QUARANTINE BLOG # 126

August 3, 2020

Let’s start off with two politically incorrect comic panels.  Receiving the first one from one of my readers I was warned not to open the email if my political skin was thin.  It isn’t.  I opened it (if you have a good one of Sleepy Joe, I’ll give equal time).  The other one, I forget where it came from, but it sure speaks truth.

👉  Friday night the freezer section of our refrigerator started making the devil’s own noise (it must be contagious, our upright freezer died a month ago).  I checked out a YouTube video and was able to fix it in 10 minutes – after listening to the noise for over a day.  Lesson learned: If you buy a GE “frost free refrigerator/freezer” it doesn’t mean it will not frost up.  It just means there is no extra charge for the frost.

👉  Yesterday I watched the landing of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon bringing astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken safely back to earth.  You could see the 2 drogue chutes open, then the 4 mains, and splashdown!  It sure wasn’t like this in the old days of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.

There was something disturbing in the picture – there were private ships in the area sailing past the Dragon, then position themselves to watch the recovery.  Kind of like watching some idiot jump out of the stands and run out onto the field during a baseball game.  One of the commentators said, “Maybe next time we shouldn’t announce our landing site.”  Amen to that!

👉  One of the first cruise ships in the world to resume sailing since the coronavirus-caused worldwide halt to cruising in March is experiencing a significant outbreak of the illness that already has sent several people to the hospital.  Norwegian expedition cruise company Hurtigruten (not Norwegian Cruise Lines) late Friday said four sick crew members from the 535-passenger Roald Amundsen were admitted to the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsø, Norway.  All four had tested positive for COVID-19.  On Saturday, the line said another 32 crew members had tested positive for the illness.  The next voyage of the vessel, which had been scheduled to begin this Friday, has been canceled.  No passengers have been reported with COVID-19.

👉  UnCruise Adventures is one of just a handful of cruise operators that has been  allowed to restart trips in North America.  The company’s 60-passenger Wilderness Adventurer sailed out of Juneau late Saturday on a seven-night, trip to remote parts of Southeast Alaska.  To allow for social distancing, the vessel sailed with 37 passengers and 30 crew.  A team of crew members has been assigned to continuously clean every surface on the vessel from top to bottom in a cycle that takes about three hours.  Once they finish, they start again.  In addition, breakfasts and lunches, which used to be buffets, will now be table served.

👉  If you know the relationship between the two objects in the photo below, you are in the primary at-risk age group (you are old) and need to take extra precaution:

👉  From an Associated Press report: Who gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine?  U.S. health authorities hope by late September to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses.  “Not everybody’s going to like the answer,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.  “There will be many people who feel that they should have been at the top of the list.”

Traditionally, first in line for a scarce vaccine are health workers and the people most vulnerable to the targeted infection.  And don’t forget volunteers in the final stage of vaccine testing who get dummy shots, the comparison group needed to tell if the real shots truly work.  “We owe them ... some special priority,” Collins said.

Beyond that?  Setting priorities will require “creative, moral common sense,” said Bill Foege, who devised the vaccination strategy that led to global eradication of smallpox.

👉  A Georgia overnight camp hit by a coronavirus outbreak took many precautions, but didn’t make campers wear masks or have proper ventilation in buildings, according to a government report.  The camp, which was not identified in reports, followed disinfecting rules and required staff to wear masks, but campers didn’t have to wear face coverings.  Nor it seems was social distancing followed – cabins had between 16 to 26 people.  Test results were available for 344 people and 260 of them – about three-quarters – were positive.

👉  For today’s closing piece, the first day of school for students in Columbia County and Warren County, I offer three prayers from the website flourishingtoday.com.  If you or your children or your grandchildren are not starting today in what is not just new, but very very different, I pray this forward for them to the day when they will need it.

Prayer for Protection 

For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him  (Psalm 34:7 NLT).

Thank you, Lord for Your divine protection over our children.  Keep them safe as they travel to and from school.  Protect them from any physical harm while they are in school.  I stand on Your Word that no weapon formed against them will prosper.  I thank you that Your angels stand guard over them and surround them like a shield.   Guard their hearts and minds as they step out to meet new friends.  Let negative words or comments, roll off them and not take root in their souls.  Cover them as they navigate this new school year and guide them in the right direction.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Prayer for Relationships at School

Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble  (Proverbs 13:20 NLT).

Everyone must submit to governing authorities.  For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God (Romans 13:1 NLT).

Father, I thank you for the gift of friendships.  I thank you that You’ve wired each of our children uniquely different to satisfy your purpose for them.  Let that beauty shine as they head back to school and engage with others.  Help others to see the good in them and help them to see the good in others.  Steer them to the relationships you want them to be in and protect them from the ones that could hurt them.  Help us to guide them and teach them what it means to be a friend.  Lord, I pray that they are placed with the right teachers who will walk in understanding with them, but also challenge them to be their best.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Prayer for Good Work Ethic this School Year

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Colossians 3:23-24 NLT).

Lord, thank You that You are equipping my children to learn this year and work hard, not just for grades, but because they desire to please You.  Help them in the times where they feel tired and weary.  Help us to encourage them and lift them up, but also help them to push through when necessary.  I pray above all else this year that they would begin to understand that the work they do is to glorify You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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