification of the Amendment in August 1920. Black women demonstrated alongside white women in the protests. Yet, they had to wait until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was a temporary act lasting for five years.
Now, Black women (and men too) need The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It addresses issues related to voting today by restoring the full protections of the original, bipartisan Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was last reauthorized by Congress in 2006, but changed by the Supreme Court in 2013. The Act provides tools to address discriminatory practices, seeks to protect all Americans' right to vote, and establishes a process for reviewing changes used to discriminate against voters.
Women constitute more than half the population. The number of women voters has exceeded the number of male voters in every presidential election since 1964. More than 70 million women voted in the 2016 presidential election, representing more than 60% of the total voters.
1902 registered the early references to a woman as a suffragette, which stems from the word suffrage. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides three definitions for suffrage: 1) A vote given in deciding a controverted question or electing a person for an office or trust, 2). The right of voting, the exercise of such right. 3) A short intercessory prayer usually in a series.
Suffragists were women who believed in campaigning to attain the right to vote. After the suffragists failed to make progress, a new generation of female innovators emerged. These women became known as the suffragettes, who advocated aggressively for their cause, the right to vote. Therefore, in 68 days, the female imperative is to vote. It's your call! My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" titles Chapter Four, "Spiritual Journaling." It says 'Spiritual Journaling is a reflection on the past, an examination of now, and a look toward the future. It is your conversation with God.' As I write in my journal, I tell of the women who suffered to get the right to vote. They set an example of how we can reflect on the past, take action now, and look forward to a decent future.
Isaiah 56:1 New International Version (NIV)This is what the LORD says:"Maintain justice and do what is right,for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed."
Precious Lord, amid the coronavirus pandemic, we are called to vote in a presidential election. Suffragettes protested for the right to vote for nearly one hundred years, and I pray that our votes will count, and this election will be honest and acceptable. I am asking in prayer for justice to prevail, a fair national election, a cure for the coronavirus, a stable economy, a return to school for students, and financial help from the government for families in need. Please help us to have patience as we believe your salvation is close at hand, and we see your righteousness ahead. Please give everyone the self-control to endure the wait. Thank you in advance for hearing and answering prayers. Amen. August 27, 2020
Blog 30 renders my approval of Vice President Biden naming Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Such a historic announcement deserves memorializing in my journal. Harris is the first Asian American and the woman of color in American history to be a general election candidate for vice president for either of the two major political parties.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote on May 21, 1919. The U.S. Senate followed two weeks later with the 19th Amendment that was finally ratified and became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920.
Today the 19th Amendment prohibits states from denying the vote based upon sex, just as the 15th Amendment forbids states from using race when determining voting rights. Yet many Black American women do not have the absolute right to vote. The coronavirus pandemic appears to stretch the entitlements of election officials, who are restricting polling locations and hours and limiting vote-by-mail. Such modifications may drive fewer women to cast ballots on November 3, 2020.
Women have come a long way since the ratification of the Amendment in August 1920. Black women demonstrated alongside white women in the protests. Yet, they had to wait until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was a temporary act lasting for five years.
Now, Black women (and men too) need The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It addresses issues related to voting today by restoring the full protections of the original, bipartisan Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was last reauthorized by Congress in 2006, but changed by the Supreme Court in 2013. The Act provides tools to address discriminatory practices, seeks to protect all Americans' right to vote, and establishes a process for reviewing changes used to discriminate against voters.
Women constitute more than half the population. The number of women voters has exceeded the number of male voters in every presidential election since 1964. More than 70 million women voted in the 2016 presidential election, representing more than 60% of the total voters.
1902 registered the early references to a woman as a suffragette, which stems from the word suffrage. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides three definitions for suffrage: 1) A vote given in deciding a controverted question or electing a person for an office or trust, 2). The right of voting, the exercise of such right. 3) A short intercessory prayer usually in a series.
Suffragists were women who believed in campaigning to attain the right to vote. After the suffragists failed to make progress, a new generation of female innovators emerged. These women became known as the suffragettes, who advocated aggressively for their cause, the right to vote. Therefore, in 68 days, the female imperative is to vote. It's your call! My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" titles Chapter Four, "Spiritual Journaling." It says 'Spiritual Journaling is a reflection on the past, an examination of now, and a look toward the future. It is your conversation with God.' As I write in my journal, I tell of the women who suffered to get the right to vote. They set an example of how we can reflect on the past, take action now, and look forward to a decent future.
Isaiah 56:1 New International Version (NIV)This is what the LORD says:"Maintain justice and do what is right,for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed."
Precious Lord, amid the coronavirus pandemic, we are called to vote in a presidential election. Suffragettes protested for the right to vote for nearly one hundred years, and I pray that our votes will count, and this election will be honest and acceptable. I am asking in prayer for justice to prevail, a fair national election, a cure for the coronavirus, a stable economy, a return to school for students, and financial help from the government for families in need. Please help us to have patience as we believe your salvation is close at hand, and we see your righteousness ahead. Please give everyone the self-control to endure the wait. Thank you in advance for hearing and answering prayers. Amen. August 27, 2020
Blog 30 - Journaling about Naming Senator Harris for VP
Presidential candidate Joe Biden's selection of Senator Kamala Harris as a running mate renders an audacity of hope for all Americans. She brings a similar satisfaction to every individual who voted for Barack Obama in 2008. This naming indicates political achievement for African Americans, South Asian Americans, and bi-racial Americans.
We might have the option to call Senator Harris, Madame Vice President. At the same time, we are confronting a worldwide pandemic along with an erratic economy, stagnant employment, protests for racial justice, varied back to school strategies, mail delays, and constant discussions about federal funding for families in need.
Blog 29 delivers my hope for the pandemic to be rescued by a cure. Even though the number of new cases and deaths may be leveling off in some communities, New York is the model state with the most reducing numbers. It appears that more and more states have increasing positivity rates with the use of face covers.
In their second public appearance, the mask-wearing Biden-Harris team communicated the need to wear masks every time you go outside for the next three months. Candidate Biden called on state governors to mandate mask-wearing to diminish the spread of COVID-19. That said, we could kick this pandemic by Thanksgiving and have a merry merry Christmas.
VP Biden in naming Senator Harris as his running mate is undoubtedly historic. Throughout Harris' life, she brings a history of being the "first" in many situations, from busing as a grade-schooler to the election of Attorney General of California. She may continue her firsts by bringing a diversity of culture and ethnicity to the vice-presidency. Harris is the first Asian American and the first Black woman in American history to be a general election candidate for vice president for either of the two major political parties. Her husband Doug Emhoff is of Jewish descent.
Here are ten reasons why I see Senator Harris as a phenomenal helpmate to VP Biden to defeat President Donald Trump.
1. Experienced Prosecutor. As most vice-presidential candidates act as the assault dog for the presidential opponent, Senator Harris is well suited for the role. As a former prosecutor, she displayed her toughness while questioning President Trump's administration appointees: Brett M. Kavanaugh. Jeff Sessions. William P. Barr.Her initial campaign comments used familiar prosecutorial verbiage. "The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open-and-shut. Just look where they've gotten us."2. Fundraiser. Reports say that within twenty-four hours of Senator Harris' announcement, the Biden-Harris campaign received over $1.5 million in donations from approximately 38,000 individuals across all fifty states, with the average donation being $37. During her campaigns since 2007, she has raised more than $2.5 million. 3. Successful Campaigner. She won elections to the positions of District Attorney in San Francisco (2007), Attorney General of California (2010 and 2014), and U. S. Senator from California (2016).4. Articulate Speaker. Senator Harris communicates, concisely, and effectively by answering questions and verifying her answer twice in different ways. She takes seconds to think and afterward speaks with certainty and appears to be extraordinarily knowledgeable.5. Experienced Legislator. Works with Democrats and Republicans to get bills sponsored and enacted. Senator Harris was the primary sponsor of four enacted measures. She sits on four Senate committees: Committee on the Budget, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, The Judiciary, and Select Committee on Intelligence, alongside three additional subcommittees.6. History Maker. Senator Harris campaigned as a contender for President of the United States and participated in debates during the 2020 Democratic primary process.7. Campaign Supporter. Senator Harris will help the Biden-Harris ticket with people of color voters. Black voters should account for about 13 percent of the expected 2020 electorate, Hispanics will represent approximately 11%, and Asian Americans will account for about 5 percent. I believe she can tap into those minorities and grow Candidate Biden's supporters.8. Immigrant Defender. As a child of immigrants, she knows personally how immigrant families move about the country, as well as the challenges of what it means to grow up Black and Indian-American in the United States of America. Candidate Biden said, "Her story is America's story. It's different from mine in many particulars, but also not so different in the essentials."9. Civil Rights Promoter. She has included herself in the Civil rights movement, along with many other unbelievable women. John Lewis said, "They never, ever received the credit that they should have received. They did all of the work, and I cannot say it, they did all of the dirty work. HARD Work." 10. Political Woman Extraordinaire. I have become familiar with some remarkable women in the news who were on the list for consideration as a Vice Presidential candidate. We saw their names and faces over and over as they represent some of the most extraordinary women in politics. They are former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Rep. Karen Bass, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Rep. Val Demings, and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice.Concerning Senator Harris, she is easy on the eyes and appears to be quite charming, and I believe she can work a crowd.
I clearly understand that Senator Harris is in the vice-presidential seat. However, given my reasons why Harris will help the Biden-Harris presidential ticket, I hope and pray they win.
HOPE*Hope expects that all wishes turn out well,feeling we can believe in what we want.Something hoped for helps me look-forward-towith desire and reasonable confidence.
*Quatrain Poem, #215 is from Feeling Wheels, a book by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton, available at www.amazon.com. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" titles Chapter Four, "Spiritual Journaling." It says 'Spiritual Journaling is a reflection on the past, an examination of now, and a look toward the future. It is your conversation with God.' The current happenings in our world call for Spiritual Journaling.
I applaud this historical moment of Senator Harris as a presidential running mate. For the next 72 days, I am going to write a daily prayer in my journal and focus on the essential needs of this country. My current requests are for a fair national election, a cure for the coronavirus, a stable economy, a return to school for students, and financial help from the government for families in need. Mark 11:24 New International Version (NIV)
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Heavenly Father, the COVID-19 pandemic injects havoc into life on earth. In faith, we trust you to bring an end to this pandemic around the globe. I am asking in prayer for a fair national election, a cure for the coronavirus, a stable economy, a return to school for students, and financial help from the government for families in need. Help us to believe that we will receive perfect responses to our prayers in your time. Please give everyone the patience to endure the wait. Thank you in advance for answered prayers. Amen. August 13, 2020
We might have the option to call Senator Harris, Madame Vice President. At the same time, we are confronting a worldwide pandemic along with an erratic economy, stagnant employment, protests for racial justice, varied back to school strategies, mail delays, and constant discussions about federal funding for families in need.
Blog 29 delivers my hope for the pandemic to be rescued by a cure. Even though the number of new cases and deaths may be leveling off in some communities, New York is the model state with the most reducing numbers. It appears that more and more states have increasing positivity rates with the use of face covers.
In their second public appearance, the mask-wearing Biden-Harris team communicated the need to wear masks every time you go outside for the next three months. Candidate Biden called on state governors to mandate mask-wearing to diminish the spread of COVID-19. That said, we could kick this pandemic by Thanksgiving and have a merry merry Christmas.
VP Biden in naming Senator Harris as his running mate is undoubtedly historic. Throughout Harris' life, she brings a history of being the "first" in many situations, from busing as a grade-schooler to the election of Attorney General of California. She may continue her firsts by bringing a diversity of culture and ethnicity to the vice-presidency. Harris is the first Asian American and the first Black woman in American history to be a general election candidate for vice president for either of the two major political parties. Her husband Doug Emhoff is of Jewish descent.
Here are ten reasons why I see Senator Harris as a phenomenal helpmate to VP Biden to defeat President Donald Trump.
1. Experienced Prosecutor. As most vice-presidential candidates act as the assault dog for the presidential opponent, Senator Harris is well suited for the role. As a former prosecutor, she displayed her toughness while questioning President Trump's administration appointees: Brett M. Kavanaugh. Jeff Sessions. William P. Barr.Her initial campaign comments used familiar prosecutorial verbiage. "The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open-and-shut. Just look where they've gotten us."2. Fundraiser. Reports say that within twenty-four hours of Senator Harris' announcement, the Biden-Harris campaign received over $1.5 million in donations from approximately 38,000 individuals across all fifty states, with the average donation being $37. During her campaigns since 2007, she has raised more than $2.5 million. 3. Successful Campaigner. She won elections to the positions of District Attorney in San Francisco (2007), Attorney General of California (2010 and 2014), and U. S. Senator from California (2016).4. Articulate Speaker. Senator Harris communicates, concisely, and effectively by answering questions and verifying her answer twice in different ways. She takes seconds to think and afterward speaks with certainty and appears to be extraordinarily knowledgeable.5. Experienced Legislator. Works with Democrats and Republicans to get bills sponsored and enacted. Senator Harris was the primary sponsor of four enacted measures. She sits on four Senate committees: Committee on the Budget, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, The Judiciary, and Select Committee on Intelligence, alongside three additional subcommittees.6. History Maker. Senator Harris campaigned as a contender for President of the United States and participated in debates during the 2020 Democratic primary process.7. Campaign Supporter. Senator Harris will help the Biden-Harris ticket with people of color voters. Black voters should account for about 13 percent of the expected 2020 electorate, Hispanics will represent approximately 11%, and Asian Americans will account for about 5 percent. I believe she can tap into those minorities and grow Candidate Biden's supporters.8. Immigrant Defender. As a child of immigrants, she knows personally how immigrant families move about the country, as well as the challenges of what it means to grow up Black and Indian-American in the United States of America. Candidate Biden said, "Her story is America's story. It's different from mine in many particulars, but also not so different in the essentials."9. Civil Rights Promoter. She has included herself in the Civil rights movement, along with many other unbelievable women. John Lewis said, "They never, ever received the credit that they should have received. They did all of the work, and I cannot say it, they did all of the dirty work. HARD Work." 10. Political Woman Extraordinaire. I have become familiar with some remarkable women in the news who were on the list for consideration as a Vice Presidential candidate. We saw their names and faces over and over as they represent some of the most extraordinary women in politics. They are former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Rep. Karen Bass, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Rep. Val Demings, and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice.Concerning Senator Harris, she is easy on the eyes and appears to be quite charming, and I believe she can work a crowd.
I clearly understand that Senator Harris is in the vice-presidential seat. However, given my reasons why Harris will help the Biden-Harris presidential ticket, I hope and pray they win.
HOPE*Hope expects that all wishes turn out well,feeling we can believe in what we want.Something hoped for helps me look-forward-towith desire and reasonable confidence.
*Quatrain Poem, #215 is from Feeling Wheels, a book by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton, available at www.amazon.com. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" titles Chapter Four, "Spiritual Journaling." It says 'Spiritual Journaling is a reflection on the past, an examination of now, and a look toward the future. It is your conversation with God.' The current happenings in our world call for Spiritual Journaling.
I applaud this historical moment of Senator Harris as a presidential running mate. For the next 72 days, I am going to write a daily prayer in my journal and focus on the essential needs of this country. My current requests are for a fair national election, a cure for the coronavirus, a stable economy, a return to school for students, and financial help from the government for families in need. Mark 11:24 New International Version (NIV)
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Heavenly Father, the COVID-19 pandemic injects havoc into life on earth. In faith, we trust you to bring an end to this pandemic around the globe. I am asking in prayer for a fair national election, a cure for the coronavirus, a stable economy, a return to school for students, and financial help from the government for families in need. Help us to believe that we will receive perfect responses to our prayers in your time. Please give everyone the patience to endure the wait. Thank you in advance for answered prayers. Amen. August 13, 2020
Blog 29 - Journaling for COVID-19 cases and deaths to lessen
The numbers and the data show the pandemic is yet with us as testing laboratories punch out test results. But, it appears that the number of new cases and deaths might be leveling off in some communities. New York is the model state with the most significant lessening numbers.
Blog 28 talks about COVID-19 testing and the impact the results have on our economy, joblessness, schools, and federal financial aid. Numerous people are staying at home, wearing masks in public, washing hands frequently, and social distancing, all to slow the trend.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 illnesses decreased nationally from week 29 to week 30 across the country. Even though a few specific areas continue to show increases. Overall, week after week COVID-19 hospitalization rates and mortality decreased last week.
This information gives me hope. Many government health-related entities provide data daily, and the information impact changes from week to week. However, in general, there is a leveling off of new cases and deaths.
Death certificate data incorporate pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19. The percentage of deaths due specifically to COVID-19 was lower two weeks in a row but above the pandemic threshold. The number of COVID-19 tests originates from public health laboratories in the United States. The percentage of positive tests indicate as the outbreak progresses, the data interpretation may need to change for new cases. In summary, the specific COVID-19 numbers must lessen to visualize any end in sight.
I hope for an end to the pandemic. However, in my hope, I pray for an upward bound stock market, growing employment, acceptable back to school strategies, and federal funding for families in need. HOPE*Hope expects that all wishes turn out well,feeling we can believe in what we want.Something hoped for helps me look-forward-towith desire and reasonable confidence.
*Quatrain Poem, #215 is from Feeling Wheels book by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton, available at www.amazon.com. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" titles Chapter Four, "Spiritual Journaling." It says 'Spiritual Journaling is a reflection on the past, an examination of now, and a look toward the future. It is your conversation with God.'
COVID-19 mandates that we hope and pray because of the many ways the virus affects our lives. I am going to write a daily prayer in my journal and focus on the essential parts of worship, which are to pray for others and myself, ask for forgiveness, and thank God for his blessings. Hebrews 11:1 New International Version (NIV)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Heavenly Father, COVID-19 pandemic continues to inject havoc upon our economy, employment, and schools, thus destroying the livelihood of certain families. In faith, we are trusting you to bring an end to this pandemic around the globe. The lessening numbers give us hope as we wait for an end to this coronavirus season. Help us to maintain our faith as we see only a glimmer of hope in the data, as we wait for you, Lord. Send a cure that will heal all individuals who are sick. We thank you in advance for ending COVID-19 from the world. Amen. August 6, 2020
Blog 28 talks about COVID-19 testing and the impact the results have on our economy, joblessness, schools, and federal financial aid. Numerous people are staying at home, wearing masks in public, washing hands frequently, and social distancing, all to slow the trend.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 illnesses decreased nationally from week 29 to week 30 across the country. Even though a few specific areas continue to show increases. Overall, week after week COVID-19 hospitalization rates and mortality decreased last week.
This information gives me hope. Many government health-related entities provide data daily, and the information impact changes from week to week. However, in general, there is a leveling off of new cases and deaths.
Death certificate data incorporate pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19. The percentage of deaths due specifically to COVID-19 was lower two weeks in a row but above the pandemic threshold. The number of COVID-19 tests originates from public health laboratories in the United States. The percentage of positive tests indicate as the outbreak progresses, the data interpretation may need to change for new cases. In summary, the specific COVID-19 numbers must lessen to visualize any end in sight.
I hope for an end to the pandemic. However, in my hope, I pray for an upward bound stock market, growing employment, acceptable back to school strategies, and federal funding for families in need. HOPE*Hope expects that all wishes turn out well,feeling we can believe in what we want.Something hoped for helps me look-forward-towith desire and reasonable confidence.
*Quatrain Poem, #215 is from Feeling Wheels book by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton, available at www.amazon.com. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" titles Chapter Four, "Spiritual Journaling." It says 'Spiritual Journaling is a reflection on the past, an examination of now, and a look toward the future. It is your conversation with God.'
