I love google.

I have no idea how the generations before us even learned new things. I mean sure, they had dictionaries and encyclopedias, but those only gave them a paragraph or a couple pages of info, while our generation has unlimited access to all the information we could possibly want.

The problem is, their sources of info were much more accurate then ours.

There is so much information online that we  can very easily find tons of articles to back up our theories.

However, even if you make a great case for or against something it isn’t hard at all for me to do a simple internet search and create a very convincing, opposing argument.

My point is?

Somewhere in the middle of all the noise, the truth can usually be found.

Here’s my guide to navigating the internet:

1. Listen to Your Gut. We all have that internal intuition that tells us if something is true, false, genuine, fake etc… but you know what we tend do about it? We tend to ignore it. I think we should pay more attention to it though and when our gut says: ‘Whoa hang on a second, something feels off here!’ We should be asking the Holy Spirit why he’s giving us that uneasy feeling. He doesn’t always answer immediately but over time he will bring to light the darkness that was hidden underneath.

2. It’s False until it’s proven to be true. You know how lawyers say: ‘innocent till proven guilty?’ We’re going with that idea except switched around since the internet is most often guilty.😆

Basically, just take everything you read or watch with a grain of salt. If you know nothing about the person behind the post then you have no idea what they stand for and no reason to believe what they are promoting.

3. Don’t Rely on One Source. I know some people like to find sources they trust and then they simply follow them. This isn’t exactly bad, but it’s been my experience that no one person gets it 100% right every single time.

I would say if you read a hundred different articles and pick out the points they all agree on, you have a much more accurate view of the big picture then you do if you simply trust one article in its entirety.

4. Process fully before acting. If we have a theory, it’s extremely easy to gather information to support that theory. I guess the question here is: ‘Do we want to prove ourselves right, or do we want the truth?’

The best way to find the truth is to put the info we have on the back shelf then watch as more info, different angles, thoughts or opinions come to light. Then we can reevaluate everything we think we know and decide it it lines up with all the new info we’ve gathered.

Give yourself a week or so to process new information. At the very least sleep on it. And never take anything at face value if your gut says something is off.

5. Follow people you trust. This one almost contradicts number 3 but stick with me here, it’s different, I promise.

Don’t follow just one person but find a variety of people who might have differing opinions. (just make sure they have the correct theology on the gospel tho.) You see, hearing different opinions helps keep us on that middle ground instead of ending up in the ditches of extreme on either side of this middle ground.

Also, if you follow people you trust, you can tune in to what they are saying about the article, video or situation you’re trying to navigate.

6. Extremes are rarely accurate. We’re going for the middle ground here, right? We’re looking for the truth, yea?

I’m not entirely sure how to say this in a way that will actually make sense so I’ll use an analogy instead.

Life is a lot like an action movie. We’ve got the bad guys and we’ve got the good guys. (This analogy holds up in the physical and spiritual realms. Mostly.)

The bad guys are bent on destruction while the good guys are trying to stay one step ahead of their evil schemes. I think most people can agree that this is the case.

But then we’ve got the extremists who say this isn’t a simple action movie, this is a full blown horror movie. I don’t doubt that there is some truly horrific things that happen in the world but I also don’t think that every single thing has a deep, dark, demonic agenda behind it. (Like the peace symbol, Starbucks logo and I’ll even mention 2020 Super Bowl) These things might not be good, but neither do I believe that they are intentionally trying to bewitch me.)

And then there’s the extremists who say this isn’t an crazy action movie, this is simply a sweet hallmark movie. You know, the theory that continues to cling to the idea that the government has no hidden agenda but is simply looking out for our best interests. It’s pretty hard at this point to ignore the facts that say this isn’t true but according to FB some people are still desperately clinging to this theory.

My point being: extreme theories in either direction are rarely accurate.

7. Note the tone (or the spirit) behind the video or article. 

Here’s an example of what I mean: The video ‘Plandemic’ rubbed me the wrong way but it took about a week before I figured out why.

Here’s why… The lady in this video carried a ‘victim mentality.’ Her story was about how she was mistreated and why Fauchi is wrong. Sure she made it sound like her goal is to bring the truth to light, but the vibe of the video said her voice had been silenced and she was going to be heard in any way possible. It also said quite clearly that she has a bone to pick with Fauchi.

All this doesn’t necessarily mean that she was fabricating stories, but it does mean that she was emotionally involved and her opinion was biased which makes her an unreliable source of accurate information.

Again, if your gut warns you about something, there’s usually a reason behind it.

