
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL SEPT. 3, 2024



Here is the next offering from CREATIVE CONSULTATIONS.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT HAVE MADE YOU PUT YOUR DREAMS ON HOLD?
I have had a YouTube channel for the last several years. Like so many things in my life I have neglected this channel during the time of my mother’s illness, hospice and passing.Today I am making this channel’s resurrection one of my writing/platform building projects here at the Vicarage. Let’s begin!
WHAT PROJECT HAVE YOU BEEN SITTING ON FOR A WHILE? IS IT TIME TO RESURRECT IT?

The night before last my grandson awoke from sleep crying and wheezing. My son and daughter-in-law packed him up into the car and were off to the emergency room at 2 A.M.

The day before he had been bitten by a mosquito and the bite had swelled up into a giant egg on his leg, so the chief concern was all the fall viruses that come in our area with mosquito bites, like West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

Several towns in our state have put restrictions on afternoon sports programs and other youth activities because of an increase in the number of cases of these dangerous diseases.
As it turns out Sevy does not have West Nile or EEE. He has Covid. And Kristine is also displaying symptoms. Amanda has also tested positive. Amanda has just completed radiation treatments, and so the concern about her immune system’s ability to fight the sickness is pretty high. She also cannot take the medication for Covid offered to many immuno-compromised individuals because of the kind of cancer she had.

Everyone is doing OK this morning. Sevy’s breathing seems to be good now that he is on steroids. Kristine has mild cold systems, and Amanda is experiencing more flu like symptoms but no breathing issues. Joe and I are testing negative, symptom free and feeling fine.
This morning I got up and sanitized both bathrooms and all the living room and dining room furniture.

Amanda is quarantining in her room with Bakari, her kitten.

Kristine and Sevy are quarantining in their bedroom and the playroom.
Joe and I are doing the household chores. Yesterday I made a corn chowder for lunch and a macaroni salad and hotdogs and cheeseburgers for supper. We bought some ginger to make tea along with all the medicines we will need over the next couple of days.
It feels like a throwback to 2020, but it is different. Back then the whole world went quiet. This time we are stepping aside a bit but the world is still spinning.
I AM WONDERING, IN THE NEW NORMAL DO YOU FEEL GUILTY WHEN YOU HAVE TO PULL BACK FROM THE WORLD TO QUARANTINE OR TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF OR WAS THAT ISSUE SOLVED FOR YOU BACK IN 2020?


Tuesday is the busiest day of the week for me, even busier than Sundays if you can believe that. It usually starts with prayer sometime between 3 A.M. and 5 A.M. After this I do morning chores: walk and feed the dogs, make the coffee and my breakfast, get ready for the day, feed the birds, check the cellar to empty the dehumidifier and fill the furnace, and if needed feed and water the chickens. Tuesday is technically Kristine’s day to do the chickens, but she has to work at the church on Tuesdays too and get Sevy ready for the day, so it’s kind of a whoever gets there first kind of thing.
After morning chores I head to the office for our weekly staff meetings. Today we also had a staff retirement lunch for one of our long time administrators, Nancy Phelps.

. Nancy has worked at the church for over a decade. We are going to miss her presence. My daughter-in-law is taking up Nancy’s position.

We had an amazing celebration and lunch at Williams Restaurant in Gardner.

Then it was home and into another time of prayer and then a few spare minutes to write, between calling the dentist about my broken tooth and the plumber about the broken toilet (well I called the dentist and Kristine called the plumber).
Now it is off to youth group and after that family prayer here at The Vicarage. Tomorrow is the day of rest. I always look forward to Wednesdays as a rest day… tomorrow I guess I will rest at the dentist.
