Symptômes Covid-19

Le COVID-19 affecte différentes personnes et de manières différentes. La plupart des personnes infectées présentent des symptômes légers à modérés et se rétablissent sans être admises à l’hôpital.

Consultez immédiatement un médecin si vous présentez des symptômes graves. Appelez toujours au préalable avant de vous rendre chez votre médecin ou dans un établissement médical. Les personnes présentant des symptômes légers à modérés qui autrement sont en bonne santé, doivent se soigner à la maison.

Dans les deux cas, nous vous demandons à tous de nous en informer par les moyens de communication les plus appropriés, ainsi que de fournir un certificat d’absence mentionnant «Covid-19».

Le traitement de ces informations est nécessaire pour des raisons d’intérêt public en matière de santé publique ainsi que pour la protection de la santé de vous-même et de vos collègues. Les diverses «allées et venues » seront répertoriées pour signaler aux autres personnes avec qui vous avez récemment été en contact d’être attentives aux éventuels symptômes de la maladie.

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Quels sont les symptômes ?
D’après une étude menée par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS), la toux et une forte fièvre sont les symptômes les plus fréquents du COVID-19. Viennent ensuite la fatigue, le crachat de glaire et l’essoufflement.

Environ 80 % des patients infectés par le coronavirus et examinés ont développé des symptômes légers dans les 5 à 6 jours après la contamination. L’OMS suppose donc que les patients asymptomatiques sont très rares.

Une pneumonie peut se déclarer chez les personnes en moins bonne santé. Pour l’instant, les personnes décédées du nouveau coronavirus sont principalement des personnes âgées ou souffrant de maladies chroniques (p.ex. troubles des voies respiratoires, maladies cardiovasculaires et diabètes).

Symptômes les plus courants (liste non exhaustive) chez les 56 000 patients infectés par le coronavirus et examinés :

• fièvre (88 %)
• toux sèche (68 %)
• fatigue (38 %)
• crachat de glaire (33 %)
• essoufflement (19 %)
• maux de gorge ou tête, douleurs musculaires (14 %)
• nez bouché (5 %)
• diarrhée (4 %)
• crachat de sang (1 %)

Les symptômes du COVID-19 sont très similaires à ceux d’une simple grippe, et en moindre mesure à ceux d’un refroidissement.
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Comment distinguer rhume des foins et coronavirus ?
Le printemps marque également le début de la saison pollinique. Environ 1 Belge sur 4 souffre dans une certaine mesure du rhume des foins. Voici les symptômes : nez bouché ou qui coule, éternuements et démangeaisons du nez et/ou des yeux. Ils ressemblent beaucoup à ceux du COVID-19.

Mais une infection au coronavirus s’accompagne également d’une (forte) fièvre et souvent aussi d’une perte de l’odorat et du goût et d’une altération de l’état général. Si vous présentez également ces symptômes, veuillez prendre contact avec votre médecin.

 

Symptomen Covid-19

COVID-19 treft verschillende mensen op verschillende manieren. De meeste mensen die besmet raken, hebben lichte tot matige symptomen en herstellen zonder opgenomen te hoeven worden.

Zoek direct medische hulp als u ernstige symptomen heeft. Bel altijd eerst voordat u uw huisarts of een zorginstelling bezoekt. Mensen met lichte tot matige symptomen die verder gezond zijn, moeten thuis uitzieken.

In beide gevallen vragen wij u allen om ons met de meest passende communicatiemiddelen op de hoogte te brengen, alsmede van een afwezigheidsattest met vermelding “Covid-19″.

De verwerking van deze informatie is noodzakelijk om redenen van het algemeen belang op de volksgezondheid als op de bescherming van de gezondheid van uzelf en van uw collega’s. De zogenaamde “whereabouts” zullen immers in
kaart worden gebracht om anderen, waarmee u recent in contact bent geweest, te
wijzen attent te zijn voor eventuele ziektesymptomen.

Wat zijn de symptomen?
Hoge koorts en hoesten zijn de meest voorkomende symptomen van COVID-19, zo blijkt uit onderzoek door de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie (WHO). Vermoeidheid, slijm ophoesten en een benauwd gevoel vervolledigen de top vijf.

Ongeveer 80% van de onderzochte coronapatiënten ontwikkelde milde symptomen binnen 5 tot 6 dagen na de besmetting. De WHO vermoedt dan ook dat patiënten zonder symptomen zeer zeldzaam zijn.

Patiënten met een zwakke gezondheid kunnen een longontsteking oplopen. Voorlopig zijn dan ook vooral oudere personen en mensen met chronische gezondheidsproblemen (bv. aandoeningen van de luchtwegen, hartziektes, diabetes) gestorven aan het nieuwe coronavirus.

Meest voorkomende symptomen (maar niet-limitatieve lijst) bij 56.000 onderzochte coronapatiënten:

• koorts (88 %)
• droge hoest (68%)
• vermoeidheid (38%)
• slijm ophoesten (33%)
• benauwdheid (19%)
• keelpijn, hoofdpijn, spierpijn (14%)
• verstopte neus (5%)
• diarree (4%)
• ophoesten van bloed (1%)

De symptomen van COVID-19 lijken erg op die van een gewone griep en in mindere mate van een verkoudheid.

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Hoe onderscheidt u hooikoorts van een coronabesmetting?
De lente betekent ook de start van het pollenseizoen. Ongeveer 1 op 4 Belgen heeft in meer of mindere mate last van hooikoorts. De klachten: een verstopte of lopende neus, niesbuien en jeuk aan neus en/of ogen. Heel gelijklopend dus met de symptomen van COVID-19.

Maar bij een corona-infectie treden ook (hoge) koorts, vaak ook geur- en smaakverlies en een algemeen ziektegevoel op. Hebt u ook deze symptomen, contacteer dan zeker uw huisarts.

Nieuwe sociale etiquette

Het is verkeerd te denken dat de problemen of moeilijkheden alleen jou overvallen. Een leven zonder lasten is een illusie. Iedereen maakt weleens een moeilijke periode door. Iedereen heeft wel eens perioden in zijn of haar leven dat het minder gaat. Die fases komen en gaan. Soms hangen ze samen met je leeftijd (puberteit, midlife, ouderdom). Soms met bepaalde ingrijpende gebeurtenissen (rouw, ontslag, relatiebreuk), soms zijn ze er gewoon, zonder duidelijk aantoonbare oorzaak. Soms duren ze lang, soms vliegen ze voorbij. Maar altijd heb je de indruk dat je er moeilijk vat op krijgt.

In deze periode van CoViD-19 lijkt het wel erger, omdat er langs meerdere fronten druk wordt uitgeoefend. Er is de onzekerheid van inkomen. Er zijn de frustraties rond het werk Voor diegenen die thuiswerken zijn er de huishoudelijke taken en de constante aanwezigheid en zorg voor de kinderen waar men mee te kampen heeft.

