QUARANTINE BLOG # 402

May 6, 2021

Years ago, when I was writing a weekly column for The Augusta Chronicle I would hear a story, or see a TV program with my children and one of them would say, “It sounds like there is a column in there.”  Here is one of those stories.

A farmer in Belgium inadvertently changed geography by moving his country’s border with France.  The farmer was driving a tractor and apparently got annoyed by a large stone blocking his path.  So, he moved it slightly.  Farmers move stones all the time, but this wasn’t just any stone – it was there to mark the boundary between the two countries.  He moved the marker about 7.5 feet, effectively giving Belgium more land.

“I was happy, my town was bigger,” one mayor said, laughing. “But the next mayor over didn’t agree.”  The mayor of another French village told the local newspaper La Voix du Nord  “we should be able to avoid a new border war.”

And the story: borders are constantly being moved.  Look at what is acceptable behavior today, and then remember how it was before we threw out God and His Word.

👉  For Pandora, laboratory-made diamonds are forever.  The world’s largest jewelry maker announced that it will no longer use mined diamonds – a decision, it said, that stemmed partially from consumer demand.  Pandora Group, is launching its first collection exclusively created with diamonds manufactured in labs globally in 2022.  It said the move aims to make the company’s jewelry more affordable, accessible and sustainable. 

Lab-created diamonds are outpacing mined diamonds in industry growth.  They are not synthetic diamonds because they have the same optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics, are also made from carbon, and are graded by the same standards known as the 4Cs – cut, color, clarity and carat weight.

👉  On July 20th, “New Shepard” will fly its first astronaut crew to space.  Blue Origin, a private space company founded by Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame, is offering one seat on its first flight to the winning bidder in online auction.  The first bids were taken yesterday, the day 60 years ago that Alan Shepard made history by becoming the first American to fly to space.  You can place your sealed bids on BlueOrigin.com for two weeks and then the bids are unsealed, and continue as a regular online auction.  On June 12, action will conclude with a live online auction.  The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, “Club for the Future,” to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help invent the future of life in space. 

👉  It hasn’t been a week since Disneyland reopened, but already the wolves are howling at the door.  The park has remodeled the popular Snow White ride, renamed it “Snow White's Enchanted Wish,” with new music, LED back lighting, laser projections, an animation system, and new scenes, including Snow White dancing.  Kim Irvine, Executive Creative Director for Walt Disney Imagineering, was wrong when she said, “The guests will be blown away by such a sweet storyline.”  All the fuss is over the Prince giving Snow White a kiss that wakes her from the evil Queen’s spell.  Critics say, “A kiss he gives to her without her consent, while she’s asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it’s happening.”  So the Prince remains polite and Snow White never wakes up?  How long will it be before “they” demand that Dopey be renamed?

👉  President Joe Biden is pushing for 70% of U.S. adults to receive at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by July 4, up from 56% at present – a significant goal as vaccination rates are declining nationwide and demand wanes.  Only 40.6% of adults are fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve received either two shots of Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccine or one shot of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine.  In some states, as much as 30% of the population doesn’t plan on getting vaccinated.

The federal government has ordered enough doses from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to fully vaccinate every American by mid-summer.  Public health experts believe between 70% and 90% of Americans will need to be immune to the coronavirus – either through vaccination or prior infection – before the virus is unable to spread in communities, a condition known as herd immunity that some observers fear could be tough to reach.  

On his 100th day in office the President visited former President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, greeting them as the Carters missed their first presidential inauguration since they left office.   Perhaps Mr. Biden could return to Georgia and encourage our citizens to get the coronavirus vaccine.  Georgia ranks 47 out of 50 with only 25.71% of Georgians vaccinated – and that is shameful!

👉  A couple of smiles from Baby Blues:

👉  And some words of wisdom:

👉  Our close today, “Our Help In Times of Trouble,” is by Lynette Kittle.

“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).

When trouble comes, what is our first reaction?  Do we turn to God first, seeking His help?  Or, do we first look to other people, like family members, friends, or neighbors to take care of us?  Do we check to see what government programs there are to aid and assist us before going to God?

Although God can work through all of the above to help us during times of trouble, He wants us to turn first to Him for help, before asking others for assistance.  Yet, why do many of us choose to go to Him as a last resort?

Often the enemy of our soul convinces us that God isn’t willing to help us, especially if we’ve been the one to get ourselves into trouble.  He convinces us that because we messed up, we don’t deserve God’s help and therefore we have no right to ask Him because we aren’t innocent in the situation.

Even if it is our fault, God wants us to turn to him.  Psalm 91:15 explains, “He will call on me, and I will answer Him; I will be with Him in trouble, I will deliver Him and honor Him.”

God’s willingness to help us is not determined on whether or not we’re responsible for the trouble we’re experiencing, but rather on His great compassion and mercy towards us.  Isaiah 30:18 says, “the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.  For the LORD is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Do you need help today?  To whom will you turn?

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