QUARANTINE BLOG # 585

November 5, 2021

A few weeks ago I asked you to pray for our friend Elizabeth who needs back surgery, but because of COVID, and many other factors, it has been delayed.  Brian told me yesterday that after several more rounds of very stressful tests, and discovering a new drug allergy, medicos are saying that they could get a surgical date within a month.  Please join them, and me, in praying for a Christmas miracle.

👉  Pennsylvania – where Bonnie, the JAMM Kids, and I lived in Erie, Markleton, Windber, and Julian – is nicknamed The Keystone State.  

The word “keystone” is from architecture.  It describes the central wedge-shaped stone in an arch which holds all the other stones in place.  Pennsylvania’s nickname is “The Keystone State” because it was the middle colony of the original thirteen colonies, and because Pennsylvania has held a key position in the economic, social, and political development of the United States. 

Three of our most treasured documents are associated with Pennsylvania: the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution (both executed in Philadelphia), and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  

Signing the Declaration of Independence

Pennsylvania’s state song mentions the state nickname in the second verse: “Birthplace of a mighty nation, Keystone of the land.”

Next up: The Volunteer State.

👉  This one is a few days late, but definitely a good laugh:

👉  In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy retained his seat in the state house by 40,524 votes out of almost 2.5 million cast.  Republicans claimed all three statewide offices in Virginia, and will likely take control of the state’s House of Delegates.  Knowing the mid-term – 2022 – election is close enough for “I approved this ad” to start, QB offers two perspectives:

👉  I was first introduced to Roy Clark while watching “Hee Haw.”  A country western version of Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In,” “Hee Haw” was in first run for 24 years beginning in 1969, but it has been in syndication so often it seems like it has never been off the air.  All of the recurring sketches for a season were filmed in batches, setting up for the Cornfield one day, the Joke Fence on another day, etc.  An entire season’s worth of shows were taped in two separate week-long sessions, then individual shows were assembled from edited sections.  Only musical performances were taped with a live audience, while a laugh track was added to all other segments.  One segment featured Roy and Buck Owens “Pickin' and Grinnin.’” The show was pure corn, and even today, funny and a breath of fresh air.

Well, what started this trip down memory lane, you ask?  I’m glad you asked.  And the explanation makes as little sense as anything I’ve said lately.  I was watching the YouTube trailer for the new Disney+ show, “The Book of Boba Fett” (Boba Fett!  Where?!) and when the clip ended, a screen full of other offerings popped up.  I clicked on Roy Clark playing “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”  Enjoy some magical picking and grinning.

👉  “Ghost Riders in the Sky” tells a tale of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, and being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys.  One warns him that if he does not change his ways, he will be doomed to join them, forever “trying to catch the Devil’s herd across these endless skies.”  Here is Marty Robbins doing the vocal version.

👉  In a day in which few people seem to be satisfied with the way they look, and folks are increasingly going to chemicals and surgery (Have you seen the ads where you pay $14.95 plus shipping and handling for some cream you can rub under you eyes 6 times and eliminate the wrinkles for a couple of hours?) QB offers a warning:

👉  Today’s close, “The Best Answer to Prayer,” is from The Story by Zondervan.

“The word of the Lord came to [Abram] ... ‘A son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the Lord, and he credit it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:4-6)

Abraham had a very specific question for God – the God who had at one point promised to make him a great nation (Genesis 12:2). Abraham and Sarah were still childless, so how exactly was God planning to keep his promise? Abraham raised this issue, respectfully addressing the Promise-Maker as “Sovereign Lord” (15:2).

God didn’t answer with a specific time; he didn’t give Abraham a due date to plan around. Instead, God reiterated his promise and offered an object lesson. Of course Abraham couldn’t count the stars in the sky. Neither would he be able to count his descendants. But in the meantime, God gave him no real specifics.

Sometimes when you have a question for the Lord, he may answer with only his presence. And his presence will sustain you more than any details you thought you wanted.

When God answers your prayers with his presence, that will truly be all you need.

-30-