What Gives Peace

Fr Maxym's words before the prayers are

really worth listening to!

(the link above is for the words said today)

and the prayer is so nourishing and gives such peace!

A Purposely Peaceful Sunday

My Husband and I watched liturgy online this morning.

NJ has a lot of restrictions now so no church at present because of the COVID-19 concerns.

I did not read the news at all today.

I did everything I could to make this Sunday at home a special day,

the Lord's day, a day of rest, a day for peace and prayer.

***

We are halfway through Great Lent. 

***

I finally got through emails, first time I had any computer time at night all week.

I've not had a lot of time on the computer.

***

I read 4 picture books to my niece in MI via video chat on whatspp. 

We read these books:

It was really nice and good for my 3 year old niece as she misses

seeing other people, since they can't do much because of 

the virus and the need for social distancing. 

***

Tomorrow I hope to make two middle eastern dishes!

We will see!

I also want to make this bread!

***

I made Pasta for the weekend.

We went on a really nice walk.

I am dreaming of making Koek.

I also want to make a cherry pie

and before you know it April will come and I will need to make

my Husband a birthday cake...

It's a really busy time for me, with more meals (and thus more cleaning)

to do... but I feel like it is a blessed time...

but also a time that is hard and a real call to prayer.

***

God bless you and keep you!

May His face shine upon you!

May God protect us and those we love! 

Prayer, Peaceful Prayer

My church in Ottawa has had 2 live streaming events of

praying the Jesus Prayer for the world at 10 PM,

the live streaming beginning at 9:45 (or there abouts!) 

See here for all of what they are doing online

and HERE for their youtube channel. 

I can't recommend this enough, as it really gives one peace.

***

NYC is getting really bad and I fear will get worse with the virus. 

I was fortunate to get a grocery delivery for next week,

which I got because I was unexpectedly woken at 2 AM

and grabbed an open slot. 

***

I am waiting to see if NJ is going to be in some form of lockdown soon,

as NYC/NY will be as of Sunday.

***

I talked with A in Romania (she managed to get the thyroid medicine

but there are still huge shortages of it and she will need it again in the future

and if she does not get it, the results can be quite dire).  

***

This is a very hard thing.

***

But there are really things you can do to make it 

through and deal with the fear and worry.

With Christ there is a fortress that is only found on the inside of a person,

in prayer with Christ in one's heart.

I am still a small beginner on really growing in this, from the point of view

of lived experience, but there is hope for it and that is enough. 

***

The Lord bless you all and may we know, as my priest said in 

today's live-stream for the Jesus Prayer for the World,

that God loves us all very much. 

March 19, 2020 PRAYER WITH A SHORT MESSAGE HAPPENING TONIGHT (SOON!)

Go HERE!
Actually HERE

Lots and lots of prayer is the answer to how I am dealing with this situation.

My Husband and I listened to the Moleben for the epidemic at noon today.

The service was for an hour and while it made lunch later, it was such a great

part of our day.  I am really grateful. 

Well, what a day! 

There was a lot of good in it.  So I am going to tell you about that.

I have been listening to the Mothers and Sisters at the Ellwood City Monastery

and it gives me a reason to be glad to get up, as I can join in.

My Husband and I both did a lot of cleaning today.

Bathrooms, floors, bedding, dusting.

I made lunch.  Mr Husband made dinner.

I took a 2 mile walk and talked to a friend on the phone.

Tonight I talked with L. who can't have visitors as she is in a 

Senior Assisted Living Centre... 

I realized I was tired and I watched another episode of Jessica Fletcher,

had tea and tea biscuits.

A new tea kettle came today, our old one broke on Saturday.

I had lovely tea and am enjoying soup... 

***

Our local priest sent us a small file with his voice, with his counsels

during this time, esp about fear... I am not done listening to it yet but he is talking about

Psalm 91, which the first 7 verses in the NIV are as follows:

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

    from the fowler’s snare

    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

***

This is surely an unexpected time but I got the feeling that maybe

it is for the salvation of many. 

That many may wake and live; to wake and turn to Christ.

***

I wrote the following on social media and will leave you with it.

***

1,871 in NYC. Well folks. My grocery delivery does not even have slots right now (for next week). Thank God I have some coming tomorrow at least.

We MUST keep our eyes on Christ.

Here's somethings that are helping me deal with this situation:

1. I am trying not to check the latest news upon waking or a bit after. Instead I listen to prayers for the Ellwood City Monastery. They are praying and streaming it LIVE by at least 7:30 AM (other than Monday's normally). There is lots of church services and hymns and spiritual songs, as the verse goes, to listen to. Plug in this way, it will help!

2. If we can, we go on a walk with social distance measures in place.

3. Meals at a regular time and staying hydrated

4. Changing the channel. Worried? Stop reading what is causing worry. Listen to something else. Watch something else. Read something else.

