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  2020-04-29

  A Christian couple's thoughts on COVID-19

  Email of journal entries from Marilyn Irwin: "Katie, I’ve been reading psalms and making journal entries....here are a few. Psalms 27:1-6 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? There is so much fear today due to the Coronavirus. We seem to forget that God has each of us in his hands. If we suffer, we suffer for His glory. We can take all the precautions but when it’s our time, clean hands won’t save us. I will dwell in the house of the Lord. I do pray Lord that You bring an end to the virus. I pray you watch over my family and Scott’s family. I especially pray for Donnie, Jo, Janel, and the kids. I pray they have a good visit and that Donnie and Jo get to come home to NH safely. I also pray for healing. Help me to understand my part in their lives. Psalms 28:6-9 As the pandemic continues to grow, we need to remember we are God’s people and he is our shield. He hears our cry. This is a trial we must endure. Panic and fear will not make the virus go away. Psalms 31:1-8 In this time of the unknown, I hope more people find you and take refuge in you. It’s only been a couple of weeks and people are already getting cabin fever. We don’t know what life will look like in the next couple of months. I am trying to follow Your word and cast out fear. I love you Lord and I praise you. Let Your will be done. Psalms 31:9-18 So many of us now are in distress, consumed by what might happen. So many are looking to their own strength to get through this pandemic. Our focus needs to be on you Lord. I am in your hands. Please help me to remember I have no power to change what is happening right now but I do have the power to change the way I think about it. Psalms 31: 19-24 My hope is in the Lord. I must trust His plan though I don’t understand why this is happening. I do pray more people will turn to the Lord. I pray people can still see the beauty in this world. I pray they feel God’s love. I pray we become a stronger, more self sufficient nation and that this nation will turn to you Lord for strength and understanding. I pray more people will open Your word and find comfort in it. When they see the sunrise or a flower in bloom, I pray they see You." Scott Irwin's email: "Our church is a very close knit family.. not the high tech, service streaming type church that has people who watch every week but never come meet anyone. So.. Covid-19 really turned our format of church upside down. Now our small group bible studies on Wednesday's and other days meet using Zoom and the Sunday Service is prerecorded on U-Tube and released at 10:30 am Sundays. During the week the Pastors rotate back and forth doing Daily Devotionals, releasing them about 8:00 am each morning in a church wide email link to the video. It is a little strange.. being cooped up here at home. Our scheduled Bible Studies with church groups are now on Zoom and my CBMC studies are also using Zoom. We don't go out to eat or to the YMCA. We make a few trips to Walmart using their curbside pickup to get food. But, the rest of our schedule is pretty much the same. We sail some on the lake when the wind is just right. We are doing an exercise routine on U-Tube at the same time as a neighbor friend. I'm doing a little more gardening and cabin projects are getting done. Evenings find us relaxing in the hot tub.. Marilyn with her plastic glass of wine. I think mostly not going to church and seeing our friends is the biggest inconvenience. That and our house shopping we like to do after church on Sundays. We know God has a plan in all this and He is working His plan. Things are going to work out and life is going to go on. I'm not sure what things will be like 6 months from now but we aren't worried about it. God is Good. Dad"