Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 231 ｜ 10 Tips to Make Quarantine Count

00:00:00.000 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Monday. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know a lot

00:00:06.580 of you out there are getting antsy and some of you are worse than antsy. You might be in a very

00:00:11.940 desperate situation right now to where you don't know how you're going to make ends meet. You're

00:00:17.260 waiting for that check from the government and rightfully so because you just need to provide

00:00:21.740 for your family, provide for yourself and be able to make rent or pay the bills, do everything that

00:00:28.720 you need to do. So know that I'm thinking about you guys in all of your situations. It's absolutely

00:00:34.300 impossible to think about all of the unique situations that people are in across the country

00:00:39.040 right now and all of the different needs that everyone has. And so I won't list all the situations

00:00:46.680 that I have sympathy for, but know that no matter what circumstance that you're in, that I am

00:00:53.620 thinking about all of the people that have needs right now and praying for you and hoping that

00:01:00.020 there is light, imminent light at the end of this tunnel. I am confident, like I've said,

00:01:06.560 that America is going to be able to learn how to chew gum and walk at the same time. So save as many

00:01:11.720 lives as possible, protect as many lives as possible, help the most vulnerable among us while also allowing

00:01:18.060 people to get back to work because, uh, in a way, in a way that's prudent, in a way that's wise and

00:01:24.700 cautious so that people can provide for themselves and their families. I mean, that's just a practical

00:01:29.900 need that we have to think about and it's not callous to do so. Okay. Today I am going to kind of

00:01:35.900 take a break of, from just talking about the news of coronavirus and talk about what we can do during

00:01:43.440 this time because we're all kind of in the same boat in a similar boat, no matter what our financial

00:01:49.020 situation is, no matter what our medical situation is. Most of us, the majority of us are inside. We

00:01:56.380 are not going into work. We are not running errands. We're not going to lunch with our friends. We're not

00:02:02.380 doing all of the normal things that we're doing on a daily basis. And we're trying to figure out how

00:02:07.180 to make the best use of our time. As the Bible says, we should be always making the best use of

00:02:13.840 our time because the days are evil. But especially right now, when most of us are tempted to apathy,

00:02:20.480 most of us might be tempted to laziness and to idleness, something that the Bible tells us that

00:02:25.880 we should not fall into. Now, if you're like me, you're not any less busy than you typically are.

00:02:32.400 If you've got kids at home, if you've got a job that maybe can be done remotely, you might even be

00:02:38.520 busier than normal because you don't have maybe you and your circumstance, you don't have the typical

00:02:44.220 childcare that you have. And so you are not only either homeschooling your kids or taking care of

00:02:49.740 your kids, but you're also trying to work remotely. Maybe your spouse is doing the same thing. And so you

00:02:54.860 feel even more stretched thin than usual. Now you might be a student or a single person and you don't have

00:03:01.140 kids. And so you're feeling like I don't even, I, there's not even enough Netflix series in the world

00:03:07.080 for me to occupy my time. And so you're trying to figure out how to stay busy and how to be redemptive

00:03:13.180 with your time. And no matter what, you're trying to figure out how to be the most productive that you

00:03:20.900 can and, um, the most helpful that you can, and to make sure that you come out on the other side of

00:03:28.480 this, not feeling like you wasted all of your time. Like this was just lost time. That's the

00:03:34.360 position that I am in feeling like, okay, I want to do something good with all of this time that I'm

00:03:40.640 spending inside all of this time that I am spending at home. I don't want to spend all of it scrolling

00:03:47.460 on Twitter and scrolling on Instagram, which just to be totally transparent, I feel like I've spent a lot

00:03:54.180 more time doing that, which every time I spend too much time scrolling through my phone, I always

00:04:01.660 feel guilty about it. And I wake up every morning saying, I'm not going to spend too much time doing

00:04:06.380 that. And then I do. And so I am giving you and me 10 tips for how we can so-called redeem the time,

00:04:15.920 how we can make sure that we are making the best use of our time. So when I'm giving you this advice,

00:04:22.000 know that this is advice that I'm also trying to take myself. I haven't mastered all of this,

00:04:27.020 but these are things that I'm trying to keep in mind. Just humble advice. Take everything anyone

