You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday." ...Psalm 91:4-6
******
So at Facebook I wrote --
Uh-oh, I'm feeling rebellious. I adore staying home, but all these activity cancellations make me want to go places like crazy.
Er hem. Anyway.
In February while 'polishing' old blog posts, satan whispered, "You went too heavy on your Prepper Lifestyle Posts." Even later he'd repeat that while I dusted or washed dishes.
But this month? Oh, what a few weeks, a contagious virus, and panicked wild-eyed shoppers can change.
Today color me thankful for the common-sense warnings (people will shop!), instructions and prepper websites I gave you. I did my part, then left the ball in your court to do with as you decided. There's no conviction weight upon my shoulders, only much added peace.
(Yeah, along with extra toilet paper, hand sanitizer and canned and frozen food I've got stored in my basement). ツ
Friends giggled those years ago while I prepped for any trouble (and satan said don't write those posts), but guess who's giggling now?
But yes, with compassion. If you live near me and need something from empty store shelves? Please let me know. I probably have extra.
You've got to know what God's called you to do, otherwise someone just might talk you out of doing it.
UPDATE: Today, Sunday March 15th, is declared by Pres. Trump to be a National Day of Prayer. Check it out here--and please pray!
******
Okay the Professional Stay-At-Home-Gal part.
Last year a friend of our family had to stay home a few weeks and said the boredom almost killed her.
That made me sad.
And now? With zillions of folks watching their outside lives be basically cancelled for weeks (months?), I'm going to share a list of things that we can all still do, happily, at least as of this day, March 14, 2020.
So here you go, ideas from a lady who's had a heck of a lot of staying close to home experience.
You can use these weeks to ---
Read those books stacked on your nightstand or in your Kindle.
Play games with your children. Get reacquainted.
Binge watch those tv series shows you've wanted to.
Sign-up for home delivery of groceries.
Learn something new: how to cook, knit, draw, play an instrument, etc.
Paint a wall, a room.
Rearrange your furniture.
Walk/drive to a mom-and-pop coffee shop or diner.
Invite friends over for a barbeque, dessert, board games, etc.
Watch Youtube. All your interests are covered there (probably).
Relax with coffee and a book on your front porch.
Do yard work. Make some redesigning plans.
Look into prepping sensibly, readying yourself for future glitches.
Take your kids to an outdoor park.
Do some Spring cleaning, decluttering, give some items away, etc.
Craft something beautiful.
Show your children some old black and white classic movies.
Call that plumber, electrician, computer technician you've been meaning to.
Listen to music. Dance. Sing.
Teach your kids new skills.
Rest. De-stress.
Take walks. Start exercising.
Learn a second language(!)
Spend quality time with your spouse.
Discover travel videos online. They'll take you where you cannot go, especially now.
Organize your wardrobe. Make lists of what you need, release what you don't.
Study the Bible. History. Anything which interests you.
Visit with old friends you've not seen in ages.
Order flower and vegetable seeds for Spring.
Encourage friends online. Or call them.
Clean-out that one area of your home which has bothered you for years.
Go have your car washed.
Bake something and take it to a neighbor.
And here you go: 12 museum virtual tours from around the world.
Seriously, this list is endless. I just wanted to comfort those whose real panic is the news chatter telling us our favorite out-and-about pastimes are over for who knows how long.
So there you go.
"...there's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst.”
―
"Don't worry about it. Pray about it." ... Greg Laurie
"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited of what could go right." ... Tony Robbins
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
3 comments:
Oh! That's me! A professional-stay-at-home gal! 👋
I'm right there with you. I've always kept a stock of canned food, freezer food and paper products on hand. Also extra personal care products like shampoo, deodorant, etc. For example, when the shampoo runs low, I buy another to replace it and have a third already on the shelf. So I should always have two back-ups. Just for situations like this. I did go to the store on Monday, but only to buy our normal milk, bread and produce. It was crazy there. I put an extra gallon of mild in the freezer along with some bread and if I don't go anywhere for a month, we'll be fine!
Home is my happy place anyway. Well, home and the lake trailer!
You did your part, Satan can keep his lies to himself.
Blessings,
Betsy
I love being a home gal, too! Although I enjoyed my years of teaching school, after my first cancer diagnosis, 22 years ago, hubby encouraged me to stay home so I could have more time with our daughter. She was a first grader at the time, and I am grateful for every day spent at home, being a wife and mom. Debra, I am so glad that you have been faithful to tell the truth. We all need to hear it. Just as God gives each of us different gifts, I think he also gives us different messages to share with one another. We went to the grocery store last week, but were already well stocked on everything we should need. We live in the country, so we always live that way, so we don't have to make a trip to town if we run out of something. We're all going to have to depend on the Lord for these days we're facing, but as the above passage from C.S. Lewis reminds us, we have always been dependent upon him---maybe we just didn't realize how much we need him. Surely, this will be a time for many to turn to God! That is my prayer. I would also like to ask for your prayers of protection for my daughter, who is a clinic nurse and also for my hubby and myself as we travel back and forth to help babysit for our daughter's baby. Nothing is too difficult for our God. Just like that verse at the top of this post reminds us, He covers us with his wings. I'm going to visualize those big, safe wings every time I get scared.
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