(Disclaimer: That is my opinion on Plandemic, y’all might have totally different vibes from it… so follow your gut not mine.)🙂

8. Don’t follow someone that has a track record of being wrong. If someone gets it wrong repeatedly, how do we know if anything they say is true? In my opinion these sites or people are wasting your time.

9. One article or site that has an opinion that no one else shares is rarely correct.

If you can only find one site, video or article on a theory, it’s probably inaccurate information since it has no one or nothing to back it up. The truth is usually hidden within the lie, but rarely does it stand alone in plain sight. Darkness wants to hide the light, not just push it in a corner where it’s still easily seen.

10. The internet has policies so removing a video doesn’t mean they’re hiding something. Last but not least. The internet (YouTube specifically) has policies and guidelines. They might not do the best job of censoring everything and their opinions on what’s bad and what’s not might be different then ours but the bottom line is this: Plandemic broke more then one of their policies.

Also if you upload porn to YouTube they will remove it.

My point being: Just because a video is removed doesn’t mean it’s good, true or accurate. It might be accurate but it might also not be.

So, there you have my internet censoring opinions. There is more I could add and probably a lot that can be taken the wrong way, so with that in mind, let me just say this:

If we really want the truth and if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, it is possible to find useful information online.

However, it is easier to to follow random bunny trails and end up with tons of useless or inaccurate information if we don’t carefully censor it all.

Disclaimer: This blog post isn’t meant to be strictly about Plandemic or the covid 19 situation, it’s about censoring internet (or even real life) information as a whole. It is however easiest to use current situations as analogy’s.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Revelation:

It says to trust God with our heart not our mind.

Our hearts hold our deepest feelings and beliefs. These are the things that we know fully, completely and for sure.

It doesn’t matter what the world or the people around us are trying to make us believe or what they want to convince of us… if we know it in our hearts, nothing and no one will change our minds.

Our minds know basic knowledge, this is where we store all the things we learn, wether we believe it or know them to be true or not.

Trust God with all your heart, not your mind.

Lean not on your own understanding.

In my own journey with God I’ve learned that he is working even when it doesn’t make sense or look like he is.

God’s ways and thoughts are much higher then my human intellect.

So, if I spin it till it makes sense to me, I’ve probably got it wrong. However, if I sit back and admit: ‘I’ve no idea what you’re doing here God, but I’m trusting that you have a plan’ it gives him room to work and to move me in the direction he wants me to go.

I’m reading ‘Destined to Win’ by Kris Vallotton and he said something along these lines although I did reword it and put my own spin on it.

 

Motherhood: spending your days hearing shouts of ‘mom watch this!’ Then realizing the stunt was already done but you’re still waiting for that earth shattering act. Oh. That little hop. That was the show.

Motherhood: staying up late in a desperate attempt to claim some alone time then wondering the next morning why you didn’t choose to sleep instead.

Motherhood: changing diapers, cleaning up spills, settling spats and making up answers to bizarre questions instead of drinking your coffee hot.

Motherhood: wondering if you always hid a crazy person inside or if your kids have magic abilities to turn you into something you aren’t.

Motherhood: realizing for the first time how incredibly selfish you are.

Motherhood: cleaning up the house from top to bottom, turning around to admire your clean house and wondering if a tornado passed through while you were preoccupied with getting that last room in order.

Motherhood: spending an hour cooking a healthy, delicious meal (in your mind) only to have all thoughts of success evaporate the second your children eye their plates with looks of sheer horror.

Motherhood: watching that accomplished feeling evaporate quickly when you realize that success in one area means you let the ball drop in another area.

Motherhood: making a career in the 9-5 world look relaxing as you become a chef, a personal assistant, an Uber driver, a housekeeper, housecleaner, teacher, accountant, nurse, nanny… without any breaks, overtime or even a paycheck. Oh, and did I mention that you also get the privilege of working both the night and day shift?

Motherhood: the greatest gift ever gifted to women.

Motherhood: having the privilege of seeing life through the wonder filled eyes of a child.

Motherhood: experiencing the joy of new life, sweet squishy babies, first smiles, first steps…

Motherhood: understanding, for maybe the first time, what true unconditional love looks like.

Motherhood: bringing out the worst and the best of yourself.

Motherhood: an opportunity to raise Jesus loving, world changers.

Motherhood: an investment with a return bigger then you ever imagined.

Motherhood: creating a safe space for emotions, evolving opinions, dreams, creativity and more.

Motherhood: you really had no idea what exactly you were signing up for.

Motherhood: possibly the biggest sacrifice, but also the best decision you’ll ever make.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

If there’s one thing that life has taught me well, it’s this: There is always two sides to every story, and we have no right to form an opinion on something unless we’ve heard every side.

And this…

Few things are actually what they seem to be.