00:04:33.900 says ever with a grain of salt, but apply this as you may. Use your own discernment in this. But

00:04:41.380 since it is typically Theology Monday, I will be also using a Bible verse in accordance or in

00:04:49.200 connection to the 10 tips that I am giving us today that I feel leads us in the direction of

00:04:57.100 keeping in some of these habits that I am going to be suggesting. So number one, the first of my 10

00:05:04.040 tips. So it's going to, well, first, before I say what my 10 tips are, it's going to go from practical

00:05:09.520 and personal to relational and spiritual, and then more outward. So that's kind of the progression

00:05:19.180 that we are going in, in this episode. And then at the end of this, if I have time, I am also going

00:05:24.620 to list some of the would you rather's and the things that you just don't get that you guys sent

00:05:29.420 me. Okay. Number one, keep a routine. This is something that my family and I have tried to do

00:05:36.280 during this crazy time. My husband has been working from home for over two weeks now, and they are

00:05:43.260 probably going to be at home for the next two weeks. I'm not really sure. It's kind of like until further

00:05:49.300 notice for his work. And so we have all of a sudden had to figure out how we both work from home and

00:05:56.380 take care of our baby, which we of course love to do, but figure out this balance of working in the

00:06:01.840 same confines all day long and how to give each other a break when we need to and all of that.

00:06:07.820 But something that we've tried to do to stay sane, to stay normal, to keep things on track is to keep

00:06:15.980 a routine. So that starts in the morning and that obviously it ends when we go to bed and it has not

00:06:21.800 been perfect by any means on a day-to-day basis, but we try to keep this routine in mind. So when it

00:06:27.880 comes to waking up in the morning, let me just say, I don't wake up as early as I want to, or is ideal,

00:06:35.360 or as early as I would recommend. Of course, everyone's situation is different. Ever since I

00:06:40.500 got pregnant, I have been tired, y'all tired. I, in my youth, I'm 28 years old back in my youth. So

00:06:47.420 we're talking like 22, 23 years old. I would wake up. There's a period of time that was probably lasted

00:06:54.180 about three or four years and probably even before that I could do this too. But in the three or four

00:06:59.680 years after college, I could wake up at, um, I could wake up at like four 55, five o'clock,

00:07:08.020 go work out without any coffee. And that's, that's how I would start my day. And now if I don't get a

00:07:15.940 solid nine hours and that was like going to bed at probably 11 or 12, if I don't get a solid nine

00:07:22.320 hours of sleep at night, I feel like a zombie. Like I feel like I've been hit by a bus when I wake up in

00:07:27.980 the morning. I don't know if it's age. I don't know if it's hormones, but if I wake up before 6am,

00:07:33.740 no matter what time I went to bed, I am not feeling good that morning. And I'm not feeling good for the

00:07:38.240 rest of the day. I get a headache. Um, so ideally though, ideally I would wake up at 6am every day,

00:07:44.560 but that just typically doesn't happen. I wake up at seven or seven 30, which honestly I'm kind of

00:07:50.260 embarrassed to admit because I really, that to me is late. Like if you're going to have an organized day,

00:07:56.140 at least in my life and according to my schedule, but I do, I wake up about seven or seven 30.

00:08:03.040 Maybe sometimes if I'm really tired and I went to bed late, I'll wake up even later than that.

00:08:08.160 But I want to be, I want to be, this is relatable y'all. So I'm just relating to y'all that I know

00:08:14.440 that some of y'all are in the same mindset. I want to be the kind of mom. And if some of you were like

00:08:19.520 this out there, God bless you. I want to be the kind of mom that wakes up an hour to an hour and a

00:08:24.440 half before my baby wakes up one day before my multiple kids wake up, I want to have drink my

00:08:29.660 coffee. I want to have read my Bible, maybe done some laundry, you know, picked up around the house.