Familie en vrienden

Meestal heeft men vrienden om ergens op terug te vallen of over bepaalde zaken te praten. Maar nu veel die uitlaatklep voor velen weg.

Familie kies je niet, vrienden wel. Maar ze zijn allebei wel even belangrijk om een sociaal netwerk uit te bouwen. Familie en vrienden kunnen helpen beter om te gaan met de stress van het leven. Ze geven je het gevoel dat je erbij hoort. Ze kunnen je op andere gedachten brengen als je hoofd maar door blijft malen. Ze houden je actief en met de voeten op de grond en kunnen je helpen praktische problemen op te lossen. Maar met de lockdown zijn die bepaalde nodige contacten weg gevallen.

Contact met anderen

We hebben het allemaal al gemerkt: het gevoel van alertheid in contact met anderen of geliefden.

We nemen onze burgerzin serieus en willen veilig gedrag stellen. Dit zorgt voor een bepaalde focus en lijkt in te boeten aan een bepaalde warmte, spontaniteit of eigenheid. Voor weken hebben wij nu te maken gehad met (bijna) opsluiting in ons eigen veilige stekje. Als we daarbuiten kwamen moesten wij steeds uitkijken om op veilige afstand van anderen te blijven. Er waren de laatste weken ook niet veel mogelijkheden om contacten met anderen te hebben buiten de virtuele mogelijkheden. Maar zulke elektronische contacten kunnen ware menselijke contacten niet vervangen. Integendeel, maakt het soms nog meer voelbaar dat wij van elkaar gescheiden zijn. Soms leidt dit tot eenzaamheid of vervreemding (van elkaar).

Een ongemakkelijk gevoel: een verschil van 15 naar 150 cm
Als mensen zijn we gewend om op een bepaalde manier om te gaan met elkaar. Ook met ons lichaam. Hoe nauwer de band met iemand, hoe dichter we deze ook laten komen bij ons lichaam. De gemiddelde afstand bij contact tussen dierbaren of goede vrienden is ongeveer 30 cm. We ‘zeggen’ dus iets met ons lichaam als we toenadering zoeken. Dit zit ergens ingebakken bij de sociale regels van ons menselijk contact. Wanneer we dit niet kunnen ‘zeggen’ met ons lichaam, voelen we deze dierbare boodschap minder binnenkomen, zelfs al ‘weten’ we rationeel waarom het niet kan.

Een verlies van lichaamstaal en impliciete tools
Hoe we met ons lichaam spreken hangt af van ieders persoonlijke stijl. We hebben minder toegang tot die impliciete lichaamstaal en dit voelt lastig aan! Een anders ‘lijfelijk iemand’ mist nu niet enkel fysiek contact maar ook de eigen stijl en gewoontes om met mensen om te gaan en te spreken.

Lossen van de lockdown

De lockdown heeft nu al enkele weken voor velen zwaar door gewogen. Het gros van de burgers heeft zich wel aan de maatregelen kunnen houden. De enkele uitzonderingen te na gesproken maakten dat wij de coronacrisis nog niet zo slecht zijn doorgekomen. Maar we zullen het nog een tijdje moeten volhouden.

Om dat beter te doen kunnen we nu en dan gerust een beetje relativeringsdrang en humor naar boven laten komen.

Rollenspel met dierbaren

Gebruik je verbeelding en maak de nieuwe sociale etiquette iets ‘eigen’

• Wees je bewust welke gewoontes je met bepaalde mensen hebt. Dit spreek je in normale omstandigheden ook niet expliciet uit. Even nostalgisch terugblikken kan de band ook deugd doen! vb: indien je de gewoonte hebt om te gaan dansen of naar een concert te gaan met vrienden of als je met familie gewoonlijk rugby speelt in de tuin.
• Zie de humor van deze gekke levensomstandigheden en laat jezelf experimenteren met andere vormen van een warme lichaamstaal. Zie contacten met mensen uit je bubbel ook als een kans om een andere begroeting uit te testen.
• Bespreek welke andere activiteiten je kan doen als alternatieven. vb: samen muziek luisteren, een film kijken of een gezelschaps(spel) spelen zoals ‘times up’, Kubb, petanque, andere ideeën: https://thehousethatlarsbuilt.com/2020/04/family-activities-social-distancing.html/

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Geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen kunt u proberen voorkomen door te werken aan uw mentale veerkracht. Het versterken van veerkracht helpt veel mensen om beter om te gaan met stress en problemen.

Om uw veerkracht te helpen versterken is Fitinjehoofd.be ontworpen. Fitinjehoofd.be is een interactief platform dat uw veerkracht test en oefeningen en tips aanreikt om hieraan te werken. U kunt  via de website ook de Fit In Je Hoofd app downloaden.

Andere initiatieven richten zich tot specifieke doelgroepen.

• Wie ouder is dan 60 en graag in groep aan de slag gaat, kan een kijkje nemen op Zilverwijzer (opent in nieuw venster).
• Wie problemen heeft met geld, gezondheid, erbij horen, werk vinden, goed wonen,… kan terecht bij de Goed Gevoel Stoel (opent in nieuw venster). Samen met lotgenoten gaat u aan de slag om uw welbevinden te verbeteren.
• Vrienden en familieleden van mensen met psychische en/of verslavingsproblemen kunnen terecht bij Familieplatform (opent in nieuw venster).
• Kinderen en jongeren kunnen een kijkje nemen op
  • Noknok.be (opent in nieuw venster)
    Deze site richt zich op jongeren tussen 12 en 16 jaar. Zij vinden er informatie en opdrachten om zich goed in hun vel te voelen.
  • Familieplatform/doelgroepen/kinderen.be (opent in nieuw venster)
    Deze webpagina richt zich op kinderen van ouders met psychische problemen.
  • Tweehuizen.be (opent in nieuw venster)
    Dit is een website op maat van kinderen en jongeren van wie de ouders gescheiden zijn. Ook gescheiden ouders vinden er informatie om hun kind doorheen een moeilijke periode te loodsen.

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Telefonische hulpverlening en chat

Merk je dat je angstiger en rustelozer bent en heb je nood aan een babbel in deze uitzonderlijke tijden?
Dan kan je 24/7 terecht op de gratis psychologische hulplijn op het nummer 0800 99 023 of via psyhelp@wellways.be.

Zoek je iemand om anoniem en in alle privacy mee te praten? Dan kan telefonische hulpverlening of online hulpverlening interessant zijn.

