We made it! Another Friday, another weekend. Stay safe, Dear Ones. Thanks to all those serving in essential capacities. We are grateful. Praying for you.
1) Happy Tunes with Beyond the Guitar – Nathan Mills is bringing a lift to all our hearts in these days with this sweet medley of Disney/Pixar movie themes. Enjoy!
2) Some Good News – Actor John Krasinski has redeemed his time at home during the COVID-19 crisis by producing his own news program. Some Good News. It is funny, and celebratory, and nostalgic. Don’t miss it (Episode 1 and waiting on Episode 2 in the next week). In the meantime, we can catch bits of good news on his Twitter and Facebook pages – some he finds and some posted by others of us with good news. Bring it! Thanks, John!
[Sidebar: Can you believe it’s the 15th anniversary of the American TV show The Office?!]
John Krasinski Reveals the Conversation that “Saved” His Relationship with Emily Blunt – Randee Dawn
3) Hunkering Down – This week in the US, we are seeing state after state giving mandates to Stay at Home. As we watch the numbers of new cases of and deaths from COVID-19 continue to escalate, the motivation for social distancing is high. Essential workers still go to work and others of us work from home. The economy has been hit hard, but if we can contain COVID-19, things should get better. Return to normal? Who knows what the new normal will look like? We must stay hopeful.
I have struggled with anxiety and fear, but thankfully focusing on God, praying, and reaching out (appropriately) to others as much as possible have all been restorative in the stress of these days.
Being proactive and cultivating new positive habits will help us endure and thrive through whatever our current circumstances are. Many of us now have friends and family who have contracted this disease. We want to keep the impact of this disease as low as possible…worrying or panic will not help them or us. So…we hunker down.
Photo Credit: Senior Airman Alexa Culbert, AETC
Photo Credit: Science Museum of Virginia
Photo Credit: Georgia Health News
[Even as I posted the above graphics, the thought came how we’ve all seen maybe more graphics on COVID-19 than we hope ever to see again…we can social distance…we can encourage and stay connected in creative ways and we can pray.]
This Is a War and Where Are the Prayer Warriors to Win This Battle? #PandemicPrayers – Ann Voskamp [included free is a powerful prayer bookmark]
Be calm and shelter on.
Just maybe a sweet daughter-in-law will bring the grands for a drive-by. Hope so.
4) Holy Week – It’s hard to believe that Lent is almost over, and Holy Week starts on Sunday. With our battle against Coronavirus, Lent and Easter will be very different in some ways…hopefully not in the most important ways.
[There is also the breaking of the anxiety, instilling some by humor like the joke going around “not planning to give up quite this much for Lent”.]
We will still observe what happened this week and commemorate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It will be in much smaller gatherings (at home)…not in the church buildings. In fact, I hope since the church “left the building”, we are reaching out to our neighbors and the world, even more in the way Jesus did when he was here in the flesh.
Photo Credit: Jared Burwell, Facebook
#HopeNowHopeAlways
Below are two resources for celebrating this Holy Week. I will also be posting daily blogs, as in years past, to mark the history of this last week of Jesus’ earthly life.
Holy Week Devotions – Mission Lakewood (Family, this is nephew/cousin’s Jeremy’s church)
Experience Easter – From Genesis to Revelation – K-Love
Holy Week Timeline – From Palm Sunday to the Resurrection – Mary Fairfield
5) Surprising Twitter Benefits – Twitter has been a great benefit to me. Some excellent thinkers post their ideas and opinions on there… Of course, there are some profane, divisive, self-absorbed folks who regularly darken the Twittersphere as well. I have been very deliberate in whom I follow and whom I don’t. Now, I do follow people very different from me, but they are good teachers of whatever makes up “the other side”. Below are tweets from six different persons – no politics involved – four of whom I met through Twitter. Enjoy.
#sermonnotes #bethechurch #walkwithJesus #trustandobey pic.twitter.com/YkzWkneZDC
— Michael Catt (@MichaelCatt) March 29, 2020
Kleenex might be needed https://t.co/WyfjW6bPDz
— Lunchbox (@RadioLunchbox) April 2, 2020
These notes were on Adrian Rogers’ desk when he died.
7 Characteristics of Sp. Leadership
Character – who he is
Conviction – what he believes
Cause – where he’s headed
Competency – what he can do
Courage – who he trusts
Company – who he fellowships
Confirmation – who he pleases pic.twitter.com/5XVUJUVRXn— Andrew Hébert (@andrewhebert86) March 3, 2020
Are you reacting, which increases cortisol, the stress hormone, or responding, which calms your brain and body? Reacting is instinctual. Responding is a conscious choice. https://t.co/4TvYlVdAos#stress #brain #anxiety #depression #mentalhealth #anger #emotions #FridayThoughts pic.twitter.com/5XQZUxQ1eC
— Debbie Hampton (@dlhampton) April 3, 2020
Jonathan Edwards, who got to experience the Great Awakening, the largest revival our country has yet seen, knew how central prayer must be in all that we do. As he said, "Prayer doesn't bring the revival; prayer is the revival." – JD Greear shared by @KieBowman pic.twitter.com/hBMOpfZgx7
— Trey Kent (@trey_kent) February 28, 2020
The highlight of my week was Tuesday night.
I made “Olive Garden” breadsticks w/ one of my sons. My daughter decorated our dining room table to look like an Italian restaurant.
We ate spaghetti with Italian cafe music in the background while we talked & laughed for an hour.
— Julie Masson (@juliermasson) April 4, 2020
YouTube Video – Italian Music – Background Chill Out
Bonuses:
The Three Kinds of Leaders You See in a Crisis – Carey Nieuwhof
Finally, a few Spring beauties from our friend, Marc Merlin.