COVID-19 mandates that we hope and pray because of the many ways the virus affects our lives. I am going to write a daily prayer in my journal and focus on the essential parts of worship, which are to pray for others and myself, ask for forgiveness, and thank God for his blessings. Hebrews 11:1 New International Version (NIV)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Heavenly Father, COVID-19 pandemic continues to inject havoc upon our economy, employment, and schools, thus destroying the livelihood of certain families. In faith, we are trusting you to bring an end to this pandemic around the globe. The lessening numbers give us hope as we wait for an end to this coronavirus season. Help us to maintain our faith as we see only a glimmer of hope in the data, as we wait for you, Lord. Send a cure that will heal all individuals who are sick. We thank you in advance for ending COVID-19 from the world. Amen. August 6, 2020
Blog 28 - Journaling - COVID-19 testing impacts all our lives
Testing. Testing! Testing? According to John Hopkins University, there are 4.3 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 155,000 deaths. The consequences of testing guide our economy, joblessness, schools, and federal financial aid.
Blog 27 expresses my pleasure to learn of my negative test result for COVID-19 and further questions what I should do if tested positive. Whether testing positive or negative for COVID-19 on a viral or an antibody test, I must take preventive measures to protect myself and others.
Six months ago, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) analyzed the first coronavirus case in the U.S. From that point forward, we've been adhering to the orders of staying at home, wearing masks in public, washing hands frequently, and social distancing.
Now the mandate is to get tested while we wait for a cure.Testing is now accessible across the country, despite problems that lead to long waits for receiving results. In some communities, it may take 2 – 14 days. If you must wait 10-14 days, you may need to take another test. The positive test results down the stock market, increase unemployment, complicate going back to school, and deliberate federal funding for families.
The Dow (Dow Jones Industrial Average) and the FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange Group) fell in value as the number of COVID-19 cases developed. Movements in financial markets can influence the value of pensions or individual savings and small investment accounts. Accordingly, the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates, thereby making borrowing less expensive and urging spending to improve the economy.
The coming of the coronavirus brought about many people seeking work as they lost their jobs when advised to stay-at-home and shelter in place. The travel industry, hospitality, restaurants, retail, and entertainment ground to a standstill. Today, approximately 10.4% of people in the U.S. are unemployed, as indicated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). There are some signs of recovery as individuals are beginning to work in essential industries.
In schools the nation over, it remains unclear how students will return to the classroom or college campuses if they are not taking virtual classes. Educational officials are exploring alternative reopening strategies. Some in-person precautions will incorporate regular temperature checks, physical distancing, mask-wearing, alternative schedules, and limitations on gathering places, for example, having lunch. Regardless of the plans, all concur that schools may have to close once more if the strategy is not working or a new outbreak of the coronavirus ensues.
Both Republicans HEALS Act (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools Act) and Democrats HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act) agree on another $1,200 stimulus check for American workers. However, other parts of the Acts differ. American families need financial aid to stave off evictions, utility payments, and mortgage payments, due tomorrow, August 1, 2020.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" presents in Chapter three, Here are 50 Ways to Tackle Journaling. Page 19, number 37, says, 'News quotes from television and radio sum up unforgettable news and events that may impact your life.' This coronavirus season fits this technique perfectly as we try to write continuous happenings and how they are affecting our lives. I am writing about how everyone's positive and negative testing results impact the number of cases and deaths and thereby affect my children and my finances. We can journal about this worldwide occurrence in real-time for our individual histories. Psalm 27:14 New International Version (NIV)
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Precious Lord, COVID-19 test results are impacting our economy, employment, and schools, thereby harming the livelihood of families. We pray that government money will come soon to help the people in need. We are trusting in you to be our refuge as we endure this pandemic around the world. Give us patience as we wait for an end of this coronavirus season. Help us to be strong and take heart as we wait for you, Lord. Send a cure that will heal all individuals who are sick. We thank you in advance for ending COVID-19 from the world. Amen.July 30, 2020
Blog 27 expresses my pleasure to learn of my negative test result for COVID-19 and further questions what I should do if tested positive. Whether testing positive or negative for COVID-19 on a viral or an antibody test, I must take preventive measures to protect myself and others.
Six months ago, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) analyzed the first coronavirus case in the U.S. From that point forward, we've been adhering to the orders of staying at home, wearing masks in public, washing hands frequently, and social distancing.
Now the mandate is to get tested while we wait for a cure.Testing is now accessible across the country, despite problems that lead to long waits for receiving results. In some communities, it may take 2 – 14 days. If you must wait 10-14 days, you may need to take another test. The positive test results down the stock market, increase unemployment, complicate going back to school, and deliberate federal funding for families.
The Dow (Dow Jones Industrial Average) and the FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange Group) fell in value as the number of COVID-19 cases developed. Movements in financial markets can influence the value of pensions or individual savings and small investment accounts. Accordingly, the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates, thereby making borrowing less expensive and urging spending to improve the economy.
The coming of the coronavirus brought about many people seeking work as they lost their jobs when advised to stay-at-home and shelter in place. The travel industry, hospitality, restaurants, retail, and entertainment ground to a standstill. Today, approximately 10.4% of people in the U.S. are unemployed, as indicated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). There are some signs of recovery as individuals are beginning to work in essential industries.
In schools the nation over, it remains unclear how students will return to the classroom or college campuses if they are not taking virtual classes. Educational officials are exploring alternative reopening strategies. Some in-person precautions will incorporate regular temperature checks, physical distancing, mask-wearing, alternative schedules, and limitations on gathering places, for example, having lunch. Regardless of the plans, all concur that schools may have to close once more if the strategy is not working or a new outbreak of the coronavirus ensues.
Both Republicans HEALS Act (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools Act) and Democrats HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act) agree on another $1,200 stimulus check for American workers. However, other parts of the Acts differ. American families need financial aid to stave off evictions, utility payments, and mortgage payments, due tomorrow, August 1, 2020.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" presents in Chapter three, Here are 50 Ways to Tackle Journaling. Page 19, number 37, says, 'News quotes from television and radio sum up unforgettable news and events that may impact your life.' This coronavirus season fits this technique perfectly as we try to write continuous happenings and how they are affecting our lives. I am writing about how everyone's positive and negative testing results impact the number of cases and deaths and thereby affect my children and my finances. We can journal about this worldwide occurrence in real-time for our individual histories. Psalm 27:14 New International Version (NIV)
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Precious Lord, COVID-19 test results are impacting our economy, employment, and schools, thereby harming the livelihood of families. We pray that government money will come soon to help the people in need. We are trusting in you to be our refuge as we endure this pandemic around the world. Give us patience as we wait for an end of this coronavirus season. Help us to be strong and take heart as we wait for you, Lord. Send a cure that will heal all individuals who are sick. We thank you in advance for ending COVID-19 from the world. Amen.July 30, 2020
Blog 27 - Journaling a positive COVID-19 Test result
It was such a pleasure to learn of my negative test results for COVID-19 that I did not consider the alternative. What should I do if the test were positive?
Blog 26 recants my positive test outcome, which says, "SARS-CoV-2 – Not Detected." In two days on the MyChart website, I received my results. It's near the end of July, and the coronavirus continues to spread. Testing is open for anyone, whether you have symptoms or have been in the company of another person who tested positive. Contact tracing, as it's called, identifies individuals who have the coronavirus and the people whom they contacted. Should any contacts have the coronavirus, they must see a doctor and more than likely self-quarantine at home.
Some doctors and dignitaries get tested daily. Should I get tested again, and the results are positive, what must I do? The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says it is critical to stay at home and stay away from other people. If no symptoms evolve, quarantine for ten days, before going around other people. In the information I received when I tested negative, it says, "If you test positive, you will be contacted via phone." Then someone will say to seek advice from a healthcare provider, who more than likely will request additional testing before considering advanced care.
To further complicate things, two sorts of tests are accessible for COVID-19: viral tests and antibody tests. Testing negative for COVID-19 by a viral test means there was no infection at the time the sample was collected. However, that does not mean sickness will not occur. An antibody test might indicate a past infection and not a current virus because it can take 1–3 weeks after infection to make antibodies. Having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 might protect from getting infected with the virus again.
Whether testing positive or negative for COVID-19 on a viral or an antibody test, I must take preventive measures to protect myself and others. No matter what, I shall continue to stay at home, wear a mask in public, wash my hands frequently, and adhere to social distancing.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. One assignment is to write a mini-memoir (150 words or less). Here you can portray another pandemic season experience. I am going to record my positive and negative testing experiences and attempt to explain a bit of what's happening worldwide in real-time for the sake of my historical memory. Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Heavenly Father, COVID-19 test results generate more and more questions whether the results are positive or negative. We put our trust in you, Lord, as such tests surpass our understanding. We lay all our concerns before you and request your direction while we try to withstand the trauma of getting through this coronavirus season. Please send good health to the bodies of all individuals who are affected. We thank you in advance for dismissing COVID-19 from the face of the earth. Amen. July 23, 2020.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. One assignment is to write a mini-memoir (150 words or less). Here you can portray another pandemic season experience. I am going to record my positive and negative testing experiences and attempt to explain a bit of what's happening worldwide in real-time for the sake of my historical memory. Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Heavenly Father, COVID-19 test results generate more and more questions whether the results are positive or negative. We put our trust in you, Lord, as such tests surpass our understanding. We lay all our concerns before you and request your direction while we try to withstand the trauma of getting through this coronavirus season. Please send good health to the bodies of all individuals who are affected. We thank you in advance for dismissing COVID-19 from the face of the earth. Amen. July 23, 2020.
Blog 26 - Journaling my test results
I got tested for COVID-19. It took less than an hour as only three vehicles were ahead. A young medical aid came up and got data by looking at our driver's licenses and medical cards. We held them up for him to view as he did not touch them, and there was limited talking. He asks for our email addresses and phone number for contact information. In two days, my husband received his results. In four days, I received my results. Both were negative.
Blog 25 explains how easy it is to take the coronavirus test with no pre-arranging. Throughout my community, there are many free testing sites for anyone who decides to accept the test. The sites have increased since the first phases of the pandemic in March 2020. Since I am in the elderly group, I felt compelled to take advantage of this opportunity. I got tested. Inside 2-7 days, results appear online. In case the test is positive, a medical adviser will call and explain the next steps to take.
In July, as the coronavirus continues to spread, testing is open for anyone, especially if you had been in the company of another person who tested positive. One day after lunch at the home of a friend with three other women, we learned that a common beautician had tested positive for COVID-19. All three of us got negative results. The test reports say "SARS-CoV-2 – Not Detected.”
Learning of the beautician’s positive test appears to fit into one strategy of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Contact tracing, as it's called, identifies individuals who have the coronavirus and the people they contacted. Should any contacts have the coronavirus, they must see a doctor and more than likely self-quarantine at home.
Contact tracers help contain the coronavirus by getting in touch with persons testing positive and determine where they have been and who they were around. The focus is on close contacts or people who were inside 6 feet of the infected person for at least 10 minutes or so. Contact tracing begins with identifying everyone that a person recently diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in contact with since they became contagious. This strategy reaches out to contain the coronavirus.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. One assignment is to write a mini-memoir (150 words or less). Here you can describe another pandemic season experience. I am going to record my testing experience and endeavor to portray my emotional state during this testing procedure and the significance of positive and negative test results and my contact tracing related experience.
Psalm 46: 1-2 New International Version (NIV)
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
Holy Father, the wrath of COVID-19 is completely changing our lives as we know it around the earth. Guide the contact tracers in discovering people who test positive to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. We pray for the medicine to heal those who are infected. We pray for peace for families who are mourning deaths. Please remain our refuge as this pandemic pushes trouble and disarray into our lives. Please help us in this time of crisis to withstand whatever it takes to survive and return to our regular lives. Thank you for giving us the strength to persevere through this pandemic season. Amen. July 15, 2020
Blog 25 explains how easy it is to take the coronavirus test with no pre-arranging. Throughout my community, there are many free testing sites for anyone who decides to accept the test. The sites have increased since the first phases of the pandemic in March 2020. Since I am in the elderly group, I felt compelled to take advantage of this opportunity. I got tested. Inside 2-7 days, results appear online. In case the test is positive, a medical adviser will call and explain the next steps to take.
In July, as the coronavirus continues to spread, testing is open for anyone, especially if you had been in the company of another person who tested positive. One day after lunch at the home of a friend with three other women, we learned that a common beautician had tested positive for COVID-19. All three of us got negative results. The test reports say "SARS-CoV-2 – Not Detected.”
Learning of the beautician’s positive test appears to fit into one strategy of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Contact tracing, as it's called, identifies individuals who have the coronavirus and the people they contacted. Should any contacts have the coronavirus, they must see a doctor and more than likely self-quarantine at home.
Contact tracers help contain the coronavirus by getting in touch with persons testing positive and determine where they have been and who they were around. The focus is on close contacts or people who were inside 6 feet of the infected person for at least 10 minutes or so. Contact tracing begins with identifying everyone that a person recently diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in contact with since they became contagious. This strategy reaches out to contain the coronavirus.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. One assignment is to write a mini-memoir (150 words or less). Here you can describe another pandemic season experience. I am going to record my testing experience and endeavor to portray my emotional state during this testing procedure and the significance of positive and negative test results and my contact tracing related experience.
Psalm 46: 1-2 New International Version (NIV)
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
Holy Father, the wrath of COVID-19 is completely changing our lives as we know it around the earth. Guide the contact tracers in discovering people who test positive to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. We pray for the medicine to heal those who are infected. We pray for peace for families who are mourning deaths. Please remain our refuge as this pandemic pushes trouble and disarray into our lives. Please help us in this time of crisis to withstand whatever it takes to survive and return to our regular lives. Thank you for giving us the strength to persevere through this pandemic season. Amen. July 15, 2020
Blog 25-Journaling COVID-19 Test
Today's opportunity for the coronavirus test takes no pre-arranging. Locations appear every day in the media. Throughout my community, there are many free testing sites for anyone who decides to accept the test. The sites have increased since the first phases of the pandemic in March 2020. Since I am in the elderly group, I feel compelled to take advantage of this opportunity. I got tested.
Blog 24 shares history about events on the Fourth of July that celebrate and criticize the problems and the promises of the nation's history. The Fourth represents a federal holiday recognizing the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. Some individuals stay home and enjoy family, friends, and fireworks. Others protest and march for specific persons killed by police officers, police reform, pros and cons of COVID-19, wearing masks, business openings, removing statues, racial symbols, LGBTQ pride, veterans' needs, getting out the vote, elections, black lives matter, and all lives matter.
If all lives matter, everyone should be tested for the coronavirus. In any case, experts concur that testing for everybody is not possible. Right now, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) suggests testing for two primary groups of people: people who are showing symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) and those who have been close to an infected person.
COVID-19 can affect anyone, and the disease causes symptoms ranging from mild to very serious from varying risk factors. CDC is conducting disease examinations and field investigations to understand better why some people are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 illness. Some risk factors include age, race, gender, medical conditions, certain medications, poverty, crowding, occupations, and pregnancy.
People with certain risk factors might be more likely to need hospitalization and intensive care if they have COVID-19, or they may be more likely to die from the contamination.
In March, I went to the same testing site as today and requested a test. The doctor inquired about my symptoms. I disclosed to her I had none. She then asked my purpose for needing a test. I gave her my age and said we had a two-month-old granddaughter and I wanted to see her. The doctor told me I could see the infant and added it's the grownups that should concern you. Keep your distance from them. Today's open door for the coronavirus test welcomed me with a short line of cars. More and more locations show up in the media daily. The test itself is simple as it's an essential swab taken from your nose. The exam requires a kit, specialized equipment, and trained personnel. Inside 2-7 days, results appear online. On the off chance the test is positive, a medical adviser will call and explain the next steps to take. I pray my test shows negative.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. One assignment is to write a mini-memoir (150 words or less). Here you can ponder the pandemic through a testing experience. I am going to record my testing experience and attempt to be explicit in clarifying the significance of positive and negative test results during this coronavirus season.
John 14:27 New International Version (NIV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Heavenly Father, give us the mental fortitude to press forward during this coronavirus pandemic. The scientists say the world is still in the pandemic as the number of cases and deaths increase day by day. Help individuals who need to go to work and open their businesses to stimulate the economy and return to healthy living. Relieve our unsettled hearts. Help us to accept Your better ways of living that will bring us peace. Thank you for calming our fears. Amen.July 9, 2020
Blog 24 shares history about events on the Fourth of July that celebrate and criticize the problems and the promises of the nation's history. The Fourth represents a federal holiday recognizing the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. Some individuals stay home and enjoy family, friends, and fireworks. Others protest and march for specific persons killed by police officers, police reform, pros and cons of COVID-19, wearing masks, business openings, removing statues, racial symbols, LGBTQ pride, veterans' needs, getting out the vote, elections, black lives matter, and all lives matter.
If all lives matter, everyone should be tested for the coronavirus. In any case, experts concur that testing for everybody is not possible. Right now, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) suggests testing for two primary groups of people: people who are showing symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) and those who have been close to an infected person.
COVID-19 can affect anyone, and the disease causes symptoms ranging from mild to very serious from varying risk factors. CDC is conducting disease examinations and field investigations to understand better why some people are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 illness. Some risk factors include age, race, gender, medical conditions, certain medications, poverty, crowding, occupations, and pregnancy.
People with certain risk factors might be more likely to need hospitalization and intensive care if they have COVID-19, or they may be more likely to die from the contamination.
In March, I went to the same testing site as today and requested a test. The doctor inquired about my symptoms. I disclosed to her I had none. She then asked my purpose for needing a test. I gave her my age and said we had a two-month-old granddaughter and I wanted to see her. The doctor told me I could see the infant and added it's the grownups that should concern you. Keep your distance from them. Today's open door for the coronavirus test welcomed me with a short line of cars. More and more locations show up in the media daily. The test itself is simple as it's an essential swab taken from your nose. The exam requires a kit, specialized equipment, and trained personnel. Inside 2-7 days, results appear online. On the off chance the test is positive, a medical adviser will call and explain the next steps to take. I pray my test shows negative.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. One assignment is to write a mini-memoir (150 words or less). Here you can ponder the pandemic through a testing experience. I am going to record my testing experience and attempt to be explicit in clarifying the significance of positive and negative test results during this coronavirus season.
John 14:27 New International Version (NIV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Heavenly Father, give us the mental fortitude to press forward during this coronavirus pandemic. The scientists say the world is still in the pandemic as the number of cases and deaths increase day by day. Help individuals who need to go to work and open their businesses to stimulate the economy and return to healthy living. Relieve our unsettled hearts. Help us to accept Your better ways of living that will bring us peace. Thank you for calming our fears. Amen.July 9, 2020
Blog 24 - Journaling 4th of July
Around the world, individuals have been communicating dissatisfaction with racial injustices for 100 days. There have been protesting marches in at least 1,750 locales in every one of the 50 Unites States. The initial demonstrations started after the world viewing on TV of the police killing of George Floyd on March 25, 2020. Protests continue developing day-by-day. Plans for protests in more communities will build this Fourth of July weekend.
Blog 23 says in July 1866, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Bill based upon its power under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to pass laws to enforce these rights guaranteeing citizenship, equal protection of the law, and due process to former slaves. In protest, two months before Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill, the 1866 Memphis Massacre killed 46 African Americans, and two whites died.
The most recent civil rights movement was organized by African Americans to end racial discrimination and increase equal rights under the law. It began in the late 1940s and waned in the late 1960s. Some gatherings were nonviolent but others sometimes became fierce. Such protests resulted in legislation to protect every American's civil rights.
Despite myriad civil rights laws, numerous participants from across the racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender spectrum continue to unite and complain that racial injustices still occur.
Consequently, events on the Fourth of July will celebrate and criticize, thereby reflecting on the problems and the promises of the nation's history and recent developments. Displays of fireworks, family gatherings, and protests will happen across the United States this Independence Day, as a federal holiday recognizing the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776.
2020 protestors will join a long tradition of Independence Day calls to scrutinize laws and express their issues with the people and the legislature. The first Fourth of July protest occurred a year after signing the Declaration in 1777. Some Philadelphians enjoyed fireworks and festivities as other pro-war Philadelphians committed acts of violence.
For the better part of the nineteenth century, many groups like abolitionists, African Americans, Native Americans, socialists, religious leaders, women's suffragists, and industrial workers, gathered on the Fourth of July to express their concerns for social justice.
