Faith, Trials, Uncategorized

Keep Calm and Carry On

meghanewhite

This iconic message, recognized globally, was originally designed by the British Ministry of Information in 1939. Before England had entered the war they were prepping for the worst. The British government was expecting a massive aerial attack from the German’s at the onset of war. The blitz didn’t start until about a year later. Keep Calm and Carry On was stored away to be used when things got really bad for England. The poster never came out of storage and was forgotten. About 60 years after the end of WWII an original poster was discovered in the bottom of a box from a book auction. 

The book shop owner displayed the poster and started reproducing and selling copies. Keep Calm and Carry On just took off after that first copy was found. The copyright is expired so that’s why we see so many variations of Keep Calm and Carry On.

The intent of the message was to reassure people during WWII. To create a mindset. To persevere. To be resolute. Determined. The first German air raid on London lasted for 57 consecutive nights. Bombings, night after night. 

Though this poster was never used during the war, I can only imagine what people in London experienced. Keep Calm and Carry On sends a message to the enemy and to yourself. We refuse to give in to fear. We’re going to make it, no matter how bad things get.

This poster immediately came to my mind as panic sets in around the world with the threat of coronavirus. Here in America store shelves are being emptied of water and of all things, toilet paper. The only other time I’ve seen it worse at the stores is when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. Everything was empited at the stores, everything. 


All things may appear to be completely out of control. Please be assured God is still in control.

God is always on the throne.

God is not surprised by the virus.

God is not fearful or overwhelmed.

God is faithful.

God is completely trustworthy.

God loves you.

Most of us know the story of Job in the Bible. Job was a Godly man.

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1, ESV)

Job had seven sons and three daughters. He had servants, and tons of animals. Job was blessed and respected. 

 “so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.” (Job 1:3b, ESV)

God allowed Satan to test Job. He ends up losing his children, his animals, his servants and everything in between. Yet Job never cursed God. (Spoiler alert: Job gets back twice as much as he had before.)

The Lord speaks to Job.

 

4 Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors
when it burst from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its blanket,
10 when I determined its boundaries
and put its bars and doors in place,
11 when I declared: “You may come this far, but no farther;
your proud waves stop here”?

12 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning
or assigned the dawn its place, 

(Job 38:4-12, HCSB)

I have never made a planet, or a star, or the moon. I don’t even have the capabilities to create anything even close to that. I am not God. There is one God and He made everything and He holds it all together. Nothing surprises Him. 

We are all going to make it through the coronavirus. Let me give it the scientific name, COVID-19. Now I feel really smart. 

As Christians we can shine our light by keeping calm and carrying on. Let’s not panic. Keep trusting the One who holds it all together. And if you’re feeling afraid, cry out to Him. God loves you so much, and wants to comfort you, and give you His perfect peace.

Keep calm and carry on!

 

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:10, NIV)

 

Love you all,

Meghan 

 

 

 

Dear Lord,

You are the perfect Father. Your love and care for us is overwhelming. Please give peace to your children right now. For those who have the virus, please heal them. Stop it’s spread. Please end this quickly Lord. For those who don’t know you as Savior, draw them to you. Save them. Help us all to do our part to be wise and discerning. To follow your leading, and to keep trusting you. Provide basic needs, proper healthcare, and finances wherever it’s needed. You promise to provide all of our needs and you always do. Give wisdom to local, national, and international leaders. Thank you Lord. We trust you.

