MAKING WORLD HISTORY AGAIN
March of 2020 has been a historical month in so many ways.
We are all sheltering at home because of COVID-19. Some of us have lost loved ones. Others are suffering with the virus and those who are well are dealing with drastic changes in lifestyle that involve economic consequences and practical and financial worries.
Our lives have changed in unimaginable ways.
It is our hope that The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community is able to minister to many of these newest needs of our community and at the same time to continue with all that we once perceived as “normal.” If we can put even a little bit of “normal” or “encouragement” into your day; we definitely want to do so.
Someone once said that “normal” is just a setting on the dryer; and this month we all are beginning to believe that is true. We have been bombarded with one lifestyle change after another. Now it is more important than ever that we ban together and keep our on-line community focused on God’s will and keep encouraging each other to live out our motto of 2 Timothy 4:2; Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.
Hopefully, as we encourage one another we can all keep our focus of living like Jesus and the disciples “inside out and upside down.”
We have almost begun to look at these monthly newsletters we publish as a record of history for the history books. Looking back over the months is more and more revealing of the ways our world and culture have changed.
Never did we ever think that would be the purpose of a Newsletter; but looking back over the last few years we can see many Newsletters that we published which have accurately recorded the little details of the history of our times.
However; this month breaks the record.
Our goal is to bring some positive light into your day; to give you hope, to lift you up and to bring your hearts closer to God in every way.
In pondering just what a blog could do to help in these circumstances; at first we felt a bit lost and discouraged. Then, as we prayed about it all, we realized that the blog is more important than ever. Through this vehicle we can share our amazing stories. Many heroes exist in these times and we want to bring their stories to you. We want to share our experiences, our tears and our laughter, like a family would, if we could all be together in one place.
We hope in the days to come you will find our articles contributing to whatever it takes to rise above these circumstances and make our world a better place.
Let us all be the difference.
Turn off all the noise of the world and come into the haven of good, wholesome, Christian readings that will lift your spirits, help you to grow in all circumstances and encourage you every day. That has become our purpose as we go through the next few months.
It seems fitting that this is so since long ago this editor chose Philippians 4:11-13 as her life verse; that verse says: I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Having made this a life-verse so very long ago; perhaps it has been my purpose all along to write to encourage you through such times. I know many of you have the same goals and perhaps together this community can make a positive difference in a very negative and dark time.
Let’s promise to try our best and to constantly pray for God’s guidance as we go.
Our March articles were full of cheerful encouragement which we hope you found helpful. Looking back; here is the month in review:
COME AS A CHILD
This on-going page-by-page bible study has us heading toward the end of the Book of Numbers.
Like us; we find that the Israelites have also endured a plague and a census, and they are also preparing for a new year and another Passover.
God’s timing always amazes me!
Here are the links to the lessons that we covered in case you want to go back and review them:
https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/how-israels-own-lust-came-against-them/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/more-thoughts-about-balaam/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/the-day-god-used-a-donkey-to-bring-a-blessing-to-israel/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/defeating-the-amorites/
If you wish to only have these lessons from COME AS A CHILD sent to your inbox once a week; we would be happy to put you on our e-mail list. Just send us a note to wordcastlepublications@gmail.com and tell us your desire for this to happen.
SEASONS
The first seasonal holiday in the month of March was Purim.
I hope you have become accustomed to keeping Purim in your home by now. It is so much fun; especially for the little ones, and Purim has so much to teach us about living in God’s Kingdom.
If you missed our articles on the subjects around Purim you can still review them here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/esther-and-the-king/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/christian-purim-celebrations/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/hamentaschen/
The SEASONS topic was loaded this month of March with articles and stories about St. Patrick. If you can overlook the pagan part of this story that has been added by superstitious people who do not know any better; you can understand a story that tells of one of God’s faithful who truly made a difference to the world.
If not for St. Patrick Ireland might never have had the chance to hear the gospel.
Ireland went through hard times of plagues and famine too. St. Patrick presented a beautiful prayer to pray in times when we need protection and healing. This was one article about the seasonal thoughts that tied in with what we are all going through today. If you have never prayed the prayer of St. Patrick; you might want to consider it now.
We shared his story and a good old Irish recipe with you; here are the links if you missed them: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/how-will-you-celebrate-st-patricks-day/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/corned-beef-and-cabbage-my-favorite-recipe/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/praying-like-st-patrick/
The rest of the month was very focused on basic articles that centered around keeping God’s Holy Days; especially those coming up in the month of April; Passover, Unleavened Bread and Early First Fruits.
Many of our churches haven’t taken the time or the effort to get to the truth of these Holy Days, and we hope our articles contribute in some small way with turning this around.
If you missed any of these articles you can review them here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/cleaning-for-unleavened-bread-and-covid-19/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/passover-week-looking-at-early-first-fruits-and-counting-the-omer/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/preparing-passover-seder-during-covid-19/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/finding-the-calendar-before-passover/
God seems to place a lot of emphasis on seasonal things; and we shared an article with our thoughts on this subject: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/seasons-why-place-so-much-emphasis-on-seasons/
We hope you are making plans to celebrate Passover week even with the shelter in place orders.
It is more important than ever that God’s people keep God’s commandments and honor him with the family traditions that He has set out for us on his calendar.
More than that; Yeshua died for us during this season.
He gave his life that we could live with God the Father forever.
We celebrate His rising from the dead and the miracle of new life on the day of Early First Fruits – 3 days after the Passover. May this day find you rejoicing and honoring God with all of your heart. (Our April articles will cover more about Unleavened Bread and Early First Fruits AND the counting of the Omer.)
