​When a bowl of Jello is shaken or moved around have you noticed that it "jiggles"?  Children seem to enjoy watching Jello "jiggle".  In this world of continuing crisis are there times when your knees are knocking and your heart is pounding with fear?  I am reminded of that bowl of Jello, at least which might be a good description of how our insides feel, all in a turmoil.

​A man by the name of David knew what it was like to live in a world full of one crisis after another.   He knew the solution to that shaken problem in Psalm 91 he says "He is my refuge and my fortress, My God in Him will I trust….You shall not be afraid of the terror".  Back to that bowl of Jello, even when it is shaken up it still holds together.  Are you holding it all together?

A Friday Funny
​
I've gone to look for myself       
If I should return before I get back
Please ask me to wait. 
 
This morning I have been having a "missing" problem, things I looked for were "missing", at least I thought so.  I  had the choice of sitting and "stewing" about it or embracing it with  laughter.  I chose to look on the lighter side of it.  Prov 17:22
" A merry heart does good, like medicine."" So I had a good dose of medicine this morning, how about your day?   
 
Geneva
PS My daughter found all I had "missing" for me. 

​We all face obstacles in life, hindrances that keep us from doing what we want to do.  Currently, the "stay at home" order is a big obstacle to many people this whole virus situation is a big obstacle to our way of life. 
As we have recently turned our attention to the Easter narrative I am reminded about the obstacle some women faced.  They were going to the tomb early that Sunday morning.  I wonder about their conversation as they walked toward the garden cemetery site of Jesus' burial.  I imagine a topic of that discussion was how to get the big stone removed from the entrance of the tomb.  After all, their resources and strength were severely limited compared to the massive stone.  Just imagine their surprise when they arrived to find God had already removed the obstacle. 
What about our obstacles today? Like the women walking along the trail, we may not see past our obstacle but God already has it under His control.  The obstacle was already removed at just the right time.  We just have to wait on God to move whatever obstacle we face.     

​God whispers to us in our pleasures,
God speaks in our conscience!!
But God shouts in our pain. 
It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. 
How is God speaking to you today in your situation?
Psalm 85:8 " I will hear what God the Lord will speak:
For he will speak peace unto his people and to his saints."

During these troubling times, it seems there is darkness all around us.  There doesn’t seem to be any hope for light.  The weather here has been gloomy and cloudy a lot lately just as the attitude is in our world.  However, we are not the only people who have faced a dark world.

​In Matt 27:45 we find that darkness covered Jerusalem.  The people who had been so hopeful for a bright future were suddenly thrown into darkness and chaos on that Friday.  They thought their situation was hopeless. Many people today have that same feeling.  BUT then came Sunday and their world changed to a brighter future than they had before.  The same can be said of us after this darkness Sunday will come with a hopeful future.  Don't give up on hope.  
 

​As a society, we are accustomed to a fast pace of life.  We are masters at multitasking, a mother may be doing laundry while running the dishwasher while cooking a meal in the crockpot so she can do some other task.  We have become comfortable with instant everything from fast internet to instant mashed potatoes.
This health crisis has brought many people's fast lifestyle to a slow crawl.  Perhaps this is God's way of telling us to slow down and spend time with important things in life, like the precious moments with our children, or more importantly spend time with God.  It is a great time for Scripture reading and meditating on the words of God or spending time in prayer.  David reminds us to "Be still" (Psalm 46:10).  Are we being put in a slower life situation so we can be still for our benefit??  

​Did that worry do anything, except give you a headache or upset tummy?  Did it help your situation at all?  Jesus says "Why do you worry… consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin" Matt 6:28. 
As we look out on the Ozark hillsides we see abundant colors: redbud trees, purple verbenas, and yellow dandelions with a backdrop of green cedar trees. God planted them and cares for them in all their beauty, they don't toil or spin, or worry about tomorrow.  Maybe we should just sit back and enjoy nature's beauty instead of worrying.  

​As we travel through the Ozarks this week we see evidence of spring all around us.  It seems that all of nature is waking up after the winter's sleep.  The dull, drab browns of the hillsides are becoming beautiful shades of green with bright splashes of color from the white dashes of the wild plums to the bright redbud trees.
This is a reminder to us that God keeps his promises just a sure and certain as the arrival of spring every year. This health crisis will not keep spring from arriving, nor will it keep God from being with us, "I am with you always" Matt 28:20.