Bij een aantal organisaties kan je terecht voor een telefonisch gesprek of een online chat. Vaak is er 24 per uur iemand beschikbaar. Als je echt in de put zit en niemand kan bereiken die je kent, kan zo’n gesprek enorm ondersteunend zijn om je door het moeilijkste moment heen te helpen.

De bekendste zijn:

• Tele-Onthaal
• Zelfmoordl1813
• De Druglijn
• Awel (de vroegere Kinder- en Jongerentelefoon
• CAW
• CLBch@t
• JAC

Epictetus: What is in our control?

In a period when so many people would have more time for each other, being able to take a long vacation or a long ‘Winter sleep’ so many seem to worry about matters they have not in control and shall not be able to have in control whatsoever.

Letting fear go is for many difficult, but all answers lie in themselves. But it also could help a lot when they would dare to go looking for the best solution to get rid of all worries by finding the saviour who can bring them under the Wings of the Most Precious One Who is Master of everything, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. When people would trust Him more life for them would be much easier.

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To remember

• What in our control = question couched in fear.
• Fear = feeling which takes us back to our reptilian brain & automatic responses => rigid + compulsive.
• response to life situations = only thing in our control. <= all have ability to make a choice => choice not to react to primitive impulses we feel.
• human beings =  logical beings > answers = give us a sense of control = illusion of control.
• To become healthy = important to let go of unhealthy emotions.
• Letting go = process not taught
• We decide what is good or bad, right or wrong > placiing intrinsic value on those definitions = simply judgements =>  realize + accept => process of letting go = easier.

The Stoic Social Worker

What is in our control is a difficult question to answer. It’s a question couched in fear. Fear is a feeling which takes us back to our reptilian brain and automatic responses. This part of our brain tends to be rigid and compulsive. If we find ourselves stuck here we don’t learn to adapt. We all wish to be able to control the amount and intensity of the fear that we experience. The answer to the question, “What is in our control” is frustrating and can serve to increase anxiety because there is no answer to that question, at least not an answer that some will find acceptable.

Our response to life situations is the only thing in our control. We all have the ability to make a choice, the choice to not react to the primitive impulses we feel.

As a therapist I have been asked a lot of…

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Covid-19 Psalm 19 Isaiah 26 and the Evangelical Proof-Texters

Covid-19 and the Evangelical Proof-Texters

‘proof-texters,’ sensation-mongers + chain-letter writers got their teeth into the present Covid-19 crisis

•  enter your chambers, + shut your doors behind you +hide yourself >Until the indignation is past ?=? lockdown + self-isolation.
•  Charismaniacs are urging people to ‘decree and declare’ authority over the virus + urging people not to ‘break the chain of prayer’ (whatever that is) by posting the deception on their own social media pages as well.
• evangelicals of all stripes have been prone to proof-texting like this.
• 1° rule of biblical understanding = Context! = help to get to the core of the question > ‘What does this verse mean?’
• Isaiah 26 = warning to people of ancient Israel (God’s people) to shelter from the wrath of God. >> we can apply it to coming judgement of God upon the world, when Jesus shall return & all men of every age and nation shall give account of their lives => their wickedness punished.

 

shelter in a time of storm > So many being afraid – reason enough to step in the boat with Christ + “In The Midst Of The Storm”

• • refuge = Jesus.

search the Scriptures > in them you have eternal life (John 5:39)

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Preceding

CoViD-19 warnings

Christian Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

So many being afraid – reason enough to step in the boat with Christ

“In The Midst Of The Storm”

Love in the Time of Corona

When 1 699 676 people worldwide are infected and the number of deaths had totalled 102 734 in 210 countries or territories

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Additional reading

1. Today’s Thought “You will keep … in perfect peace” (May 03)
2. Extra memorizing verses Isaiah 26:3-4: Focused on God finding perfect peace

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Related

1. Isaiah 26: Content in God alone.
2. Daily Devotion: Isaiah 26:3-4
3. Numbers 1, Isaiah 26, Acts 11
4. The rock on which we stand
5. Housebound
6. Mystical Ceremony Reveals ‘Cure’ for the Coronavirus: Jews Must Return to Israel – Breaking Israel News
7. Hide Yourself

The Salty Scrivener

Covid-19 and the Evangelical Proof-Texters

Well, it didn’t take long before the ‘proof-texters,’ sensation-mongers and the chain-letter writers got their teeth into the present Covid-19 crisis.  The misinterpretation of psalm 91 was sure to happen sooner or later, – without any reference to Psalm 90, of course.  But a recent ‘don’t break this chain‘ scam on social media has been based on a proof-texting use of Isaiah 26:20.  The text reads,

 

Come, my people, enter your chambers,

And shut your doors behind you;

Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment,

Until the indignation is past.

So, of course, the proof-texters want to find in the words of that verse a prediction of our present state of lockdown and self-isolation.  Some have even claimed that there is more than a coincidence between between the text reference (26) and the date of the Lockdown announcement.  Worse still…

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When 1 699 676 people worldwide are infected and the number of deaths had totalled 102 734 in 210 countries or territories

Thirty years old Gordon Bland who is a seminary student at Regent University, in his second year has a website called Agape Ministry on which he writes in his blogarticle Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm:

We are living in a time that is certainly not the norm that we are used to, but is this unprecedented? If it is unprecedented, then is it totally unique or should our actions and emotions be similar to any other catastrophic event? The new Coronavirus that has spread globally, Covid-19, has caused over 13,000 deaths and over 300,000 illnesses. This is something that is affecting nearly every person in some manner, but is fear appropriate? Perhaps more importantly, is fear ever appropriate?

As of April 11, 2020, the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had been confirmed in around 210 countries or territories. The virus had infected 1,699,676 people worldwide, and the number of deaths had totalled 102,734. The most severely affected countries include the U.S., Italy, and Spain.

Lots of people have signs of anxiety and fear that unseen enemy that had not previously been identified in humans. In February 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses and the World Health Organization announced official names for both the virus and the disease it causes: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, respectively. The name of the disease is derived from the words corona, virus, and disease, while the number 19 represents the year that it emerged.

There have been leaders of states who first downplayed or minimalised this virus as an ordinary virus resembling that of the common cold, with those infected often experiencing fever, coughing, and shortness of breath, and called it a “Chinese disease”, wanting to have people to believe it was the Chinese infecting others.

Soon that horrible virus infected the USA, where there are still people not wanting to see the importance of staying at home and when coming into public to stay far away enough from each other, on the 11th of April there were already 502 876 cases, leaving Spain far behind with its 158 273 registered infected people.
On the 11th of April over 376,339 people had recovered from the disease, while there had been 102,734 deaths.