The annual tradition of July 4 marches declined in the twentieth century. Yet, it reappeared periodically to call attention to the Vietnam War, the "Black Declaration of Independence" grievances, Veterans Administration hospitals, Agent Orange, LGBTQ Rights, and the Affordable Care Act.
We shall see the aftereffects of prearranged protests and actions across the country. This Fourth of July weekend and other countries around the globe will probably join us. More than 2000 cities will continue to focus on racial injustices, as mentioned after the killing of George Floyd. Others may name specific persons killed by police officers, police reform, pros and cons of COVID-19, wearing masks, business openings, removal of statues, racial symbols, LGBTQ pride, veterans' needs, get out the vote, elections, black lives matter, and all lives matter.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. It says: "A memoir usually covers a particular portion of one's life that readers outside your world can put into context with the environment or a historical event. It reflects your knowledge and experiences." There are memorable days during this coronavirus season we should include in our journal since they speak to entirely unexpected different parts of our lives that will change the global environment. Our view can be from the inside, looking out or looking in to create new words for a memoir.
Matthew 26:13 New International Version (NIV)
"Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we want to remember COVID-19 as a life-changing narrative we witnessed in our lifetime. Help us write our perspectives on the extraordinary occurrences during this season to share with our children and grandchildren. Thank you for giving us reflections that others can share and compare. Amen. July 3, 2020
Blog 23 says in July 1866, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Bill based upon its power under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to pass laws to enforce these rights guaranteeing citizenship, equal protection of the law, and due process to former slaves. In protest, two months before Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill, the 1866 Memphis Massacre killed 46 African Americans, and two whites died.
The most recent civil rights movement was organized by African Americans to end racial discrimination and increase equal rights under the law. It began in the late 1940s and waned in the late 1960s. Some gatherings were nonviolent but others sometimes became fierce. Such protests resulted in legislation to protect every American's civil rights.
Despite myriad civil rights laws, numerous participants from across the racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender spectrum continue to unite and complain that racial injustices still occur.
Consequently, events on the Fourth of July will celebrate and criticize, thereby reflecting on the problems and the promises of the nation's history and recent developments. Displays of fireworks, family gatherings, and protests will happen across the United States this Independence Day, as a federal holiday recognizing the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776.
2020 protestors will join a long tradition of Independence Day calls to scrutinize laws and express their issues with the people and the legislature. The first Fourth of July protest occurred a year after signing the Declaration in 1777. Some Philadelphians enjoyed fireworks and festivities as other pro-war Philadelphians committed acts of violence.
For the better part of the nineteenth century, many groups like abolitionists, African Americans, Native Americans, socialists, religious leaders, women's suffragists, and industrial workers, gathered on the Fourth of July to express their concerns for social justice.
The annual tradition of July 4 marches declined in the twentieth century. Yet, it reappeared periodically to call attention to the Vietnam War, the "Black Declaration of Independence" grievances, Veterans Administration hospitals, Agent Orange, LGBTQ Rights, and the Affordable Care Act.
We shall see the aftereffects of prearranged protests and actions across the country. This Fourth of July weekend and other countries around the globe will probably join us. More than 2000 cities will continue to focus on racial injustices, as mentioned after the killing of George Floyd. Others may name specific persons killed by police officers, police reform, pros and cons of COVID-19, wearing masks, business openings, removal of statues, racial symbols, LGBTQ pride, veterans' needs, get out the vote, elections, black lives matter, and all lives matter.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" covers Writing Your Memoir in Chapter 7. It says: "A memoir usually covers a particular portion of one's life that readers outside your world can put into context with the environment or a historical event. It reflects your knowledge and experiences." There are memorable days during this coronavirus season we should include in our journal since they speak to entirely unexpected different parts of our lives that will change the global environment. Our view can be from the inside, looking out or looking in to create new words for a memoir.
Matthew 26:13 New International Version (NIV)
"Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we want to remember COVID-19 as a life-changing narrative we witnessed in our lifetime. Help us write our perspectives on the extraordinary occurrences during this season to share with our children and grandchildren. Thank you for giving us reflections that others can share and compare. Amen. July 3, 2020
Blog 23 - Journaling Civil Rights and Protests
History is repeating itself. Outcries for human value and common equity and civil rights have gone on for more than 150 years. Civil rights speak to a specific set of rights designed to protect individuals from unjust actions and to guarantee they receive equal treatment in areas such as education, employment, and housing. Now we must add equal treatment by police officers. Thus, everyone should be free from discrimination.
Blog 22 reports the Supreme Court's decree protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in employment. Proclaimed to protect African-Americans at the height of the civil rights movement, Title VII of the 1964 bill prohibited discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." Despite the affirmation of sex to include LGBTQ workers, most jurisdictions in the United States offer no employment protections for these individuals. Now in 2020, LGBTQ people's civil rights are ensured.
Alongside the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment was the first of the three Reconstruction Period amendments adopted following the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed slaves only in the 11 Confederate states.
In July 1866, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Bill based upon its power under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to pass laws to enforce these rights guaranteeing citizenship, equal protection of the law, and due process to former slaves.
In May, two months before Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill, the 1866 Memphis Massacre killed 46 African Americans, and two whites died. For two days, white mobs, which included police officers, firefighters, and business people, attacked the freedmen's camps and neighborhoods.
The Memphis race riot reflected the attitudes of most white citizens toward the former black slaves who were then free and demanding equal rights. As a result of many such disturbances, leaders enacted laws to protect freedmen, who ultimately became citizens, voters, and government officeholders.
The most recent civil rights movement was an organized effort by African Americans to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. It began in the late 1940s and ended in the late 1960s. Some gatherings were nonviolent but sometimes became violent. Such protests resulted in legislation to protect every American's constitutional civil rights. We return to a point in history now focusing on the need for police officer's reform to protect the constitutional civil rights of individuals, regardless of color, race, sex, or national origin. Today, people of all colors and types are protesting, marching, rioting, organizing, and dying for civil rights legislation. Congress is working on laws that will change the way police officers conduct themselves. My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" defines journaling in Chapter One. It describes Six Facets of Journaling, one of which is monitoring activities and actions by marking the time and making notes when something significant happens. What we think of new laws related to police reform and how we handle ourselves should be noted in our journals as changes occur.
Romans 7:16 New International Version (NIV)
" And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good."
Heavenly Father, for years, Congress and the Supreme Court have written laws that grant civil and human rights to include all people of this nation. We continue to protest for changes that include everyone. People of all colors are protesting for fair treatment. Fill the air with unrequited love that we might move forward, treating everyone equally. Please help our Congress and leaders continue to prepare laws to benefit all citizens. Thank you for guiding legislatures to enact legislation that meets the needs of the people. Amen. June 25, 2020
Blog 22 reports the Supreme Court's decree protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in employment. Proclaimed to protect African-Americans at the height of the civil rights movement, Title VII of the 1964 bill prohibited discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." Despite the affirmation of sex to include LGBTQ workers, most jurisdictions in the United States offer no employment protections for these individuals. Now in 2020, LGBTQ people's civil rights are ensured.
Alongside the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment was the first of the three Reconstruction Period amendments adopted following the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed slaves only in the 11 Confederate states.
In July 1866, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Bill based upon its power under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to pass laws to enforce these rights guaranteeing citizenship, equal protection of the law, and due process to former slaves.
In May, two months before Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill, the 1866 Memphis Massacre killed 46 African Americans, and two whites died. For two days, white mobs, which included police officers, firefighters, and business people, attacked the freedmen's camps and neighborhoods.
The Memphis race riot reflected the attitudes of most white citizens toward the former black slaves who were then free and demanding equal rights. As a result of many such disturbances, leaders enacted laws to protect freedmen, who ultimately became citizens, voters, and government officeholders.
The most recent civil rights movement was an organized effort by African Americans to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. It began in the late 1940s and ended in the late 1960s. Some gatherings were nonviolent but sometimes became violent. Such protests resulted in legislation to protect every American's constitutional civil rights. We return to a point in history now focusing on the need for police officer's reform to protect the constitutional civil rights of individuals, regardless of color, race, sex, or national origin. Today, people of all colors and types are protesting, marching, rioting, organizing, and dying for civil rights legislation. Congress is working on laws that will change the way police officers conduct themselves. My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" defines journaling in Chapter One. It describes Six Facets of Journaling, one of which is monitoring activities and actions by marking the time and making notes when something significant happens. What we think of new laws related to police reform and how we handle ourselves should be noted in our journals as changes occur.
Romans 7:16 New International Version (NIV)
" And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good."
Heavenly Father, for years, Congress and the Supreme Court have written laws that grant civil and human rights to include all people of this nation. We continue to protest for changes that include everyone. People of all colors are protesting for fair treatment. Fill the air with unrequited love that we might move forward, treating everyone equally. Please help our Congress and leaders continue to prepare laws to benefit all citizens. Thank you for guiding legislatures to enact legislation that meets the needs of the people. Amen. June 25, 2020
Blog 22 - Journaling about LGBTQ Supreme Court Law
Writing in your journal during the Pandemic appears to be required to record extraordinary occasions affecting the whole world. During this coronavirus season and protests for civil rights, the work by our nation goes on. The Supreme Court remains in session even though some Justices telecommute. The Supreme Court ruled on a milestone social equality law barring sex discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender workers in the work environment.
Blog 21 states that millions of people are protesting in large gatherings, and few are wearing face coverings. It seems that the danger of spreading COVID-19 is complicated by a cause that addresses racial disparities that include black people dying at almost twice their proportion of the population.
People who are black, white, brown, and yellow are marching with their parents, children, and grandchildren to show their support for a human cause to benefit all individuals. In the crowds are LGBTQ people, who time after time, feel the brunt of over-zealous police officers and social inequities.
The LGBTQ community walks among the crowds while remembering their battle for social justice. The fatal shooting of a black transgender man in Tallahassee, Florida, recently sparked local protests. In contrast, mass protests and violence continue to erupt in cities around the world following the death of George Floyd, at the hands of police officers.
Outcries for human value and common equity and civil justice have gone on since the 1800s. For the third time since 2003, the Court extended LGBTQ human rights, this time by applying workplace protections to them as employees. At issue is the text of the 1964 civil rights law barring employment discrimination based on sex.
At the point when Congress enacted civil rights legislation in 1964, the American Psychiatric Association deemed homosexuality a "psychiatric disorder," and many states criminalized gay behavior. With limited constitutional protections, members of the LGBTQ community faced discrimination and persecution.
Promulgated to protect African-Americans at the height of the civil rights movement, Title VII of the 1964 bill prohibited discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." Lawyers say that despite the acknowledgment of LGBTQ workers, most jurisdictions in the United States offer no employment protections for these individuals. Now comes forth the Supreme Court's decree protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" defines journaling in Chapter One. It describes Six Facets of Journaling, one of which is monitoring activities and actions by listing the time and making notes when something significant happens. The Supreme Court's decision about LGBTQ lives should be noted in our journals as changes occur in our lives and others around us.
Psalm 31:7 New International Version (NIV)
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
Heavenly Father, for years, the courts have wrestled with the pros and cons of civil and human rights granted to citizens of our country. We continue to protest for changes that include everyone. We are at odds with those who cause unfair practices in the workplace and violent acts of force by others. Fill the air with unrequited love for one another that we might move forward, treating everyone equally. Whatever pain we hold, calm that affliction and anguish of our souls. Please continue to help our leaders to prepare a framework of law that includes all citizens. Thank you for guiding the Supreme Court to eliminate further discrimination toward the LGBTQ people. Amen. June 18, 2020
Blog 21 states that millions of people are protesting in large gatherings, and few are wearing face coverings. It seems that the danger of spreading COVID-19 is complicated by a cause that addresses racial disparities that include black people dying at almost twice their proportion of the population.
People who are black, white, brown, and yellow are marching with their parents, children, and grandchildren to show their support for a human cause to benefit all individuals. In the crowds are LGBTQ people, who time after time, feel the brunt of over-zealous police officers and social inequities.
The LGBTQ community walks among the crowds while remembering their battle for social justice. The fatal shooting of a black transgender man in Tallahassee, Florida, recently sparked local protests. In contrast, mass protests and violence continue to erupt in cities around the world following the death of George Floyd, at the hands of police officers.
Outcries for human value and common equity and civil justice have gone on since the 1800s. For the third time since 2003, the Court extended LGBTQ human rights, this time by applying workplace protections to them as employees. At issue is the text of the 1964 civil rights law barring employment discrimination based on sex.
At the point when Congress enacted civil rights legislation in 1964, the American Psychiatric Association deemed homosexuality a "psychiatric disorder," and many states criminalized gay behavior. With limited constitutional protections, members of the LGBTQ community faced discrimination and persecution.
Promulgated to protect African-Americans at the height of the civil rights movement, Title VII of the 1964 bill prohibited discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." Lawyers say that despite the acknowledgment of LGBTQ workers, most jurisdictions in the United States offer no employment protections for these individuals. Now comes forth the Supreme Court's decree protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" defines journaling in Chapter One. It describes Six Facets of Journaling, one of which is monitoring activities and actions by listing the time and making notes when something significant happens. The Supreme Court's decision about LGBTQ lives should be noted in our journals as changes occur in our lives and others around us.
Psalm 31:7 New International Version (NIV)
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
Heavenly Father, for years, the courts have wrestled with the pros and cons of civil and human rights granted to citizens of our country. We continue to protest for changes that include everyone. We are at odds with those who cause unfair practices in the workplace and violent acts of force by others. Fill the air with unrequited love for one another that we might move forward, treating everyone equally. Whatever pain we hold, calm that affliction and anguish of our souls. Please continue to help our leaders to prepare a framework of law that includes all citizens. Thank you for guiding the Supreme Court to eliminate further discrimination toward the LGBTQ people. Amen. June 18, 2020
Blog 21 - Journaling the Protests
Journaling in the midst of the Pandemic appears to be applicable to record this phenomenal event impacting the entire world. Cases and deaths are daily statistics we observe and expect they die down. Since it may take years to discover a cure and a vaccine, an ever-increasing number of individuals are subject to contracting the coronavirus. Nevertheless, millions of people are protesting in large gatherings, and few are wearing face coverings. There is no telling what new COVID-19 statistics will divulge over the next 5-7 days.
Blog 20 reports on my venture outside as businesses are reopening. People are congregating in the parks and open spaces. Few are wearing masks, but many are running and walking while appreciating the freedom of open space after staying-at-home. I hope the local government leaders monitor the conditions and advise citizens regarding requirements to keep everyone safe.
Numerous individuals are returning to the streets and protesting about the recent attacks by the police officers on African Americans, specifically Breonna Taylor, in Louisville, Kentucky, and George Floyd, whom we witnessed via camcorders. His death provoked a call to action by protesting leaders around the world. In more than 400 cities and dozens of foreign counties, people have taken to the streets to express their support for "Black Lives Matter."
People who are black, white, brown, and yellow are marching with their parents, children, and grandchildren to show their support for this critical mandate. The LGBTQ folk are in the crowds as they too often feel the brunt of over-zealous police officers.
Demonstrators gather in close crowds in large and small cities screaming chants demanding justice. Regardless of the purpose of the protests, police continue to use their heavy hands of force.
What now? We won't go back to our regular routines of getting up early to breakfast with our children and get them off to daycare and school before going to work. There is no job, daycare has not reopened, and school is on summer break. This situation is a direct result of the Pandemic, not police brutality or protests. However, the Pandemic and protests will both command change. The world is waiting for a cure and vaccines for COVID-19. What's more, the sentiment of the protestors is to invoke police reform and create something new. It may not be the old normal-like.
It seems that the risk of spreading COVID-19 is complicated by a cause that addresses racial inequities that include black people dying at almost twice their proportion of the population. Now scientists must reconsider their convictions about how coronavirus spreads during numerous gatherings and few masks. As risky as it is for people to spread and contract the coronavirus, they are willing to risk their lives. We pray the virus germs will disappear in the sunny, humid outdoors.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to tackle journaling. News clippings and quotes from television and radio summarize unforgettable news and occasions that impact our lives. The combined demonstrations of the Pandemic and the protests may be far too much for writing. If you're protesting, include photo journaling with your mobile phone to capture your surroundings and the people with whom you're assembling, or those more than 6-feet away. Create a separate album for protesting that includes outcomes that will be part of this saga. Now is a critical time to write down what we've seen and believed and heard.
Hebrews 10:17 New International Version (NIV)
"Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."
Heavenly Father, the protestors, and the police are at odds in warfare created by unnecessary violent acts of force by police officers in recent months. Encompass an air of forgiveness around us that we might move forward. Guide our leaders to prepare a framework of law that fits all citizens. Thank you for not remembering and for forgiving all our sins and lawless acts. Amen.
Blog 20 - Journaling the journey outside post-stay-at-home
Businesses are beginning to reopen as the coronavirus subsides. I went out and about to eyeball things and was woefully disillusioned in the limited number of facial covers and no plastic gloves. There are gates and signs on shop floors to demonstrate where to stand and to stay 6-feet apart. Restaurants look different with unique seating arrangements, disposable menus, and table dividers. Plexiglas separations are everywhere to protect the clerks in drug stores, groceries, markets, and retail establishments.
Blog 19 focuses on wearing face coverings of any sort that can serve as protective gear. Masks don't offer total protection from the coronavirus. The benefit of wearing a face cover is to protect the people around you. Wearing a mask blocks germs from coughing, wheezing, or even breathing that allows for the transmission of infected bacteria. Wearing a mask reduces the likelihood of individuals spreading the virus.
I saw an ever-increasing number of people congregating in the parks and open spaces. Social distancing and mask-wearing is not the norm. It appears as though people believe that being outside permits you to breathe and converse with no face coverings, even though coronavirus continues to spread. Most groups that I saw totaled less than ten and were roughly 6-feet away from nearby gatherings.
There are no beaches near my community, but many people are strolling along the riverside, generally couples and parents with children. Few are wearing masks, but many are running and walking while appreciating the freedom of open space, after staying-at-home.
The Government's national guidelines incorporate testing sites for symptomatic individuals and trace contacts of COVID-19 results and surveillance sites for screening asymptomatic folk. The rules also require that the healthcare systems are ready and able to deal with the needs of the community. The ultimate plan is to ensure the well-being and safety of workers and their interacting clientele, whether in a closed space or on mass transit. Finally, the local government leaders must monitor the conditions and advise citizens regarding necessary mandates to keep everyone safe.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to tackle journaling. Photo journaling with your mobile phone can capture your surroundings, the people with whom you're assembling, or those more than 6-feet away. Put them in a named album and post titles that describe the memory it brings forth or the feeling it captures. Such photos represent more memorabilia from COVID-19 to think about or share with your family and friends when you can get close again.
Philippians 2:4 New International Version (NIV)
…" not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we move away from sheltering in place and venture outside our homes, we must think of others as well as ourselves. Help us to understand the need to believe that we must respect the same safety of others as we want for ourselves. Give us patience as we comply with the safety guidelines when we enter establishments with employees and other customers. Help us to consider the interests of others during this coronavirus season. Thank you for the opportunity to help one another. Amen.June 4, 2020
Blog 19 focuses on wearing face coverings of any sort that can serve as protective gear. Masks don't offer total protection from the coronavirus. The benefit of wearing a face cover is to protect the people around you. Wearing a mask blocks germs from coughing, wheezing, or even breathing that allows for the transmission of infected bacteria. Wearing a mask reduces the likelihood of individuals spreading the virus.
I saw an ever-increasing number of people congregating in the parks and open spaces. Social distancing and mask-wearing is not the norm. It appears as though people believe that being outside permits you to breathe and converse with no face coverings, even though coronavirus continues to spread. Most groups that I saw totaled less than ten and were roughly 6-feet away from nearby gatherings.
There are no beaches near my community, but many people are strolling along the riverside, generally couples and parents with children. Few are wearing masks, but many are running and walking while appreciating the freedom of open space, after staying-at-home.