If you dig a little deeper, if you read between the lines and if you search for the truth it is always there but it is rarely found on the surface.

That’s probably why I haven’t, from the very beginning, believed in this virus.

I’m a subscriber to elijahlist.com which is a website that features modern day prophets.

But just like every other website, you’re setting yourself up to be let down if you believe everything you read. However if you follow it consistently you’ll find the bits and pieces that repeat themselves and you find a faint outline of the whole picture.

I just reread that last paragraph and I really have no idea if it made any sense?🤷‍♀️😳

Until this pandemic started, I didn’t follow conspiracy theories other then a random book or article here and there.

I never paid any attention to ‘Q’ pre-pandemic, but I watched bits and pieces of his/her/they’re🤷‍♀️😆 stuff since.

However, every time I watched it I felt like God was warning me to be careful. Of what exactly, I was never sure. If I had to put it into words… I think he was telling me ‘its not the whole story.’

I was fascinated, however, by the fact that what today’s prophets are saying, actually, to a certain degree, lines up with what ‘Q’ is saying.

Just to be clear the connecting lines between the two are very faint.

Here’s a couple things that I’ve learned about true prophecy over the last couple years…

1. It is rarely specific. Kris Vallotton prophesied earlier this year (during the impeachment hoax) that Trump will be President again but the path there will be extremely ugly.

He didn’t give specifics such as a virus, economic shut down, job losses etc. but he did say it was going to be ugly.

2. God rarely gives specific timelines. I’ve never been sure what this verse means: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Peter 3:8 but I think maybe God is trying to tell us that his timing and our timing is two completely different things. When he says ‘soon’ we hear next week but he meant in a year or two.

3. God rarely gives us the full story. In DTS one speaker said ‘when prophesying it is important to shut up when God stops speaking.’ Another said: ‘it’s easy to tell when God stops talking and the person (the one prophesying) takes over.

Basically, sometimes when God gives us a word for someone it won’t make sense to us because we don’t know their story, but it will make sense to them because they do know the whole story.

The problem is… since it doesn’t make sense to us, our flesh wants to step in and fill in the blanks with our own ideas. This has the potential to end really badly though because we might end up telling a totally different story then God wanted to tell!

What’s all this got to do with conspiracy theorists? 

Like I said the basic outline of what the prophets and conspiracy theorists are saying are somewhat similar.

From the few I’ve watched, I think it’s safe to say that most conspiracy theorists are not Christians. (I could be wrong, I haven’t dug into this very deeply.)

I think the main difference between the two is that the prophet is led by the Holy Spirit and is seeing things from a spiritual perspective.

I think the conspiracy theorist has the same prophetic gift but is not being led by the Holy Spirit, so they end up using their own words and ideas to express what they are seeing and feeling. They are also seeing it from a worldly perspective instead of a spiritual one.

There is so much going on right now that it is really hard to get a full picture of what exactly is happening.

Sometimes it feels fully political and sometimes it feels fully spiritual but I think maybe it’s both. There’s obviously a lot of political battles being waged but I think it might be driven by a really dark, underlying agenda in the spiritual world.

I’m not saying the conspiracy theorist is 100% wrong but from what I’m seeing their theories do not seem to be holding out. They might have their statistics right and they might be bringing certain things to light but I don’t think they have the whole story either.

However, I do think their gut instinct is usually correct.

In the case of this virus, yes I think they’re right. I don’t believe that this is or ever was about a virus, (I could be wrong.) but I also don’t know what exactly it is about. (Nor does the conspiracy theorist seem to)

Like everyone else, I have theories and opinions but I know for sure that we don’t have all the details and I think we would probably freak out if we would know everything that’s going on in within our government.

I’ve concluded that I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories nor do I believe their information to be accurate.

However, a conspiracy theory is just that. A theory.

Believing that this whole charade is about more then just a virus is not just a theory though, it seems instead to be slowly but surely proving that there is somewhere, somehow an underlying agenda.

My point being, you can believe that things aren’t what they seem without being a conspiracy theorist.

Deep corruption within our American systems in everything from government to churches is being exposed.

And I’m hoping that more things will be brought into the light and maybe eventually we will see the whole picture.

However, the darkness exposed is a good thing even if we never fully understand what just happened.

• Did you know that flattery and praise are pretty much the exact same thing?

Yet, praise leaves you feeling accomplished while flattery gives off a weird vibe.

The difference?

The spirit behind the words.

Praise gives. It is truly excited about another’s accomplishments. It is selfless.

Flattery takes. The motive behind it might vary but the ultimate goal is to meet an unmet need within the one who is speaking. It is selfish.