5. Pray that this is for the word's salvation. That in this that people will repent and turn to God and ask God to help us in this same process of becoming closer to God.

6. Reach out to others.

7. Text, call, write, email your people.

8. Remember that you are NOT alone and that God is with us.

Tuesday: +Uncle Luke and many prayers

While I was lacing up my shoes for a walk with my Husband,

I checked my phone and saw the news:

Uncle Luke died this afternoon, at home, with his wife of MANY years,

and all of his family and his Pastor from his church.

A blessed peaceful death.

Memory eternal to a dear dear man whose last words

to me were about how life is so precious! 

May God receive his soul and comfort all of us grieving him!

***

Well, 814 at last count for NYC.

***

When my Husband and I took our walk, we avoided being near others.

social distancing is such a strange thing but clearly needed.

***

As far as I know I have a grocery delivery coming this Thursday

and I feel so SO SO blessed.

***

I made another batch of red lentil soup today.

A good lunch for me!

My Husband had leftovers...

***

It amazes me that it is only Tuesday night, I feel like the days

are so full.

***

Our local church had to make the difficult, even painful, decision to close

for the foreseeable future.

Our local priest is older and vulnerable to this virus.

I don't know what our far-away church will do,

I think it really is a day by day situation....

***

So tomorrow at NOON Holy Cross Monastery will be having a 

Moleben (a prayer service for a particular need) 

for the pandemic that is upon us.  

You can watch it HERE.

(This is a picture from my chromebook, ignore the bottom of the picture!)

***

Also Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Ellwood City streams

daily services and they have been SUCH a help and blessing to me!

You can watch them (or listen!) HERE.

***

I am getting a bit of rest and also relaxing a bit every day on purpose

to try to de-stress.

***

May God have mercy on us and save us!

A very busy Monday in unusual times

 I found out this morning that there are more restrictions now

because of the virus.

If you google NYC lockdown you will see that it may be happen and 

we are really near NYC so I know it could happen here too.

So I made hot black tea, had breakfast and called L who is in a nursing home/rehab place

recovering from her fall and subsequent sicknesses.

I could not visit her, I already knew as her building is in total lockdown,

given that the population there are ill and elderly people. 

Over the weekend they were not even allowed out of their rooms.

So I race around the house, finding a 'bookshelf' worth of books for her to read

of all different types, tea, cookies, my fish soup, the blini she liked,

dishes to use in the microwave, dishsoap and a dish cloth I knitted, paper icons,

whatever I could think of.

If we go in lockdown or if the rules change at her place,

I knew that I would have lost my window of opportunity to bring things to her

to help her in this very difficult time.... 

This box was perfect for the books! They can stay neat all in one place, she said the 

person who helped her with the bags I brought her put this right

by her arm chair. I really hope it is a comfort to her.

***

Diana's post with this verse, that I will share here,

was so encouraging, even though things are really tough for her right now.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

Jesus can give us calm in the midst of our storms in life.

(I am not sure who painted this above icon/picture but it's beautiful)...

***

I feel like I am just running, running, running.

Making sure we have enough of the meds we need from pharmacies,

I have struggled again with fear of not having 'something' I would want

if in lockdown in the future.

Making food, cleaning... tomorrow I hope to have more rest time,

I can tell that I really need it.

***

Oh, not at all least of what I am writing about, 

Uncle Luke is still with us, he was able to go

with his wife to their home and hospice is helping

take care of him

(for anyone who does not know, hospice is the care you get

when you are dying, it's a very wonderful form of nursing

for those last days).

So we don't know how long he will be with us but 

so glad he is not in hospital now.

***

My priest had to cancel church class and the presanctified liturgy this Wednesday

as he is having some issue with a foot surgery he had before Lent began.

My greatest fear is having church cancelled and not being able to have

Holy Communion (a big deal as we take chapter 6 in the Gospel of John literally).

But I know God is with us not matter what.

***

My dear dear friend A in Romania cannot get her thyroid medicine she needs,

it seems to be out of stock all over Romania because of the virus. 

Please pray.

***

God is with us dear friends.

***

Again, take comfort in this verse:

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

Please in your charity pray for my Husband's Uncle who is dying

Please pray for our dear Uncle Luke

who is dying.

He is in a hospital in Western Michigan. 

We already know, because of the virus situation, that we will

be unable to fly home for the funeral.

Please pray for him and for his wife and all of his family.

Lord have mercy!

Lord have mercy!

Lord have mercy! 

No NYC for my Beloved Husband Either

By the late afternoon my Husband 

decided to not go into NYC.

At time of writing, they now have 95 known cases

and we just pray this does not balloon but it is in God's hands.