00:08:36.000 So everything looks organized, be dressed and ready to go. And then go wake up my sleeping cherub

00:08:41.660 at seven or seven 30. Uh, that is not exactly what happens. Uh, despite my feelings in the mornings,

00:08:49.020 though I do try to keep a routine. Um, I try to wake up, wash my face, put moisturizer on,

00:08:57.000 brush my hair, get dressed, which consists of nothing fancy. As you guys know, I consider myself

00:09:02.000 lovingly a trash person. So that means putting on some kind of sweatpants and a shirt. Typically 0.96

00:09:09.640 the shirt matches. If it's a good day, uh, put the baby in her play pen, uh, drink my coffee,

00:09:15.880 read my Bible. Then the rest of the day is a rotation between playing, eating her napping,

00:09:21.600 uh, me trying to get some work in. We do go on a walk every day. That is very important to me,

00:09:28.020 especially when it's sunny outside. I really tried to take advantage of that. I think that

00:09:32.580 really affects people's mood and their just overall wellbeing, their health. Uh, and then when dad is

00:09:38.360 done with work, I do something. He helps out while I work out, I clean, I work, whatever I need to do.

00:09:45.860 While he is playing with her. And then we put her to bed, we eat dinner and then we chill out. We

00:09:51.560 either watch, well, we pretty much always watch a couple episodes of the office, which we've been

00:09:57.780 through. I don't know. It's probably 15 times, both individually and together, but we always do

00:10:05.220 that. It's like a comfort thing. It's just part of the routine, but the bottom line and my tip number

00:10:11.020 one is to keep some kind of routine. Maybe you're way more, way more disciplined than that. You wake up

00:10:15.580 at six o'clock, you work out, you drink your coffee, eat your breakfast, you read your Bible,

00:10:20.780 you work, you call your mom, and then you go outside and then you come back and you work,

00:10:28.880 you eat lunch. That could be your day. And I think that that is wonderful and awesome. If you've got

00:10:34.840 the capacity to do that, then I would say do it. That was me during a season of my life. Hopefully it

00:10:41.700 will be again. We're still working on what time the baby wakes up to. Sometimes it's like 5am and then

00:10:47.680 it's just the schedule is thrown off. I am not a naturally organized person. I am not a natural,

00:10:54.540 well, I won't say I'm not naturally disciplined. I can be a very disciplined person, but it takes a lot

00:10:59.560 of effort for me to organize my life, for me to organize my belongings. I have always been that way.

00:11:05.540 Some of you, it comes a lot more naturally and that is wonderful. You should spare your gifts for

00:11:10.280 other people. You should give us some tips, but I have, I've tried pretty much all the tips and the,

00:11:15.480 and the advice in the book. And so we are trying over here, but we do keep a semblance of routine

00:11:21.600 every day. And I think that that has helped us. We have tried to stay focused on the task at hand

00:11:26.900 in keeping in our routine. And it's also good as you guys know, for kids to keep a routine as well.

00:11:33.380 Proverbs 3, 14, my verse to go along with this tip is the soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing 1.00

00:11:39.240 while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. Now that's a convicting verse for me because there

00:11:44.940 are plenty of times when I scroll on my phone, when I shouldn't be, and that would be considered

00:11:49.340 sluggish behavior at some points, not at all points, but when I should be doing something

00:11:54.800 productive and I'm on my phone wasting time, that would be considered sluggish behavior.

00:11:59.780 So Proverbs 13, four certainly applies to me. Tip number two, tidy up. This really makes you feel

00:12:06.900 like a normal person. And I would say my husband and I meet, it doesn't come naturally to either

00:12:12.240 of us, but we have done in, I would say an even better job during this quarantine time than we

00:12:19.400 typically do, which is a little bit weird because we're home all day, but maybe because we're home

00:12:24.600 all day, we feel, and I'm always home all day, no matter what, but we're both home all day. So we feel

00:12:29.160 like we have to, I don't know, have our space be a little bit more clean and functional. And so we have

00:12:35.820 done, if I do say so myself, by the grace of God, we have done pretty well keeping our house, just

00:12:42.700 this manageable level of clean at all times. So if you are looking to do that as well, now some of you

00:12:49.380 are a lot better at this than I am. So you've got better tips than I do, but from a naturally trashed

00:12:54.560 person who has made an effort to do better in this and has succeeded in this recently, this is what

00:13:00.560 we've done. Do a little bit of laundry multiple times a week. Try to make your bed every morning.

