Author: jcudd14

This coronavirus is a complete hoax. This is the democratic ploy to get to President Trump. The media is making this out to be a way bigger deal than it really is. The government is using this to be able to control every part of the American people’s lives. How can people not see through this? This is is just another step to communism. The media reports that hospitals are full, but in reality they are way below capacity.

There are not near as many deaths as are being reported. There is a huge cover up in China. They knew about this way before they said anything to anyone. They had this going on for months before they alerted anyone else in any other countries.

The coronavirus is not a hoax. It is for real. This is very serious. We must obey the guidelines set forth by the CDC. The federal government is working very hard to ensure the health of every American. President Trump and his staff have done an outstanding job of doing everything they can to keep everyone safe. They have organized a coronavirus task force and they are doing a great job. They are getting the proper necessities to healthcare workers in a timely fashion.

President Trump and his team have done a terrible job of helping Americans. He doesn’t care about the American people. He has his own hidden agenda. He is more worried about calling out the democrats during this time than actually helping our country. He waited too long to do anything about this pandemic. The stock market has tanked. Cattle prices are terrible. Beef prices are getting ready to spike. Unemployment is the highest since the great depression.

President Trump has done a great job of turning our economy around once and he will do it again. He is the perfect man for the job. The economy will bounce back very quickly once this is over. The government’s stimulus package to Americans was just what was needed. That will help stimulate the economy. This will be over soon and we will be a better country than ever and the American people will be stronger than ever!

We have all heard this over the course of the last few months. Regardless of what side you are on (which this is not a political post, so please do not take it that way) you have heard all of these arguments. I have actually heard of people losing good friends over these viewpoints. While this pandemic has swept across the country, the differing of opinions has been mind blowing to me. You don’t have to go very far to find someone with the same opinion of this whole thing as you have. But, you also don’t have to go far to find someone with the opposite opinion as you.

While there are so many things that we as Americans don’t know, everyone has their opinions and beliefs as to what this pandemic is all about. We all have our beliefs on how it has been handled and how we think it should be handled. But, in reality, we actually don’t know the truth. We don’t really know exactly what has gone on behind closed doors. We don’t know about all the hidden agendas. But, we believe what we believe.

Throughout all of this, there is only one thing we can be sure of. There is only one absolute truth during this strange time in our nations history. That truth is Jesus Christ. That is the only thing that is completely pure. We can have all the other beliefs we want about how all of this has gone down and what will happen from this point forward. But, the only thing we can count on 100% right now is God. He is the one constant. He will see us through it all. We can put our trust in him and know that everything will be ok because he is in control. That should be our main focus right now.

We need to pray to God that this country will unite. We need to pray to God that all the people sick will be healed form the coronavirus. We need to pray that all of the lies and deceitfulness in this world will end. We can put our trust in him that while others will try to deceive us or try to get us to be on their side of the fence, whatever side that is, God will tell us the truth. If we go to the Bible and really study and examine our own lives, we will discover that sometimes the truth is hard to handle. We will figure out that if we worried more about our own life and our own walk with God instead of where the coronavirus came from or who is to blame, we would see that we have some work to do. We don’t really need to be so worried about if someone on tv is telling us the truth, but know that the Bible is the truth and we need to focus more on that.

Satan is at work every day. He is working hard to help this pandemic divide our country and cause us to stumble. But, maybe, just maybe, more people have sought the help of God during this time. Maybe people have had more time or have been searching harder for answers. Maybe they need a source of strength. Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary , they will walk and not be faint.”

Let us use this time as a time to grow closer to God. We don’t know what the future holds in regards to this pandemic. But, we know that God is in charge. We know what our future holds as Christians and we can have great peace in that. We know that when we look to God for strength and stay close to him, satan has a bad day. Making satan have a bad day should be one of our goals each day when we wake up.

I challenge everyone this week to not worry about whether this whole thing is a hoax or for real. Take care of yourself and your family the best way you can. Whether it is a hoax or whether it is as real as some say it is, we can’t change it. But one thing we can change is how close we are to God. We can change how strong our faith is. Someone might say, ” I have a very strong relationship with God. There’s not much more I can do.” They might say, “My relationship with God is good enough. I’ve got a lot on my plate and a lot I’ve got to do.” When we start thinking this way, we are at a spiritual plateau. We should want to keep climbing. The minute we think we are good enough, we might as well be going backwards. So put some extra time into God’s word this week. Spend some extra time with God in prayer. Find a time each day to be alone with God. Mark 1:35 says; “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Even the only perfect human to ever walk the earth took time to be alone with God. If it is important enough for Jesus the Son of God to do, then it is definitely important enough for me to do!!!