Gordon Bland wonders:

We are living in a time that is certainly not the norm that we are used to, but is this unprecedented? If it is unprecedented, then is it totally unique or should our actions and emotions be similar to any other catastrophic event? {Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm}

The world has had more very dangerous diseases bringing fear over this globe. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death (also known as The Plague or Black Plague), which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. Other notable pandemics include the 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu). Among the ten major virus outbreaks in the last 50 years, the Marburgvirus, genus of viruses in family Filovirida, caused severe disease in humans and other primates. One species has been described, Marburg marburgvirus (formerly Lake Victoria marburgvirus), which is represented by two viruses, Ravn virus (RAVV) and Marburg virus (MARV). The zoonotic disease that is characterized by high fever known as Marburg virus disease (MVD), with a malaise, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, and hemorrhage (bleeding) gave a fatality rate as high as 80 to 90 percent.

How the Nipah virus spreads

Nipah, a type of RNA virus in the genus Henipavirus, followed in 1986 with a fatality percentage of 77,6.

Ebola, in full Ebola virus disease, formerly called Ebola hemorrhagic fever, contagious disease caused by a virus of the family Filoviridae that is responsible for a severe and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever.

In comparison, the recent novel coronavirus, originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan, had a fatality rate of 2.2 percent as of January 31, 2020, whilst the so much feared Ebola in 1976 had ‘only’ a fatality rate of 40,4%.  As of early February 2020, the virus has spread to 24 countries with over 40 thousand confirmed cases.

The present virus came for many as a surprise. People should know it is because so many countries took such drastic measures there are no more casualties. Looking at the many deaths and so many illnesses. Bland wonders if this:

is something that is affecting nearly every person in some manner, but is fear appropriate? Perhaps more importantly, is fear ever appropriate? {Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm}

It can be said it is normal that people are afraid for something they can not control; This time the world faces a pandemic they have a lot of difficulties to keep under control. Dangerous leaders of States, like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, brought their own population in danger and made that we now can see more deaths than there should have been with the knowledge scientists have to battle this disease.

we should not disregard actions to preserve life such as “social distancing.” We can learn from Jesus’ concern in the boat that He knew there was no reason to fear the storm for He was aware of the Father’s plan for His life. He knew it was not the time for His death. Instead, we can see that the storm was a trial for the disciples so that their faith may be tested. Jesus, with His sovereign control over all, controlled the storm and used it as a teaching moment regarding faith. {Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm}

We all should know that it is God Who decides when our time to go comes. But we should not tempt Him by shouting we should not fear this diseases because we have God on our side. The Adonai has given the world people with brains, who can study diseases and can warn and help others to stay safe. I other people shall ignore those warnings and think all those scientists are fools they shall have to bear the consequences.

Bland urges you to

not sin through disregarding the life the Lord has given us. Do not take actions that cause you to endanger others, but instead, do what you can to ensure others are safe and provided for. We are to love our neighbor (Mark 12:31), so live your lives as such. It is not loving to needlessly risk other’s health for the sake of vain pleasure. Similarly, to disregard your own health is to sin against the Lord. If God gave us the gift of life, how foolish are we to live in a way to put it in danger? If a child is given a gift, is it not disrespectful to the giver of the gift to destroy it? How much more disrespect do we show to the Creator of life if we treat it as something to disregard. {Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm}

Two days ago we could see how in White Rusland (White Russia) or Belarus, formerly known by its Russian name Byelorussia or Belorussia, for Good Friday people all gathered in churches and came to kiss a grand cross lying in the aisle. An ideal way for the virus to transmit from one person to another. Other pictures also entered in our living room from the United States of America, where so-called Christians said they had nothing to worry because they are Christians and God is with them, protecting them, and if their time would be there to die than it would be so. According to Pew Most White Evangelicals Don’t Think COVID-19 is a Medical Crisis. Several Protestants and Roman Catholics were calling their members to ignore the request for distancing and to come to the Easter celebrations. Also in Europe there are people who find the Easter egg hunt such an important family tradition that families should come together with their children in the houses of their grandparents to search for eggs. (Naturally one can wonder what eggs have to do with the death and resurrection of Christ!?!)
Such people ignoring the scientists their advice to stay at home and to avoid contact with others, are bringing other people in danger, but also themselves.

Many people are indeed showing respect for life by taking measures to protect the elderly and immune-compromised. This type of concern is something demonstrating how to love our neighbor, but how much more important that we show the same love for the unborn, who are but at the beginning of life. {Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm}

We should not forget

The church has survived many pandemics like Covid-19. In fact, some were much worse, like the Black Death that killed 75 million deaths in Europe in the 14th Century. In 1918, the church saw the Spanish Flu ravage the world population, yet we are still here today. I will not say we should not have some concern, because we have a duty to both ourselves and others, but we shall not live in fear. Trust upon the Lord for his provision and protection. We will get through this together, all the whilst praising the Lord. If not, I’ll see you in Heaven, and we will praise the Lord! No matter what happens, we can have everlasting joy because of Jesus Christ, so that we may praise the Lord. I pray everybody will remain in good health, or recover quickly. God bless you all. {Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm}

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Preceding

CoViD-19 warnings

Anxiety Management During Pandemic Days~

Hope on the Horizon: Pandemic Anxiety Management II~

Pandemic Anxiety Busters~

Mel Brooks saying “go home” to Max Brooks

Christian Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

So many being afraid – reason enough to step in the boat with Christ

“In The Midst Of The Storm”

Love in the Time of Corona

Why are you afraid?

Fear in your own heart or outside of it

Our life depending on faith

If you keep your faith and trust in God

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Find also to read

1. 2014 Health and welfare
2. 2015 Health and Welfare
3. The unseen enemy
4. Making deeper cuts than some terrorist attacks of the near past
5. Under-reporting the total number of coronavirus cases
6. In denial, Donald Trump continues to insist that nothing serious is at hand and everything is in control
7. India affected by Corona
8. Coronavirus on March 11 declared a global pandemic on March 31 affecting more than 177 countries
9. José Antonio Vergara talking in Esperanto about the outbreak of the epidemic
10. Margaret Zaleski-Zamenho from Paris telling in Esperanto about the situation in France
11. Using fears of the deadly coronavirus
12. Europe in Chaos for a Pandemic
13. Only a few days left before 14 Nisan
14. Today’s thought “A night of watching” (February 5)
15. Catholics facing a totally different Holy Week
16. According to Pew Most White Evangelicals Don’t Think COVID-19 is a Medical Crisis
17. Not able to see Jesus working wonders
18. Observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal
19. Christian values, traditions, real or false stories, pure and upright belief
20. When Belonging to the escaped ones gathering in Jesus name

