QUARANTINE BLOG # 501

August 13, 2021

Many of you who read QB know Mickey Moss.  After I retired, Mickey served Macedonia UMC faithfully and well for 5 years.  Yesterday he sent a prayer request for his granddaughter.  Abby is 8 years old and has tested positive for COVID-19.  In an atmosphere where the Delta variant is surging, barely half of Americans are vaccinated (less than 40% of Georgians) please pray for this precious little girl.  And for all of our young people – especially those who are going to schools where the wearing of masks is not mandated.

I don’t mean for this prayer request to be political.  Far from it!  But Abby’s need is great and all of our kids need the protection of our prayers.

👉  “We Studied One Million Students. This Is What We Learned About Masking.”  That headline was written by Dr. Kanecia Zimmerman and Dr. Danny Benjamin Jr.  Dr. Zimmerman is an associate professor of pediatrics at the Duke University School of Medicine.  Dr. Benjamin is a pediatric-infectious-disease specialist at Duke Health.

From their article:

“Big questions loom over the upcoming back-to-school season: Should children be required to wear masks? Should children go to in-person classes at all?

“If we send children to school without masks, we increase their risk of acquiring COVID-19. Some could suffer illness or die. If we close schools, millions of children will suffer learning loss, and many of them may suffer lifelong effects on their physical and mental health.

“For more than a year, we’ve worked with North Carolina school districts and charter schools, studying the rate of new COVID cases, the efficacy of mitigation measures such as masking and the increased risks of participating in school-sponsored sports. We have learned a few things for certain: Although vaccination is the best way to prevent COVID-19, universal masking is a close second, and with masking in place, in-school learning is safe and more effective than remote instruction, regardless of community rates of infection.

“Vaccination is the strongest method for preventing the ill effects of COVID, but students under 12 years of age are ineligible for the vaccines. Masking, then, is one of the best, most readily available methods to protect them from the disease, with universal masking being one of the most effective and efficient strategies for preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools.

“Universal masking in schools can save lives. Voluntary masking in schools will likely be much less effective and could lead to school closures and community transmission.”

For the entire article, click on this link.

👉  Quarantine Blog correspondents have been sharing a wealth of funny stuff with me, and doing the National Cemetery and the Tombs of the Unknowns, I thought it inappropriate to use them.  So here is a bunch of the goodies, and then I’ll close with a Bible meditation.

👉  Today’s close, “Exercise Self-Control,” is by Joyce Meyer.

Jesus not only commanded you to not allow your heart to be troubled and afraid, He also said, “Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled” (John 14:27 Amplified Classic Version).

You can choose not to get upset.  If you are around someone whose good opinion you value, it’s amazing how much easier it can be to control yourself.  It’s much harder to stay calm when you’re around people you don’t have a need to impress.

When you start to get upset, remember only one thing will put an end to it.  You have to stop it.  You have to get hold of yourself and say, “No, I’m not getting upset.”  You need to remember that everywhere you go, you are a witness for the One you serve and love.

Prayer Starter: Lord, thank You for loving me and setting me free from fear.  Because of You, I no longer need to get upset.  Help me to stay calm.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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