***

We went to a neighbouring town, where we first lived

when we got married, and went to Trader Joe's and Shoprite.

Yep. TP, paper towel all out at Shoprite (the main large grocery store 

in this part of NJ, though there are others).

I got frozen mushrooms at Trader Joe's, which I really wanted. 

I also got vegan chocolate LOL, cookies, oil and other frozen

foods for the fast (including more vegetables)...

We also got groceries delivered today.

I know, it's all a bit crazy, right? 

But now that my Husband is working form home exclusively,

that's a lot more meals to make.

Double for breakfast and lunch, and sometimes dinner

(Sometimes he has eaten at work). 

***

I was really tired today so this afternoon esp I rested a lot.

I think the stress of thinking I had to go to NYC and

then finding out that I did not have to go,

plus working extra hard this week as Mr Husband was home

from Tuesday on. 

But the dishes are clean, the supplies we did get tonight

are put away, we are so blessed and we know it.

***

I wrote this on social media earlier tonight and will close with that. 

***

62 to 95 in NYC. .... my Husband, after thought and input from various people, is strictly working from home now... lots of adjustments right now... but I feel even more strongly that this is a time for us to seek God's face, to ask for the peace of Christ, to not give up on learning to have HIS peace within us.... I am NOT at all saying it is easy to do... I tend to be a very anxious person and have struggled many times over the least weeks with this virus as I heard more about it etc. So I am NOT saying that it is easy; but it is despair to think that God can't help us in our times of great struggle to become peaceful, even if it is clawing our way forward and falling a million times. I know I have; shoot I remember when I was about 21 and I realized my whole being was riddled with anxiety. I am speaking of what I know, of one of my biggest struggles. BUT I have met people who have also struggled with anxiety and God helped them with it. We must never think that God can't help us with our worries, our fears, our overwhelm. Also we must NEVER think that God shames us for our weakness. NO. God loves us. God is our Heavenly Father and He WANTS us to come to Him honestly, to tell Him that we are afraid and to ask for His help. Let's ask God together; even if we fall one minute, we can ask God to help us up the next minute. Pray not panic! God loves us, He so wants to heal us...

No NYC for me

My doctor's office was closed yesterday

but I finally talked with her this morning

and got clarification.

So, I am NOT going to NYC.

Not just because of the worry of subways and community spread

in terms of the virus that is growing in NYC

but because I will need a different medical thing.

Nothing too worrisome, at least not immediately, but

to be honest it's all a bit disappointing.

NYC is my happy place.

I have no idea what will happen in terms of the virus.

I am glad I can stay home today though,

I did not sleep well and am quite tired.

With Mr Husband working from home more,

I have more work as a homemaker,

meals and cleanup.

***

My Husband, however, is probably going to NYC tomorrow

for work and I do ask your prayers for him. 

***

We need to keep praying and seeking Christ

and to hear Him,

this is still the ONE thing needful...

Take It As It Comes

I really don't know what the future holds

but I do know WHO holds the future.

***

So I made a pea soup today for Mr Husband.

2 onions, 2 large carrots, 2 cloves garlic, 2 celery stalks.

I bought whole peas so it took hours before it was ready

to be soup.  He liked it, which was the main thing.

I did not love it, but I just love lentil soup a lot more.

It's really a good soup that I made him.

1 cup yellow, 1 cup green whole peas.

I also roasted a garlic clove (wrap tight in tin foil, cut off the top of the clove

before you do and bake for 400F for 40 minutes), cut some

baguette shaped rolls in half and in half in the middle, 

put coconut oil on and then some roasted garlic.

Toasted them for instant good garlic bread to go with the soup!

Made Mr Husband happy!

I was pretty much standing all day cooking....

***

I think you all know by now that I live very near to NYC

and can see it basically from where I live.

The virus has come there and if it is anything like

it was in other places, it will grow, suddenly; and scare even 

more people; actually NYC is pretty unnerved already, being close

to the second epicenter of it in the US

from all that I can see.

If you follow this at all, you know that in places that it has ballooned, 

of course China, but Italy, Iran, South Korea... it grew fast, 

all of a sudden exploding in numbers.

Is that going to happen here?

NYC of 8.5 million with a huge bedsitter community outside it. 

We don't know.

***

My Husband is working from home, possibly to go in on Friday.

I am supposed to be in NYC on Thursday.

***

I am really doing my best NOT to panic.

Instead I am trying to understand what the best protocol is. 

Should I go in on Thursday?

Some, prone to worry and reading up on the topic

would probably say NO, don't go.

Others, not worried, would say, go.

My doctor so far (yesterday) herself said, go.

***

This is such a strange situation, a type of loneliness 

that means that only I can decide what I should do, in this case. 

***

If I do go, I will go when it's not rush hour.