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Further Related

1. Holy Lament, Holy Suffering
2. The Planet is On Fire and We’re Chilling Out — Mental Illness and the COVID-19 Crisis
3. Is this over yet?
4. Social Distancing Works, But What’s Next?
5. Can COVID-19 Be Our Catalyst to a More Equitable Future?
6. COVID-19 Journal (Entry 12)
7. The Stir Crazy Files – Episode 19
8. 20,000: US death toll overtakes Italy’s as Midwest braces
9. ‘Do not take this virus as a joke’: 25-year-old L.A. COVID-19 survivor shares warning after brush with death
10. A Thought for Easter Sunday
11. Epictetus: What is in our control?
12. Facing the Coronavirus
13. We’re All Behind Together
14. It’s senseless to attack the people who are protecting us from COVID-19: López-Gatell
15. Crazed Corona Chatter 2: Survival Mode, Disengage!
16. Quarantine YA Recommendations
17. On Easter
18. The Wind of Prayer in Battle
19. Let Us See the Light
20. ‘We’re Catching It Double.’ Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns, Gun Violence Continues to Plague Chicago
21. Coronavirus: contain and delay phases Explained – BBC News
22. #trumpcovidfails more bedbuggery than features, Bret Stephens decides bigly government sucks
23. kids and coronavirus, three weeks in
24. COVID-19 Chronicles: Day 26
25. Pope: Easter gives hope in our ‘darkest hour,’ despite fear
26. Headlines promise Australia’s on the ‘cusp’ of defeating coronavirus. We’re not and it’s too soon to relax restrictions
27. Easter is coming
28. Isolation
29. Gorgeous Rendition of Rise Again by the Choir of Women Physicians
30. The Grim Reaper
31. Today was full of panic
32. staying connected during quarantine
33. Update: Wilmington Now Has 155 Active Positive COVID-19 Cases — 65 In Community, 73 At Advinia, 17 At CareOne
34. Couple celebrates milestone anniversary while keeping social distancing in mind
35. The Cottages, Fayetteville PD enforce social distancing
36. S . O . S . ~ Move Your Body
37. Today I am going for a walk
38. Words for the Way IV: Pastoral Notes for locked down times. Easter Sunday Who will Roll the Stone Away?
39. Covid
40. Draw in & Breathe – For me
41. Easter 2020
42. Easter Greetings from Mrs Daffodil
43. Sew it Begins….Sew It is Finished
44. ‘Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread’
45. Easter Vigil
46. The Longest Night of My Life
47. Dak Prescott And Zeke Need To Be Suspended Until (At Least) 2022 For Violating Social Distancing Laws
48. Dispatches from Covid-ville: Sunday is Coming
49. Easter is coming

So many being afraid – reason enough to step in the boat with Christ

For weeks already in Italy, Spain, France and Belgium the inhabitants are feeling limited with their country in lockdown. All over the world people are confronted with an unseen enemy, and that frightens many of them.

Normally the lovers of God who are worshipping Him alone and not other gods, are accustomed to living in a certain way somewhat isolated. The majority of Christendom worshipping a Trinity does not like those Unitarians and avoid contact with them as if they are affected with a terrible disease. Worship services for those isolated Christians are often followed by the internet, because of the distance between many too far. Those able to share the Breaking of Bread in real life, under normal circumstances only find themselves with a few. The 14th of Nisan is for many the big exception for the year. That day is often the ‘high-mass’ bringing many lovers of God together to commemorate the liberation of mankind. That special commemoration day in several prayer halls or kingdom halls often brings more than a hundred people together, showing how even when they are not with many, they also are not with such a few that they should feel alone. This year it was a totally different experience for many, not having the Memorial Gathering in public. It was nice to have several groups providing for internet sharing, but it is not the same and can not be a surrogate or placebo for the real thing.

Remarkable to notice is how so many expressed their calmness and accepted totally those restrictions the governments gave them. Opposite to many unbelievers most members were convinced the time of quarantine should take as long as necessary to keep everybody safe, no matter of the economic impact. We also can notice the members of those Unitarian denominations respect the social distancing and trust God that everything shall turn out back to normal in a certain time.

On the other hand all over the world, we find certain Christian groups calling to gather for Easter and to ignore such social distancing. They forget they perhaps do not only bring their own life in danger, but worse bring other people, they could encounter also on other days, in great danger. We can only say they have a very selfish attitude.

Around us, we can find unbelievers and believers who express their fear. Normal when one does not know the unseen enemy thoroughly and does not know how it all shall evolve in the near future. People also love to have everything under control and when they feel they loose control they start panicking.

For those with fear, we would like to remind them of a little event which took place some two thousand years ago.

Like on many great lakes and seas the wind can come up forcibly and bring dangerously high waves.

The disciples and Jesus were on passage on a boat and when the master teacher went to sleep, and a violent storm came.  The wind was howling, the boat was taking on water, these men felt that their lives were in danger from forces they could not control.  Take note, these were not inexperienced Saturday afternoon boaters.  Most of these men were professional fishermen.  These men were of strong hand and backs, they had been in a storm or two in their years of fishing.

If you have ever met a sailor, they often pride themselves on the storms they have endured on the seas.  However; this was not the same kind of storm that these men had endured before.  This storm frightened them to the point of fearing death.  It was pretty easy for them to see that the boat would likely be crushed in the waves, the wind and water was overtaking the boat.  They had no control over their circumstances.  All of their lives were passing before their eyes.  Wives lips that would never be kissed again, children that would never be played with again.  The sunrises they would miss.  Songs that they would never sing again.  As they looked over their possessions, their homes, their clothes, money, land, and more they began to realize how little value those things actually had.  They could see that they had focused their whole lives on things that really didn’t matter.  Their children, their spouses, their families, and their God are the things that mattered. As devout Jews they knew they could trust their God, the God of Abraham. Though it looked like as if they feared That God would not be with them.

On land they would know who to turn to when they had doubts of certain matters or fear for certain things. But far from any temple, no synagogue at hand, to whom had they to turn? Where could they find a rabbi or rebbe who could help them?

In want of having a Rabbi there now they turned their eyes toward their friend Jeshua (Jesus) who was lying quietly sleeping.  In all of this storming wind, spraying of water, beating of the waves, screaming of the men, he seemed steadfast asleep.  It looked like he was in a place of safety and comfort.  Peacefully like a baby he was there sleeping, probably laying in a puddle of water, soaked from head to toe, but asleep none the less.

A few decades ago Lenny LeBlanc released a song with the name “Asleep in the Boat”.  It talks about a promise God made, and that He is always there, just as Jesus was here with his disciples.  Just like when we are in the storm, He is here for us.

In these times of trouble we better look at how Jesus cope with difficulties and uncertainties. We do know many Christians take him as their god. God does know everything, but Jesus, not being God, did not know everything and like us just had to trust his heavenly Father.
Jesus has encountered several very difficult moments, and we should know that also he, even doubted God and asked Him why He had abandoned him. From the stake, Jesus cried out loud to His heavenly Father, the Only One True God.