The Government's national guidelines incorporate testing sites for symptomatic individuals and trace contacts of COVID-19 results and surveillance sites for screening asymptomatic folk. The rules also require that the healthcare systems are ready and able to deal with the needs of the community. The ultimate plan is to ensure the well-being and safety of workers and their interacting clientele, whether in a closed space or on mass transit. Finally, the local government leaders must monitor the conditions and advise citizens regarding necessary mandates to keep everyone safe.
My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to tackle journaling. Photo journaling with your mobile phone can capture your surroundings, the people with whom you're assembling, or those more than 6-feet away. Put them in a named album and post titles that describe the memory it brings forth or the feeling it captures. Such photos represent more memorabilia from COVID-19 to think about or share with your family and friends when you can get close again.
Philippians 2:4 New International Version (NIV)
…" not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we move away from sheltering in place and venture outside our homes, we must think of others as well as ourselves. Help us to understand the need to believe that we must respect the same safety of others as we want for ourselves. Give us patience as we comply with the safety guidelines when we enter establishments with employees and other customers. Help us to consider the interests of others during this coronavirus season. Thank you for the opportunity to help one another. Amen.June 4, 2020
Blog 19 - Journaling in COVID-19 Wear Masks and Face Covers
Across the country, people are pushing through the coronavirus storm and learning how to dance in the rain by returning to work, dining inside and outside restaurants, shopping in partially opened shopping centers, and moving about outside. We celebrated Mother's day with little trouble and lots of joy. Now we're prepared for genuine journeys. However, the issues that face us individually and collectively mandate wearing masks and social distancing.
Blog 18 looks at how we achieved fruitful Mother's Day celebrations, despite COVID-19. I saw children with signs and balloons with expressions of adoration in Grandmas' yards. Youngsters were playing musical instruments on lawns with signs saying Happy Mother's Day. Video gatherings and video chats filled the day of numerous Mothers. A few of my friends' sons and daughters picked up food from their favorite restaurants and delivered them in masks.
Face coverings of any kind serve as protective gear. Masks don't offer complete protection from the coronavirus. However, experts report that wearing a mask ensures against transmission by the nonrevealing virus carriers. Data show that one in four people infected with Covid-19 is asymptomatic and unaware of their contamination.
Ohio's Governor insisted that Ohioans wear face covers inside stores. Then he changed the order, in light of so much rapid opposition. He adjusted his perspective inside 24 hours. The mask protesters won their freedom and individual rights to decide how they remain safe, to the detriment of others. I accept they're overlooking the central issue of wearing a mask. The advantage of wearing a face cover is to protect the individuals around you. Coronavirus transmits from people without symptoms to new bodies. Wearing a mask blocks germs from coughing, wheezing, or even breathing that allows for the transmission of infected beads. Wearing a mask lessens the probability of individuals spreading the sickness.
One study shows that if 80% of the population wear masks, up to 45% of projected deaths over the next two months will lessen. Today, there are 4.5 million coronavirus cases in the world, and 1.4 million the U.S. Deaths total 306,050 around the globe and 86,850 in the U.S. The magnitude of those numbers gives us cause to wear masks to protect people close to you, as we move about and return to life's everyday journeys.
The U.S. health authorities updated guidelines for reopening schools, businesses, and other people-centered organizations. The specifics still include wearing masks and spacing workers or students 6 feet apart and wearing masks. In any case, health experts say cloth coverings will help stop the spread of the coronavirus that has affected more than 6.5 million around the globe of more than 7 billion inhabitants. My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to handle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to venturing into collectibles. Secure an empty box for masks only, noting the date and place of each acquisition. Take photographs of everyone, in the event you part with it as a blessing or lose it. This memorabilia will have such historical interest in a few years and for the next generation.
Psalm 32:1 New International Version (NIV)
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Prayer: Dear Lord, we are asked to cover our faces with masks so that we may not hurt others by merely breathing into their faces. Help us to understand that we will not forgive ourselves if we hurt others. Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those whom we trespass against us. Give us a sense of comfort as we cover the sin of spreading the coronavirus. Thank you for the opportunity to help one another. Amen.
Blog 18 looks at how we achieved fruitful Mother's Day celebrations, despite COVID-19. I saw children with signs and balloons with expressions of adoration in Grandmas' yards. Youngsters were playing musical instruments on lawns with signs saying Happy Mother's Day. Video gatherings and video chats filled the day of numerous Mothers. A few of my friends' sons and daughters picked up food from their favorite restaurants and delivered them in masks.
Face coverings of any kind serve as protective gear. Masks don't offer complete protection from the coronavirus. However, experts report that wearing a mask ensures against transmission by the nonrevealing virus carriers. Data show that one in four people infected with Covid-19 is asymptomatic and unaware of their contamination.
Ohio's Governor insisted that Ohioans wear face covers inside stores. Then he changed the order, in light of so much rapid opposition. He adjusted his perspective inside 24 hours. The mask protesters won their freedom and individual rights to decide how they remain safe, to the detriment of others. I accept they're overlooking the central issue of wearing a mask. The advantage of wearing a face cover is to protect the individuals around you. Coronavirus transmits from people without symptoms to new bodies. Wearing a mask blocks germs from coughing, wheezing, or even breathing that allows for the transmission of infected beads. Wearing a mask lessens the probability of individuals spreading the sickness.
One study shows that if 80% of the population wear masks, up to 45% of projected deaths over the next two months will lessen. Today, there are 4.5 million coronavirus cases in the world, and 1.4 million the U.S. Deaths total 306,050 around the globe and 86,850 in the U.S. The magnitude of those numbers gives us cause to wear masks to protect people close to you, as we move about and return to life's everyday journeys.
The U.S. health authorities updated guidelines for reopening schools, businesses, and other people-centered organizations. The specifics still include wearing masks and spacing workers or students 6 feet apart and wearing masks. In any case, health experts say cloth coverings will help stop the spread of the coronavirus that has affected more than 6.5 million around the globe of more than 7 billion inhabitants. My book titled "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" lists 50 distinct approaches to handle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to venturing into collectibles. Secure an empty box for masks only, noting the date and place of each acquisition. Take photographs of everyone, in the event you part with it as a blessing or lose it. This memorabilia will have such historical interest in a few years and for the next generation.
Psalm 32:1 New International Version (NIV)
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Prayer: Dear Lord, we are asked to cover our faces with masks so that we may not hurt others by merely breathing into their faces. Help us to understand that we will not forgive ourselves if we hurt others. Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those whom we trespass against us. Give us a sense of comfort as we cover the sin of spreading the coronavirus. Thank you for the opportunity to help one another. Amen.
Blog 18 - Journaling after Mother's Day during COVID-19
We overcame Mother's day with little stress and lots of joy. We gathered at our son-in-law's and daughter's home to celebrate her and me as mothers. There were only six of us, including the baby girl. We didn't wear face covers, yet we practiced social distance during our visit. We ate our food from buffet style to permit us to fill our plates and find a spot away from the table to dine. It was a most enjoyable day.
Blog 17 proposes taking part in imaginative Mother's Day celebrations with takeout food and drink. Or use curbside service delivery to purchase unique gifts. For those mothers and grandmothers who live a distance away, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, and WebEx are perfect. Mother's Day makes for the best chance to teach everybody to use these video chat rooms.
Before Mother's Day, as I rode around town, I saw barely any individuals wearing material face covers in public settings. Without a doubt, they wore them inside businesses that had signs saying: "No one can enter without a face covering." Stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders across the country are decreasing in some states, and others are extending the days during the coronavirus pandemic season.
I saw children with signs and balloons with expressions of adoration in Grandmas' yards. Many children were doing yard work with Happy Mother's Day signs. One vehicle full of people held signs outside the windows saying, Happy Mother's Day. Youngsters were playing musical instruments in yards with signs saying Happy Mother's Day.
At the point when I checked in with my friends, many had food delivered from their favorite restaurants. Video gatherings included fixing dinner and eating together, games, cocktails parties, talent shows, art exhibits, and talking about a movie in the wake of watching one.
Family social occasions are perfect for journaling in extraordinary manners. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" alludes to 50 distinct approaches to handle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to venturing into different ways to capture unique occasions.
We got through this Mother's Day using all kinds of ways to make it memorable. One year from now, we ought to be able to move about and travel more efficiently. At that point, we can become progressively more creative with our Mother's Day festivities, after COVID-19 passes. How about now we look at what's to come.
Philippians 3:13-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it (everything), but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we continue to give due respect to our mothers. On Mother's Day, we celebrated in ways that were unlike our past habits of dining in restaurants and traveling cross country. Help us to focus on looking forward to what lies ahead. The encounters we have during COVID-19 make us press toward the goal of when this virus season ends. Give us comfort as we press toward the future with a new normal that is acceptable to Your calling. Thank you for the opportunity to believe another great year is ahead. Amen.
Blog 17 proposes taking part in imaginative Mother's Day celebrations with takeout food and drink. Or use curbside service delivery to purchase unique gifts. For those mothers and grandmothers who live a distance away, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, and WebEx are perfect. Mother's Day makes for the best chance to teach everybody to use these video chat rooms.
Before Mother's Day, as I rode around town, I saw barely any individuals wearing material face covers in public settings. Without a doubt, they wore them inside businesses that had signs saying: "No one can enter without a face covering." Stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders across the country are decreasing in some states, and others are extending the days during the coronavirus pandemic season.
I saw children with signs and balloons with expressions of adoration in Grandmas' yards. Many children were doing yard work with Happy Mother's Day signs. One vehicle full of people held signs outside the windows saying, Happy Mother's Day. Youngsters were playing musical instruments in yards with signs saying Happy Mother's Day.
At the point when I checked in with my friends, many had food delivered from their favorite restaurants. Video gatherings included fixing dinner and eating together, games, cocktails parties, talent shows, art exhibits, and talking about a movie in the wake of watching one.
Family social occasions are perfect for journaling in extraordinary manners. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" alludes to 50 distinct approaches to handle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to venturing into different ways to capture unique occasions.
We got through this Mother's Day using all kinds of ways to make it memorable. One year from now, we ought to be able to move about and travel more efficiently. At that point, we can become progressively more creative with our Mother's Day festivities, after COVID-19 passes. How about now we look at what's to come.
Philippians 3:13-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it (everything), but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we continue to give due respect to our mothers. On Mother's Day, we celebrated in ways that were unlike our past habits of dining in restaurants and traveling cross country. Help us to focus on looking forward to what lies ahead. The encounters we have during COVID-19 make us press toward the goal of when this virus season ends. Give us comfort as we press toward the future with a new normal that is acceptable to Your calling. Thank you for the opportunity to believe another great year is ahead. Amen.
Blog 17 - Journaling about Mother's Day and COVID-19
Mother's Day is a fabulous day for taking Mother to brunch or dinner. Not so in 2020. Many restaurants are promoting their menus at reasonable costs for takeout only. You appear to save money on missing the ambiance. No state has opened dine-in eateries during this coronavirus season. What shall we do for Mother?
Blog 16 recommends following government practices to avoid risks of spreading COVID-19, for example, social distancing and wearing protective equipment. Likewise, the CDC advises wearing material face covers in public settings and staying away from areas where people are sitting and standing near one another. Stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders around the country are being lifted in individual states and extended in others as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt life as we know it. Millions of people have filed for unemployment. A total of 48 states and the District of Columbia have recommended school closures through the end of the academic year. The stress on the economy and people's emotional well-being makes us ask the questions: When will things go back to normal? And what will that normal become?
Seven weeks ago, both California and New York gave the country's first stay-at-home orders. Today, numerous states are loosening restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Parks and beaches are the first to open, despite warnings from public-health experts.
In some states, you can get a haircut or go to the gym. Every day more states follow. Although many Americans say, the Governors are moving too fast. Yet, an ever-increasing number of residents are going out, especially as the weather gets warmer.
Mother's Day requires that we become creative if Mother is nearby. Dawn your mask and go for takeout food and drink. Or purchase a gift. Curbside service delivery is available for kitchen and cooking equipment, bath and beauty products, flowers, and unique items from specialty stores. Call ahead and your Mother's Day gift will be waiting.
For those mothers and grandmothers who live a distance away, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, and WebEx are perfect. Mother's Day makes for the best chance to teach everybody to use these video communications tools. With your Smartphone, you can talk and see many people on the video chat. With an Android or PC, you can see more clearly.
Even though I am the mother, we are going to dine at our son-in-law's and daughter's home. We will celebrate her first Mother's Day with their 12-week old baby girl. There will be just six of us and the infant. Of course, we will wear face coverings when holding her and social distance during our visit.
Family gatherings are ideal for journaling in extraordinary manners. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" refers to 50 different ways to tackle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to expanding into other approaches to capture special times.
In my book, Chapter 3, pages 15-20, describe the following methodologies: A. Use your Smartphone to take photos and write a description of what's happening or take a video and let everyone talk. B. Make a smash book with scraps of things to remember, such as cards, napkins, receipts, wrapping paper, bows, menus, and labels from gifts. C. Clip articles from the newspaper showing what's happening in the world with COVID-19 through other journalists' eyes. D, Interview everyone asking about what makes this current Mother's Day different and one of a kind. E. Sing your favorite tunes and compose lyrics for new songs in memory of the day.
Above all, remember this coronavirus season is temporary. COVID-19 will pass.
Deuteronomy 4:9 Living Bible (TLB)
"But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen God doing for you. May his miracles have a deep and permanent effect upon your lives! Tell your children and your grandchildren about the glorious miracles he did."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are celebrating our mothers and giving proper respect to them, whether they yet live or not. On this day, we will not have the option to celebrate as we usually do with eating in restaurants and traveling cross country. Help us to be mindful of these times and keep some memorabilia from this coronavirus season. Guide us as we speak of You and detail the miracles we have seen and the times we endured. Thank you for allowing us to have children and grandchildren with whom we can share Your works. Amen.
Blog 16 recommends following government practices to avoid risks of spreading COVID-19, for example, social distancing and wearing protective equipment. Likewise, the CDC advises wearing material face covers in public settings and staying away from areas where people are sitting and standing near one another. Stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders around the country are being lifted in individual states and extended in others as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt life as we know it. Millions of people have filed for unemployment. A total of 48 states and the District of Columbia have recommended school closures through the end of the academic year. The stress on the economy and people's emotional well-being makes us ask the questions: When will things go back to normal? And what will that normal become?
Seven weeks ago, both California and New York gave the country's first stay-at-home orders. Today, numerous states are loosening restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Parks and beaches are the first to open, despite warnings from public-health experts.
In some states, you can get a haircut or go to the gym. Every day more states follow. Although many Americans say, the Governors are moving too fast. Yet, an ever-increasing number of residents are going out, especially as the weather gets warmer.
Mother's Day requires that we become creative if Mother is nearby. Dawn your mask and go for takeout food and drink. Or purchase a gift. Curbside service delivery is available for kitchen and cooking equipment, bath and beauty products, flowers, and unique items from specialty stores. Call ahead and your Mother's Day gift will be waiting.
For those mothers and grandmothers who live a distance away, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, and WebEx are perfect. Mother's Day makes for the best chance to teach everybody to use these video communications tools. With your Smartphone, you can talk and see many people on the video chat. With an Android or PC, you can see more clearly.
Even though I am the mother, we are going to dine at our son-in-law's and daughter's home. We will celebrate her first Mother's Day with their 12-week old baby girl. There will be just six of us and the infant. Of course, we will wear face coverings when holding her and social distance during our visit.
Family gatherings are ideal for journaling in extraordinary manners. My book "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" refers to 50 different ways to tackle journaling. You can move from writing in your journal to expanding into other approaches to capture special times.
In my book, Chapter 3, pages 15-20, describe the following methodologies: A. Use your Smartphone to take photos and write a description of what's happening or take a video and let everyone talk. B. Make a smash book with scraps of things to remember, such as cards, napkins, receipts, wrapping paper, bows, menus, and labels from gifts. C. Clip articles from the newspaper showing what's happening in the world with COVID-19 through other journalists' eyes. D, Interview everyone asking about what makes this current Mother's Day different and one of a kind. E. Sing your favorite tunes and compose lyrics for new songs in memory of the day.
Above all, remember this coronavirus season is temporary. COVID-19 will pass.
Deuteronomy 4:9 Living Bible (TLB)
"But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen God doing for you. May his miracles have a deep and permanent effect upon your lives! Tell your children and your grandchildren about the glorious miracles he did."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are celebrating our mothers and giving proper respect to them, whether they yet live or not. On this day, we will not have the option to celebrate as we usually do with eating in restaurants and traveling cross country. Help us to be mindful of these times and keep some memorabilia from this coronavirus season. Guide us as we speak of You and detail the miracles we have seen and the times we endured. Thank you for allowing us to have children and grandchildren with whom we can share Your works. Amen.
Book Review - "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling"
Title: Journal It!Take Hold of Your Life by JournalingBy: Gwendolyn Carole TiptonA CBM Christian Book Review10.0 out of 10.0 stars
Journal It!: Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton offers a step-by-step guide, encouragement through Scripture and instruction of life-changing Biblical principles to help readers begin their journey of journaling. Written to bring “good” change into one’s life, this book highlights the joys of journaling one’s life story. This is where the author begins and recommends for others to start. Everyone has a story. For those that are interested in writing, or even need healing in certain areas of their life, this book is a must-have!
With such chapters as: What is Journaling? Benefits of Journaling, Get Ready to Journal, Spiritual Journaling, Meditative Journaling, Journaling that Leads to Greatness, Writing Your Memoir, Take Control of Your Life by Journaling, Life End’s Journal, Expectation from Journaling, all present the different types of journaling and how journaling can impact your life.
Her book is based upon the firm foundation of Scripture and leads others into realizing hope and faith come from God, and offers readers insight to bring change, re-access future lifetime goals and bring clarity in one’s perspective and life. Readers will find this book to be a great help in beginning to make the much-needed changes in their lives to their lives. This is such a wonderfully inspiring and encouraging journey into discovering who you are, your identity, where you’ve been and what you have to offer others through following the suggestions in each chapter. At the end of each chapter, there is an assignment that offers practical application.
Journal It!: Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling comes as a highly recommended book for those that desire good change to come into their lives. By reviewing, reflecting, and letting the past go, the future is there for one to take hold of just as the author states.
I would highly recommend this book for those that are in a process of self and life transformation and need a light for their path. Biblically this book gives life to those that seek “the right path.”
*Pastors, counselors, marriage and family therapists might keep this book in their library to recommend to clients.
You may order your copy of "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" at www.Amazon.com or in Kindle as a download.
Journal It!: Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling by Gwendolyn Carole Tipton offers a step-by-step guide, encouragement through Scripture and instruction of life-changing Biblical principles to help readers begin their journey of journaling. Written to bring “good” change into one’s life, this book highlights the joys of journaling one’s life story. This is where the author begins and recommends for others to start. Everyone has a story. For those that are interested in writing, or even need healing in certain areas of their life, this book is a must-have!
With such chapters as: What is Journaling? Benefits of Journaling, Get Ready to Journal, Spiritual Journaling, Meditative Journaling, Journaling that Leads to Greatness, Writing Your Memoir, Take Control of Your Life by Journaling, Life End’s Journal, Expectation from Journaling, all present the different types of journaling and how journaling can impact your life.
Her book is based upon the firm foundation of Scripture and leads others into realizing hope and faith come from God, and offers readers insight to bring change, re-access future lifetime goals and bring clarity in one’s perspective and life. Readers will find this book to be a great help in beginning to make the much-needed changes in their lives to their lives. This is such a wonderfully inspiring and encouraging journey into discovering who you are, your identity, where you’ve been and what you have to offer others through following the suggestions in each chapter. At the end of each chapter, there is an assignment that offers practical application.
Journal It!: Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling comes as a highly recommended book for those that desire good change to come into their lives. By reviewing, reflecting, and letting the past go, the future is there for one to take hold of just as the author states.
I would highly recommend this book for those that are in a process of self and life transformation and need a light for their path. Biblically this book gives life to those that seek “the right path.”
*Pastors, counselors, marriage and family therapists might keep this book in their library to recommend to clients.
You may order your copy of "Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling" at www.Amazon.com or in Kindle as a download.
