This morning Liz got a text notification from one of the French news sites she follows:
(imagine her perky voice reading it)
“So, here we are in week two of confinement.”
The phrasing was such, in French, that there was an air of (honestly) welcome air of lightness about the statement. Otherwise, coverage is “all grave, all the time.”
So with a similar perky tone, despite a very grave reality, here are…
Today’s #3GoodThings
- Church at a Distance: Yesterday I did something I hadn’t done in about 12 years. I sat down to pre-record a Bible study / sermon (The last time was in 2007 when I was in St. Louis to record the Exploring God’s Word home Bible study for the – then – Home Missions Division.)
By yesterday it had been two weeks since we’d been with the rest of the church members and it was nice to be able to communicate something to them personally. There are plenty of livestreams out there, but I’m convinced that the voice of your pastor is still among the most reassuring.
I’m thankful for technology that allows us to still connect despite lockdown. Yesterday’s sermon is up on YouTube and as of last night, everyone had already watched it. - Sunday School at a Distance as well: It was neat to be in different parts of the house after the morning service (see below) and hear other recordings going on. Dominic spent some time recording a special Sunday School session – including music to sing, and Liz did one for the smallest ones (cue perky kids’ voice again). In the afternoon, Dominic’s Sunday Schooler called to go over his memory verses. Soo cool!
- Church up close: There’s something being put into our kids that is pretty outstanding. Living far from established churches has already bore fruit in their lives. They are less dependent on a crowd to maintain their walk with God, but lockdown takes it to a whole new level. For the first time in my lifetime, we are forbidden to meet together as a church. Because of our kids’ musicality, we were able to have church “as usual” in our living room – keyboard, guitar and an Irish, hand-held drum all helped us make a joyful noise before we looked into the Word.
These will be memories that mark our kids and I’m so thankful that they’re learning that it’s possible to have church outside of the church building.
I remember my own mom, when a snowstorm would periodically shut down church – she often had a little Sunday School lesson there in the living room. Those memories stick with us. When there’s no church, it doesn’t mean a church-free day, you continue to worship… as a family.
Hence the important, parents, of us being willing & able to teach our own kids & not just leave it up to someone else to do so.
I’ll leave it there for today…
God is GOOD. He is our refuge!
Looking for some good reading while your other activities are limited? Read about simple pleasures… like home-made ice cream, from my grandfather’s journal.
AIM Long 