• Have you ever noticed how one person can quote scripture and it brings peace, correction or whatever it was meant to convey, but a different person can quote the same exact scripture and it feels condemning?

Again the spirit behind the words is the difference.

When God quotes scripture it corrects, guides and leads us. It keeps us on the right path.

When the devil quotes scripture it’s for the gain of the speaker and is rarely beneficial for the person on the receiving end.

• Facebook is a fiery place right now. It’s been awhile since people have pushed their opinions and agendas like they are right now.

A lot of the things that I read, I actually agree with, but for some reason some of it just gives off that weird vibe.

It looks and sounds right but for some reason it feels wrong.

You know?

Then it gets really confusing when you see or hear the same thing from a different person but It feels peaceful and right.

What is the difference?

I think it’s the spirit behind the words.

Right now there is a lot of angry people chanting about the misdeeds of the governors. People are intentionally ‘breaking the rules’ then filming the cops while they argue with them about ‘our rights.’

It doesn’t feel right guys.

The big protest in Harrisburg I supported. It felt right to me for people to step up and take a stand for our freedom.

It was organized. There were PA state reps and senators speaking at one point. The guys that organized it seemed to be thinking rationally and calmly while taking a stand for what they believe in,

The spirit behind the protest seemed to be one of a genuine desire to see PA reopen.

The protest that took place in front of Tom Wolf’s house on the other hand felt messy, it left that weird vibe. (I wasn’t at either of these protests BTW.) It wasn’t organized or well planned and it felt like it was being driven by the spirit of fear or retaliation.

It seemed like a group of people that were more interested in making Wolf pay for overstepping. They seemed to make it personal.

I have found that every once in awhile you run into a person who is cool, calm and collected right in the middle of this pandemic.

These people are extremely few and far in between but if you meet one you will know what I’m talking about because they have a deep inner peace to flows out to the people around them.

They have the ability to take a stand for their rights (AKA breaking Tom Wolf’s rules.) without being rude or demeaning to authority figures.

They rarely spew their opinions all over FB but with a post or two you might know where they stand but no matter what actions they take or words they speak, you can still feel that underlying peace. It feels right. These people can even get fiery in their opinions but that feeling of peace is ever present.

I believe that these are the people who are truly in tune with Holy Spirit and he is the one who is leading their words and actions.

It isn’t up to me to determine who’s right and who’s wrong, but it is up to me to stay away from what feels wrong.

God has given each of us the gift of intuition.

The problem is…

The opinions of others and all the information at our finger tips speaks a lot louder and much more insistently then that small voice of intuition that’s been planted in each of us.

Are we willing to tune out the world and follow the Holy Spirit?

Because that is where true peace and freedom lies.

If we can find and maintain that inner peace then we will have a voice that the world will hear because they are desperate for that genuine peace and stability that is only found in Jesus.

If we are broadcasting our opinions and taking steps to stand up against the government without having this deep inner peace then we are not making a difference.

We are simply adding to the noise.

We are part of the problem that is driving the world insane right now, because they don’t need more information and they certainly don’t need more opinions.

They need the peace of Jesus. They need that firm foundation that is only found in Christ.

Each person is called to different things and what you are called to will play a huge part in how you personally are called to respond to this situation.

I believe in standing up for our rights so I’m definitely not saying we need to stay home, stay safe and stay calm.😜

What I am saying is that we should evaluate the spirit behind our words before we speak.

Are we speaking from a place of fear? Frustration? Anger? Retaliation?

Unless our words are prompted by the Holy Spirit it’s better to stay silent.

Because, now more then ever we should be checking our own hearts and motives because the world does not need more noise, but they are desperate for the peace of Jesus.

This is our season to be ambassadors for Heaven but the devil would love for us to focus on our own wants, needs and rights instead.

He is always speaking to our kids, but I think in this season, he is going to use our kids to let his voice be heard.

The question is: Are we listening?

Story 1

Kynaston (age 4) had a dream.

A scary dream.

He rarely comes to our room at night, but he came in and said he wanted to sleep in our room because he had a scary dream.

He got a blanket and slept on the floor.

I believe that God speaks to us through dreams, and nightmares often indicate spiritual warfare.

While dreams are given through physical pictures, I think we need to interpret them as if they’re happening in the spiritual realm.

So, the next day I asked him about his dream.

He said:

Myles, Kenzie and me were playing in the yard and then a wolf came and grabbed us and was swinging us around and around and around!

Me: Oh. I bet that was scary. Then what happened?

Kyna: Well, then we heard sirens and the wolf heard them too and then he quickly ran away, because he knew that the cops and fire trucks were coming to get him.

Me: So, they were coming to protect you, right?

Kyna: Yes.