46 And about the ninth hour Yahushua cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My Elohim, my Elohim, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matt 27:46, NRKJV)

But God never had abandoned or had forsaken His only beloved son. Nobody can do anything to God and God is the only Being that can not die. But Jesus could be hurt by men and he knew very well that those people could kill him. His death was a certainty, but what would happen after his death was not so sure. For that he had to trust his heavenly Father to Whom he cried that he would not be forsaken. Only by having enough faith in his heavenly Father Jesus could face those difficult moments. The Nazarene Jew had enough faith in his heavenly Father, the God of Israel, Who had already for centuries guided His People.

Jesus so much trusted his God, that he was willing to put his own will aside to do the Will of his heavenly Father, Whom Jesus considered to be the Only One True God, the God above all gods and above all kings. Like his ancestor King David, Jesus trusted his God.

We too, should have the same trust in God like the son of God had in his heavenly Father, Who is also our heavenly Father. In the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, we should find security and peace at heart, not having to have fear for what might come.

When we are children of God let us behave like it, and show others what a good Father we have. Let us take this period of more free time, to let Jehovah’s Name resound in many more places. That we who believe in Him show others how the Elohim has given the world the opportunity to be free of all worldly matters and that this time on this earth is only a temporary period. Let us take the opportunity to witness over the beauties of the Highest and how He has given the world a solution to be free of all worries.

We should step in the boat of Christ and be aware that even when he would be asleep, we still shall be safe, because he is with us and his God is with us.
When we feel abandoned by the world, them not liking we do not adhere to their god or gods, do not worry. One is better to worship the True God of the Bible instead of the many gods human beings love to worship. The God of Jesus, Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Solomon, David, Nehemiah, Abraham, Moses and Adam is the Best God we can have and Who can make sure we shall be able to receive the best life, “is it not today than tomorrow” ….

When we feel the pains of this world, and lost dear friends or family members, let us always remember that once they died their pain would be gone, and all worries would be over for them. Let us also put everything in the right perspective, comparing our luxury life with the millions of people in worse circumstances. And let us not forget how there was once a man who had not done any fault in his life, but was tortured and nailed at a wooden stake, giving his life for so many people he did not even know, so that they could live unto righteousness.

30 The Elohim of our fathers raised up Yahushua, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. (Acts 5:30, NRKJV)

24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1Pet 2:24, NRKJV)

Let us remember that event when the apostles were afraid and think about the storm in which we landed today.

23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, My master, save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! (Matt 8:23-27, NRKJV)

It would be wrong to think Jesus had no fear. He, like his brothers and sisters, also had many fears. Though Jesus feared more God than people and therefore was not afraid to speak out. Jesus very well knew his humble position and that he could do nothing without his heavenly Father, His God. Only by listening to his God, and doing what God wanted from him, Jesus could do exceptional things.

19 Then answered Yahushua and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19, NRKJV)

From those around him, Jesus asked them to come to him and to his God, so that what God had given to His son also could come unto us. Jesus knew that his God was the Only One to trust and knew that those who have complete trust in God will be kept in perfect peace by keeping their minds focused on Gods promises.

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isa 26:3, NRKJV)

Like so many before Christ let us also the same as Jesus did, trust the Divine Creator and give ourselves in His Hands. Even if we fear others or such disease as CoViD-19, we should have more fear for the God of Christ, the God of Abraham and should pray to Him and trust HIm, in the same way as Jesus and Isaiah trusted their heavenly Father.

9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of יהוה. 11 יהוה, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. 12 יהוה, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. 13 O יהוה our Elohim, masters instead of thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. (Isa 26:9-13, NRKJV)

While we may not know what tomorrow holds for us, we have chosen to follow Jesus and to have the same trust in his heavenly Father and as such should not have to worry about the future. In Christ Jesus lies our hope for the future, because he gave his life for us and God accepted his sacrificial offering as a ransom for once and for all.
When we believe who Jesus is and what he really has done and how God has now taken him out of the dead as an example for what might happen to us, we should not be afraid because in such resurrection is our hope and future.
It is in our belief in the promises of God and in the certainty of salvation that we have a present peace.

We just have to be patient and trust the Most High God. By following This God His only begotten beloved son, we have the assurance that one day there shall come a Kingdom which surpasses all other kingdoms and where there shall be peace for all without any pain or sorrow. Let us look forward to such days in the coming Kingdom of God.

 

**

Let us thank God for everything that we got for good things in our life
and let us trust Him as our Guide and Helper in difficult days
as well for Him being a Stormstiller

From Sticky Note to God ~03.31.20~

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Preceding

Why are you afraid?

Fear in your own heart or outside of it

Our life depending on faith

The Struggle Ends When Gratitude Begins

Many opportunities given by God

If you keep your faith and trust in God

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Additional reading

1. Matthew 8:23-27 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Jesus Calms a Stormy Sea
2. Matthew 9:32-34 – How others look at the blind, speechless and demoniac being healed
3. The unseen enemy
4. Fear of failure, and fear of the unknown
5. 8 fears caused by the fear of Man
6. Fearmongering succeeded and got the bugaboo a victory
7. A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
8. Thanksgiving wisdom: Why gratitude is good for your health
9. Problems on a dark road and A look at our ego-centric world
10. Not fear or dread or blind compulsion
11. The chosen ones to fear or not to fear
12. What is life?
13. Greatest single cause of atheism
14. Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) by Chris Tomlin
15. Control and change
16. We find by losing. We hold fast by letting go.
17. A treasure which can give me everything I need
18. I Am Not Alone – By: Kari Jobe
19. Necessity of a revelation of creation 3 Getting understanding by Word of God 1
20. Entrance of a king to question our position #2 Who do we want to see and to be
21. Today’s thought “Faith in Troubled Times” (January 14)
22. Today’s thought “Crying to God” (August 04)
23. The Wrath of God
24. Today’s thought “Plea for Vindication or for Protection against Oppressors” (January 07)
25. Today’s thought “My times are in your hand” (January 14)
26. Today’s Thought “You will keep … in perfect peace” (May 03)
27. Kingdom of God what will it be like

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Related

1. Housebound
2. Right Attitude in Trouble… Joshua of Ghana
3. Isaiah 26: Content in God alone.
4. The Sea of Galilee
5. Sonnets For My Savior 24
6. “In The Midst Of The Storm”
7. Jesus Feared God, Not Circumstances
8. Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm
9. Why Not to Be Afraid – Br. Curtis Almquist
10. Covid-19 and Isaiah 26
11. Pandemic, Quarantine, and Isaiah 26
12. Praying the Bible with Gratitude
13. The Wind and Sea Obey Him
14. Today’s Theme Song: Above All
15. Hide Yourself
16. Isaiah Chapter 26
17. Daily Devotion: Isaiah 26:3-4
18. 100 Blessings for Pandemic
19. Podcast #299: “Thank You, Lord” by Dennis Jernigan
20. The rock on which we stand

Hosting a Virtual Seder During a Pandemic

Dear readers,

Hopefully, you are all in good health.

