Burn, Baby, Burn! - 02 February 2022 - Plague Journal Day 692

Micah 6:8
Malachi 3:1-4
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Good grief, the toll-free and wireless calls are coming in non-stop these days. That's all the information my caller ID can provide, but they all seem to be political in nature, whether actually fundraising or pretending to do a survey, then asking for money.

At any rate, it's a darned good thing we have our emergency goat from Archie McPhee! When the phone rings, I look at the caller ID and get slightly upset, or even mildly perturbed; but once I answer and share the dulcet tones of my screaming herd of goats with the caller I can - and do! - hang up with a smile on my face.

Today's freewrite word is spark.

I didn't go to church camp as a kid. I did go spend a week at my cousin's house in Indiana, so from my parents' perspective it was basically the same thing, only cheaper. I bring this up because this means I don't know - from experience - all those camp things like cooking in a tuna can over a candle, or telling ghost stories around the campfire with a flashlight shining up my nose, or all those camp songs. I only know them by osmosis.
We (the Moving Vans, that is) were asked to sing and provide the music for an outdoor worship service at Jefferson Avenue United Methodist Church one Summer Sunday. Well, the weather decided that the outdoor service ought to be in the church basement rather than at the park (or at least the powers that were decided that being dry was more likely to encourage worship than was sitting in a driving rain. I tend to agree with that assessment).
At any rate, it was there that I got my first exposure to the hymn "It Only Takes a Spark" as sung by campers. It was far more raucous - and engaging - than the way I would have pulled it out of the hymnal. It really did only take a spark, and the warmth of that day's worship remains in my memory to this day.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.