In Jesus name,

Amen

 

Please email me if you need prayer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published by meghanewhite

26 thoughts on “Keep Calm and Carry On”

  1. So true all that you said here, Sister in Christ Jesus, Meghan! Wonderful encouragement and emphasizing the power of Faith and Prayer! Back then across the Pond as they used to say, our President was on the same page, thanks be to God; at the time! “Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”: FDR’s First Inaugural Address. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    I had an epiphany I’m writing to share which I need to work on more but soon will share. God is so loving and at times I do have to wonder how he could be bothered with us for the wrongs we have done and do!
    For now I share a bit of appropriate scripture that actually came into the epiphany yesterday.
    “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”‭‭‬‬‬‬‬‬
    Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
    I add here one other that is at the top of my all-time favorite verses which my mother had a lot to do with it being so if not making sure it was my favorite!
    “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
    I’m sure I should mention Psalm 23 makes me cry, it is so deep into my soul when I think of those words from God letting us know that nothing should be feared if we truly walk with the Lord our God in the Holy name of Jesus! Amen. 🙏 🙏
    For the truly faithful this is not life, but a term of time spent through our prayerful contemplation; “actual eternal life,” and that is our only ultimate goal, nothing else! Lawrence 🙏 🤗

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    1. I love all those verses you mentioned. Philippians 4:6-7 was my go to passage for so many years. It got me through my dads death. And Proverbs 3:5-6 is awesome and I used that in my children’s book. And Psalm 23 is beautiful and powerful. Thanks for the reminder that we don’t need to be afraid if we are walking with the Lord.

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      1. That is a great testimony you give of how God’s word serves to transcend time and space by means of “His Holy Spirit” when we consume His word, as it surely did in helping you come to terms with the loss of your dad! My heart knows what you were going through as I too found my solace when I lost my dad and immediately turned to the Holy Scriptures. I actually had gotten home and picked up my Bible asking Jesus to please help me as I was crying at that point having held back my tears at the hospital I had left 15 minutes prior; when I opened it the book of John 14 was there in my face! To me at the time I had no doubt Jesus was talking to me as my tears were now as I felt them tears of joy knowing that He just answered my prayer and told me that my human earthly father who I actually have to say was my best advocate, friend go to person along with being the best dad in the world to me; was now at peace and in heaven, so I suddenly knew God through Jesus made sure I knew it for real by means of the “Comforter the Holy Spirit” coming to me and making sure I read those verses. When I had left the hospital my dad was surrounded by other family members all holding and clinging to him around his bed as he lie in a coma fading away from this world, having been removed from all life support that day. He had waited or as I see it God kept him alive all day because I was the last to arrive and say my goodbye! It was a miracle he no longer had any life support at all, but yet with all the failed bodily function including his heart in arrhythmia he was still there in his sickly broken body until I showed up. The next morning my eldest sister told me as soon as I had walked through the door of that hospital room, our dad drew his last breath.
        John 14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” Meghan, my dad was such a faithful man he could have been a man of the cloth or a preacher himself, so I know these words you just read here are the words my dad if he could have spoken to me he would have said them to me, to let me know that God has it all under control, it’s going to be fine!
        And of course these following verses were the ones that gave me the closure I needed to be ready to live the rest of my earthly life without my physical dad nearby to call or go visit, because I tell you after reading these Scriptures I was not sad or broken heartened but was instead so happy for my dad and willing to live the way Jesus instructs us to live, so they Our Father and His Son Jesus, and including my dad would be proud of me, and that living the remainder of my earthly life out is not such a difficult thing, because we really aren’t here very long when we put it all in proper perspective!
        The children have a great teacher in you, your writing and wisdom that I see actually flows from your devout love of our Lord and Savior, which is a most precious gift to offer growing hearts and minds that need the proper encouragement in this world, I think more than ever. God bless you and yours Meghan, my sister in Christ Jesus. 🙏
        Lawrence

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      2. I’m so sorry for your loss. Your father was very special. What a blessing to have a dad like that. I love that pasage in John. I turn to that one often. Thank you so much for sharing your story of your father’s passing. I pray whoever reads it will be blessed and encouraged. You blessed me greatly! Thanks so much Lawrence!