On April 02 there are 5,552 people registered in Belgium that are infected with the novel coronavirus who are receiving treatment in Belgian hospitals.
That there are only 1,143 deaths of the CoViD-19 virus at the moment is thanks to the exceptional precautions that the government has taken and which a large part of the population adheres to.

The coming week brings us, what in normal circumstances would be the busiest time for gatherings, in our effort to remember how God has liberated us, and to make sure that the younger generation would come aware how we always should remember how God Helps and Guides His People.

14 Nisan is normally the Day of The Memorial Meal.
This year that shall be different from all other years.

In Lockdown times, best not to meet too many people and to keep social distance, nowhere in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal shall there be an open public Memorial Meal or Pesach Seder.

While you might not be able to physically gather around the seder table this Passover, do not forget that you can come together online.

Check out our 10 tips for creating a meaningful and fun seder experience for your family and friends, near and far.

1. Use the same Haggadah. 

   You could make and can use a Haggadah you could send out by e-mail beforehand and/or screen-share it with your guests, or encourage everyone to print their own copy.

2. Designate an e-Moses.

   It can be very helpful to pick someone to lead the virtual seder. Make sure this person has experience successfully using Zoom, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Skype, etc..

   He can play Moshe and let us remember how Moshe ditched his desert aesthetic and returned to the Egyptian palace to deliver God’s message, with the help of his brother and hype man, Aaron.

   Telling the exodus story he may not forget to bring forth how Moshe spoke about God commands and how God clapped back at the Egyptians. Children perhaps can have drawings made of the pathway formed between the walls of water and the Israelites who made it to the other side without harm.

3. Make a “seating and speaking chart.”

   This year there can best not swapped places. Best is to have everybody all night using the same place at the table, and if possible having enough distance between each household member.

   But this year we should also account for the virtual seated next speaker. Figure out ahead of time who is going to read what. Throughout the seder, text the person you’d be sitting next to.  Be careful when all speakers are on there shall be too much echo and everything could become too chaotic. Therefore, let everybody stay muted and follow an order of speaking plus having put up an arm or (funny) sign requesting to speak.

4. Maintain that there are no excuses for why people can’t attend.A danger of such critical times as these, is that people come a bit lazy or like to avoid their religious obligations.
   Unless, you know, they don’t have internet and/or a device to connect to it. Anyone can be part of your Passover experience.
5. Have a practice run.The organiser best has several contacts beforehand with those who would take care of the surprises.Also, send instructions for accessing your virtual platform of choice ahead of time so nobody holds up the seder by not knowing their Wi-Fi or other password.For those who do not have their computer enough secured and therefore had best their camera taped, they have to be encouraged to take the stickers or tape off their cameras.
   
6. Eat and drink with measure spread over the long time of gatheringAs usual at a seder have the different courses interrupted by animated talks, readings from Scripture and prayers.
7. Work with what you have.
   
   With all the panic shopping, it can be intimidating to venture out to get everything you need. That’s OK. Get what you can and improvise the rest.
   Our people have survived greater quandaries with a little ingenuity and determination.If you can’t get matzah, cut some cardboard into squares or large circles (you can even put dots on them with a marker for texture, but do not consume—this is purely decorative). Swap out sriracha for horseradish. Use literally anything green. Squish trail mix into a charoset-like paste.Use a regular plate as a stand-in for a seder plate. It’s the thought that counts.
8. Bring a little Purim to Passover.
   
   Never forget to make the long evening pleasant enough or entertaining enough to the children. Remember this night should be a night of remembering and giving it further to the next generation.Nobody would be against making some good fun and nobody would object to have people being dressed up as Moses, Aaron, Miriam, etc.Got kids? Great, they can be the frogs. Or the lice. It depends how stressed they’re making you.
   Got teens? Do the whole seder using Snapchat filters, then do a TikTok dance break in the middle of the seder for added social media cred. But only if, like, you know the choreo.
9. A night different from all other nightsAlso do not forget that 14 Nisan is ‘super special’.Laugh a little hysterically and cry only a tad when you get to the Four Questions and someone has to ask, “Why is this night different from all other nights?”
10. A Liberation to celebrate
    
    Do your best, have fun and remember that though we are in isolation to protect ourselves, friends, families and fellow human beings everywhere, we are still free to be Jewish or Jeshuaist and celebrate our heritage and salvation by the Highest and Strongest!

Let us not forget to show our love to God by remembering what He has done and still does, and let us show our love to others by taking enough precautions to keep everybody safe and in good health. Even when we might be very isolated in our own cosy home, let us feel the union with brothers and sisters all over the world, and let our prayers be with them all.

Please pray:

I will seek to make this world a better place, for all people, today and tomorrow. To this, in their memory, I pledge myself. Ani ma’amin. Am Yisrael chai.

A Jewish community eating the symbolic Passover food during the Seder evening, the evening before the Passover festival (picture-alliance / dpa / Robert Fishman)

As you come to the end of the seder, remember that this uncertainty, while it already feels like 40 years of wandering in the desert, is temporary. The Israelites made it eventually. So will we.

Next year, in person!

For 2020:

Keep safe and well, having a lovely Passover seder.

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Preceding

CoViD-19 warnings

Anxiety Management During Pandemic Days~

Hope on the Horizon: Pandemic Anxiety Management II~

Pandemic Anxiety Busters~

Mel Brooks saying “go home” to Max Brooks

Christian Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

7 Ways To Boost Your Immune System in Lockdown

Love in the Time of Corona

Recrafting our World

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Reminders

1. The unseen enemy
2. Under-reporting the total number of coronavirus cases
3. Coronavirus on March 11 declared a global pandemic on March 31 affecting more than 177 countries
4. No idea yet for 14 Nisan or April the 8th in 2020 Corona crisis time
5. Only a few days left before 14 Nisan
6. First time since Nazi time no public gathering
7. Voor het eerst in jaren weer een Pesach in isolatie
8. Even in Corona time You are called on to have the seder
9. A meal as a mitzvah so that every generation would remember
10. A night different from all other nights and days to remember
11. Let’s Think About Redemption Differently
12. At the Shabbat HaChodesh: readings about blood, liberation and purification
13. Zeman Chereisenu – the time of our freedom
14. Ki Tisa – Torah Portion
15. Egypt, Moshe and Those who never felt they belonged there
16. In Every Generation: The Return of Anti-Semitism – Pesah Day 1, 5779
17. The Most special weekend of the year 2018
18. Call to help others
19. How should we worship God? #7 The Breaking of Bread
20. How should we worship God? #8 Love one another

Recrafting our World

According to psychologist Peter Kramer, resilience is the ability to cope with life’s frustrations without falling apart. And reslilience, not happiness, is the opposite of depression.