Me: So, I think Jesus was telling you that he’ll always protect you, even when scary things happen, right?

Kyna: Yes! Because he’s always with me!

Like I said, I believe God speaks through dreams, but sometimes there’s dreams that are so weird that it’s kinda like: well, I have no clue what that meant!😳

Other times, there’s dreams that you just kinda know are significant some how.

This was a significant one but I wasn’t sure why or what a God was trying to say.

Eventually, I came to this conclusion…

The wolf represents Tom Wolf.

We were all just calmly playing in the backyard (living our normal lives) when the wolf (Tom Wolf) came out of nowhere and started swinging us around and around and around. (Kinda what it felt like when he started shutting stuff down left and right, right?)

Then Sirens (the people more powerful then Tom Wolf) were heard in the distance and the wolf ran off because he knew they were coming for him. (Wolf did start moving forward with opening PA back up (slowly but still) the second he heard AG Barr might be going after governors who overstepped, right?)

I was even more fascinated by all of this after I read a couple different stories about God speaking to children about covid-19.

Psalm 8:2 says:

Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.

I don’t know exactly what God is doing right now but I do believe our kids will be instrumental in this season in bringing heaven to earth.

Story 2

Kynaston randomly announced: If we ask Jesus something, then are very, very quiet, we can hear him talk.

Me: “Yea! We can, but who told you that?” Because, I know I didn’t teach them that although I probably should have.

”Kenzie told me.” He said.

I was fascinated so I asked Kenzie (age 7) about it. I expected her to say she learned it at school or church (which chances are she did) but she didn’t really seem to know where she learned it.

Her answer: “I just know it because I do it sometimes.”

Me: “That’s awesome Kenz, What does God say to you?”

Kenz: “When I prayed about the coronavirus, he said that we weren’t going to get it. And when I prayed that it would go away, he said it going to go away soon.”

I had no words. I think I might have been shocked speechless.

I have this idea that we need to teach our kids everything. And We do need to teach them but the Holy Spirit is walking with us, helping us, and even going over our heads and speaking directly to our children.

I was excited about this because I want my kids to have a real relationship with God rather then just going through the motions because it’s what we are teaching them. I want them to know God intimately right now, while they are still young.

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to make a prophetic statement about the virus or Tom Wolf. The point is simply that God is speaking to our children in this season and I think it’s important that we as adults pay attention to what God is saying through them.

Myles coughed… a lung clearing, mucus filled cough.

After he was done, he spent the next 30 seconds chewing contentedly.

I thought nothing of his shenanigans until he gleefully announced: “Mmmm, I eat it!”

😳😩🤢

Covid-19 is pretty much the only thing I blog about these days, but is it any wonder considering that it is influencing every single aspect of our lives?🤨

(I did decide to switch it up a bit and call it Covid-19 instead of Coronavirus.)😎

I am not a doctor.

I am not a scientist.

I am not a politician.

I’m not even a big conspiracy theorist.

So, what am I?

I am a mere person with a hunger for truth. 

I have learned that if you sit back and watch things unfold, if you listen to every angle without forming an opinion… eventually you find consistent, sensible  bits of information that you can piece together and have a mostly accurate picture of what’s going on. (A.K.A. The truth.)

All that to say… what you’re about to read is merely my opinion.😎

Speculation 1. There is no hidden agenda, this is just a deadly virus.

There is so many reasons this doesn’t make sense as being ‘just a virus.’

1. If someone has this virus they send them…

Wait for it…

Home!

Not to the doctor, not to the hospital, not to the morgue… they send them home! To recover, not to die. Can you explain to me how a virus that sends you home to bed has the power to forcefully make people stay at home?!

2. The numbers alone tell you that the severity of this virus is equal or even less then the common flu.

A common argument on the lower numbers is this: You can’t look at just the lower number of cases, you have to look at the percentages. (Like maybe 1 in every 200 people dies from the flu, while 1 in every 100 dies from Covid-19.)

Even after considering that, I’m still not convinced this virus is more deadly or more contagious then the common flu because if it was it would be spreading at a much faster rate of speed.

Yes, I know that’s because people are staying home. Except for the fact that they aren’t actually staying home.🤷‍♀️

A lot might be… but many aren’t. There’s enough of people still working that this virus should be spreading rapidly if it’s as bad as they say it is.

3. Wolf’s shut down guidelines alone tell us that this virus isn’t that serious.

Construction… 4-6 men crews who see no one else all day are shut down.

Restaurants are shut down but doing take out or deliveries (AKA as taking Covid-19 from door to door) is allowed.🤷‍♀️

Liquor stores are open.🤷‍♀️🤨

I could go on… let me mention instead the many waivers he handed out…

If this virus is as bad as they say waivers shouldn’t even be an option.

