Daily Readings for Wednesday, March 25th
Meditation for the Day
Spiritual development is achieved by daily persistence in living the way you believe God wants you to live. Like the wearing away of a stone by steady drops of water, so will your daily persistence wear away all the difficulties and gain spiritual success for you. Never falter in this daily, steady persistence. Go forward boldly and unafraid. God will help and strengthen you, as long as you are trying to do His will.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may persist day by day in gaining spiritual experience. I pray that I may make this a lifetime work.
From Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Letting Go of Worry
What if we knew for certain that everything we’re worried about today will work out fine?
What if . . . we had a guarantee that the problem bothering us would be worked out in the most perfect way, and at the best possible time? Furthermore, what if we knew that three years from now we’d be grateful for that problem, and its solution?
What if . . . we knew that even our worst fear would work out for the best?
What if . . . we had a guarantee that everything that’s happening, and has happened, in our life was meant to be, planned just for us, and in our best interest?
What if . . . we had a guarantee that the people we love are experiencing exactly what they need in order to become who they’re intended to become? Further, what if we had a guarantee that others can be responsible for themselves, and we don’t have to control or take responsibility for them?
What if . . . we knew the future was going to be good, and we would have an abundance of resources and guidance to handle whatever comes our way?
What if . . . we knew everything was okay, and we didn’t have to worry about a thing? What would we do then?
We’d be free to let go and enjoy life.
Today, I will know that I don’t have to worry about anything. If I do worry, I will do it with the understanding that I am choosing to worry, and it is not necessary.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
Story of the Day for Tuesday, March 24th
Coronavirus by the Numbers: World Figures for Tuesday, March 24th
Daily Readings for Tuesday, March 24th
Meditation for the Day
We cannot fully understand the universe. The simple fact is that we cannot even define space or time. They are both boundless, in spite of all we can do to limit them. We live in a box of space and time, which we have manufactured by our own minds and on that depends all our so-called knowledge of the universe. The simple fact is that we can never know all things, nor are we made to know them. Much of our lives must be taken on faith.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that my faith may be based on my own experience of the power of God in my life. I pray that I may know this one thing above all else in the universe.
From Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Appreciating Ourselves
We are the greatest things that will ever happen to us. Believe it. It makes life much easier.
—Codependent No More
It is time to stop this nonsense of running around picking on ourselves.
We may have walked through much of our life apologizing for ourselves either directly or indirectly – feeling less valuable than others, believing that they know better than we do, and believing that somehow others are meant to be here and we are not.
We have a right to be here.
We have a right to be ourselves. We are here. There is a purpose, a reason, and an intention for our life. We do not have to apologize for being here or being who we are.
We are good enough, and deserving.
Others do not have our magic. We have our magic. It is in us.
It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in our past. We all have a past, woven with mistakes, successes, and learning experiences. We have a right to our past. It is ours. It has worked to shape and form us. As we progress on this journey, we shall see how each of our experiences will be turned around and used for good.
We have already spent too much time being ashamed, being apologetic, and doubting the beauty of ourselves. Be done with it. Let it go. It is an unnecessary burden. Others have rights, but so do we. We are neither less than nor more than. We are equal. We are who we are. That is whom we were created and intended to be.
That, my friend, is a wonderful gift.
God, help me own my power to love and appreciate myself. Help me give myself validity instead of looking to others to do that.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
Shared Reading: "Coronavirus spreading in New York like 'a bullet train'"
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has pleaded for medical supplies, warning Covid-19 is spreading in his state faster than “a bullet train”.
“The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought,” Mr Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday.
He said the federal government was not sending anywhere near enough lifesaving equipment to confront the crisis.
New York now has over 25,000 confirmed virus cases and at least 210 deaths.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday the US has the potential to become the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.
The warnings come as President Donald Trump said he hoped the US would reopen for business next month.
What did Governor Cuomo say?
“We need federal help and we need the federal help now,” Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, said.
“New York is the canary in the coal mine, New York is happening first, what is happening to New York will happen to California and Illinois, it is just a matter of time.”
- America is humbled – but there is a glimmer of hope
- Why Trump wants US open for business despite pandemic
- US man dies after taking drug he thought stopped virus
The governor blasted the 400 ventilators sent to New York from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He said: “You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.”