Blog 16 - Journaling about Coronavirus Masks
Hi-ho Hi-ho Silver! Here comes the Lone Ranger to the rescue. This masked Ranger hides his identity as he travels fighting for law and order. He fashions a black mask using cloth from his late brother's vest. At the end of the show, when he is leaving, somebody always asks, "Who was that masked man?" The answer is, "That was the Lone Ranger." Can you imagine how like a movie, this world will be when we all dawn masks in public?
Similarly to the Lone Ranger, we will be battling the coronavirus to guard ourselves as well as other people. What's more, when we pass by, people will say, "Who was that masked person?" They will know as our face coverings will tell them, "We're the exceptional folk fighting to kill COVID-19."
Blog 15 suggests you make a list of those hot spots you're missing and create a plan for the visits. The White House Coronavirus Task Force wants Americans to move gradually toward re-openings in the coming months and to keep social distancing measures in place at least through the summer. However, some beaches are already open.
As states regulate the businesses' right to open, the Governors must say when. In addition to following government practices that oversee risks of spreading COVID-19, such as social distancing and protective equipment, we are going to wear face masks. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings and avoiding areas where individuals are sitting and standing close together. Don't be surprised if a business employee asks to check your bags and your temperature before coming into their areas. What's more, the manager may make the request that you leave. Some infected people can transmit the coronavirus even without displaying symptoms. However, a temperature check is a close look at whether your body is putting out more or less heat than usual. If so, it's letting you know there's an issue.
Medical specialists tell us wearing a mask slows the spread of the disease. COVID-19 can spread between people nearby ― for instance, speaking, coughing, or sneezing ― regardless of whether those individuals are displaying symptoms. The Lone Ranger wore his mask to conceal his identity as he was the sole survivor of a group of Rangers killed in an ambush. His mission was to fight for law and order. We should wear face masks to cover our nose and mouth to block the release of virus-filled drops into the air when coughing or sneezing. The main benefit is to protect the people around you.
Try not to rush out and purchase a mask; leave the N-95s and other surgical masks for health care providers who urgently need them. The web offers advice and directions on how to make a face covering at home. If you Google coronavirus mask, you can find one billion three hundred eighty million (1,380,000,000) results.
Historical events create fashion items out of necessity, such as pants for women during World War I. Casual sportswear is the standard as we work from home, work in cubicles at offices, and dress in jeans on Fridays. Casual dress is becoming the norm, except when wearing a uniform. Now we add masks to our wardrobes as a necessary accessory that goes out with us at all times.
The mask is now part of our fashion accessories that enhance our outfits. We will pay special attention to them and select just as carefully as we choose our jewelry, handbags, scarves, hats, belts, ties, leggings, socks, hair accessories, umbrellas, boots, and gloves. To date, I have eight masks: four blue and white ones that I got from the hospital, along with four handmade ones, two blue and white checks, one navy print, and one red print.
Now I need to add in vogue face coverings to my wardrobe. In my scarf box, I discovered 18-inch scarves that will make gorgeous masks. Also, I found various scarves I haven't worn in some time. They are ready for reuse and cutting. Besides, I've got some long dresses and skirts that I can cut off to make matching scarves. In case, I can't shop enough in my closet, Amazon.com shows 719 results for coronavirus face masks for sale.
In my book Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling, I present 50 ways to tackle journaling. Chapter 3, page 19, and item 22: "Collectibles require more space, so gather a box for them and describe them, noting the date and the place of the acquisition. You may need a photograph of the contents to ensure you can remember and identify them."
I must take photographs of my face coverings and place them in my Coronavirus Journal. I pray that COVID-19 passes similarly as Nehru jackets and bell-bottom pants. I want my granddaughter to see genuine history from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Matthew 6:25-34 New International Version (NIV) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are being asked to wear face coverings to avoid passing the coronavirus to one another. Masks are uncomfortable to wear for a while as they are hot and require speaking loudly and clearly. Help us not to worry about this requirement and treat it as a necessity. Guide us as we make life changes during this coronavirus season. We believe You have given us lives that are more fulfilling than the clothing with which we adorn our bodies. Thank you. Amen.
As states regulate the businesses' right to open, the Governors must say when. In addition to following government practices that oversee risks of spreading COVID-19, such as social distancing and protective equipment, we are going to wear face masks. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings and avoiding areas where individuals are sitting and standing close together. Don't be surprised if a business employee asks to check your bags and your temperature before coming into their areas. What's more, the manager may make the request that you leave. Some infected people can transmit the coronavirus even without displaying symptoms. However, a temperature check is a close look at whether your body is putting out more or less heat than usual. If so, it's letting you know there's an issue.
Medical specialists tell us wearing a mask slows the spread of the disease. COVID-19 can spread between people nearby ― for instance, speaking, coughing, or sneezing ― regardless of whether those individuals are displaying symptoms. The Lone Ranger wore his mask to conceal his identity as he was the sole survivor of a group of Rangers killed in an ambush. His mission was to fight for law and order. We should wear face masks to cover our nose and mouth to block the release of virus-filled drops into the air when coughing or sneezing. The main benefit is to protect the people around you.
Try not to rush out and purchase a mask; leave the N-95s and other surgical masks for health care providers who urgently need them. The web offers advice and directions on how to make a face covering at home. If you Google coronavirus mask, you can find one billion three hundred eighty million (1,380,000,000) results.
Historical events create fashion items out of necessity, such as pants for women during World War I. Casual sportswear is the standard as we work from home, work in cubicles at offices, and dress in jeans on Fridays. Casual dress is becoming the norm, except when wearing a uniform. Now we add masks to our wardrobes as a necessary accessory that goes out with us at all times.
The mask is now part of our fashion accessories that enhance our outfits. We will pay special attention to them and select just as carefully as we choose our jewelry, handbags, scarves, hats, belts, ties, leggings, socks, hair accessories, umbrellas, boots, and gloves. To date, I have eight masks: four blue and white ones that I got from the hospital, along with four handmade ones, two blue and white checks, one navy print, and one red print.
Now I need to add in vogue face coverings to my wardrobe. In my scarf box, I discovered 18-inch scarves that will make gorgeous masks. Also, I found various scarves I haven't worn in some time. They are ready for reuse and cutting. Besides, I've got some long dresses and skirts that I can cut off to make matching scarves. In case, I can't shop enough in my closet, Amazon.com shows 719 results for coronavirus face masks for sale.
In my book Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling, I present 50 ways to tackle journaling. Chapter 3, page 19, and item 22: "Collectibles require more space, so gather a box for them and describe them, noting the date and the place of the acquisition. You may need a photograph of the contents to ensure you can remember and identify them."
I must take photographs of my face coverings and place them in my Coronavirus Journal. I pray that COVID-19 passes similarly as Nehru jackets and bell-bottom pants. I want my granddaughter to see genuine history from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Matthew 6:25-34 New International Version (NIV) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are being asked to wear face coverings to avoid passing the coronavirus to one another. Masks are uncomfortable to wear for a while as they are hot and require speaking loudly and clearly. Help us not to worry about this requirement and treat it as a necessity. Guide us as we make life changes during this coronavirus season. We believe You have given us lives that are more fulfilling than the clothing with which we adorn our bodies. Thank you. Amen.
Blog 15 - Journaling: Staying-in VS Going-out
Stay-at-home, close your business, take part in virtual classes, and shelter-in-place are unfathomable commands from our local and national government leaders. However, COVID-19, a new human infectious disease, continues to fuel new ideas into our day to day living. Staying-in or going-out seems to be a simple concept to follow, but one of necessity at this time.
Blog 14 presents how to monitor your stimulus check payments, which are in the mail or the banking system. More than 88 million Americans have their share of the $160 billion allocations. The IRS Commissioner says the money is in transit. Mine still can't seem to show up. This time allows me the chance to revise my plan again and again with respect to how to use the dollars. But, for sure, I am going to set aside some money as we don't know when COVID-19 will end, and returning to work will begin.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force wants Americans to move slowly toward re-openings in the coming months and to keep social distancing measures in place at least through the summer.
Testing is the barometer to get a more accurate picture of the coronavirus spreading. As of now, the diagnostic testing tests a sample from an individual’s nose or mouth for evidence of a live coronavirus.
Scientists and doctors are expressing dissatisfaction that a few states are moving too fast in pursuing a return to some economic normalcy. Protestors are requesting that businesses open up now. They want employees back to work because companies and their employees continue to feel the monetary strain.
Our Ohio Governor plans to begin with gradual openings on May 1. Facial coverings will be necessary for all customers and employees inside businesses. His guidelines have comparable restrictions like the safety rules that OSHA and FDA demand. The reopening will start with businesses that can create a safe environment that accentuates safety for employees and customers. Health care procedures and dental and veterinarian services may open on May 1. Elective surgeries may resume on March 17. Manufacturing, distribution, and construction companies could reopen on May 4. Organizations that operate in office settings should plan to open on May 4. Consumer services and retail stores might reopen on May 12.
At this point, there's no date set for eat-in restaurants and bars, personal appearance and beauty businesses, adult daycare services, senior centers, and casinos. Parents eagerly await openings of daycare services for children, recreation centers, swimming pools, summer camps, theme parks, and playgrounds.
To protect myself and others, I wear a mask and gloves whenever I venture away from home. Now I pick up my groceries at curbside and only go inside the drug store. Both errands comprise my weekly outings. However, I don't know when I will feel comfortable going to my nail salon or strolling around shopping venues. I need to journal my plans.
Since sheltering in place and staying at home, there are some places and things that we miss. It's an ideal opportunity to set up another section in our journals. In my journal, I am going to list those locations that I miss and describe why I am eager to return. When to return is the real question. I intend to start with a comfortable walk in the park to see what's happening. I will drive around town and check out the open businesses in the areas I travel. Back at home, I am going to write a strategy in my journal for my upcoming journeys.
Romans 12:2 New International Version (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Prayer: Heavenly Father, after staying at home and limiting my socialization with others, I am starting to think about going out and about. Help me to comprehend the depth of change that COVID-19 keeps on making in the world. Guide me to Your will for reestablishing my life in this coronavirus season. I believe You will make firm the steps the You built for all of us to climb. Thank you for Your good and perfect will. Amen.
Blog 14 presents how to monitor your stimulus check payments, which are in the mail or the banking system. More than 88 million Americans have their share of the $160 billion allocations. The IRS Commissioner says the money is in transit. Mine still can't seem to show up. This time allows me the chance to revise my plan again and again with respect to how to use the dollars. But, for sure, I am going to set aside some money as we don't know when COVID-19 will end, and returning to work will begin.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force wants Americans to move slowly toward re-openings in the coming months and to keep social distancing measures in place at least through the summer.
Testing is the barometer to get a more accurate picture of the coronavirus spreading. As of now, the diagnostic testing tests a sample from an individual’s nose or mouth for evidence of a live coronavirus.
Scientists and doctors are expressing dissatisfaction that a few states are moving too fast in pursuing a return to some economic normalcy. Protestors are requesting that businesses open up now. They want employees back to work because companies and their employees continue to feel the monetary strain.
Our Ohio Governor plans to begin with gradual openings on May 1. Facial coverings will be necessary for all customers and employees inside businesses. His guidelines have comparable restrictions like the safety rules that OSHA and FDA demand. The reopening will start with businesses that can create a safe environment that accentuates safety for employees and customers. Health care procedures and dental and veterinarian services may open on May 1. Elective surgeries may resume on March 17. Manufacturing, distribution, and construction companies could reopen on May 4. Organizations that operate in office settings should plan to open on May 4. Consumer services and retail stores might reopen on May 12.
At this point, there's no date set for eat-in restaurants and bars, personal appearance and beauty businesses, adult daycare services, senior centers, and casinos. Parents eagerly await openings of daycare services for children, recreation centers, swimming pools, summer camps, theme parks, and playgrounds.
To protect myself and others, I wear a mask and gloves whenever I venture away from home. Now I pick up my groceries at curbside and only go inside the drug store. Both errands comprise my weekly outings. However, I don't know when I will feel comfortable going to my nail salon or strolling around shopping venues. I need to journal my plans.
Since sheltering in place and staying at home, there are some places and things that we miss. It's an ideal opportunity to set up another section in our journals. In my journal, I am going to list those locations that I miss and describe why I am eager to return. When to return is the real question. I intend to start with a comfortable walk in the park to see what's happening. I will drive around town and check out the open businesses in the areas I travel. Back at home, I am going to write a strategy in my journal for my upcoming journeys.
Romans 12:2 New International Version (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Prayer: Heavenly Father, after staying at home and limiting my socialization with others, I am starting to think about going out and about. Help me to comprehend the depth of change that COVID-19 keeps on making in the world. Guide me to Your will for reestablishing my life in this coronavirus season. I believe You will make firm the steps the You built for all of us to climb. Thank you for Your good and perfect will. Amen.
Blog - 14 Journaling about OUR Share of $2Trillion
The U.S. Government is now dispersing funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act or $2Trillion COVID-19 Stimulus Bill. A few businesses, local governments, and individuals are now receiving their funds. Regretfully, mine is not yet in my bank.
Blog 13 recommends that before spending any of this new cash, we should make a plan that incorporates our basic needs. Credit card companies and mortgage lenders are willing to make adjustments that include deferring installments. We should save some money as we don't know when COVID-19 will end.
IRS and other money-related sorts of communicators have online instructions that disclose how to get the status of payments. Below is information from the IRS.GOV website under "Get My Payment" about the state of the economic impact payments (EIP). Get My Payment provides one of two statuses. 1. A payment has been processed, a payment date is available, and payment is to be sent either by direct deposit or mail. 2. You are eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not available.
If you are eligible for a payment, but IRS does not have your direct deposit information. You will be given the opportunity to provide your bank information once you have properly verified your identity. Direct Deposit is the fastest way to get your EIP.
IRS cannot determine your eligibility for a payment at this time. For example, you didn't file either a 2018 or 2019 tax return, or you recently filed and the return has not been fully processed.
If a payment date is not provided, updates to your payment status are made no more than once per day.
I simply must be patient because our government says more than 80% of Americans will receive funds. Congress declares it will take as long as five months to issue all the payments.
Since Blog 13, I hope you created another segment in your coronavirus journal for money. My EIP plan is to purchase two small much-needed items and use the balance to create an emergency fund savings and sit tight until the next money crisis. Since I'm staying at home with no place to go, my spending necessities are minimal.
Hebrews 13:5 New International Version (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, COVID-19 has disrupted our lives in so many ways and interrupted how we spend and acquire money. We have confidence that Your favor brings wealth, and we must honor You first. Guide us to pay those we owe as we will rejoice in following Your lead. We accept that everything comes from You. Thank you for these forthcoming blessings. Amen.
Blog 13 recommends that before spending any of this new cash, we should make a plan that incorporates our basic needs. Credit card companies and mortgage lenders are willing to make adjustments that include deferring installments. We should save some money as we don't know when COVID-19 will end.
IRS and other money-related sorts of communicators have online instructions that disclose how to get the status of payments. Below is information from the IRS.GOV website under "Get My Payment" about the state of the economic impact payments (EIP). Get My Payment provides one of two statuses. 1. A payment has been processed, a payment date is available, and payment is to be sent either by direct deposit or mail. 2. You are eligible, but a payment has not been processed and a payment date is not available.
If you are eligible for a payment, but IRS does not have your direct deposit information. You will be given the opportunity to provide your bank information once you have properly verified your identity. Direct Deposit is the fastest way to get your EIP.
IRS cannot determine your eligibility for a payment at this time. For example, you didn't file either a 2018 or 2019 tax return, or you recently filed and the return has not been fully processed.
If a payment date is not provided, updates to your payment status are made no more than once per day.
I simply must be patient because our government says more than 80% of Americans will receive funds. Congress declares it will take as long as five months to issue all the payments.
Since Blog 13, I hope you created another segment in your coronavirus journal for money. My EIP plan is to purchase two small much-needed items and use the balance to create an emergency fund savings and sit tight until the next money crisis. Since I'm staying at home with no place to go, my spending necessities are minimal.
Hebrews 13:5 New International Version (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, COVID-19 has disrupted our lives in so many ways and interrupted how we spend and acquire money. We have confidence that Your favor brings wealth, and we must honor You first. Guide us to pay those we owe as we will rejoice in following Your lead. We accept that everything comes from You. Thank you for these forthcoming blessings. Amen.
Blog 13 - Journaling about COVID-19 Money
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act or $2Trillion COVID-19 Stimulus Bill, is traversing the country. The money is going through central banks on its way to big and small businesses, state and local governments, and directly to individuals like you and me. Since the cash is on its way, we should quickly decide how to spend a newly won lottery and stimulate our own financial agendas.
Blog 12 proposes preparing for Ascension Thursday, which is May 21st, the fortieth day after Easter that commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God. The relationship to COVID-19 and this date is that due to proclamations made by the President and the numerous Governors, we might have the option to wander outside of our homes and enjoy some businesses that will be open by May 21st.
Social-distancing and stay-at-home orders remain in place while Governors are creating methodologies to open up the economy and get individuals back to work. The nationwide goal is to reopen gradually, first with companies that can practice social distancing, cleaning protocols, and other measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. At the same time, protestors across the country are waving signs that demand releasing the stay-at-home order to get them back to work and stimulate the economy. Now.
According to the Stimulus Bill, $603.7 billion will be in direct cash payments to individuals and families. It will be a $1,200 payment for those earning up to $75,000 a year. For higher earners, payment sums will phase out, ending at the $99,000 income level. Families will also receive $500 per child.
Big Businesses gain $500 billion to stabilize hard-hit sectors, for example, the airlines industry.
Small Businesses get $377 billion through the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide loans for qualifying organizations and grants for companies that need assistance covering short-term operating expenses.
State and Local Governments' portions total $340 billion for direct COVID-19 issues and schools and child care services.
Public and Health Services receive $179.5 in grants to help battle COVID-19. There will also be a 20% increase in Medicare installments for treating patients with the coronavirus.
Money is also set aside for initiatives such as increasing the availability of ventilators and masks for the Strategic National Stockpile, as well as providing additional funding for additional staffing the Center for Disease Control.
Finally, beyond the healthcare-related funding, the CARES Act also addresses food security projects, educational programs, and arts initiatives.
In my book, Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling, I present 50 ways to tackle journaling. Page 20, item 48 addresses money. "Money tracking tells you a lot about your life and how you live it. Make a chart and list every cent you spend and for what reason, and examine it periodically to help determine your financial position or what you want it to be."
What you want your financial position to be is most important. Before going through any of the money, make a plan that incorporates critical cash needs. Credit card companies and mortgage companies are willing to make deals that include postponing installments. For those of us who get unemployment payments, we should make a budget that extends through the last check and focuses on buying time and saving some money.
So what shall we write about our newly-found funds? Make another segment in our coronavirus journal for COVID Money. I suggest handling the emergent needs and creating an emergency fund savings and sit tight until the next money crisis. We don't know whether we will get more cash from the government. It will be useful to have some spare change or an unexpected cash cushion. Since we're staying at home with no place to go, our spending requirements are minimal. Online shopping is a No-No.
Matthew 6:25 and 34 New International Version (NIV)25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we sit and wait for funding from the government, help us to give of our best to you and follow your lead. Guide us to spend the money wisely and share some with at least one person in need. We trust that You will meet all our needs according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus. Thank you. Amen.
Blog 12 proposes preparing for Ascension Thursday, which is May 21st, the fortieth day after Easter that commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God. The relationship to COVID-19 and this date is that due to proclamations made by the President and the numerous Governors, we might have the option to wander outside of our homes and enjoy some businesses that will be open by May 21st.
Social-distancing and stay-at-home orders remain in place while Governors are creating methodologies to open up the economy and get individuals back to work. The nationwide goal is to reopen gradually, first with companies that can practice social distancing, cleaning protocols, and other measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. At the same time, protestors across the country are waving signs that demand releasing the stay-at-home order to get them back to work and stimulate the economy. Now.
According to the Stimulus Bill, $603.7 billion will be in direct cash payments to individuals and families. It will be a $1,200 payment for those earning up to $75,000 a year. For higher earners, payment sums will phase out, ending at the $99,000 income level. Families will also receive $500 per child.