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      3. It’s all likewise Meghan! You not only blessed me with your writing and input, but you brought out of me some extremely personal experiences that were between God, me and my dad! You were brave and forthright to open up your heart in that way about your wonderful dad and how difficult a time it was for you to have to see him leave this world and join our heavenly Father because that separation though ultimately the greatest blessing for our dearly departed loved ones is so hard to come to terms with for we the still living on earth, where the battle ensues, and we miss them so much surely making our journey that much more difficult. But, I felt this so deeply when you brought it up and thought how special you are to offer that to me a virtual stranger by the grace of God in the Holy name of Jesus, which can only be a good thing and lead to more good flourishing from that initial offering. That is why I felt more than compelled to do the same and I can only hope and pray it will do much good, first for you, and then anyone else who needs some uplifting words of encouragement inspired by God Himself! Another great blessing is because they were so good and loved us so much we still have them in our hearts and souls doing another form of encouragement, which will remain with us until God calls us home as well. There will be many more blessings to come Meghan; I can promise you that, I feel the Spirit of God right now, so it is a foregone conclusion! Amen.

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  2. Meghan, so beautifully written! I appreciated your scripture and the scripture lesson of Job. Not only did Job’s faith remain steadfast, but God reminded him who He is. God is still God. When I pause and try to consider the greatness of God it can take my breath away. And yet, that same God sent His own Son, Jesus, to save me. That’s how great He is! May God bless and protect you and your family!

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  5. Thank you, Meghan. It’s time to get back to doing what everyone knows they should do, and let GOD take care of what we can’t do. The only thing the news media and everyone else who is riding this topic like a hobby horse is doing is terrifying people. I have another saying that is used in all 12-Step recovery programs that I think works well here, too. Let go, and let God. If there’s nothing you can do about something, move on. Do what you can. Do what you’re supposed to do. Pray, people.

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    2. You’re both so right about this! Those words first came to my attention in that most profound phrase many years ago when I saw this movie I’m listing here, which I often pondered as to how simple and true that barely a sentence is! “John Q”.
      “John Q. is a 2002 American drama film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Nick Cassavetes. The film tells the story of John Quincy Archibald, a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and finds out he is unable to receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it, before he decides to hold up the hospital and force them to do it.” Wikipedia It’s a good film and this one scene where a group of patients are all holed-up as hostages in the ER of this hospital, during an intense and desperate moment this one young man tells a couple while they are all caught up in the heat of the moment and standoff, “Let go and let God!” The story ultimately ends up proving that point without a doubt, we’re in God’s hands, and we need to see that and accept it, then like you’re saying make the best of things, do what we can do and what we can’t pray to Him to deliver us! Now if you haven’t see the film I know you will get around to it, and you should, its a good story and I actually knew Michael Woods the brother of James Woods who does star in the film playing the part of the heart surgeon. Then another real treat for me was I worked a tiny bit in another film that starred Denzel in NYC which really connected some dots for me when I watched this John Q. All kinds of dots are lining up that we have no awareness of but then we witness them connecting at some point or juncture like even now, we are witnessing God’s working among us, He the master potter! God Bless.

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      1. I remember that film but I’ve never seen it. Maybe I can find it at the library. I didn’t know James Woods has a brother who also acts. How did you meet him? How did you work in a film with Denzel? Are you an actor? You must have some interesting stories. 😊

