PJBelfast

A survey carried out before a full lockdown was imposed, found that one in five adults in the UK  had felt panicked and three in 10 had felt afraid because of coronavirus. More than six in 10 adults said they had felt anxious or worried. I hope you will be encouraged and find more peace after you read this article: There is a triad of peace to be discovered: | Peace with God | Peace with Others | Peace within | (an excerpt from my book entitled  Everyday Extraordinary Lives ) PEACE - It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart (Anon). Truth Verses 1.    Peace with God   Colossians 1:20 Through the Son, God also reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, thereby making peace through the blood of his cross (read Romans 5:1 John 16:33 Ephesians 2:14-17). 2. Peace with others

Some Christians do my head in!  We have, sadly, within the Christian community, those who ' name it and claim it, blab it and grab it." They brandish their faith declarations that ' no plague shall come nigh my dwelling ' as if them declaring it makes it so.  It's as if they believe they are somehow specially divinely shielded from the corona virus. Sadly, the grandmother of a facebook friend recently died of this horrible virus. So very sad.  Sadly, one of our long time friends has also today contacted the contagion. We are intently praying to the Lord that she will recover to full health. Yes, I know the 'armour of God' is both for defensive and offensive purposes. But really, the imbalance of faith-immunity-claims are just not helpful. Here's what I have learned from the book of Daniel.  It demonstrates the attitude of three Hebrew men, named as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I hope we

One of my joys in life is to spend quality time with friends and family over coffee with a wee traybake. But for now the coffee shops are closed except for the few doing takeaways. With WhatsApp you can video call and connect three people. The other night my brother in law conference called both my wife in one room and me in another, helping us stay together during this pandemic. So I have two coffee video dates booked this morning that I'm looking forward to. I've booked our times, one with my sister and brother in law and one with my good friend Adrian. Phone a friend and make someone's day. My number is 07801759937 if you want to chat. You can also download an App called House Party and video conference me on https://houseparty.com/add/paulbradley5 #Staysafe. #Unprecedented Days #Coffeeanyone?

1. https://www.vox.com/2020/3/23/21190033/coronavirus-covid-19-deaths-by-age "..., we know that people who have underlying medical conditions face higher odds of getting really sick or dying from Covid-19, particularly those with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, lung disease, and cancer. Having one or more of those conditions increases a person’s risk of severe symptoms beyond what their age alone would suggest" 2. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-19/high-blood-pressure-is-risk-for-countries-after-coronavirus-ends "For decades, doctors recognized a handful of ways that a diagnosis of high blood pressure could lead to disability and death: stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. Doctors in China may have now found another: the novel coronavirus. Bloomberg News reported last week that doctors have identified hypertension as “a key dangerous factor” that leads to distress and death in patients with the coronavirus. In January, for example,

These are unprecedented days.  Social Distancing The National Trust has announced that it will close its parks and gardens from midnight on Saturday. The decision has been taken ahead of Mother’s Day, which the Trust predicts will attract more people to its parks despite Government advice on social distancing.  It looks like we'll be walking up and down our country lane from today onwards. Our elderly relatives, in the most vulnerable category, are self isolating for safety. We managed to call by briefly with them, chatting through an open window while keeping our distance. Sanity Before the National Trust's U turn, we were able yesterday to keep our mental sanity from cabin fever by carving out an hour, walking through the grounds of Rowallen Gardens in Saintfield.  Everyone was really good, intentionally giving passers by a wide berth due to social distancing advice of keeping 6 feet apart. Sanitizer I must give a shout out to Temple S

On route to work today, from the towpath, I witnessed two dredger vessels in the river Lagan. They have diggers mounted on pontoons which then fill motorised barges that will navigate the lower section of the river Lagan, where the material will then be transferred to a large seagoing barge for disposal at an approved location at sea. Unclogging the sedimentation (sand and silt) and debris which had been washed downstream is called dredging. Dredging is mainly used to maintain depth or create new shipping channels, so that boats and ships don't run aground. This process of excavation known as dredging reminds me of how the patriarchs re-dug the clogged wells , which the Philistines has purposely filled in. The pesky Philisines had done this in order that the Israelites would be denied fresh spring water. The Philistines got back at Isaac by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, c

A senior government advisor has suggested that vulnerable older people could be “ cocooned ” in order to protect them from the outbreak of coronavirus A major study in the Journal of the American Medical Association analysed data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and calculated the following mortality rates via age, from more than 77,000 cases: 10-19: 0.2% 20-29: 0.2% 30-39: 0.2% 40-49: 0.4% 50-59: 1.3% 60-69: 3.6% 70-79: 8% 80 and older: 14.8% This "frightening" data released last month had not hit home for the UK public, one disease control consultant told Sky News. Dr Bharat Pankhania, from the University of Exeter, has devised both national and international communicable disease control action plans. He said the government was not doing enough to try to protect those above the age of 60 from coronavirus - and should be placing stronger restrictions such as advising them against going to crowded public places. "I am not saying they should sel

Our UK government seems out of sync with the rest of the world. It is now doing a U turn on large gatherings being banned starting soon rather than immediately. In an attempt to flatten the curve, when the peak is projected, the coronavirus has experts differing on when we should enforce social distancing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for “community mitigation strategies” to limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, which include recommendations for “ social distancing”—a term that epidemiologists are using to refer to a conscious effort to reduce close contact between people and hopefully stymie community transmission of the virus. 'The public-health imperative is to create social distance; that’s the only way we’re going to stop this.' 'One of the best ways we can show love to the people we care about is to step back and to stay away.' Have a wee read at the Do's and Don'ts of Social Distancing

Our temporary accommodation is great but we miss streaming services such as Netflix & Prime Video - a first world problem I know, but this is now so much part of 21st century living. Gone are the days when a Saturday night was video rental night. Remember when you could get three DVDs or Videos for the price of two at the likes of Blockbuster and Extravision. Sadly flawed business models. I still remember with fondness my portable TV with a built in video player. However my wife had a 21st century brainwave! The brainwave was to purchase an Amazon fire stick. It turns any ordinary TV into streaming central. I'd write more but there are so many movies to watch. Anyone want a Canon 35mm free? Yes, I know - another relic. #AmazonfirestickcanbeboughtinTesco #Mobilecamerasrock