Big Businesses gain $500 billion to stabilize hard-hit sectors, for example, the airlines industry.
Small Businesses get $377 billion through the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide loans for qualifying organizations and grants for companies that need assistance covering short-term operating expenses.
State and Local Governments' portions total $340 billion for direct COVID-19 issues and schools and child care services.
Public and Health Services receive $179.5 in grants to help battle COVID-19. There will also be a 20% increase in Medicare installments for treating patients with the coronavirus.
Money is also set aside for initiatives such as increasing the availability of ventilators and masks for the Strategic National Stockpile, as well as providing additional funding for additional staffing the Center for Disease Control.
Finally, beyond the healthcare-related funding, the CARES Act also addresses food security projects, educational programs, and arts initiatives.
In my book, Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling, I present 50 ways to tackle journaling. Page 20, item 48 addresses money. "Money tracking tells you a lot about your life and how you live it. Make a chart and list every cent you spend and for what reason, and examine it periodically to help determine your financial position or what you want it to be."
What you want your financial position to be is most important. Before going through any of the money, make a plan that incorporates critical cash needs. Credit card companies and mortgage companies are willing to make deals that include postponing installments. For those of us who get unemployment payments, we should make a budget that extends through the last check and focuses on buying time and saving some money.
So what shall we write about our newly-found funds? Make another segment in our coronavirus journal for COVID Money. I suggest handling the emergent needs and creating an emergency fund savings and sit tight until the next money crisis. We don't know whether we will get more cash from the government. It will be useful to have some spare change or an unexpected cash cushion. Since we're staying at home with no place to go, our spending requirements are minimal. Online shopping is a No-No.
Matthew 6:25 and 34 New International Version (NIV)25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we sit and wait for funding from the government, help us to give of our best to you and follow your lead. Guide us to spend the money wisely and share some with at least one person in need. We trust that You will meet all our needs according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus. Thank you. Amen.
Blog 12 - Journaling while shifting gears
Easter has passed, and now we wait for Ascension Thursday, May 21, 2020, forty days after Easter, when Jesus ascended to heaven. While we wait to celebrate, we are shifting our life gears to a new normal. By May 21, perhaps we will begin venturing outside the Governors’ stay-at-home orders and gathering in small public groups. Until then, we journal to rev up our engines.
Blog 11 focuses on a new way to celebrate Easter weekend. Group phone-ins via conference calls are easy for the elderly who don’t have online access. Beyond using smartphones and live streaming technology, churches are replicating drive-in theaters in their parking lots with the speaker and musicians on a stage or the church steps standing six-feet apart.
Perhaps we can shorten our social distance to closer than six-feet. Matching masks and colorful plastic gloves are additions to our wardrobes. Part of our health safety may be regular testing prescribed by every kind of physician who sees patients. If testing positive, 14 days for quarantine will be doable and acceptable. I want to request a COVID-19 Test within the next 40 days to allow plenty of time for quarantine, should it be necessary.
As I journal to get ready for Ascension Thursday, I will write about the things I want to accomplish in infinite detail. During Lent, I had a to-do-list of 36 things to do. Although I worked on all of them, I did not complete one item. Of course, I blame my incapacity on the interruption of the coronavirus. It impacts my spirit, mind, and ability to focus for some time.
In my Writing Forward Journal, which includes the desires of my heart, I dream of life after COVID-19. Although there will be a new normal, I hope to take a winter and summer vacation in 2022. I plan to add to this section some memories of past travels and what makes them most memorable. Replicating some adventures as well as searching the travelogues will help create new dreams.
Now that officially I shelter-in-place at home, my new list for the next 40 days has only 30 things to do. Most importantly, I plan to start a new novel and further develop my Blog. Please visit www.gwendolyncaroletipton.com.
National leaders are addressing significant issues that impact the lives of many during this season. What shall we do? The baseball season is about to begin. I think we should sequester all the teams and their families in a family-oriented community of approximately 20,000 with clinics and libraries, where 30 teams can play 162 baseball games. To ensure they remain healthy, on hand doctors and care providers can take daily temperatures and periodic tests. Organizations, their families, and caregivers may serve as the live audience. The rest of us can watch it on TV. Further, this experiment will allow enough time for other sports to figure out their strategies for play. The media promotes social-distancing and stay-at-home orders while Governors are developing strategies to open up the economy and get people back to work. The nationwide plan is to reopen gradually with companies that can practice social distancing, cleaning protocols, and other measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Our journals should describe this coronavirus season as one of our drives through life when we shift gears by working from home, creating new work, having no job, relaxing, and restructuring our lives. This season compares with no other in our past, yet we must ready ourselves for a new normal with fresh dreams and adventures, all due to the coronavirus.
Isaiah 43:19 New Living Translation (NLT) For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Psalm 37:4 New Living Translation (NLT)Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise you for our risen Savior. We know you have our lives in your hands. We trust that you will restore us to your chosen people. Thank you for enlarging our territories, during this COVID season. Dear God, we’re glad to give You praise. Amen.
Blog 11 focuses on a new way to celebrate Easter weekend. Group phone-ins via conference calls are easy for the elderly who don’t have online access. Beyond using smartphones and live streaming technology, churches are replicating drive-in theaters in their parking lots with the speaker and musicians on a stage or the church steps standing six-feet apart.
Perhaps we can shorten our social distance to closer than six-feet. Matching masks and colorful plastic gloves are additions to our wardrobes. Part of our health safety may be regular testing prescribed by every kind of physician who sees patients. If testing positive, 14 days for quarantine will be doable and acceptable. I want to request a COVID-19 Test within the next 40 days to allow plenty of time for quarantine, should it be necessary.
As I journal to get ready for Ascension Thursday, I will write about the things I want to accomplish in infinite detail. During Lent, I had a to-do-list of 36 things to do. Although I worked on all of them, I did not complete one item. Of course, I blame my incapacity on the interruption of the coronavirus. It impacts my spirit, mind, and ability to focus for some time.
In my Writing Forward Journal, which includes the desires of my heart, I dream of life after COVID-19. Although there will be a new normal, I hope to take a winter and summer vacation in 2022. I plan to add to this section some memories of past travels and what makes them most memorable. Replicating some adventures as well as searching the travelogues will help create new dreams.
Now that officially I shelter-in-place at home, my new list for the next 40 days has only 30 things to do. Most importantly, I plan to start a new novel and further develop my Blog. Please visit www.gwendolyncaroletipton.com.
National leaders are addressing significant issues that impact the lives of many during this season. What shall we do? The baseball season is about to begin. I think we should sequester all the teams and their families in a family-oriented community of approximately 20,000 with clinics and libraries, where 30 teams can play 162 baseball games. To ensure they remain healthy, on hand doctors and care providers can take daily temperatures and periodic tests. Organizations, their families, and caregivers may serve as the live audience. The rest of us can watch it on TV. Further, this experiment will allow enough time for other sports to figure out their strategies for play. The media promotes social-distancing and stay-at-home orders while Governors are developing strategies to open up the economy and get people back to work. The nationwide plan is to reopen gradually with companies that can practice social distancing, cleaning protocols, and other measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Our journals should describe this coronavirus season as one of our drives through life when we shift gears by working from home, creating new work, having no job, relaxing, and restructuring our lives. This season compares with no other in our past, yet we must ready ourselves for a new normal with fresh dreams and adventures, all due to the coronavirus.
Isaiah 43:19 New Living Translation (NLT) For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Psalm 37:4 New Living Translation (NLT)Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise you for our risen Savior. We know you have our lives in your hands. We trust that you will restore us to your chosen people. Thank you for enlarging our territories, during this COVID season. Dear God, we’re glad to give You praise. Amen.
Blog 11 - Journaling after Easter
This current year’s Easter Sunday did not require new hats and spring outfits because we sat at home or in our vehicles to watch or tune in to the recant of the Passion of Christ. Without a doubt, it feels different, but the messages were the same. We should journal about the newness of this celebration.
Blog 10 spotlights Maundy Thursday when Jesus dined with his disciples and washed their feet as his final act of Service to them. Further, he tells them, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:34-35. Daily, since Lent started and the pandemic came, we notice the statistics of those who have the coronavirus and others who have passed on. Love spews from our hearts as many die alone away from loved ones.
After Maundy Thursday, Easter weekend begins Good Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion, Saturday of Easter Eve, when Christ lay in his tomb and Easter Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. Sunday is our day of rejoicing and rebirth that carries eternal life to his followers.
In the past, in my church, we fast and eat no meat on Friday. We pray in all-night vigils on Saturday. Sunday begins with a sunrise service. Later, during Sunday Service, the school-age youth present contemporary theater, song, and dance in celebration of our risen Savior. Following Service, families join together for Easter meals and egg decoration and baskets for the children. With the coronavirus around us, we chose to celebrate in a differently.
The media promotes social-distancing and stay-at-home orders while challenging church leaders to figure something out that does not require them to assemble inside church buildings. Their messages come across like challenges…figure some new place and space in which to preach your sermon.
Governors’ stay-at-home orders to constrain the spread of COVID-19 require different ways to spend Easter weekend. Social distancing eliminates Sunday Church Service in the sanctuaries. Easter brunch is not available in a restaurant, just takeout.
Church leaders create new ways to communicate their sermon and songs. Group phone-ins via Free Conference Call.com are especially easy for the elderly who don’t have online access. The likes of Zoom and Webex help to see everyone on PCs or Smart Phones. Beyond using technology, churches are replicating drive-in theaters in their parking lots with the speaker and musicians on a stage or the church steps standing six-feet apart.
The stay-at-home mandate supports the idea in Joshua 24:15 (NIV),”..…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” We listened to our minister on our Smart Phones. We viewed an Easter oriented play and two sermons on TV, along with the Bible marathon on the History Channel. Throughout the week, we will stay in the Holy Week frame of mind by watching ’Jesus Christ Super Star’ and some of the best Easter movies ever made.
Comparatively speaking, we ought to describe how this Easter weekend differs from those in our past lives. Our journal would explain how we celebrated at home or in our cars with no new Easter bonnet or outfit, all due to the coronavirus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You loved the world and gave your only son so that we may have eternal life. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter in new ways because of COVID-19. We miss being near each other and embracing our friends and family. Help us to celebrate in our hearts and minds while remembering Your Holiness during this Easter. Thank you for guiding us to different ways to acknowledge You. Amen.
Blog 10 spotlights Maundy Thursday when Jesus dined with his disciples and washed their feet as his final act of Service to them. Further, he tells them, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:34-35. Daily, since Lent started and the pandemic came, we notice the statistics of those who have the coronavirus and others who have passed on. Love spews from our hearts as many die alone away from loved ones.
After Maundy Thursday, Easter weekend begins Good Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion, Saturday of Easter Eve, when Christ lay in his tomb and Easter Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. Sunday is our day of rejoicing and rebirth that carries eternal life to his followers.
In the past, in my church, we fast and eat no meat on Friday. We pray in all-night vigils on Saturday. Sunday begins with a sunrise service. Later, during Sunday Service, the school-age youth present contemporary theater, song, and dance in celebration of our risen Savior. Following Service, families join together for Easter meals and egg decoration and baskets for the children. With the coronavirus around us, we chose to celebrate in a differently.
The media promotes social-distancing and stay-at-home orders while challenging church leaders to figure something out that does not require them to assemble inside church buildings. Their messages come across like challenges…figure some new place and space in which to preach your sermon.
Governors’ stay-at-home orders to constrain the spread of COVID-19 require different ways to spend Easter weekend. Social distancing eliminates Sunday Church Service in the sanctuaries. Easter brunch is not available in a restaurant, just takeout.
Church leaders create new ways to communicate their sermon and songs. Group phone-ins via Free Conference Call.com are especially easy for the elderly who don’t have online access. The likes of Zoom and Webex help to see everyone on PCs or Smart Phones. Beyond using technology, churches are replicating drive-in theaters in their parking lots with the speaker and musicians on a stage or the church steps standing six-feet apart.
The stay-at-home mandate supports the idea in Joshua 24:15 (NIV),”..…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” We listened to our minister on our Smart Phones. We viewed an Easter oriented play and two sermons on TV, along with the Bible marathon on the History Channel. Throughout the week, we will stay in the Holy Week frame of mind by watching ’Jesus Christ Super Star’ and some of the best Easter movies ever made.
Comparatively speaking, we ought to describe how this Easter weekend differs from those in our past lives. Our journal would explain how we celebrated at home or in our cars with no new Easter bonnet or outfit, all due to the coronavirus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You loved the world and gave your only son so that we may have eternal life. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter in new ways because of COVID-19. We miss being near each other and embracing our friends and family. Help us to celebrate in our hearts and minds while remembering Your Holiness during this Easter. Thank you for guiding us to different ways to acknowledge You. Amen.
Blog 10 - Journaling on Holy Thursday
Today is Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, unquestionably a day to portray in your journal.
Blog 9 reminds us to use this coronavirus season to be imaginative. I am seeing on the web various essays and poems that mirror some aspect of this time. As a writer, I read what individuals are writing. However, if I were an artist, I would draw a picture of what my mind is envisioning. If I were a songwriter, I would compose a memorial song. If I were a storyteller, I would write a story. If I were an author, I would pen a novel. If I were an historian, I would document all that is going on right now.
During Holy Week, we ponder on an historical tradition. Christians throughout the world are observing Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday. Maundy originates from the Latin word verb, mando, which means to order or command. For Holy Week, it alludes to the commandment Jesus provided for his disciples in the wake of finishing his final act of service for his disciples. He stated, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15.
Further in John 13:34-35, he says explicitly, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
This Holy Week is unique, as is Maundy Thursday. Christians have been praying for weeks since the coming of the pandemic. We are saying we believe God is still in charge, yet, COVID-19 tests our faith. As I write in my Prayer Journal, I do not want the coronavirus to saturate every paragraph of my outline of praise, thanksgiving, and requests. Even though we have stay-at-home orders, this all-consuming plague mandates how we live.
There are plagues referenced in the Bible. In no way will I join the individuals who liken the coronavirus pandemic to the plague, the Bible mentions by the prophet John in Revelation. Food shortages, fear, viruses, and economic collapse all appear to be traces of anticipating the End Times. Like other plagues in the Bible and history, this pandemic will pass, and after we grieve losses of our loved ones, money, businesses, and property, we will think back and read our journals and recall how lives can change in a couple of months.
Daily, since Lent started and the pandemic came, I find new prayer calls and sermons to hear on my cellphone or the web. I pray continually with eleven other Prayer Warriors. On each call, there are new prayer requests. With the spread of COVID-19, it appears there are more individuals infected for whom we must pray. We submit names and monitor their progress to express our explicit gratitude to God. There is never a time when we have no petitions. Be that as it may, this Holy Week humbles us and helps us to remember Jesus’ command to love one another and do service for one another.
The media continues to examine and analyze words, statistics, and studies that follow COVID-19. However, reporters daily infuse something about this Holy Week. Its sheer repetitious acknowledgment has been astounding. Some proffer Easter will send us back to our work environments, and restaurants and shopping centers will reopen. That may not be so, yet Easter has gotten more air time than I can recall. Even in my meditative journal, I have more scriptures that focus on trusting in God and leaning not on my understanding during this Holy Week.
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus advised his disciples to love one another and be of service to people. He knew something unprecedented was happening. Your journal imperative is to expound on the amazing things that happen every day and remember that we got through the pandemic with slimmer bodies, changed lives, pulled together personalities, and hearts of gold.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, these Holy Week days between Palm Sunday and Easter give us a particular time to recollect the Passion of Jesus Christ and recall Your incredible deeds. It is generally a period of celebration given your resurrection on Easter Sunday. COVID-19 makes it a time filled with sadness and hopelessness. But, in You, there is light. There is no darkness. Help us to celebrate and remember Your Holiness during this Holy Week. Amen.
Blog 9 reminds us to use this coronavirus season to be imaginative. I am seeing on the web various essays and poems that mirror some aspect of this time. As a writer, I read what individuals are writing. However, if I were an artist, I would draw a picture of what my mind is envisioning. If I were a songwriter, I would compose a memorial song. If I were a storyteller, I would write a story. If I were an author, I would pen a novel. If I were an historian, I would document all that is going on right now.
During Holy Week, we ponder on an historical tradition. Christians throughout the world are observing Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday. Maundy originates from the Latin word verb, mando, which means to order or command. For Holy Week, it alludes to the commandment Jesus provided for his disciples in the wake of finishing his final act of service for his disciples. He stated, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15.
Further in John 13:34-35, he says explicitly, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
This Holy Week is unique, as is Maundy Thursday. Christians have been praying for weeks since the coming of the pandemic. We are saying we believe God is still in charge, yet, COVID-19 tests our faith. As I write in my Prayer Journal, I do not want the coronavirus to saturate every paragraph of my outline of praise, thanksgiving, and requests. Even though we have stay-at-home orders, this all-consuming plague mandates how we live.
There are plagues referenced in the Bible. In no way will I join the individuals who liken the coronavirus pandemic to the plague, the Bible mentions by the prophet John in Revelation. Food shortages, fear, viruses, and economic collapse all appear to be traces of anticipating the End Times. Like other plagues in the Bible and history, this pandemic will pass, and after we grieve losses of our loved ones, money, businesses, and property, we will think back and read our journals and recall how lives can change in a couple of months.
Daily, since Lent started and the pandemic came, I find new prayer calls and sermons to hear on my cellphone or the web. I pray continually with eleven other Prayer Warriors. On each call, there are new prayer requests. With the spread of COVID-19, it appears there are more individuals infected for whom we must pray. We submit names and monitor their progress to express our explicit gratitude to God. There is never a time when we have no petitions. Be that as it may, this Holy Week humbles us and helps us to remember Jesus’ command to love one another and do service for one another.
The media continues to examine and analyze words, statistics, and studies that follow COVID-19. However, reporters daily infuse something about this Holy Week. Its sheer repetitious acknowledgment has been astounding. Some proffer Easter will send us back to our work environments, and restaurants and shopping centers will reopen. That may not be so, yet Easter has gotten more air time than I can recall. Even in my meditative journal, I have more scriptures that focus on trusting in God and leaning not on my understanding during this Holy Week.
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus advised his disciples to love one another and be of service to people. He knew something unprecedented was happening. Your journal imperative is to expound on the amazing things that happen every day and remember that we got through the pandemic with slimmer bodies, changed lives, pulled together personalities, and hearts of gold.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, these Holy Week days between Palm Sunday and Easter give us a particular time to recollect the Passion of Jesus Christ and recall Your incredible deeds. It is generally a period of celebration given your resurrection on Easter Sunday. COVID-19 makes it a time filled with sadness and hopelessness. But, in You, there is light. There is no darkness. Help us to celebrate and remember Your Holiness during this Holy Week. Amen.
Blog 9 - Journaling and being creative during COVID-19
This Blog wants you to write in your Journal to recall this coronavirus season by being innovative.
Blog 8 addresses how uniquely we are experiencing life's end and laying our family and friends to rest at death. The Governor's shelter in place and stay at home requests make it difficult for family members to grieve together. Accordingly, we will wait until we can assemble again after COVID-19 passes to have memorials to commend the lives of our family and friends. Perhaps, we should have a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the COVID-19. President Bush proclaimed such a day Friday, September 14, 2001, for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001.
In addition to writing this blog, I am the author of "Journal It! Take Hold of your life by Journaling", two devotional books and a book of poetry, "Feeling Wheels." I love my book of poetry since it has 250 poems and songs that mirror my emotions on any given day. When I reread pages, they help me remember where I was at that time.
With this freedom of time and constrained space, it's an ideal opportunity to be imaginative. I'm composing quatrains, which are poems with four lines. Mine has varying forms and meters, and every one portrays a feeling.
"In the Time of Pandemic," a poem by Kitty O'Meara is by all accounts, one of the mainstream pandemic poems to date. She stated, "It was just a post on Facebook. I don't know that I even considered it a poem. You know, it was just a way of offering some comfort to my friends and myself."