Physically we all may be separated; but spiritually we are united in our hearts and God will always keep his annual appointments with those who are faithfully and actively seeking His face.
Of course we said welcome to the brand new season of Spring in our SEASONS topics this month.
If we had to have troubles; at least we were able to look out and see the trees in full bloom and the flowers popping out in the landscapes. Spring always cheers us up. Check out our article here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/welcome-spring-of-2020/.
THE HOUSE DOCTOR
During these times of seclusion and staying inside; the state of our homes seems to be even more important than ever.
Our home is now our main Sanctuary. The daily use of it has doubled to the weekly use of when we all would attend church.
Have you considered that?
There is no need to go out and buy anything to make this decorating transition into Springtime happen. It is only important to use what we already have on hand to make everything as happy and cheerful as possible.
We chose to use the things we had on hand that were Robin’s Egg Blue this year.
It gave us a feeling that spring was STILL spring and the realization that there is still much beauty to behold in the world within which we live and breath every day.
If you missed our article; you may link in to review it here. https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/welcome-spring-of-2020/.
We also want to encourage you to think simply with your spring décor and to do all you can simply to give your home a fresh, clean slate for the new spiritual year we just passed on the calendar.
PIECES OF THE PUZZLE
Speaking of the calendar; I’m sharing with each of you the way God has led me to conduct a calendar experiment this year by actually observing the patterns and phases of the moon and following its phases as we count our days of this sacred year. This is how the ancients told time. We can do the same if we try!
If you want to follow along with me through this interesting experiment you can link into my articles about the subject here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/a-plan-for-making-2020-a-perfect-year/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/finding-the-calendar-before-passover/
Also in this topic we call PIECES OF THE PUZZLE, we have included more articles in our series about Social Justice. We have been digging into history this month; and we have covered the times from the beginning of time all the way up to the end of World War One and discussed how these times affected social justice in our culture.
You can review those articles here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/social-justice-and-world-war-one/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/the-vast-history-of-social-justice.
There will be many more articles on this subject in the months to come.
PEN ART
We love giving you our little short stories in our PEN ART column that is devoted to art of all kinds; literary, painting, music, drawing, crafting, etc. This month we crafted a story about Esther that is very appropriate for Purim. You may review it here is you like: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/esther-and-the-king/.
Also; Passover favors are fun. This month’s PEN ART topics include a Passover craft that provides you with a flavorful way to count the days until Pentecost. You can find that article here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/passover-to-pentecost-crafts/.
MONDAY NIGHT MENUS
This topic was full of seasonal recipes this month.
We gave you corned beef and cabbage tips for St. Patrick’s Day (https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/corned-beef-and-cabbage-my-favorite-recipe/) and Hamantaschens for Purim (https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/hamentaschen/). Keep looking in April for some of our favorite Passover recipes as well as creative ways to serve and consume unleavened bread all week.
PRODUCTS:
The IN SEASON Community Store had some pretty unique and timely products for your March shopping (https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/the-in-season-community-store-for-march- 2020/https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/the-in-season-lifestyle-community-store-for-april-2020/); and we have tailored our April store to furnish good ideas for those who are sheltering in place unexpectedly.
The internet orders are easier during this time; so please continue to shop with us.
Every little bit helps to offset the costs incurred from our providing you with these many FREE monthly articles and giving us a publication equal to a FREE monthly Christian Magazine. Our gift to you each month.
We appreciate all that our shoppers order; because every purchase helps to offset these costs in a small way.
The IN SEASON Lifestyle blog via Wordcastle Publications LLC does receive a small fee from Amazon for promoting their products; but it is at no extra cost to you.
The IN SEASON Community Store simply keeps your seasonal purchases available in an easy all-in-one-place shopping experience.
For the most part; our links to older store articles are still in service. Occasionally Amazon will change their policy and it may take a while for us to notice. If you find a link not working; please let us know by sending an e-mail note to wordcastlepublications@gmail.com.
AN APPLE A DAY
So much has been happening so fast that we have slacked off on our health articles. This isn’t intentional and we plan to pick back up on the series of articles about our bodies being the Temple of God sometime in April.
Stay with us because this topic has lots more to share which our readers will find interesting and helpful.
APRIL HAS ARRIVED
April has arrived already!
We are keeping the same goals for April that we stated with our March Review above; and that is to try to do all that we can to make a positive contribution to the world at large as we are all going through more and more culture changes.
This April, we hope to bring you more encouraging articles about Passover, Unleavened Bread and Early First Fruits.
This month’s focus will definitely be about celebrating Resurrection; both the Resurrection of Our LORD in history; and the Resurrection that He has provided for us in the blessings of new life.
Let’s turn that page together.
This year almost feels like the times that Noah and his family spent cooped up inside an ark for days and days. Things could get a bit complicated; but the day is coming when we are going to step outside again and each of us will have stored within our hearts the Resurrection power of Christ. God will grant us new life! We will focus on sharing that refreshing new aspect of life to others.
With God NOTHING is impossible.
The future is still very hopeful.
April will be full of such good news, tips and ideas for changing the world for the better.
Stay with us and please share our articles with your friends and neighbors.
We would love to grow our mailing list to include more focused hearts in the months to come. If someone you know has wanted to receive this Newsletter each month; tell them to contact us either through the form below or by e-mailing a note to wordcastlepublications@gmail.com.
We are excited about all we will have to share with you in the days of April 2020.
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Blessings:
Gail Landgraf/Editor/Writer/Publisher of The IN SEASON Lifestyle Blog via Wordcastle Publications LLC
e-mail: wordcastlepublicaitons@gmail.com and site: theinseasonlifestyle.com