I will have many plastic gloves to use and then throw away properly.

I will have my germicidal wipes with me.

And I would wash everything when I got back home

(as in my clothes etc.)

I have read enough to know that this is wise.

***

I do know one thing.

I hope to go to church tomorrow night and have

Holy Communion.

This I KNOW is the best thing I can do.

Peace in the middle of other's panic

BEST thing I have read on this topic. 

While I have struggled with fear of the new virus, 

I see that the same things I have learned about worry and fear are still true. 

Here's a few things I have learned...

1. Don't get stuck in your fear.  Acknowledge it, do what you need to do to deal with it,

don't ignore it but don't get stuck in it. 

2. God will help us when we are afraid.  Christ's peace is here for us NOW.

3.  I often cycle through fear - sometimes overwhelmed - sometimes peaceful.  I accept my weaknesses, don't shame myself for them but also be honest with them to God

and admit them.  

4.  With God's help, I can regain peace within myself.... it cannot be said enough....

... with God's help, I can be given a peaceful heart in the midst of unrest 

caused by the virus and the fear that many have.

 (And again, if I lose this peace, I can, with God's help, regain it again).

This was so wonderful to read!   

It is so comforting and instructive at the same time!

I have quoted sections below and thank Gretchen-Joanna for posting

parts of this to her blog here, which alerted me to it.

"The Church of Christ has endured through many centuries — in the course of which she has been confronted with countless illnesses and diseases, small and great — in solid faith and with peaceful hearts, each member of the Church knowing that he or she is part of no worldly or man-made institution, but the Harbour of Life that is Christ’s Body. We are fed the food not of men but of angels; we are inspired by the truth, not of this world, but of God Himself; and we are ruled, not by worldly fear which grows and begets more fear, but by the peace of Christ which surpasseth all understanding (Philippians 4.7) and brings unfailing comfort, whether in times of peace or peril. In the present moment, therefore, I urge you to be not afraid (Isaiah 43.1) nor let the concerns of the moment shake you from the firm foundation that is unhindered faith in the living God, Who heals the sick and restores the broken-hearted. The present situation may be a cause of great upset in the world around us, but in the Church, and in our Christian lives, we continue unhindered and undeterred in all that God has delivered into our hands for the salvation of our souls...."

"In our churches, we shall continue with the celebration of all our rites, customs, Divine Services and above all the offering and receipt of the Holy Mysteries in precisely the same manner as we have always done. No genuinely believing Christian can for one moment accept that the Holy Mysteries might bring or be the source of sickness or ill-health: by no means! The Mysteries of Christ are the true medicine of our souls and bodies, and bring nothing but life — and life eternal. Any whose hearts are troubled by present matters should pray fervently for an increase of faith so that fear can be cast aside; and the Church will continue her ancient witness to the love that is beyond fear, bringing the Holy Mysteries to the world, and to each of us, in a time when it needs them profoundly.

Do not be afraid! As we sing so frequently in these Lenten days, God is with us! And He is merciful and loving, quick to hear and heal and save."

found here.

First presanctified liturgy

It was so very good to be at church

for presanctified liturgy,.

It's our 8th lent together, married, and I have 

many memories of Lents before at our local church,

that I don't miss my Ottawa church like I did at the beginning, meaning,

constantly and with great pain.

It was wonderful to come to church,

raining, with dripping umbrella, and know that I have a place to go, to be.

Wonderful to see Mr Husband come up the steps, from his commute from NYC.

Wonderful to have the first presanctified liturgy and kolivo with honey  and

a wonderful sweetened bread as well.

It really is wonderful to have traditions

and a layered by the years sense of what happens when.

Nothing stays the same though and I am just

trying to enjoy what I have right now.

***

So: the Virus.  It's come to NYC.

My Husband is one of the MANY who commute to NYC for work.

His company is doing more work-from-home starting next week.

I saw this coming.

It's one of the reasons I wanted to stock up on more food

because if Husband works from home,

that means MORE meals for me to make. 

So far he is going in on Monday and maybe Thursday.

I am supposed to go in next Thursday myself.

We will see if that happens next week.

***

I have a plan for a nice meal for the weekend:

noodles with fia sauce, sauteed mushrooms and onions, 

and thawed frozen spinach + a can of clams (drained). 

With a nice toasted bread on the side - maybe I will make a 

quick and easy garlic bread....!

***

I finished reading The Home-Marker and really LOVED it.

***

I watched this video by an Orthodox priest about the loss of Kobe.

It was really well done and by one who followed Kobe's career and appreciated him.

***

I am trying this Lent to do what I can to be more aware of God's presence in my life

and listening to things like this (above) help with that. 

***"

May God carry us to His Holy Pascha

and give us a Lent that, even in our small efforts, gives honour to God.

May God have mercy on us!