What's More Essential: Liquor Stores or Church?

Liquor Stores are Open but Church Buildings are Closed! 

Due to COVID-19, places including church buildings have closed. It's been more than 2 months since I've walked into my home church 😣 It's bittersweet because we still have church online on the weekends and in the week for Bible Study and Prayer, which is awesome! But it's not the same as gathering together physically. So, I am definitely still being fed spiritually by the Pastoral Team and Worship Team 🙏🙏🙏🙏 But, my thoughts and feelings about this whole STAY-AT-HOME order for churches are getting to me and I can't continue to suppress my thoughts and feelings anymore. 

 
I live in New Jersey and the governor, Phil Murphy, has decided to close everything that is seen as NON-ESSENTIAL. My first thought is: Isn't church ESSENTIAL? Isn't church essential to people's spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being? I think so and I am sure a lot of people think so too. However, according to Murphy and many other governors, the church isn't seen as essential, so, therefore, we were forced to "close". Murphy even says gatherings of ANY size is prohibited! Like seriously? This order goes against our freedom and right to worship and gather. This is the issue I have and I want to know how many other Christ-followers feel the same. I haven't heard much from my circle of believers on social media and I think that's a problem!

Liquor stores are OPEN, though!

What confuses me is the fact that liquor stores are OPEN! Why are liquor stores open? Better yet, how is liquor essential? or how are liquor stores "essential businesses"? This baffles me! Some people might say "well, liquor stores aren't as big as churches" or some might say "people don't stay long or congregate at liquor stores as they do in the church". Although all these ideas are valid, my issue is about what's important and what's not. Even bars are still open! How can we stay quiet about this? or better yet, how long will we stay quiet about this?

The church IS essential!

The buildings might be closed but the church is still open. The Word is still being preached and taught by the pastors and pastoral team. The worship team is still singing spirit-led songs. The Children's Ministry pastors and staff are still creating engaging lessons and videos to keep our children connected. So, yes, the church is still functioning as it should. To God be the glory 🙌🙌🙌 But enough is enough now! We are ESSENTIAL!

It's time for the church to take a stand!

The church isn't the building; it's the body of believers that gather together in Jesus' name. But we have a God-given right to gather together! I totally understand that COVID-19 is deadly and people are losing their lives, even people that believe in God. Trust me, I get that! I am not downplaying the severity of this disease but I am sharing the severity of denying our right to worship and gather together. 

The Bible says that we must "not forsake (abandon, quit, give up, renounce, etc.) the assembling of ourselves together, as in the manner of some, but exhorting one another" Hebrew 10:25. To assemble means to bring together or meet together for a definite purpose according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. So, could it be that these stay-at-home orders are a violation of our faith or a violation of the Word of God? 🤔🤔🤔 It took me about 2 months to really think about this. It didn't fully dawn on me until now. This creates conflict in a believer like myself because although we want to use wisdom and we want to respect government officials, we also want to demonstrate the power of God by exercising our freedom and faith. We want the world to see that God is bigger than COVID-19 and we are not afraid of any disease or sickness because there is POWER in the name of Jesus.

When we gather, God is in the midst and He shows up!

Quarantine Chronicles: The Good in the Bad!

The Good in the Bad

Almost the whole world is experiencing the effects of COVID-19! 

Children are home, learning from home. Teachers are home, teaching from home. Parents are home, working (double-duty) from home. Families are quarantined. Church buildings are closed. People are dying every day. People are testing positive for this disease every day. Hospitals needed PPE's and thousands of ventilators. Many people lost their jobs and many people are losing their minds. Graduations are canceled or postponed. Online shipping is delayed and "non-essential" businesses are closed until further notice. Essential businesses have shortened their hours. Limited customers are allowed in stores. Shelves are empty or barely stocked. We must wear face-masks or face coverings whenever going out in public. We must stand 6 ft apart from people AKA social distancing. We must wash or sanitize our hands twenty-four-seven. And the list goes on and on. It seems as if the bad outweighs the good. Although that may be true (or that may seem true), we cannot ignore all the good that has come out of this pandemic.

So, I know you might be wondering, "Where is all the good in all this bad?" I know it might be difficult to see the good in all of this, but I challenge you to shift your mind and focus to the GOOD and not the BAD (even if it's just for a few minutes).  

Throughout this pandemic, I must say, there has been SO much good that has come out of it for me and my family; in ways we never imagined. Allow me to share those blessings with you!