"In the Time of Pandemic" And the people stayed home.And they read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.And the people healed.And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
As an advocate of journaling, I realize that words are incredible, provoking, powerful, and healing. Writing can enable us to describe what we feel and what we see to remind us that in our hope, this coronavirus season will pass. Journaling can help us come to grips with the upheaval of our lives. With this time, we can utilize our talents, gifts, and dreams to create expressions. We can be reminders of what the world is now and envision what's to come.
I am seeing on the web numerous essays and poems that reflect some aspect of this coronavirus season. As a writer, I see what individuals are composing. Notwithstanding, if I were an artist, I would draw a picture of what my mind is envisioning. If I were a songwriter, I would compose a memorial song. If I were a storyteller, I would write a story. If I were an author, I would pen a novel. If I were an historian, I would document all that is going on right now.
The fine art of persuasion or creative visual artistry produces outstanding, imaginative, and scholarly substance. Your artistic skill and creative mind, in a visual form, for example, painting or sculpture, do work for beauty or emotional power. Now is undoubtedly the time to retrieve that draft play or script for the movie or documentary you need to create. Perhaps, your creation will be a memorable piece of the "Art of COVID-19".
Art, like love, knows no bounds yet opens up new expressions and pictures that reassure us there will be a wonderful new day tomorrow if we stay together and hold on and see the beauty in these critical times.
In my Journal, I am staying away from negativity or criticism. I am prayerful as I consider myself to be one who uses scriptures to compose prayers. In my books, "The Prayor: One Who Prays" and "The Prayor Worships with Isaiah," both have Bible verses and prayers. Here are my scriptures and prayer for this day.
Lamentations 3:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV)
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Isaiah 40:31 English Standard Version (ESV)
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, this COVID-19 season has changed how we go through our days. Some of us have an expanse of time to think and create with no end in sight. Help us to use our abilities so that we will appreciate our artistic expressions when this pandemic ends, as I trust it will end. Please direct us in the use of our time by renewing our strength to prevail by using the talents you gave us. Thank you for loving us. Amen.
Blog 8 addresses how uniquely we are experiencing life's end and laying our family and friends to rest at death. The Governor's shelter in place and stay at home requests make it difficult for family members to grieve together. Accordingly, we will wait until we can assemble again after COVID-19 passes to have memorials to commend the lives of our family and friends. Perhaps, we should have a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the COVID-19. President Bush proclaimed such a day Friday, September 14, 2001, for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001.
In addition to writing this blog, I am the author of "Journal It! Take Hold of your life by Journaling", two devotional books and a book of poetry, "Feeling Wheels." I love my book of poetry since it has 250 poems and songs that mirror my emotions on any given day. When I reread pages, they help me remember where I was at that time.
With this freedom of time and constrained space, it's an ideal opportunity to be imaginative. I'm composing quatrains, which are poems with four lines. Mine has varying forms and meters, and every one portrays a feeling.
"In the Time of Pandemic," a poem by Kitty O'Meara is by all accounts, one of the mainstream pandemic poems to date. She stated, "It was just a post on Facebook. I don't know that I even considered it a poem. You know, it was just a way of offering some comfort to my friends and myself."
"In the Time of Pandemic" And the people stayed home.And they read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.And the people healed.And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
As an advocate of journaling, I realize that words are incredible, provoking, powerful, and healing. Writing can enable us to describe what we feel and what we see to remind us that in our hope, this coronavirus season will pass. Journaling can help us come to grips with the upheaval of our lives. With this time, we can utilize our talents, gifts, and dreams to create expressions. We can be reminders of what the world is now and envision what's to come.
I am seeing on the web numerous essays and poems that reflect some aspect of this coronavirus season. As a writer, I see what individuals are composing. Notwithstanding, if I were an artist, I would draw a picture of what my mind is envisioning. If I were a songwriter, I would compose a memorial song. If I were a storyteller, I would write a story. If I were an author, I would pen a novel. If I were an historian, I would document all that is going on right now.
The fine art of persuasion or creative visual artistry produces outstanding, imaginative, and scholarly substance. Your artistic skill and creative mind, in a visual form, for example, painting or sculpture, do work for beauty or emotional power. Now is undoubtedly the time to retrieve that draft play or script for the movie or documentary you need to create. Perhaps, your creation will be a memorable piece of the "Art of COVID-19".
Art, like love, knows no bounds yet opens up new expressions and pictures that reassure us there will be a wonderful new day tomorrow if we stay together and hold on and see the beauty in these critical times.
In my Journal, I am staying away from negativity or criticism. I am prayerful as I consider myself to be one who uses scriptures to compose prayers. In my books, "The Prayor: One Who Prays" and "The Prayor Worships with Isaiah," both have Bible verses and prayers. Here are my scriptures and prayer for this day.
Lamentations 3:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV)
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Isaiah 40:31 English Standard Version (ESV)
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, this COVID-19 season has changed how we go through our days. Some of us have an expanse of time to think and create with no end in sight. Help us to use our abilities so that we will appreciate our artistic expressions when this pandemic ends, as I trust it will end. Please direct us in the use of our time by renewing our strength to prevail by using the talents you gave us. Thank you for loving us. Amen.
Blog 8 - Journaling while we mourn
This Blog recommends that you write in your journal to remember this coronavirus season by documenting mind-boggling events.
Blog 7 addresses the number of deaths and cases worldwide, and in the U.S. As the incidents increase, everybody knows someone in a hospital or who has a recurring experience to share.
I pray that how hospitals handle deaths will come back to the old way, yet right now, it is incredibly discouraging. Since we accept that our lives will never be the same, we must hold on to a few rituals that are basic to families and friends.
Approximately six weeks ago, my brother had a stroke at age 51 and became blind. He was in poor health, yet very upbeat and full of emotional passion for sharing with everyone around him. For the second time, he has had stents placed in his heart to help keep his coronary arteries open and decrease the chance of cardiac failure. At some point, he was on a feeding tube and a ventilator. When his blood pressure kept going down, they resuscitated him. After the second resuscitation, his wife produced his living will, which denounced such action. He passed away at three in the morning, all alone.
Because his wife could not go inside the hospital, she regularly called his nearby nursing station. When he was transitioning from life to death, she used her mobile phone to whisper her parting words of love into his ears through a telephone in his intensive care unit space.
To forestall the spread of COVID-19, hospitals have new regulations. If you’re sick, call your primary care doctor to determine where you should go. Change your in-person appointments to a telephone call. Hospitals are not allowing visitors or any individual who does not have a valid reason inside the doors. If you get inside, you will be screened for symptoms identified with COVID-19. Furthermore, no recent international travelers are welcome.
Even though new guidelines intend to hold down the spread of the disease, employees stroll around the hospitals with neither masks nor gloves. Signs say follow respiratory etiquette. I say stay away from hospitals if you can.
As we grieve a passing, we must pray continually for individuals who test positive and do not recuperate. Minute by minute, the number of cases and deaths increases around the world.
The shelter in place and stay at home orders make it difficult for our relatives to grieve together. So we resort to lamenting using facetime via telephone. Such activity is generally occurring while we travel distances and prepare for the funeral services. COVID-19 decrees no gatherings of more than 10. Accordingly, we will wait until COVID-19 passes and have a memorial to celebrate his life.
In my journal, I am attempting to portray that it is difficult to mourn alone. We have no arrangements to make, no food to prepare for visiting guests, no gatherings to reminisce, no chuckling at photographs, and no need to take off bereavement days as we’re staying at home and telecommuting.
I am sorry that he spent his last days in the hospital alone with no one at his bedside. I am sorry that I was unable to travel 100 miles to comfort my sister and his wife. I am sorry that Hospice was not there to offer support to our family and friends during his final days. I am sorry Hospice was not there to focus on making him comfortable and helping him smile. He was such a jovial kind of guy.
You can read my pitifulness. Writing in my journal helps me get through my sorrowing and permits me to write and write and write about my sibling. I will benefit from journaling in this season. Despite his sicknesses, he tested positive for COVID-19.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, my heart feels wounded, and my mind is sorrowful like many others, as we mourn the deaths of people we love and others we notice. We pray that You give us the strength to persevere with deaths during this heartbreaking time of COVID-19. Help us to be hopeful while we learn of increasing deaths. Please fortify our faith while these happenings eat at our souls. Thank you for being our Hospice. Amen
Blog 7 addresses the number of deaths and cases worldwide, and in the U.S. As the incidents increase, everybody knows someone in a hospital or who has a recurring experience to share.
I pray that how hospitals handle deaths will come back to the old way, yet right now, it is incredibly discouraging. Since we accept that our lives will never be the same, we must hold on to a few rituals that are basic to families and friends.
Approximately six weeks ago, my brother had a stroke at age 51 and became blind. He was in poor health, yet very upbeat and full of emotional passion for sharing with everyone around him. For the second time, he has had stents placed in his heart to help keep his coronary arteries open and decrease the chance of cardiac failure. At some point, he was on a feeding tube and a ventilator. When his blood pressure kept going down, they resuscitated him. After the second resuscitation, his wife produced his living will, which denounced such action. He passed away at three in the morning, all alone.
Because his wife could not go inside the hospital, she regularly called his nearby nursing station. When he was transitioning from life to death, she used her mobile phone to whisper her parting words of love into his ears through a telephone in his intensive care unit space.
To forestall the spread of COVID-19, hospitals have new regulations. If you’re sick, call your primary care doctor to determine where you should go. Change your in-person appointments to a telephone call. Hospitals are not allowing visitors or any individual who does not have a valid reason inside the doors. If you get inside, you will be screened for symptoms identified with COVID-19. Furthermore, no recent international travelers are welcome.
Even though new guidelines intend to hold down the spread of the disease, employees stroll around the hospitals with neither masks nor gloves. Signs say follow respiratory etiquette. I say stay away from hospitals if you can.
As we grieve a passing, we must pray continually for individuals who test positive and do not recuperate. Minute by minute, the number of cases and deaths increases around the world.
The shelter in place and stay at home orders make it difficult for our relatives to grieve together. So we resort to lamenting using facetime via telephone. Such activity is generally occurring while we travel distances and prepare for the funeral services. COVID-19 decrees no gatherings of more than 10. Accordingly, we will wait until COVID-19 passes and have a memorial to celebrate his life.
In my journal, I am attempting to portray that it is difficult to mourn alone. We have no arrangements to make, no food to prepare for visiting guests, no gatherings to reminisce, no chuckling at photographs, and no need to take off bereavement days as we’re staying at home and telecommuting.
I am sorry that he spent his last days in the hospital alone with no one at his bedside. I am sorry that I was unable to travel 100 miles to comfort my sister and his wife. I am sorry that Hospice was not there to offer support to our family and friends during his final days. I am sorry Hospice was not there to focus on making him comfortable and helping him smile. He was such a jovial kind of guy.
You can read my pitifulness. Writing in my journal helps me get through my sorrowing and permits me to write and write and write about my sibling. I will benefit from journaling in this season. Despite his sicknesses, he tested positive for COVID-19.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, my heart feels wounded, and my mind is sorrowful like many others, as we mourn the deaths of people we love and others we notice. We pray that You give us the strength to persevere with deaths during this heartbreaking time of COVID-19. Help us to be hopeful while we learn of increasing deaths. Please fortify our faith while these happenings eat at our souls. Thank you for being our Hospice. Amen
Blog 7 - Journaling with others in mind during COVID-19
This Blog urges to you write in your journal to memorialize this season by adding this new dimension of transcribing to calm your spirit.
Blog 6 talks about the effect the media has on our journaling as it shows news and information about COVID-19 around the world. Since we believe that our lives will never be the same, it is imperative that we record memories of companions, friends, family members, associates, colleagues, service providers and other persons who cross our minds.
Cable television stations post charts on the right side of the screen that quantifies COVID-19 cases and deaths. My recent view noticed 725,000 worldwide total coronavirus cases and 34,000 deaths. In the U.S. there are 140,440 cases and 2,740 deaths. With these numbers, everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed or a friend of a friend who has a recycled story to share.
On Wednesday, one of my friends in New Jersey requested prayer for her godfather in a hospital emergency room with coronavirus symptoms. His sister-in-law tested positive on Friday after some interaction between the two, and everybody in the household is now exposed.
On Thursday, the godfather was improving without coronavirus test results, however, doctors discovered pneumonia. On Friday, the godfather’s oxygen levels were low and doctors put him on a ventilator and moved him into ICU. On Saturday, doctors removed the ventilator moved him out of ICU. The rest of the relatives who were in the same house tests were negative.
Every one of us knows a story outside of what we find in the media. As we mourn the deaths, we must pray continually for people who are diagnosed. Minute by minute the number of cases and deaths increases around the world.
Unfortunately, we can do nothing to help the families who are mourning and those who have been diagnosed. However, we can connect with those who are presumed to be well. Every day I am calling, texting or emailing three individuals, one from my church roster, a family member and a friend. Of course, I appreciate hearing from those who reach out to me.
In my journal, I am writing about these conversations and comments, all of which add to my social communicating during the day. It’s fascinating to learn how those with whom we are familiar are investing their energy nowadays.
Today, I got a request from a friend to participate in a zoom to hang out on the web. Sounds interesting. I purchased a web camera, which will be delivered on Friday. After seeing the tv experts telecommute from home with their cameras on their PCs, I am eager to try out this novel communique. As I said in my last blog, I have limited my access to news and data during this coronavirus season. At present, I am checking three times per day and may lessen it to two as information is becoming increasingly redundant, with only changes in the cases and deaths.
Just in case you don’t have a journal, find some writing paper and date each entry to keep it in order and make it your journal. You benefit from journaling about this coronavirus season by communicating your feelings in writing and creating new strategies for overcoming each day.
Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, we continue to mourn the deaths of people we know closely and those from a distance. We pray that you arm the researches with data that can produce a cure for COVID-19. Our faith is trusting in you and leaning not on our own understanding. We ask You to strengthen our faith. Thank you for guiding us to stay in touch with others and offer comforting thoughts through this pandemic. Amen.
Blog 6 talks about the effect the media has on our journaling as it shows news and information about COVID-19 around the world. Since we believe that our lives will never be the same, it is imperative that we record memories of companions, friends, family members, associates, colleagues, service providers and other persons who cross our minds.
Cable television stations post charts on the right side of the screen that quantifies COVID-19 cases and deaths. My recent view noticed 725,000 worldwide total coronavirus cases and 34,000 deaths. In the U.S. there are 140,440 cases and 2,740 deaths. With these numbers, everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed or a friend of a friend who has a recycled story to share.
On Wednesday, one of my friends in New Jersey requested prayer for her godfather in a hospital emergency room with coronavirus symptoms. His sister-in-law tested positive on Friday after some interaction between the two, and everybody in the household is now exposed.
On Thursday, the godfather was improving without coronavirus test results, however, doctors discovered pneumonia. On Friday, the godfather’s oxygen levels were low and doctors put him on a ventilator and moved him into ICU. On Saturday, doctors removed the ventilator moved him out of ICU. The rest of the relatives who were in the same house tests were negative.
Every one of us knows a story outside of what we find in the media. As we mourn the deaths, we must pray continually for people who are diagnosed. Minute by minute the number of cases and deaths increases around the world.
Unfortunately, we can do nothing to help the families who are mourning and those who have been diagnosed. However, we can connect with those who are presumed to be well. Every day I am calling, texting or emailing three individuals, one from my church roster, a family member and a friend. Of course, I appreciate hearing from those who reach out to me.
In my journal, I am writing about these conversations and comments, all of which add to my social communicating during the day. It’s fascinating to learn how those with whom we are familiar are investing their energy nowadays.
Today, I got a request from a friend to participate in a zoom to hang out on the web. Sounds interesting. I purchased a web camera, which will be delivered on Friday. After seeing the tv experts telecommute from home with their cameras on their PCs, I am eager to try out this novel communique. As I said in my last blog, I have limited my access to news and data during this coronavirus season. At present, I am checking three times per day and may lessen it to two as information is becoming increasingly redundant, with only changes in the cases and deaths.
Just in case you don’t have a journal, find some writing paper and date each entry to keep it in order and make it your journal. You benefit from journaling about this coronavirus season by communicating your feelings in writing and creating new strategies for overcoming each day.
Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, we continue to mourn the deaths of people we know closely and those from a distance. We pray that you arm the researches with data that can produce a cure for COVID-19. Our faith is trusting in you and leaning not on our own understanding. We ask You to strengthen our faith. Thank you for guiding us to stay in touch with others and offer comforting thoughts through this pandemic. Amen.
Blog 6 - Journaling with Media Messages about COVID-19
It is positively my intent to encourage you to write in your journal in an effort to get through each day despite the media painting a canvas that is difficult to follow.
Blog 5 recognizes that our lives will never be the same and urges you to assume responsibility for your life and the people around you. And, write about it in your journal.
According to the media, our President and government leaders have been pondering the $2+ Trillion coronavirus survival package. Some call it a stimulus package, but I see it as survival cash for those whose livelihood has been decimated by the pandemic. If you’re not in an essential industry, you’re more than likely, staying in place at home.
For those of you who are actually working from home, it's a great opportunity to address those incomplete projects in your PC, write letters, review unread proposals, and drum up business that can create funds post COVID-19. Finally, finish the various incomplete To-Do Lists tucked away. After you complete your work and have family time, you can write the poetry you've been working in your psyche, compose that tune that stirs you every day, stir your resting artistic abilities, phone your loved ones who haven't heard your voice in some time, and read one good book. Create your list. We now have more time to-do all the things we've been putting off.
I sent my friend in California a request to help me with a book tour in 2021. As an independent contractor, he is frazzled because California received the stay at home mandate three days ago and he is still in denial scratching his head trying to figure out what to do. In my state, we’re two weeks ahead with the Governor’s order. So I’m settled in and working from home.
The benefit of writing about this period is to communicate your feelings in writing and develop a strategy for life interferences. Your money and your movement are in question. Via TV, we’re seeing our Governors advise their state residents to shelter in place and stay at home. Via the media, the Feds are saying that some may get cash to help stem setbacks. Our government is directing our money and movement. My information connections come through television and websites.
The media presents five big pictures: first, the White House report, second, status of the pandemic, third, adversarial remarks about the White House report, fourth, Capital Hill’s exercises, and fifth, expert assessments.
Since the experts are working from home, the interviews are done via Webcam or Skype. In addition to their personal opinions, we see how they live. They admit they’re at home and in front of the camera. We see their book shelves, colorful painted and papered walls, flawless room settings, basement wood-paneled family rooms with paraphernalia, and the one blank wall for background in the house. It appears they are all in well kept environments and likely will not receive $1200 from the government.
Because the experts are speaking from the comfort of their homes with no scripts, we feel their emotions. They express their thoughts and expert conclusions with no staff assistance for fact checking. In the event, they’re against Trump, he gets no praise, only slamming. On the off chance, they’re against Capitol Hill, it gets no credit.
The TV media personalities interview only people who can represent their way or thinking. Whether an expert or an ordinary citizen, they engage in talk about which they can agree. Few disagreements show up in the media. They search to locate the right spokesperson to represent their supposition. Using that strategy, they don’t appear as know-it-alls.
I attempt to watch various commentators to hear varying thoughts, however there are more categorical likenesses than differences.
Before COVID-19, my daily routine was simple with weekends interspersed with church and perhaps dinner out with family and friends. Now every day comes with a need to discover what’s happening in my community, in my country and around the world as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For my personal history book, I want to write about how I see things. Even though the media through newspapers, magazines, online reports, television interviewers and interviewees, and aficionados are my sources, I should write my perspective on this coronavirus virus season. I think I should limit my access to news and data during this coronavirus season. Currently, I check in around noon to learn the media’s plan for the day, around 6 pm for a review of what’s happening, and around 11 pm for a synopsis of the day’s events. Three times per day are too often, because they say much of the same all day. In that event, I will attempt to hold off until 11, so I can give more time to the news and information I am creating for myself and the people close to me.