They are those people that are selfless. They know just what to do to make everything better for their kiddos. They have just the perfect touch to make everything bad go away. They are Mothers, and today is their special day. They really should be honored every day, but today is the day set aside to honor the world’s most special people. A Mother’s love for her child is like nothing else you will ever see. I have been so blessed to have so many wonderful Mothers in my life, beginning with my own. I grew up not realizing how good I had it. I really think it takes becoming a parent to truly understand the love a parent has for their child. But, when you get to that stage in life, you understand why they were so protective. You understand why they worried so much. You understand why they hurt when you hurt and were happy when you were happy. Now I’m not one that is big on chit chat on the phone. Talking on the phone is like shopping for me. Do what we gotta do and get out. I think that is a guy thing. I have heard so many Moms talk about how their son doesn’t call home very often. But, as you get older, you understand why Moms call just to check on you. A lot of times they really have nothing important to talk to you about, they just want to talk to you (I really did figure that out Mom, Haha). But, even though I do a terrible job of showing it sometimes, I am blessed with the best.

I have had grandmas and great grandmas that were great examples of how to be Mothers as well. I have Mother-in-law that isn’t too bad herself!!! She must have been a pretty good example of how to be a Mother when raising her kids, because I have a wife that is top notch at the Mom thing too. She is amazing to our kids. She is compassionate (which compliments my sometimes lack of compassion perfectly) to them all the time, well almost all the time. She does things for them that they will one day appreciate, even though now they just think that is how it is supposed to be. She is one of the most selfless people I know and she is what keeps our family going. She always puts everyone else first and herself last. I can’t thank her enough for what she does for all of us. She is a great example that I look to for guidance on how to be a better parent (I haven’t ever told her that, but I guess I have now). I don’t always do a good job of showing her what she means to our family, but I am getting better. After years of no’s, I gave in and said yes to a pool this summer. That should tell her she’s pretty special, right?

There are Mothers that have left this earth and are not here to celebrate this day with us. That doesn’t take away from the fact that there were special people. It is hard when this day rolls around and they are not here to celebrate with us, but we can honor them by how we pay it forward. Mothers want to see their children be good parents. So it is a special compliment to a Mom for us to carry on that legacy!

Here is a little tribute to Mothers on this special day:

They always know just what we need
They do everything just right
As kids they play with us during the day 
And tuck us in at night

They are there for us as we grow
And as we hit those pre-teen years
They share in all our ups and downs
They share all our smiles and tears

Then come the teenage years
And all the boy/girl drama
But no matter how bad it gets
You can always count on Momma

Those teenage years can be pretty rough
They can seem like they last forever
Moms can make everything better though
They can be pretty clever

Then comes the day when we leave home
And go out on our own
But one thing is for certain
We will talk to Mom on the phone

We think we are pretty big and bad
We can independently do our own thing
But when we get in a jam and don't know what to do
We pick up the phone and give Mom a ring

As time goes on we start to see
That Mom knew more than we did
We start to think back to all the times
We didn't believe that as a kid

As we get older we start to see
Mom in a different way
We start to realize all the things
She did for us every day

Moms are special people
God made them like no one else
You start to figure that out
When you become a parent yourself

A Mom wears many hats
But eventually in the end
We see Mom for what she is
She is her child's best friend

There is no way to repay
A mom for all they do
The only thing that we can do 
is simply say "Thank You"

Jared Cudd - Mother's Day - May 10, 2020

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers out there! Please say a prayer for all the people that are celebrating Mother’s Day without their Mom this year. I hope everyone has a wonderful day and all the Moms have a day of rest and relaxation and get to do whatever makes them happy! Stay safe everyone and God Bless!!!

Some people call it weird. Some people call it crazy. But I have always loved to run. My dad alway ran when I was growing up so I started running with him. I didn’t always enjoy it when someone made me, like when I was playing sports. It actually depended on the day and what type of running it was. But, even then, I loved to go out and run on my own. I still do. I put in head phones and take off. The problem is I don’t get to do it too often because of our hectic lifestyle. That is until the past 6 weeks or so. I have been able to run a lot more lately. Before, I was lucky if I got to run once every few weeks. That was due to the fact that I usually left before the sun came up and got home after it went down. Living in the middle of nowhere, I don’t run down these country roads when it’s dark. I want daylight. During this time, I have really realized how much I have missed running. It’s like anything else, when you get out of the habit, it’s hard to start back. But when you do, it feels so good. It is peaceful to me. I love just getting away and having no worries and just running.