00:13:04.900 Currently my bed is not made, but every other morning I have made my bed. Change your sheets

00:13:09.660 once a week. I know that's a lot. My husband hates helping me change the sheets, but it's important

00:13:14.800 vacuum and sweep at least every other day. If you've got pets, you might need to up that a little bit

00:13:20.500 like we do. Clean your kitchen every night. I would say this is a big one. Other parts of my house can

00:13:25.680 be messy. I really like my kitchen to be clean. I put loose things where they need to go. Now that's

00:13:31.860 every day, every week, that's like your regular cleaning, the little stuff. Try to have your house

00:13:37.620 picked up after dinner. Light a candle. I've got a candle burning right now. Is it too hot?

00:13:42.640 Now, if you just need, if you're watching on YouTube, you're about to get a suggestion for a candle. If

00:13:47.080 you're not watching on YouTube, so sorry. But this candle that I am holding right now, where did I get

00:13:53.540 it from? I think I got it from Target. It's just a scented soy candle, Azure Coast. It smells amazing.

00:14:00.280 So I highly, I almost just dropped it because it's hot on my fingertips. That would have been

00:14:04.300 disastrous. That's my recommendation to you. It will feel very rejuvenating. If you tidy up your

00:14:11.320 house, you clean your kitchen, you have everything where it needs to go, and you light a candle at

00:14:15.820 night and then chill and do whatever you need to do. You read, you watch the office, or lay there and

00:14:22.060 stare at the ceiling, whatever it is that you need to do. That's what I recommend at the end of the day.

00:14:27.280 Bigger things, maybe you do over a weekend. This is what we need to do. Clean out our refrigerator,

00:14:32.500 clean out and organize your pantry, undo your sink, your drawers, your cabinets, spring cleaning.

00:14:38.580 Take clothes to Goodwill. Now, I am pretty good at this. I don't like hoarding clothes. I don't hoard

00:14:43.300 clothes. I give away clothes every single season. Take clothes to Goodwill, or at least get them ready

00:14:49.460 to go to Goodwill if you don't want to actually go to Goodwill. There's probably a lot more people right

00:14:54.620 now who are shopping at Goodwill or who will have to shop in Goodwill in the next few months because

00:14:59.900 of financial hardship, and so it's a good contribution for you to give your clothes to

00:15:05.460 places like that. You can also try a Play-Doh's closet if you think you can get some money from

00:15:09.780 your clothes. Here's my standard in cleaning out your closet. If I did not wear an item this season

00:15:16.540 or last season, it's out. Or if I just don't envision myself wearing it for another season. Now, I am not

00:15:24.680 someone who has a ton of clothes. I am not someone who is like, who has expensive clothes. I still have

00:15:32.640 clothes that are like the nicer clothes. I have had some of them for probably nine years. I'm a very simple

00:15:40.120 person, so the things that I wear don't typically go out of style quickly. I'm just not super trendy.

00:15:46.920 So I will keep things that are actually relevant to my life and that I would still like, but I throw

00:15:52.780 things out really easily, and I've never regretted throwing something out. And so if you're a hoarder,

00:15:58.120 my husband's a little bit of a hoarder, just remember that you're not going to miss something.

00:16:05.260 I guarantee you're not going to miss something. If you didn't wear it this year, especially if you didn't

00:16:09.100 wear it last year either, you're not going to miss it. Just go ahead and do that. Follow the

00:16:13.340 Alley standard with that. Tip number three, preparing or persisting. Preparing and or persisting.

00:16:20.440 So whether this is, when you're talking about preparing or planning, we got the three Ps here,

00:16:26.460 preparing, planning, and or persisting. This tip goes along with seeing light at the end of the tunnel

00:16:33.120 and realizing that one day we're going to get out of this pandemic. There's another P for you.

00:16:37.340 Just goes along with the P alliteration. There is going to be a time when we are no longer in a 0.97

00:16:44.240 pandemic and you are no longer quarantining. So that means you need to be preparing for whatever

00:16:49.620 life will look like at the end of this, whether that is work, whether that is you're planning a

00:16:55.280 vacation for the summer, make sure that Airbnb that you're staying in or that condo that you're

00:17:00.000 renting is still available and that there hasn't been any change of policy or anything like that.