4. Question… do you know even 1 person that had this virus? Most will answer no, but if you answered yes… did their immediate family get it? Again often the answer is no, but if you said yes… did a lot of people they came in contact with get it? The answer is no, and I don’t think I’ve yet heard a yes to that one yet. You’re probably tired of hearing this… but if this virus is as contagious as they say it is, you should clearly see a wide circle of infected people around every single person that was diagnosed with coronavirus.

5. And last but not least… if this virus would be as bad as they say, people would be afraid to go out and would stay home willingly.

Speculation 2. They know the virus is often not fatal but they are afraid of the healthcare systems and workers becoming overwhelmed with covid cases.

🤨

They’re sending most people home to recover, remember?!

How does that overload hospitals again?

Just for fun though, let’s say this one is true…

Then why did they continue enforcing more and more drastic measures even as hospital beds sat empty and covid cases didn’t soar to the extremes they predicted?

Sure, I hear you… because if everyone stopped quarantining at once there was still a chance of flooding hospitals.

Why wouldn’t we be opening things back up slowly then, rather then locking things down tighter?

Why are healthcare workers being laid off?

Maybe, because this never had anything to do with hospital overload?🤷‍♀️

Speculation 3. Staying home is why the number of cases is becoming less.

This one is slightly unrelated but I want to put it on record that Wolf is wrong when he says that!👆

1. Look at the numbers across the states… some states with more restrictions have more cases while states or countries even, that did less restricting have less covid cases.

2. Also… people are not staying home. Every week the amount of people shopping at market is higher, there is a lot more traffic each week and yet the number of covid cases is now going down. 🤷‍♀️

Speculation 4. They want people safe at home in case of riots while they take down a worldwide trafficking ring.

This one in my opinion doesn’t hold out because there is very little evidence to back it up.

Some say Trump is in charge of this takedown but I have a hard time believing this because if you follow Trump on FB you will see that he seems confused about certain things at times.

Example, he said Easter would be a good time to open up again then changed it to May 1st, now he wants to open up slowly but some governors are pushing back. Point being, I think Trump would be more confident about the timeline if he was in charge of the trafficking takedown.

I also realize, that this takedown operation could be taking longer then they first thought, but the whole Democrat governors trying to lock us down longer while Trump wants to reopen America works against that theory.

Maybe Trump isn’t directly involved with this operation… Still, it doesn’t make sense that this lockdown and the takedown are connected because the very people running the trafficking hubs are also the ones trying to keep America closed. I don’t see any way that this is beneficial to them but maybe I missed something?🤷‍♀️

The one thing I found that does support this theory is the multiple small trafficking rings that have been brought down lately. I’ve never followed this tho, so I don’t know if there is more being taken down now then usual.

Bottom line… 1 piece of evidence isn’t enough to build a case on, and that evidence only covers smaller rings. I have found nothing yet to support the theory of rings with large operations being brought down.

Although maybe it’s a quiet operation, and I am definitely in favor of this being true.

Speculation 5. This is the government’s way of trying to take down small businesses.

This doesn’t ring true to me because I don’t see what they have to gain from it. I mean this is a really big ordeal just to close businesses, I’d say they have a lot of easier options available if that really is the goal.

Also, I’d say Trump is a business man first and a politician second. If you read his books, he’s all about people helping themselves not about controlling the people.

Speculation 6. The Government is trying to take away our rights, they want to control us.

I don’t believe this to be the case because at this point there’s too much standing in their way.

We do still have an active constitution. (I think)🤨

Our current President has proven that he isn’t a dictator.

The stars simply aren’t aligned enough for them to suddenly take over the country successfully.

I think, if anything they are going to be impressed with how easy it was to pull a couple strings and everyone bowed to their every wish and that is going to make them power hungry and they might try something insane like this again.

Worst case scenario, this is a trial run, so they know what laws and bills need to be put into affect in order to maybe accomplish complete government control some day.

It’s time to be aware of what’s happening in the political world, people. We have some say in who is elected for each position but we won’t have that for long if we continue to ignore it.

Speculation 7. This Virus is man made to ruin the economy which will then ruin Trump’s chances at being re-elected.

This is the one theory that actually makes sense to me.

Under Trumps leadership the Economy has been thriving. He is, after all, a businessman, remember? Most People love a good economy because it feels safe. So, if the democrats want to take back the White House, they have to make sure Trump doesn’t get re-elected. The best way to do this is to ruin one of the few things that both Democrats and Republicans like about him.

I think they have made it very clear by now that they have no value for human life, honest work, our rights and the list goes on…

To me they have more then proven that they wouldn’t hesitate to use manipulation  or deception to get what they want.

