Hope your lent has been going well! Many of us are quarantined/self quarantined due to the COVID 19!
I had some thoughts the other day as I went around to grocery stores to get some things. They were out of Toilet Paper again! Didn’t everyone have enough after they were out before!? I didn’t need any, thank goodness, and we are not hording. I buy a package when we need it and the last time I needed some a store had just gotten a shipment in!
I was out buying the usual milk, bread, eggs. When one follows the directions of 1 per customer, it means you have to go out again before the 14 days are up. Of course I needed table napkins and liquid hand soap, and the stores were out of these things! No big problem for me, I bought a 3 pack of bar soap and when home. At home I had a hand washing demonstration for the kids with the bar of soap. Of course the younger ones all wanted to try After that I went downstairs and dug out my cloth napkins that hadn’t been used in about 8 years! S’s response was “wow, we haven’t used these in a long time!” Every one else wanted to know what they were!
Just a short story on The Family of the Good Shepherd back in 2009-2011. In those beginning days I didn’t have the funds to buy paper napkins and towels. So I bought cloth napkins and utility towels, kitchen towels, etc… For quite a number of years now the ministry has been able to afford to buy paper napkins and towels. I am very glad I kept the cloth napkins, as they are coming in handy until the stores have paper ones again.
On homeschooling/distance learning: It was the plan of The Family of the Good Shepherd to homeschool all the kids in the home as a means for helping them heal, gain confidence and work on catching up in school. In Nebraska one cannot homeschool foster children. (I did not know this when I started up, but leaned it as I tried to get my 1st placement so long ago signed up for homeschool) (It varies state to state if foster children can be homeschooled.) So while the isolations is hard, it has been nice to work the kids during the whole day as originally planned. Today is Wednesday, also the Annunciation, so for school we did PE, Art, Music and making cookies! It gives the week a break when there are extra curricular mid week!
The Readings for today:
Gospel Lk 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
The Gospel of the Lord! Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!
Let us always remember to say “Yes” to God’s will in our life. Even when it looks hard, challenging, impossible. Remember God is in charge! This didn’t look easy to Mary either, but she is Yes trustingly! God always wins!
Let us keep one another in prayer in these times!