New York currently has 7,000 ventilators, but needs 30,000, the governor said.
Mr Cuomo continued: “The [infection] forecaster said to me, ‘We were looking at a freight train coming across the country.’
“‘We’re now looking at a bullet train.'”
The state is also looking into creating more healthcare areas, possibly by turning college dormitories and hotels into makeshift hospitals.
- A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
- AVOIDING CONTACT: Should I self-isolate?
- STRESS: How to protect your mental health
- VIDEO: The 20-second hand wash
With 25,665 cases in New York, the state accounts for more than half of all US infections.
The number of new cases in the state is doubling every three days, the governor said, and showing no sign of slowing down.
Mr Cuomo said the rate of infections could overwhelm the healthcare system. New York may need up to 140,000 hospital beds in a worst-case scenario, he said.
The governor also said he would not “put a dollar amount on human life”, in what was seen as an implicit criticism of Mr Trump’s concerns that measures to contain the virus could wreck the US economy.
“My mother is not expendable and your mother is not expendable,” said Mr Cuomo.
Shared Reading – Where did it originate?
What caused the pandemic?
The death toll is finally starting to drop in Italy, the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. But how did the outbreak begin?
Scientists believe the virus originated in infected animals at a seafood and wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where it crossed the species barrier.
We still don’t know exactly how it began, but one possible scenario is that a bat left a trace of coronavirus in its droppings and a wild animal picked up the infection from the excrement, allowing it to circulate in wildlife and eventually be passed onto humans.
More than 70% of emerging infections in humans are estimated to have come from animals – particularly wild ones.
The virus is then thought to have spread among humans through droplets from the nose or mouth, or by people coming into contact with contaminated surfaces or skin.
As people travelled around the world, it was brought to new countries, and as it is a new strain of coronavirus there is not yet any vaccine against it.
North Carolina Extends School Closing
March 23: Executive Order to close K-12 public school statewide through May 15, bans mass gatherings over 50 people, closes some businesses.
Coronavirus by the Numbers – World Statistics for Tuesday, March 23rd
Daily Readings for Monday, March 23rd
Meditation for the Day
God is with you, to bless and help you. His spirit is all around you. Waver not in your faith or in your prayers. All power is the Lord’s. Say that to yourself often and steadily. Say it until your heart sings with joy for the safety and personal power that it means to you. Say it until the very force of the utterance drives back and puts to naught all the evils against you. Use it as a battle cry. All power is the Lord’s. Then you will pass on to victory over all your sins and temptations, and you will begin to live a victorious life.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that with strength from God I may lead an abundant life. I pray that I may lead a life of victory.
From Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Flack from Setting Boundaries
We need to know how far we’ll go, and how far we’ll allow others to go with us. Once we understand this, we can go anywhere.
—Beyond Codependency
When we own our power to take care of ourselves – set a boundary, say no, and change an old pattern – we may get flack from some people. That’s okay. We don’t have to let their reactions control us, stop us, or influence our decision to take care of ourselves.
We don’t have to control their reactions to our process of self-care. That is not our responsibility. We don’t have to expect them not to react either.
People will react when we do things differently or take assertive action to nurture ourselves, particularly if our decision in some way affects them. Let them have their feelings. Let them have their reactions. But continue on your course anyway.
If people are used to us behaving in a certain way, they’ll attempt to convince us to stay that way to avoid changing the system. If people are used to us saying yes all the time, they may start mumbling and murmuring when we say no. If people are used to us taking care of their responsibilities, feelings, and problems, they may give us some flack when we stop. That’s normal. We can learn to live with a little flack in the name of healthy self-care. Not abuse, mind you flack.
If people are used to controlling us through guilt, bullying, and badgering, they may intensify their efforts when we change and refuse to be controlled. That’s okay. That’s flack too.
We don’t have to let flack pull us back into old ways if we’ve decided we want and need to change. We don’t have to react to flack or give it much attention. It doesn’t deserve it. It will die down.
Today, I will disregard any flack I receive for changing my behaviors or making other efforts to be myself.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
David Lee 