Trump is overturning and disputing a lot of the things they have worked hard to put into place, he is a giant roadblock to whatever agenda they have.

So, yea I think they would stoop low enough to create a virus and use the media to cause mass panic which then gives governors a reason to shut down states, which will then crash the economy… and who will get the blame?

President Trump.

Because he’s the president so he’s the likely one to blame.

And then… the democrats have a smooth ride right into the White House.

Except it isn’t going to work, because although they have a foolproof plan, they did forget one tiny detail.

At least in their opinion it’s tiny, but what they don’t realize is that sometimes what looks like a minor detail is actually the very thing that will blow up the entire operation.

They forgot about God.

And, for them that is a problem because I don’t think God is done with America yet.

He has a plan that is superior to any plans with hidden agendas.

I don’t know the outcome of all of this, but I do know that God is still on the throne and he is still in control, no matter how dark it gets.

So, there you have my thoughts on this whole thing, there’s no pressure to agree, we live in a free country after all. (I think)🤔

Make sure you vote this fall (and pray for our country) so we can keep it that way.

 

 

 

I’ve heard it a few times now, something along the lines of: “Small businesses will take a hit and maybe never recover from this pandemic.”

I think this might be true on so many levels… (the part where we might take a hit that is)

BUT…

I think God wants to use this time to grow and start small businesses.

I believe, we are in a season where God is bringing business and ministry together in a way that the world has not yet seen.

Bethel Church is doing this thing called ‘Heaven in Business.’ Google it if you’re interested.

I love business and we have have a desire to be involved in ministry so this… this is exciting to me.

How many times have you heard people talk about something they’d like to start but it always ends with: ‘I don’t have the time.’

Guys, right now…

You’ve. Got. Time. 

This is the moment we’ve all dreamt of having.

Many of us have said the words: ‘If I could have just a week off to catch up.’ ‘I wish I could add another hour to each day.’ ‘I could sleep for a week.’ And there’s many more…

Right now we’ve got that👆. Well according to FB some of you do, as for the rest of us, it’s actually added to to our schedule.🤦‍♀️

This is an opportunity to start the business that you’ve always wanted to start.

Maybe, it’s even a nudge (or a big shove) from God because we were so comfortable doing the things we aren’t called to, that we were never going to step out, on our own, to do what God is calling us too.

Either way, don’t waste this time, pray about it, then go put that dream of yours into action.

If you already have a small business…

This is still an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to see what your business is capable of.

If you’re in the food business, maybe you can experiment with doing deliveries, or curbside pick up.

Whatever business you’re in, there’s probably something new you can experiment with. And if not you can improve your system, find the flaws, weak spots etc. then fine tune it into a better and more efficient system.

But… how do we stay afloat right now?

That is the question.

For us, we’re taking less people each week. We’re rotating our people, instead of working every week some of them are only working every other wk.

We’re obviously making smaller batches of food, and we’re even cutting back on our variety… we’ll have some things this week but not next week, and next week we’ll have what we didn’t have this week.🤷‍♀️

It might sound bizarre, but it’s working, whatever it takes to keep our expenses down, because I have no clue what to expect from 1 week to the next.

We’re cutting corners wherever we can, but one thing I believe God is saying is this:

Our generosity in this season will determine how well our business bounces back once this pandemic ends.

I think our natural tendency at a time like this is to hang on tightly to what we do have because we don’t even know if we’ll be allowed to go to work next week.

But I believe that God wants us to be generous, to not cling tightly to our material possession, finances, toilet paper😆 or whatever it might be, rather we should share it, give until it hurts. Then we can stand back and watch it multiply because it’s been blessed by God.

Soon after this Pandemic started Anna Kail shared this passage. 👇 It resonated with me and it’s something I keep going back to, it’s a great guide for this moment in time.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

⁷ Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

¹² “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” 1 Kings 17:7-16

So, there you have it.

Keep the faith, be generous and your post Covid-19  sales will be unbelievably high…

because they’ll be blessed by God.

Also… go start that business.

 

 

Tuesdays.

This is the day we go shopping for market supplies. This changes so rarely, that we are well known everywhere we go.

They know our order at the coffee shop, they recognize us at The Restaurant Store and the boys are always disappointed if Mike isn’t at the exit at Costco, because he has cool stamps to put on their hands.

Yea, I am a creature of habit… because life flows smoother and less things are forgotten if you create routines and rhythms.

We’ve got a schedule that runs like a well oiled machine.

Tuesdays: (before the coronavirus.)

I get everyone up at 7:00.

Then I make breakfast, pack Kenzie’s lunch, and urge everyone to get dressed.

