Corona Devotionals

I know that my perspective is not everyone’s perspective, and it is good for us to get a fresh perspective sometimes. I am wading through the Corona ocean and its waves as a wife and a mom.  And some of you may not be wives or moms.  So please forgive me for my perspective when it does not align with yours. For those of us with kids, or those of us who are teachers, or are married to teachers: WE ARE IN OUR THIRD WEEK HOME WITH THE KIDS!  I’m sorry, was I shouting?  Or near hysteria in my tone?  I’m sure I didn’t mean it that way.  I’m sure. The truth is, even though I joke about it, during the past weeks, the Lord has been doing some major renovation work on my heart and my appreciation (instead of dictatorship) over my kids.  Of course I have always loved them, but lately Jesus is helping me (and maybe you) to focus on my kids, and fall in love with them in a new way.  The Bible mentions kids a lot, and Jesus is pretty clear about how he feels about children: “But Jesus s

Well, I caught up on the world news yesterday, which sort of gave me a bellyache.  I know that the Corona cycle of things will take time (how much?), and I know that the state of things is poor, but geez, it is almost sickening to listen to all that they tell you on the news.  It’s no secret that our world, and we, are in trouble.  The “trouble” may be physical, or emotional, or relational, or mental, or spiritual, but (unfortunately) I think it is a fair assessment that people across the globe are in trouble right now as we face the Coronavirus and its effects on all of these levels. But the Lord is here .  Psalm 46 brings us truth and comfort that can strengthen us today. Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. The Bible states things very simply, and sometimes it’s so easy that we miss parts of it.  Please don’t miss the first word (and main point) of this verse:  God.   Is the vaccine our refuge and strength?  Is having enough grocerie

As days melt from one into the next, and the calendar becomes less important and relevant to my days, I had almost forgot that we are 2 weeks out from Easter. I forgot.  Jesus did not. Each year I love to celebrate the Easter season and realize freshly all that Christ sacrificed for me (and you, and every human ever).  But I guess it’s fair (and possibly even understandable) given the Corona situation that Easter might be approaching without our normal awareness. But I continue to be amazed and challenged daily by the Lord’s leading (and holding me accountable) in my days and my life through His Word in the Bible.  He keeps us on track, no matter what is happening in the Corona-storm around us. The verses below remind us that Easter is coming, and that it’s not about chocolate bunnies and hidden eggs.  It’s about Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross for us, to pay for our sin, so that we can be seen as “clean” when God looks at us.  If we accept the gift of salvation that Jes

It's hard to put into words the heaviness.  How can I explain the feeling of being in a pit with greased sides, and not being able to get any grip to climb out?  The Corona situation and news and constant conversation has me at the bottom of a slimy pit sometimes.  The News.  The unknown of the longevity of the stay-at-home.  The lack of cure.  Sometimes it is from feeling cooped up, and sometimes it is out of shear sadness for someone close to me that is hurting and drowning in all of this.  Sometimes that someone is me.   The terror and worry that the media are shoving down our throats via our TV's and devices is actually choking me.  Choking my hope, and any shred of joy.  I think one evil angle of the Coronavirus is the WORRY of it that sucks the life out of our bones. I try to breathe deep breaths of Jesus, of the birds singing, of my family.  And sometimes it works.  But this Corona quick-sand seems to continually pull me in, and I feel myself trapped (and feeling

We are in the middle of something here. Not just in our homes, but in our cities, and in our states, and in our Nation.  And we are in the middle of something happening right now across the world! Of course you already know that. But, similar to an ostrich, I feel like I have had my head buried in the sand for a week or two, (but who's counting anymore?!), and I think I was missing the big picture of whatever it is that is happening. I feel like I have "buried my head" (physically--by government order), but also mentally and emotionally from the world.  I haven't really wanted to deal with the media fact-reports about the Coronavirus, and the (strange) delight they seem to take in dropping suggestions that are not even true (at this stage), and yet cause me a lot of worry: (small businesses folding, the U.S. economy crashing, our lungs blowing up...more deaths!).  I am scared and frightened at the unknown, the stress and the worry of all of this.  I am realizi

If we ever needed a friend, it is now. There are many crazy angles and levels to how the Coronavirus is affecting us, and most of them are not  physical (praise God.)  One emotional angle that I would not have foreseen was the isolation piece to this "social-distancing" and "stay-at-home" season of our lives.  I don't consider myself overly social, but apparently I never realized how much my heart and spirit would miss seeing/visiting/catching-up with people.   I think part of America's Corona-"slump" is that we are not able to get out and see people. Our people. I realized (how much) I was missing friends when one reached out yesterday.  It felt so good to have that connection.   I also made a new friend yesterday.  (It was a great day😀!)  We didn't meet in person (of course!--this is Corona season), but we met over email discussing God's Word and the interaction and sentiments made my day. God knows our hearts (He c

I wish I was living out my faith more authentically (genuinely) lately.  We can talk a good game, but I think one of God’s purposes for us in studying the Bible is to teach us, stretch us, and (sometimes in my case): correct us. All of the Corona-chaos and (at the same time), the Corona- nothingness , is really doing a number on me.  In reading scripture today, I feel like the Lord looked me straight in the eyes and said (My paraphrasing): “Wake up and start living the faith that is in your heart.  Stop squirming in your circumstances, and remember that you can trust Me, and I am in charge (of all of it).  Plus, please stop the “woe is me” act and why don’t you help someone else feel better today?”   Of course the Bible says it slightly different words (below), but that was what I heard . Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  ~Hebrews

Have you ever had the feeling you are being watched?  That can feel eerie, or unsettling.  Sometimes (if we admit it), we want to be watched.  Isn't that what Facebook is often about?  Or the stories we share (brag) about to family or friends about us or our kids.  We like the attention. But the "attention and influence" that I feel like the Lord is reminding us to be aware of today is neither of those scenarios.  In the Bible, in the book of Acts, Chapter 16, two followers of Jesus (Paul and Silas) were traveling from place to place, teaching others about Jesus.  They ran into a couple of shady guys and Paul and Silas put a stop to an unethical business that the guys were running.  This upset the bad guys.  They managed to talk the authorities into having Paul and Silas thrown into jail.  But even worse: The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flo

I am ready to start fresh today, how about you?   You might be like me, and are ready to start fresh on a recent level--I'd like to move forward having learned from some of my experiences and insanities last week.   We have (as a society) gained some perspective on the Coronavirus and possible deterents to keep it from spreading (Stay home!).  Some of us have had a week or so with our kids at home, and the understanding that they will remain out of school has settled on us a bit.   Others of us may (finally) be ready to move forward out of something else--unrelated to the Corona chaos in our minds, cities and world.  We've held on to (fill-in-the-blank) for long enough.  It's finally time to step out of the past and let go of that lost relationship, those regrets, or that past sin.  You are finally ready to start fresh.   I imagine that regardless of whether your situation has come on with Corona, or if it has been suffocating you for years: we have all had some ups