"Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses started out as a basket case." ~ copied

Hello and welcome. It is Tuesday, May 26, 2020, and many are getting back from the Memorial Day three day holiday. I had a lot of interesting tidbits for today but they are like fireflies that light up brightly but fade quickly at daybreak. Day has dawned and those interesting ideas went the way of the Sabre-toothed Tiger. (I used to always say 'way of the buffalo', as in the American Bison, but fortunately for the buffaloes, they have made a comeback and now number in excess of 500 thousand here in our country.) I know. The Sabre-toothed Tiger doesn't have the same ring to it but it is extinct and that was the point of the illustration. There are a lot of annoying postings on Facebook. I know you knew that, but, there are some that are really irritating. Those that dare you to copy and repost. Those that shame you if you don't do what they ask. Those that guarantee prosperity and blessings if you send it to your friends' list. Those that threaten God's wrath on anyone who stops the flow. And, there we were, thinking chain letters were a thing of the past. Some even go as far as to say if you don't share this posting then you don't love God. My response is fairly consistent. I don't care for any of those types of postings and typically skip them without fanfare. Yes. I do believe they have the right to put those types of postings up. Free speech. We used to toss chain letters. I reserve the right to do the same with postings like the ones I outlined. You can too. At least, for now.

We attended the early Church service at our local meeting facility this past Sunday. It was the first scheduled service since early March. There were about 200 of us in the early service. The main sanctuary was set up to facilitate social distancing. There were sanitizer stations and they had masks for anyone who requested one. We had not known what to expect. Everyone was somewhat on edge because of this virus. When the pastor got up to welcome everyone, before he could really get into it, thunderous applause erupted and continued for a while. However, when we started singing that first song, it was an amazing experience. The chorus went like this:

Open up the heavens
We want to see You
Open up the floodgates
A mighty river
Flowing from Your heart
Filling every part of our praise

This was met with shouts of joy and praise along with tears. We got a glimpse of what God intended when He said we were to meet with one another to honor Him and build each other up in the faith. Yes. We probably shook more hands than we had anticipated and gave a few more hugs as well, but, we were together again and more importantly God showed up in a big way. Amen.

Some have said we may have to retrain our faces how to smile coming out of this pandemic. Many have taken shots at coming up with jokes to help accomplish this. ~ One restaurant owner in Great Britan came up with this one: If you want to know how it feels to be in hospitality during the Coronavirus pandemic, think about the Titanic sinking and the band playing. We are the band! ~ A couple of names have come up for the babies who will be born as a result of folks being at home for so long: One suggestion: The Coronials and the other when they become teens, The Quaranteens. ~ A New Yorker Magazine cartoon had this caption: "If you don't have weights at home, try using canned food or the psychological burden of simply existing in the world." ~ One posted this bit of encouragement, "Just heard the Coronavirus doesn't infect rats or snakes. That should make us all feel safer." ~  I did see a poll that indicated Americans generally saw some beneficial aspects of the lockdown. This was reflected in families becoming closer and those types of outcomes. As with any crisis, some turned to God. Maybe for the first time. That's always the right thing to do. Always. Have a great rest of the day and may God add His blessings. Amen. .....More later.