00:17:04.900 If you're in school, if your kids are in school, make sure that you're prepared for whatever is

00:17:09.020 coming next. Whether that's at home, a home project that you need to finish, your job, making sure that

00:17:16.680 your clients are taken care of, persist in the things that you need to persist in, plan for the

00:17:22.200 things that you need to plan for, prepare for the things that you need to prepare for now.

00:17:26.820 So here's another P. At the end of it, you're not panicked. You're not in the state of,

00:17:32.100 you're not caught up in pandemonium, uh, when all of this has passed and you, uh, and you're like,

00:17:41.000 oh my gosh, all of these things, all of these projects, that's just the alliteration never ends.

00:17:46.360 All of these things that you have, uh, been doing for so long that you felt like for a period of time,

00:17:52.180 you could put on hold because we're just on a long weekend. If you persist at least as well as you can,

00:17:58.120 I know that's not easy when you've got kids at home and you've got other things that are going on,

00:18:01.860 or you're out of a job or whatever, but as much as you can persist, prepare, plan. And so that when

00:18:10.040 we get to the end of this, we still feel like, okay, life didn't just stop. Uh, we kept going and

00:18:17.620 we, uh, we are now in a place where we are prepared for whatever is ahead. Oh, I forgot.

00:18:27.480 The reason why I paused is because I forgot on number two, my verse that goes with that. So I

00:18:33.380 don't have a verse that goes with tidy up, but I do have the general principle that God is a God of

00:18:40.700 order, that he made human beings to be people of order. That's why he put Adam in the garden to tend

00:18:48.280 and to keep it. That's why he had Adam named the animals. That is why Adam was given the charge to

00:18:54.740 work before the fall. Work is not a product of the fall. Uh, work is innately good. Human beings are

00:19:02.600 created to work and to beautify and to nurture and to be productive. All human beings are called to that.

00:19:08.060 And when we fall out of that, we atrophy mentally, emotionally, spiritually, even physically.

00:19:12.660 And so we are called to work and to keep and to tend and to beautify and to make better,

00:19:20.200 to maximize the world around us. That is how God created each of us. And like I said,

00:19:26.040 God himself is a God of order, a God of peace. He is not a God of anarchy. He doesn't do things

00:19:31.820 haphazardly. And so the principle, the biblical principle behind keeping things tidy is that it is

00:19:39.180 not some Zen thing where we are trying to spark joy. It is not this new age thing that if we clear

00:19:46.260 the space and create a proper aura that we are going, that's going to be reflected in our mind.

00:19:51.800 That's not what I'm trying to do. I am saying that God created us to be people of order. So as organized

00:19:58.060 as we can be something that I am trying to learn, um, we should do that. And then number three,

00:20:04.600 preparing and persisting, as I already explained, that includes, if you need to apply for jobs,

00:20:09.920 apply for those jobs, start that blog, continue your work or your workout or your eating plan,

00:20:14.860 keep it in touch with clients, saving money, budgeting, just try not to treat this time as

00:20:20.340 a time to just sit back and do nothing. My verse for this is Proverbs 31, 25 through 27. So you've

00:20:26.820 heard of the Proverbs 31 woman strength and dignity are her clothing. And she laughs at the time to come. 0.97

00:20:32.580 She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the

00:20:37.940 ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. So she looks well to the ways of her 0.53

00:20:44.240 household and does not eat the bread of idleness. It is important that during this time, that even if

00:20:49.720 we don't have time to maybe pick up on the projects that we were doing before this quarantine, that we

00:20:55.060 are not eating the bread of idleness, idleness, apathy, laziness is not something that's pleasing to the

00:21:01.740 Lord. Number four. Now you might be surprised hearing this from me, but hopefully not. Hopefully

00:21:07.760 you know that I'm like a normal enough person that I believe in this and that I do this myself.

