Personal Update/Encouragement Post.

Heyo. The last couple weeks have been insane in my life, and I want to just update you all and share some encouragement! Cuz you’re my friends.

The Virus

Unfortunately, through somebody in our church, our family ended up with a bad sickness. Because we are homeschooled and my dad works from home, we were able to quarantine without much trouble. For personal reasons, we also decided that we did not need to get tested for the virus, and simply followed the fourteen day protocol as advised by the CDC.

That being said, I am the only person in the house who works away from home annnddd… I’m also the only person who has not gotten sick.

So! From the first day that my family started showing symptoms, I have not been going to work. My coworkers and managers are amazing and they have been nothing but helpful and encouraging through this time, and I really miss them and my work environment, but this quarantine has drawn my family and especially me and my siblings closer than we’ve been in a long time.

My sisters only had mild symptoms, which was an encouragement. Losing their sense of smell, taste, and a few mild headaches for a day or two was the end of it. But my parents got it pretty bad. God has been gracious and they are well on the road to recovery now (my mom has been monitoring us cleaning our drawers and rooms to prepare for Christmas).

Why it was good.

This quarantine was a wrench in the everyday part of our lives. We all attend church twice a week, helping in multiple children’s ministries and interacting with our friends, so staying away was hard for us! Especially since we’re normally home the rest of the week.

But, being home, we spent time playing games together. We played scrabble and trivia games on our phones, and yelled and laughed at each other.

We sang a lot of songs and cut our paper snowflakes like we do every November 1st.

I built a blanket fort with my sister and slept in our playroom across the hall of our bedroom for the fun of it.

I finished editing Playgrounds and Black Markers to be ready for Beta readers.

And I’ve caught up on my review books.

God has been good. My family has been officially in the clear (according to CDC guidelines) for a week now. But because I personally did not get sick at all and have not shown symptoms, my “quarantine” didn’t start until their’s was over. So I can’t go back to work until the 17th. I’m so ready and so excited. But God know what He was doing, and I’m thankful for this major disruption of our daily life.

The Election

I don’t have much to say about the election itself. Proverbs 21:1 says “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He will.” No matter who wins and what happens, nothing yet has shocked our God.

He is seated. He is not pacing. He’s not nervous or anxious. He’s not unsettled or scared. He is seated, settled, and secure. That should be an encouragement to us!

Christian, if our nation goes forward to glorify God, stand up for the lives of the unborn, protect our second amendment and have respect for each other, history, and those who gave their lives for our freedom, then we will serve God! We will witness to the lost, we will reach into the dark places and share light. We will feed the hungry, tend the sick, clothe the poor. We will preach the name of Jesus with boldness! We will take care of the fatherless and the widows! We will share encouragement with each other. We will be the Church, the hands and feet of our Jesus!

And, Christian, if our nation chooses to support things that the Bible forbids, forsake the lives of our children, take away our freedoms and our rights. If it chooses to curse the names of people who fought for truth, and desecrate monuments meant to remember them. If it chooses to loot and destroy cities and harm innocent businesses and people, then:

We. Will. Still. Preach. Jesus.

We will still reach to the dark, help the poor, love the children.

Christian, we are the church! Our mission does not end when the world turns down stream. We should fight harder for the lost, pray harder for the hurting, reach farther for those in need. Because we are victorious.

We have already won this war. We are only still here to share that victory with as many people as we can!

We are on a ship that is going under, but we run with hope, we share with hope, “Sinner! There is an answer. There is a life boat waiting to take you away. There is space for everybody! Come! It’s free! You can be saved!”

And when the time comes, we will be taken home.

Home to our Lord.

This is only temporary, Christian. Use it for the glory of God. Do not be discouraged. Be courageous. For He is with you wherever you go!

I have been listening to Pastor Joe Focht and his study through the book of Daniel. If you want an in depth, fact oriented teaching, I highly recommend listening to him! If you’re interested, you can click this link to listen from the Philadelphia Calvary Chapel church. His messages share encouragement in this hard time we live in, but in the light of victory and the glory of our God!