We keep stepping, we’re not stressed but we don’t have time to stand still.

Then there’s hair to comb, Myles to dress, table to clear. Laundry to start. Shoes. Jackets. Purse. Water bottles. And finally we’re all buckled in and headed out.

I check the clock.

If we’re in the car by 7:50: we’re doing great. 7:55: Good. 8:00: running late. 8:05: we might not be at school on time!😳

(Dirty dishes, crumbs on the floor, clothes that missed the hamper? Yea, that was all left undone.🤫)

We drop Kenzie off at school.

Then we head to creek side for our week’s worth of groceries.

Next stop is the coffee shop, because coffee keeps the stress levels down.🤓 There is always a line. Precious minutes tick by, I consider eliminating this stop, but we keep coming back because coffee is essential right? Not to mention, my boys would be devastated, if they had to miss out on their chocolate milk, it is after all the one thing that makes this trip worthwhile in their opinion.

Then we head to the bank. The bank ladies hand out lollipops.

Next stop is The Restaurant Store. We get there slowly as we rather impatiently follow a car going 35 when the speed limit is 55 (also known as 65🤫)

We pass a cop and quickly check the speedometer, oh right, we’re barely moving.

We finally pick up our order at The Restaurant Store, then head to Costco. At Costco… there is people. A lot of people. It’s a ‘don’t look around or you might have to talk to someone kinda place.’ We stop for a couple samples, but mostly we are on a mission to get out of there in one piece. Occasionally we grab lunch on our way out, then we hold up the line while Mike chats with the boys and stamps smiley faces onto their hands. They love him🙂

Then, finally, we escape.

We get home around 11:30, about 3 1/2 hours later.

Tuesdays: After The Coronavirus arrives.

The kids get up on their own around 7-7:30.

We goof off, then eat breakfast.

We clean up our breakfast mess, get our stuff together and climb into the mini van around 8:45. There’s no schedule that must be kept, since Kenzie isn’t going to school.

First stop is the coffee shop, because we gotta support small businesses right? 🤓 There is no line. We’re in and out in about 5 minutes.

Next stop: Creekside, there’s very few people. We shop in record time and are on our way again.

There is no lollipops being handed out at the bank. The ladies are wearing gloves and wielding sanitizing spray like we’re some kind of scary creatures.🤨

We can actually travel through the 65 zone at 65.👏

If we pass a cop these days my first thought isn’t my speed, I wonder instead if he’s going to think our reason for being out isn’t essential.😳 Oh, right. We have groceries in the back for proof.

We accidentally drive past The Restaurant Store because our routine is so messed up that it’s got my brain malfunctioning.

Oh well, we’ll get that on the way home.

We get to Costco at 9:15 and the parking lot isn’t full at all, which suddenly reminds me that they don’t open till 10:00.

Shoot!

Then I realize that people are walking out with full carts.

Nice! This coronavirus must have changed Costco’s hours.🤷‍♀️

We head inside, but first I give the kids a lecture on not touching anything, because it might have the coronavirus.🤨

Myles coughs as we’re getting a cart. He isn’t sick as far as I know, but I’m suddenly afraid we’ll get kicked out. 😳

I (imagine) people glaring at me for bringing my 3 kids out into all the craziness. I want to ask them, if I should have left them home alone instead? (I think, in reality everyone smiled at us.)🤷‍♀️

There is no samples, there is no take out lunch. There is no overwhelming crowd of people. In fact it’s almost lonely.

We pass Mike on our way out but he simply calls a friendly greeting to the kids from behind his glass screen.

It feels like they think we’re terrorists or something. 🤦‍♀️

Once we’re back in the van, I suddenly realize that most, maybe even all, of the people here are seniors.

Oh, shoot! Does Costco have a senior shopping hour?!

My first thought: I bet they do and I just put all those people at risk.🤦‍♀️

My second thought: Do I look like a senior?😳 After all no one stopped me from going in.😬

I googled it.

Yup. Costco implemented senior hour.🤦‍♀️

I read farther: on Tuesdays and Thursdays.🤦‍♀️

I read farther still: from 8-9 AM.😅

Sigh of relief. I didn’t get here till 9:15. But… that was close.

We stopped at the restaurant store on the way home. While we’re waiting on our order, we struck up a conversation with a distant relative that we met there, because we saw so few people today that we’re not even ‘peopled out’ yet.

🤷‍♀️ Now that is strange.

We arrive back home around 10:30, only about 1 hour and 45 minutes later.

That is record breaker.

Either, the world is a strange place these days, or my well oiled schedule is malfunctioning.

Maybe it’s got a virus🤷‍♀️