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      2. Oh good you remember that movie, it was the first time I heard the expression, “Let go and let God.” I had not actually seen it upon theatrical release but did get a video to watch it at home. Do you shop on Ebay, if so I bet you can find a vendor with it for around $10 I’m thinking. I’ve gotten some offbeat or nearly forgotten older films on there for that kind of money or less including shipping! James Woods had a only younger brother whom I knew for some years from my own camera assisting work and bit acting; but he passed due to a heart attack back in 2006. That Denzel encounter was doing some bit acting and another tiny one was again in NYC with Harrison Ford, “Random Heart.” I’m glad I got to meet both of them in that setting, I like both of them as fine actors and their positions on things that are important. Harrison is big into aviation and flying which I did study for a short time in Florida and always had aspirations as a kid to be a jet pilot then Astronaut but my color vision prohibited me from a military flight program so I nixed that one! But hey, I got to work at JFK with his film and was around some serious aviation there, some interesting dots got connected, I could have followed through on a few of them but didn’t though! Denzel’s father was, Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. (1909-1991), was a native of Buckingham County, Virginia, an ordained Pentecostal minister, while an employee of the New York City Water Department, a pastor for the Church of God in Christ, and his mom Lennis “Lynne” was a beauty parlor owner. He loved both his parents deeply he has said but he was closer to his father, kind of like I was with my dad and mom. He’s also said the Boy’s Club helped as a kind of home away from home growing up around the Bronx where many of the guys he knew from school and the hood ended up on drugs or dead. He studied at Fordham University. I really like him a lot, and I think his strong Christian upbringing and his dad’s involvement in the church helps me identify with him a lot more for good reason. A man that coached the boys at the Boys Club told him once “you can be somebody,” he said that really got him thinking.
        I’m a “jack of all trades” and a master of a few, but I think I’m one of those that didn’t maybe focus totally on the one thing that maybe I could have, although like dad always said, “it wasn’t meant to be, and for good reason, God knows why and its now that counts.” And eventually time runs out here for any of us so I think my take away is that we need to learn all we can from our successes and failures and come to terms with all of it before we go see God, that’s the ideal; and then it will all be good anyway! Yes, I do have stories to tell and that is perhaps how my writing might be more useful now, as some things you can’t make up they are just too real and yet unreal or shockingly powerful experiences and I think those are best telling others about to inspire and direct in the right direction. The good news is some of those experiences dovetail with my bigger story idea I’ve played around with for some years, maybe if I stay on top of that it will all come together. 😊 I see we both like telling stories that just hit me! 😉 👍 👏 🇺🇸 🙏 🙏

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      3. That’s really neat that you’ve had those experiences and got to meet some interesting people. I did know that Denzel is a Christian, but didin’t know his father was a minister. Being a jack of all trades gave you some unique life experiences. I hope you’ll work on that bigger story idea. I look forward to more stories from your movie past. God bless!

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      4. Thanks Meghan! I did have some offbeat experiences and it looked like some things were lining up for a smooth transition into some of my bigger dreams coming to fruition as middle age came then the nefarious adversaries these recent years blew apart some of the smooth part, but because of my faith in Jesus and my determination I’m not tossing in any towels that easy, and figure nothing is over till the fat lady sings or God says enough. Well, the interesting tie-in to all I just said and previously is that these things made for actual portions of that bigger story which was all imagination previously, but this other stuff you just can’t make up as they say, so I see how like the Phoenix some of these unexpected tragedies will fit the story better than what I was going to cook up, and then rise up out of the ashes! Don’t know if it’s too late for you to catch this, but I just posted the new blog and had to hurry so might have a glitch or two, I can worry about that tomorrow! Take care and talk again soon. 👍 🙏 🙏

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  7. Meghan let me know if you find that film at the library, because if you don’t I would like to get the DVD for you as appreciation for your work and inspiration. I mean, I could certainly locate it being available someplace, and buy it with PayPal, so you can put the order in without charge. I’m good at building my own collection, so I usually find out of circulation or no longer available DVD movies because I like having the actual item in my own handpicked collection, so I seek them out! God Bless.

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  9. Beautifully written my dear sister in Christ our LORD!!!!
    Thanks for sharing encouragement from The Word of God!!! Your bringing blessings and hope to God’s children!
    Love ya and miss you!

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  10. Thank you Meghan for such perfect words of wisdom. I love that British phrase. They tend to be much more stoic, while we dramatic Americans tend to panic. I’m glad we as brothers and sisters in Christ can encourage each other in these stressful times. Blessings!

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    1. Thank you so much Dottie! I love that phrase too. We’ve had a framed copy for many years, and I never get tired of it. The inspiration behind such brilliant marketing is what gets me. Let’s keep encouraging one another during these stressful times. God bless you!

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