Now when I first started back a month or so ago, I actually had a few worries. I worried if I was going to make it to the top of that hill. If I did make it, I worried I might roll down the other side. I wondered if I was going to ever catch that deep breath I needed that first 1/4 mile. Those that run know what I’m talking about. But as I have ran more during this time it has gotten easier. I am going further and with less struggle than before. We live on gravel roads. They are gravel roads with all different kinds of rock. Some of it is loose and some is packed. There are also massive hills everywhere around us. I didn’t really realize how massive they are until I was on foot. They don’t seem near that big in a vehicle. So running out here is tough. Pavement is a luxury item. The closest pavement is a mile away. I’m not sure what it is about running that is peaceful to me. If you aren’t a runner, based on my description you are probably wondering the same thing. I’m not sure why I’m drawn to it. But I am and I feel it is important for everyone to have something like this. Everyone needs something that they can go to when they need to get away.

With everything going on right now, we all need something that can help us get through each day peacefully. We not only have the quarantine going on, but we also are making sure our kids keep up with their school work. So those two things alone can make it necessary to have a stress reliever. I’m not sure what yours is. I’m not sure what other people love to do. It is different for everyone. But, it is necessary. Not just right now, but all the time. There is nothing wrong with doing something that helps take care of yourself not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This is so important. I encourage you, if you don’t already have something like this, to find something that fits your needs and interests.

I’ve talked about before that I love my Bible study and prayer time in the mornings after we work out. But, I have to confess, that has been disrupted by the current situation to a certain degree. It is not as consistent as it has been in the past because our schedule is not the same every day like it usually is. That’s normal. Things happen and we have to regroup and get back on track. I’m going to fix it though and get back on track and do it daily. But, it is that time in the mornings that helps keep me in a good state of mind. It is OK to do some things like this for yourself. It is ok to have a hobby. Maybe yours is fishing, working in your shop, woodwork, quilting, gardening, crafts, running, or something else. It is not being selfish, it is staying sane. It is important for you to be healthy in all the areas listed above, not only for yourself, but for those around you.

I challenge all of us this week to find something that helps give us peace. We have to take care of ourselves. Especially those of us that are parents. We all love our children, but if we are all honest, we could go a little crazy with this quarantine if we don’t have some kind of outlet. That’s why I am so thankful I have been able to start running again. I come in from a run and feel refreshed. I hope everyone can find that for themselves. I also encourage anyone, that doesn’t already, to find a Bible study to do during this time. Find some quiet time for yourself. Find something that helps draw you closer to God. Find a time you can be alone. I used to say I don’t have time. I just don’t have time to do that. I am busy from the time I get up until I go to bed. But, what I figured out was I get up every day at some point. Most of the time, just like most other people I assume, I get up about the same time every day. The only time I am guaranteed to not have anything else to do is the time before I normally get up. So that’s why I started getting up earlier than normal and reserving that time for God. I know I’ll never be busy during that time because it is early. There is nothing else going on. No one except my wife is up yet, and she is doing the same thing. So that really helps both of us be held accountable for it.

So I encourage everyone to find something that helps you get away. We’ve all gotta have it. Find something that takes stress away. Find something that allows you to feel a peace about you. I also encourage everyone to find time for God. Phillipians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Our true peace comes from knowing that God is in control and everything is going to be ok. If you have a true deep relationship with God, you know that peace. We’ve all seen and known those people that just have a different kind of peace about them. That is because of their relationship with God. That doesn’t mean that everything is always perfect and those people don’t ever have any problems. No one is exempt from that. But, a strong relationship with our Heavenly Father makes those things more manageable. If you don’t have that, I encourage you to start working towards that relationship. If you need help doing that, find someone you know that can help lead you down that path. I promise they will help you. As much as I like running and as much as that relaxes me, there is no peace like the peace of God! My prayer is that everyone stays safe and healthy during this time. Not just physical health, but mental, emotional , and spiritual health as well. Dig deep, find that relationship with God, and enjoy the peace that comes with a strong relationship with our Heavenly Father!