Blessings in the COVID-19 Pandemic:

• Stimulus Check-(married with 4 children but got it for 3 children) which is still a HUGE blessing! To some, this money may not have meant much or may not have been much. However, to some, like myself, it meant a lot. This money helped with the essentials of life, especially because my spouse isn't working due to the pandemic.
• Esurance Shelter-in-Place Payback-almost 15% of our auto insurance monthly premium was issued back because many of us are not driving to work at this time; we are working from home. Although the money I received was a few cents short of $52, it was well appreciated! Plus, we received another payback for May as well :) Another blessing in this is saving money on gas; although I only live about 6 minutes from my job. To not have to spend money on gas is a blessing!
• SNAP benefits increased-families that receive food stamps were given EXTRA money on their EBT cards twice in April. In May, the extra benefits were combined with what families normally get each month. That's a HUGE blessing for large families like mine (I have a family of 6). 
• Honey, I'm Home- my husband is pretty much home all the time now, which is a blessing in disguise. He's a driver but he hasn't worked for these last two months since the Stay at Home order from the governor in March! God has blessed us through all of this, and it doesn't feel like we had a loss of income. Usually, he'll play dominoes with some friends and they'll play till the wee hours some time. Now, at home in quarantine, he plays online dominoes and I can actually watch him play; I didn't get to do this before because I would be home with the kids. He's also cooking way more now than he normally does (he's really the chef of the house:)) and he's NOT COMPLAINING about it. Now, THAT's a blessing!
• Working From Home-thankfully, I am still working from home, which means, I still have a paycheck coming in. I am a Teacher Assistant for a Kindergarten class and school is still in session. We do LIVE lessons and meetings. We create pre-recorded videos of ourselves reading and teaching. I take attendance daily, still. We have weekly grade-level meetings as well as staff meetings, virtually! I still message parents and respond to them each day through google classroom and Class DOJO.  
• Double-Dipping @ Church Online-I've been able to participate in multiple church services that my home church has online on Facebook and Youtube! This is a MAJOR blessing because prior to quarantine, I couldn't stay for more than one service as often as I wanted to. Now, I can double-dip and participate in ALL or most of the weekend services, if I choose to do so. My church has four services. Plus, we have Weekly Prayer calls and 20 minutes of Hope Bible Study on Wednesdays (it really has been very encouraging and refreshing!). All in all though, nothing beats gathering together in person :) Can't wait for that day...hopefully, sooner than later! 

Now that I've shared some of my blessings with you all, it's your turn!

What are some blessings you and your family received in this pandemic? Feel free to share! I would love to hear about them :) and I'm sure other visitors to the blog would love to hear them as well. 

Just remember that God works ALL things together for our good, especially for those who love Him wholeheartedly! We might not see it, but we must believe it. Just have faith in God! If you struggle in the area of faith, pray a simple prayer to God asking Him to increase your faith in Him. Don't forget: There's a blessing in the storm!

Listen to the songs below and let them minister to your heart in this difficult time! 

All Things by Nicole & David Binion

Blessing in the Storm by Kirk Franklin

Be Blessed,

S. Harris

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog:
Shedding Light!

Hello!

My name is Shadiki Harris and I am the blogger of Shedding Light! This is my first blog and I'm SUPER excited! I'm ready to share the fire and passion that I have burning within me about so many things; things I've withheld for one reason or another. This blog will give me the opportunity to pour out my whole heart to you, respectfully. I am ready to stir your hearts, your minds, and your souls with thought-provoking posts.

On this blog, you will find encouraging, insightful, and inspirational posts about a variety of topics. I will "shed light" on certain things, using God's Word as the main source of authority but I will share from my many experiences that has shaped my thoughts, my words, and ultimately, my actions!

If you are looking to grow your faith (especially, as a young person including, young in faith), this is the place for you. If you aren't where you want to be spiritually (in your relationship with Christ) or you are unsure about your faith, this is the place for you! This blog will stretch your thinking and most of all, stretch your faith. It will heighten your discernment in spiritual things and challenge your natural way of thinking! I promise you that your FAITH will GROW and your FAITH will GO from glory to glory! The purpose of this blog is to SHED LIGHT so that we can BE LIGHT to those around us, no matter where we are! 

Take your time and browse through the site. Subscribe by email, if you desire. Leave a comment. Give some feedback. I would love to hear from you! If you're on social media, Shedding Light is on Facebook. Follow, Like, and Share the page! https://www.facebook.com/SheddingHisLight

Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my blog. I pray that it will be a blessing to you! Please stop by again soon and bring a friend with you :)

God Bless,

S.Harris