Just in case you don’t have a journal, find some writing paper and date each entry so you can keep it in order and make it your journal.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are overwhelmed by the myriad sources of information about COVID-19 that gets through the media. We pray for our government to move quickly with the information for the public that it presents to the media. Our faith is trusting that You will show us something new that we have never see before to quell this coronavirus. Strengthen our faith. Thank you for guiding us to share comforting thoughts with others to help us with overcoming this pandemic. Amen.
Blog 5 recognizes that our lives will never be the same and urges you to assume responsibility for your life and the people around you. And, write about it in your journal.
According to the media, our President and government leaders have been pondering the $2+ Trillion coronavirus survival package. Some call it a stimulus package, but I see it as survival cash for those whose livelihood has been decimated by the pandemic. If you’re not in an essential industry, you’re more than likely, staying in place at home.
For those of you who are actually working from home, it's a great opportunity to address those incomplete projects in your PC, write letters, review unread proposals, and drum up business that can create funds post COVID-19. Finally, finish the various incomplete To-Do Lists tucked away. After you complete your work and have family time, you can write the poetry you've been working in your psyche, compose that tune that stirs you every day, stir your resting artistic abilities, phone your loved ones who haven't heard your voice in some time, and read one good book. Create your list. We now have more time to-do all the things we've been putting off.
I sent my friend in California a request to help me with a book tour in 2021. As an independent contractor, he is frazzled because California received the stay at home mandate three days ago and he is still in denial scratching his head trying to figure out what to do. In my state, we’re two weeks ahead with the Governor’s order. So I’m settled in and working from home.
The benefit of writing about this period is to communicate your feelings in writing and develop a strategy for life interferences. Your money and your movement are in question. Via TV, we’re seeing our Governors advise their state residents to shelter in place and stay at home. Via the media, the Feds are saying that some may get cash to help stem setbacks. Our government is directing our money and movement. My information connections come through television and websites.
The media presents five big pictures: first, the White House report, second, status of the pandemic, third, adversarial remarks about the White House report, fourth, Capital Hill’s exercises, and fifth, expert assessments.
Since the experts are working from home, the interviews are done via Webcam or Skype. In addition to their personal opinions, we see how they live. They admit they’re at home and in front of the camera. We see their book shelves, colorful painted and papered walls, flawless room settings, basement wood-paneled family rooms with paraphernalia, and the one blank wall for background in the house. It appears they are all in well kept environments and likely will not receive $1200 from the government.
Because the experts are speaking from the comfort of their homes with no scripts, we feel their emotions. They express their thoughts and expert conclusions with no staff assistance for fact checking. In the event, they’re against Trump, he gets no praise, only slamming. On the off chance, they’re against Capitol Hill, it gets no credit.
The TV media personalities interview only people who can represent their way or thinking. Whether an expert or an ordinary citizen, they engage in talk about which they can agree. Few disagreements show up in the media. They search to locate the right spokesperson to represent their supposition. Using that strategy, they don’t appear as know-it-alls.
I attempt to watch various commentators to hear varying thoughts, however there are more categorical likenesses than differences.
Before COVID-19, my daily routine was simple with weekends interspersed with church and perhaps dinner out with family and friends. Now every day comes with a need to discover what’s happening in my community, in my country and around the world as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For my personal history book, I want to write about how I see things. Even though the media through newspapers, magazines, online reports, television interviewers and interviewees, and aficionados are my sources, I should write my perspective on this coronavirus virus season. I think I should limit my access to news and data during this coronavirus season. Currently, I check in around noon to learn the media’s plan for the day, around 6 pm for a review of what’s happening, and around 11 pm for a synopsis of the day’s events. Three times per day are too often, because they say much of the same all day. In that event, I will attempt to hold off until 11, so I can give more time to the news and information I am creating for myself and the people close to me.
Just in case you don’t have a journal, find some writing paper and date each entry so you can keep it in order and make it your journal.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are overwhelmed by the myriad sources of information about COVID-19 that gets through the media. We pray for our government to move quickly with the information for the public that it presents to the media. Our faith is trusting that You will show us something new that we have never see before to quell this coronavirus. Strengthen our faith. Thank you for guiding us to share comforting thoughts with others to help us with overcoming this pandemic. Amen.
Blog 5- Journaling - While at home during COVID-19
Our lives will never be the same. Journaling about it will help us get through the days ahead and remember the past ones.
Blog Four introduced COVID-19 with some basic information. Now I want to share my writings and pray they give you cause and encouragement to write in your journal.
In recent mornings I awaken with thoughts of how the day will be different because I have no excursions to take, not even errands to run and absolutely no concrete destinations. I just get through the day and listen for the media to promise better tomorrows.
The benefit of writing about this season is to journal the happenings as they seem so unbelievable. My life is changing and I am not at the helm of the transformation. Today, my friend who is not spiritual said, “I believe God is in the mix of this reality.” To my astonishment, we continued with a dialogue that covered the fact that we have time and space to change our lives. We’re committed to stay in place and duke it out with no distance breaks. We’ve built new teams and we’re playing old games. And, we’re discovering what it’s like to be with our children and cohabiters all day, when it’s not a fun-filled vacation.
Although I have no important place to go, I am an essential person as defined by this coronavirus season, because I am a caregiver for my spouse, who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury. There are only two of us in our home. He sleeps two-thirds of the day and is wakeful around mealtimes. My reality connects through television and websites. I’ve figured out how to make this work for me while I write and work on projects around the house. Then, before I know it, it’s time to go to sleep and another day comes.
Before COVID-19, my day to day schedule was straightforward with weekends interspersed with going to church and maybe dinner out with family and friends. Now it’s commanded by the Governor’s Stay-at-home Mandate. The rest of the residents of the state have joined my simple life. For them, this is probably a problem, perhaps for you, as well.
If I were you, I would become the house chief and make a plan for each day and include everyone. They don’t have to realize that you have a strategy. You should move them through the day, so it turns out to be easy for everyone to explore inside the borders of the home space. At the end of the day, write in your journal about the positive and negative happenings and plan a tomorrow that overcomes the flaws and enhances the positives of the past day.
Writing in a journal will help you manage your daily movements while remaining close to each other. And, the journal must include what’s happening in the world.
From an historical perspective, I want to write about how I see things. Even though TV newsmakers and aficionados have their assessments, I certainly have mine. In recent days, the government has been working diligently to design a $2 Trillion coronavirus stimulus package. The President is committed to getting some folk back to work by Easter, April 12th. He said that resurrection will go down in history, much like COVID-19, when we get through it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are mourning for people around the world who are dying from the coronavirus. We pray for a cure while we are yet filled with feelings of fear, outrage, misery, confusion, panic, and hopelessness during this global suffering. As you test our faith, we trust that you will strengthen it. Thank You for arming us with the patience to endure this pandemic. Amen.Please write in your journal about this coronavirus season. Share it with me. Thanks.
If I were you, I would become the house chief and make a plan for each day and include everyone. They don’t have to realize that you have a strategy. You should move them through the day, so it turns out to be easy for everyone to explore inside the borders of the home space. At the end of the day, write in your journal about the positive and negative happenings and plan a tomorrow that overcomes the flaws and enhances the positives of the past day.
Writing in a journal will help you manage your daily movements while remaining close to each other. And, the journal must include what’s happening in the world.
From an historical perspective, I want to write about how I see things. Even though TV newsmakers and aficionados have their assessments, I certainly have mine. In recent days, the government has been working diligently to design a $2 Trillion coronavirus stimulus package. The President is committed to getting some folk back to work by Easter, April 12th. He said that resurrection will go down in history, much like COVID-19, when we get through it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are mourning for people around the world who are dying from the coronavirus. We pray for a cure while we are yet filled with feelings of fear, outrage, misery, confusion, panic, and hopelessness during this global suffering. As you test our faith, we trust that you will strengthen it. Thank You for arming us with the patience to endure this pandemic. Amen.Please write in your journal about this coronavirus season. Share it with me. Thanks.
Blog 4 - Journaling during COVID-19
If ever there was a time to create a particular journal, it is now, during the Pandemic COVID-19 (new coronavirus).Journal writing can help get through these days of being still as we have never endured before. Consider these new phrases and distinct words as they may prod us to make specific moves. Before we start journaling, let’s get some information about COVID-19.
John Hopkins University says this is “what you need to know about COVID-19.”• COVID-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus that emerged in China in December 2019.• COVID-19 symptoms include cough, fever, and shortness of breath. COVID-19 can be severe and cause death.• The new coronavirus can spread from person to person. It is diagnosed with a laboratory test.• There is no coronavirus vaccine yet. Prevention involves frequent hand-washing, coughing into the bend of your elbow and staying home when you are sick. Source: www.hopkinsmedicine.orgThe worldwide coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) because of the “alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.” A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease between countries and continents.Source: Healthy Living newsletter
Social distancing is deliberately expanding the physical space around you and the persons near you. Scientists say that staying at least six feet away from other people decreases your odds of getting COVID-19. This expression commands avoiding any kind of crowd, whether at work, school, family gatherings, or conferences. Canceling events, where massive groups congregate, is a consequence of social distancing.
Shelter in place during this Pandemic means taking shelter wherever you are…stay at home, except for necessary trips related to healthcare, food, and essential travel to work. Health organizations use this phrase during natural disasters. In this manner, we’re alluding to the coronavirus as a disastrous event. Some call it warfare with an invisible enemy. The U.S government instructs its citizens who are in foreign countries to get home or shelter in place.
Self-quarantine is for individuals exposed to the coronavirus and who might be in danger of catching it. Self-quarantine involves staying at home, not having guests, remaining at least 6 feet away from others in your household, not sharing utensils or towels, and washing your hands frequently, for 14 days. At that point, ask your doctor for information on the best way to return to your daily routine.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am writing to my readers to encourage them to write their thoughts of petition, meditation, and remembrance, to help us with overcoming the coronavirus that is spreading far and wide around the world. Guide us as we write about things happening in our lives with the abrupt changes in our comings and goings and our feelings about now being still. We put ourselves in your hands, knowing that you are the Great Physician with healing powers. Thank you for caring about us. Amen.
Please write a few words about what is taking place in your life now. Journal it! We’ll continue to talk about this coronavirus season.
Blog 3 - Journaling Can Be Helpful
Journal writing can be helpful when you're stuck in emotional conditions. Consider these descriptions words as they may remind you of some feelings. Strain – I consider anxiety when I am feeling overwhelmed and constant worry keeps me from sleeping. My daughter, who has Multiple Sclerosis, was having her first baby at age 42. We've made it to week 38, and she's exhausted. I began writing prayers about my concerns each night until I fell asleep. During the next week, Mila was born weighing 6.9 pounds. The daughter and granddaughter are both doing well. Sorrow - I feel sadness and grief when I write about my brother's affliction. Good conversation and smiles mask his pain. Since serving in the military, he has suffered from a sickness that mandates dialysis three times per week. Recently, a stroke and other complications brought on blindness. In my daily journal, I have a section devoted to praying for his healing. When I saw him last Sunday, his positive spirits sent me to write a praise report in my journal. In Colossians scripture says: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." There is limited research literature on journaling. However, therapeutic journaling is becoming a useful tool for psychologists and school counselors. Journaling can help you get over a negative event. There are many creative and effective ways that journaling can help you recover from good or bad occurrences. Here are some examples. Photographs: Look at the photos that you enjoy and express your feelings by determining why they make you smile, why the people are happy, why the photo exists, and why they are in that position or touching one another in specific ways. Letters: Write a cheerful message to someone you dislike. Write to someone you don't know but admire. Write a letter to a deceased parent, grandparent or friend to tell them about the difficulties you're going through. Write a letter to a person whom you cannot get out of your thoughts may help start the day, whether you mail it or not. Prompt Sentences: Finish open-ended sentences that relate to any issue that is bothering you, such as, "Today, I am worried about…" or "I have trouble sleeping when…" or "I miss my brother because…" or "I know he/she doesn't like me. I think it's because…" Self-Dialogue: Choose a person you need to talk to about a difficult subject and write a dialogue between both of you. Construct a conversation with full sentences. Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am writing to my readers to encourage them to write reflections from you, to help them transform their lives. Guide me as I speak words that may reveal your messages. Thank you for the opportunity to share your word. Amen. Think about your reasons for journaling. I'll talk about forming a habit of journaling in my next Blog.
03.13.20
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Thank you for purchasing my book on www.amazon.com Gwendolyn Carole Tipton.
Please scroll down this page and view the titles of earlier thoughts and prayers.
I am Gwendolyn Carole Tipton and I have written a book called Journal It! Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling. I approach Journaling as a spiritual self-help tool. Buy all my books at www.amazon.com.For something to change in your life, one of two things must happen: life changes, or you make a change. It’s up to you. At some point, your life mandates that you “take hold of it and transform it. Ephesians 4:23-24 says, “…to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and ……to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” My book is meant to support your life as you engage in changes. Through journaling, you can step back for a moment, evaluate your life, and determine what you want your ideal life to become. Then, journal your way to the destination, keeping in mind that you must: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved… a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” - 2 Timothy 2:15.
I hope my written words will encourage you to take up your pencil and begin to write. Journal your life into a new you, filled with all you ever dreamed you would be and more. I invite you back to this blog site: Journal It with Prayer at gwendolyncaroletipton.com/blog. To receive the monthly Scripture Message, send me an email to gwen@gwendolyncaroletipton.com. Please purchase my books at - www.amazon.com - Gwendolyn Carole Tipton.
Thank you for visiting.
"Spiritually Speaking"
2025 - Let the words on this page and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to those who visit this website.I hope they find something that touches their heart or mind and understand that You are indeed our light. Guide us!
Time for the Golden Rule
2024 - Seeking a year of gratitude for the blessings He has bestowed upon us, our children, grandchildren, and the other people we love.
New Year's Resolution - 2024
Living a Wise Life in Christ
Loss and Grief
Mental Health Month
2023 - Ask. Seek. Knock. We will spend this year approaching God and praying for what we want. We'll start by asking, seeking and knocking as He directed. Amen.
January 2023 - He Has Plans for Us
April 2023 - Easter is Resurrection Sunday
May 2023 - About Mothers
June 2023 - Prayer for Our Fathers
July 2023 - To Follow Him
August 2023 - Jesus was full of Joy
December 2023 - Count it all Joy
2022
May 2022 - Prayers for our Mothers
June 2022 - Prayer for our Fathers
July 2022 - What's the Fourth of July to You
Sept. 2022 - He has plans for You
Dec. 2022 - Give Thanks.
Blogs during the Pandemic
2021 - Still Journaling through the Pandemic
35. Look out for one another (BV-Prayer)
36. COVID numbers are lessening (BV-Prayer)
37. COVID-19 Vaccines (BV-Prayer)
38. Praying for a new normal (BV-Prayer)
March 2021 - Praying...
39. The Lenten Season
40. Lent Ends, Holy Week Begins
April 2021
41. Easter and Pentecost
42. Still Praying for our country (BV-Prayer)
43. Continue to pray for our country (BV-Prayer)
May 2021
44. We witness miracles daily
45. Prayer for Mothers
46. Pentecost
June 2021
47. Let's read the Scriptures
48. A time for everything
49. We need fathers
50. Repeat Blog 20 - LGBTQ
July and August 2021 - No new Blogs
September 2021
51. Newness in September
October 2021
52. Proverbs provides wisdom
2020 - Journaling COVID
February 2020 - Journaling...
1. Take Hold of Your Life by Journaling
2. Using the Bible
3. Can be helpful
4. During COVID-19
5. At home during COVID-19
March 2020 - Journaling...
6. With media messages
7. With others in mind during COVID-19
8. While we mourn
9. And being creative during COVID-19
April 2020 - Journaling...
10. On Holy Thursday
11. After Easter
12. While shifting gears
13. COVID-19 money
14. Your share of the $2 Trillion
May 2020 - Journaling...
15. Staying-in vs going-out
16. Coronavirus masks
17. Mother's Day - COVID-19
18. After Mother's Day and COVID-19
19. Masks and face coverings
June 2020 - Journaling...
20. The journey outside, post-stay-at-home
21. The protests
22, About LGBTQ Supreme Court Law
23. Civil rights and protests
July 2020 - Journaling...
24. Fourth of July
25. COVID-19 Test
26. My test results
27. A Positive COVID-19 test result
28. COVID-19 testing impacts all our lives
August 2020 - Journaling...
29. For COVID-19 cases and deaths to lessen
30. About Naming Senator Harris for VP
31. 100 Years since women's right to vote
September 2020 -
32. More ways to journal
October 2020 -
33. Begin Your COVID-19 Journal
November 2020 -
34. 50 Ways to journal
Blog 2 - Journaling - Using the Bible
I approach Journaling as a spiritual self-help tool. I journal but also include my prayers to ensure that I account for my feelings and actions as in a diary when writing. This way I paint a picture of not only who I am but also who I want to become. So, whether you keep a journal, diary or hybrid as I do, most of the tips and suggestions in this blog are equally applicable. Just remember: “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” – Matthew 12:36. Fill your journal with words of meaning to you.
Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to write things down. It is important to write your vision where you want to go as a first step in taking hold of your life, by journaling. In the oracle or Habakkuk, the prophet complained to the Lord and asked for help because of the wickedness that surrounded him. He was looking for justice for the wrongdoers. Because he believed and trusted in the Lord, Habakkuk knew the Lord had the answer to his problem. The Lord responded saying “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”
Habakkuk complained again about men who were destroying the nation“Then the LORD replied:“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:2-3
When our lives are not going as we like and we are suffering, we call on the Lord asking for help and an end to the pain. In this anguish, there is meaning and always something to be learned. When the Lord answered Habakkuk the second time, he gained hope because of the answer to write down this information so that it can be shared with and by others.
Now we want to change our lives by journaling because we are not satisfied. To accomplish our goal, we must write down what we want and mull over it and wrestle it until the destination is clear. The Lord will meet us where we are as we stand in silence while we write and watch him work and witness His glory in action in our lives and those around us.
God was revealing the big picture and Habakkuk didn’t quite get it. But he knew that no matter what, God says, “The righteous will live by his faith.So what do you want to write about? Where are you going? "What would you like to achieve with your journal?
Promise yourself to journal it. Whatever your purpose for journaling, it cannot be accomplished without a commitment to write. Make it easy on yourself and reset your priorities as you may need to give up some other activity. No new endeavor can be accomplished without an obligation to fulfill it. Consider this as your time for you and you alone. When you don’t feel like writing at your appointed time, simply stare at the top of the page and write…”I have nothing to say about anything, because______.” More than likely at your next sitting you have something to write, because you will have thought about it over and over. Journal It! Try. 03.11.2020
Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to write things down. It is important to write your vision where you want to go as a first step in taking hold of your life, by journaling. In the oracle or Habakkuk, the prophet complained to the Lord and asked for help because of the wickedness that surrounded him. He was looking for justice for the wrongdoers. Because he believed and trusted in the Lord, Habakkuk knew the Lord had the answer to his problem. The Lord responded saying “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”
Habakkuk complained again about men who were destroying the nation“Then the LORD replied:“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:2-3
When our lives are not going as we like and we are suffering, we call on the Lord asking for help and an end to the pain. In this anguish, there is meaning and always something to be learned. When the Lord answered Habakkuk the second time, he gained hope because of the answer to write down this information so that it can be shared with and by others.
Now we want to change our lives by journaling because we are not satisfied. To accomplish our goal, we must write down what we want and mull over it and wrestle it until the destination is clear. The Lord will meet us where we are as we stand in silence while we write and watch him work and witness His glory in action in our lives and those around us.
God was revealing the big picture and Habakkuk didn’t quite get it. But he knew that no matter what, God says, “The righteous will live by his faith.So what do you want to write about? Where are you going? "What would you like to achieve with your journal?
Promise yourself to journal it. Whatever your purpose for journaling, it cannot be accomplished without a commitment to write. Make it easy on yourself and reset your priorities as you may need to give up some other activity. No new endeavor can be accomplished without an obligation to fulfill it. Consider this as your time for you and you alone. When you don’t feel like writing at your appointed time, simply stare at the top of the page and write…”I have nothing to say about anything, because______.” More than likely at your next sitting you have something to write, because you will have thought about it over and over. Journal It! Try. 03.11.2020