• essence of a good life =  how well we pay attention, compassionately accept our situation, take action toward meaningful goals, learn from our choices, and move on, with as much trust + love as we can.
• time at home = opportunity to reflect on life >  how to live closer to your credo => opportunity to re-evaluate + change way we live, work, produce, + distribute goods + services.
• shift away from mindless consumerism => begin living for higher purposes, mindful of our impact on other people & planet.
• Clarifying + aligning with our priorities.

key = how we respond to new challenge. 

• slowing down & reflecting
• waking up to a new reality.
• isolation =/= loneliness.

Essence of a good life: how well we pay attention, compassionately accept our situation, take action toward meaningful goals, learn from our choices, and move on, with as much trust as we can. And remembering that what matters most is love. {Happy or Resilient?}

writing to freedom

Recrafting our World

It’s impossible to avoid the news and impact of coronavirus.

I’ve progressed from denial to concern, to acceptance and opening to new ideas. I’ve been sick for the last few days wondering if I have the virus, flu, a cold, allergies, or am simply run down. I’m considering whether to go to a doctor and be tested for the coronavirus. The virus is forcing us to slow down and live differently, at least for a while, Maybe asking us to consider how we can become healthier, more resilient, and more helpful in a connected world. Here’s a related post I wrote about resiliency a few years ago called Happy or Resilient?  From that post; the essence of a good life is how well we pay attention, compassionately accept our situation, take action toward meaningful goals, learn from our choices, and move on, with as much…

View original post 383 more words

Love in the Time of Corona

Human beings have grown away from nature and from the Divine Creator.
Their debauchery and carelessness about how to deal with the things before them are now killing them.

It has come so far that humans are to blame for the extinction of many beautiful creatures. According to a 2014 study, current extinction rates are 1,000 times higher than they would be if humans weren’t around.

Example of a significant historical pandemic: the Black Death, which originated in China and spread across Europe in the 14th century;

All through history we also can see when there were too many people able to destroy their environment, nature took charge and eliminated lots of people. In the past, there were many awful battles, wars taking the lives of many. After the Great War it did not seem yet enough. The influenza pandemic of 1918–19, also called Spanish influenza pandemic or Spanish flu, was the most severe influenza outbreak of the 20th century and, in terms of total numbers of deaths, among the most devastating pandemics in human history. It resulted in an estimated 25 million deaths, though some researchers have projected that it caused as many as 40–50 million deaths. Nothing compared to the Sars-CoV-1 infection. Sars and Ebola frightened many, but now the Sars-CoV-2 or CoViD-19 brings these 21st-century people also on their knees, fearing for their lives.

The influenza pandemic of 1918–19: temporary hospital A temporary hospital in Camp Funston, Kansas, during the 1918–19 influenza pandemic. Courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C

Today the majority of people have become so materialistic their first concerns is to protect the economy. Still, too many politicians dare to tell their citizens they should continue to go to work and have the factories working, not having to be so afraid to come close to each other. There are even politicians who do find more money should be spent on the economy instead of providing health workers with the necessary protection.

We can only hope this pandemic is going to awaken many and bringing many changes to how we shall go to work and move around.
Fundamental shifts in the way we interact and live, in our interpersonal and business relationships, in the way we treat our families, each other, and ourselves, shall have to take place.
A few months ago most people took not the time to think about their way of life and how mankind played with mother nature. Since many weren’t able to find the time to get to meditate about our way of living, along comes this virus, which certain politicians still do not take seriously enough to take the necessary protection measures.

Where there is a lockdown, people now can find time to come back to themselves. It does not seem to be easy for many, to be confronted with so much time for themselves. But they shall have to rethink their lifestyle at the moment. CoViD-19 gives us all the time we need, forcing us into this shift = a shift, in our consciousness, our way of thinking and living, of learning, and loving.

*

To remember

The guestwriter of today thinks the planet is trying to tell us something:

We are on the verge of a sixth mass extinction with species experiencing lights out at alarming rates and any potential for rebound numbering in the millions (!) of years.

• we have created so much pollution with our lifestyles => climate has become inhospitable + CO2 levels reach critical mass in the next couple decades
• an only money matters mentality
• Do we believe in our government or do we think it will fail us?
• spiritually bereft we ignore The Power of Now.
• fundamental shift in way we interact + live > interpersonal + business relationships, way we treat our families, each other, + ourselves
• use this time to think about what your hands can do that will benefit your better well-being + that of those around you.
• things to tackle > free time => use it  >>  view less as isolation => more as a Roto-Rooter for the Soul =>work miracles in your life.
• safe in your home = shelter-in-place => give thanks < homeless population > no shelter = among most vulnerable among us.
• extra time
  • look at movies
  • do gardening
  • choose giving
  • Instead of loneliness > choose levity.
  • Stay connected.
  • Instead of solitude > institute “bring your dog or cat to work” day.
  • Enjoy the shorter commute.
  • Take time for walks.
  • Practice walking meditation > take some time to meditate on kind of world you would like to be living in when this is all over => first dream it into being
  • Exercise.
  • be kind.

+

Preceding

CoViD-19 warnings

Anxiety Management During Pandemic Days~

Hope on the Horizon: Pandemic Anxiety Management II~

Pandemic Anxiety Busters~

Mel Brooks saying “go home” to Max Brooks

Christian Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Find also to read

1. 2014 Health and welfare
2. 2015 Health and Welfare
3. The unseen enemy
4. Making deeper cuts than some terrorist attacks of the near past
5. In denial, Donald Trump continues to insist that nothing serious is at hand and everything is in control
6. India affected by Corona
7. Using fears of the deadly coronavirus
8. Europe in Chaos for a Pandemic

Green Life Blue Water

It’s been a hell of a few weeks and it looks like it will continue for a bit.  At the risk of sounding both blasé and alarmist at once, I think the planet is trying to tell us something.

We are on the verge of a sixth mass extinction with species experiencing lights out at alarming rates and any potential for rebound numbering in the millions (!) of years.

In the process, we have created so much pollution with our lifestyles that our climate has become inhospitable and our CO2 levels will reach critical mass in the next couple decades without a complete overhaul of how we do business.

We’ve gotten into an only money matters mentality, and the stock market’s precipitous weeks’ long plunge not only put a hurting on most people’s retirement funds but eroded faith in the economy.  That event may keep us working longer…

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