00:21:13.420 Number four is treat yourself. Treat yourself. If you've never seen Parks and Rec, then you might

00:21:21.400 not know the reference, but it simply means do something that you want to do. So you have heard

00:21:29.520 me talk about the damaging effects of the culture of self-care, but a distinction that I've always

00:21:35.000 tried to make and that I think is important to make is that the reason why I talk about the damaging

00:21:41.360 effects of self-care is not because getting your nails done is bad, not because watching Netflix is

00:21:46.600 bad or doing things that you want to do is bad. Of course not. Like God has, by gifts of common grace,

00:21:53.600 he has given us wonderful things to enjoy, wonderful food to enjoy, wonderful activities to do that give

00:22:01.060 us energy that we have fun doing, that we enjoy doing the ability, the capacity to laugh into the

00:22:08.780 necessity of leisure. All of these things that the world counts as self-care are actually things that

00:22:14.260 God has just commanded us to do and has given us the freedom to do and the ability to enjoy these

00:22:20.260 things. And of course we know that he calls us to rest, um, in a Sabbath form, but also that we are

00:22:28.060 required to sleep at night. And so God has made the human body to, uh, to need leisure, to need rest,

00:22:37.580 to need slumber, and to also have the capacity to enjoy things. And so if there is, if you have the

00:22:46.120 ability to do something you enjoy regularly during this, uh, so do something you like to do, watch

00:22:52.700 something you want to watch, eat something that you want to eat, don't be so caught up in, oh, I'm not

00:22:58.560 going to be idle and I'm not going to lose sight of my goals and I'm not going to stop being disciplined

00:23:02.980 that you don't have fun and that you forget that, uh, God created us to be joyful as well and that the joy

00:23:11.800 of the Lord is our strength. Now I'm not saying that that verse means to eat ice cream. I'm not saying

00:23:17.060 that, but God does rejoice when we are rejoicing in the good gifts that God has given us. And those

00:23:25.120 can be really simple. And so when I say treat yourself, I obviously mean within the bounds of

00:23:31.400 doing things that glorify the Lord and doing things that honor him and doing things that of course are

00:23:37.900 not sinful, but we can't forget to also just enjoy the life that God has given us. If anything,

00:23:44.760 uh, if we've been reminded of anything, it's that we don't know what tomorrow holds. We can't predict

00:23:49.740 things. We can't control things. And so we can enjoy and be grateful for the life God has given us by,

00:23:57.420 um, savoring the time, the food, the resources, the blessings, the people, the conversations,

00:24:04.680 even some of the entertainment that God has allowed us to have during this. So don't forget to also be

00:24:13.600 happy during these circumstances. Tip number five, read or learn something. So read your Bible

00:24:20.500 in the mornings, if you can at night, in the afternoon, whenever you have the chance to in the

00:24:26.160 mornings is, you know, it's preferred because it equips you, prepares you for the day, puts your mind

00:24:31.300 in order. But if the only time that you can do it is in the afternoon, do it in the afternoon.

00:24:36.840 Uh, try to read something, something else in addition to the Bible for 10 to 30 minutes at

00:24:42.140 night. That's what I'm trying to do. Uh, join our book club. If you are a woman, so women's book club 1.00

00:24:49.320 with Allie on Instagram, I think it's women's book club with Allie Stuckey on Facebook. You have to

00:24:54.860 request to join. You have to be a woman guys. I've gotten some men, uh, who have requested to join 0.98

00:25:01.180 it's women's book club. It's a women's book club. You can call it discrimination. You can call it 1.00

00:25:05.380 sexism. You can call it whatever you want. Quite frankly, I don't really care. It's a women's book 0.99

00:25:09.460 club and we are on book number two. We're reading nothing to envy and it's about life in North Korea

00:25:16.040 from the, from defectors, uh, perspective for the most part. And it's very interesting, but you can pop

00:25:23.900 into the book club whenever you want to, you can not read a book. You can read one book and not the

00:25:29.020 other. It doesn't really matter. I just ask that you actually read the book before you contribute

00:25:33.640 to the conversation, but it's been really fun. It's been really edifying and we're learning things

00:25:38.140 together. And so I've had to be more disciplined in making sure that I set aside time to read each

00:25:43.360 day rather than scroll through my phone. And so if you need help and encouragement doing that,

00:25:48.500 we have discussions on this stuff. We encourage one another, we have a timeline.

00:25:52.300 And so join the book club. You can either read the book that we are reading right now,

00:25:56.800 or you can join in the next one or, uh, whatever you want to do, but don't join unless you actually

00:26:02.460 have the intention of reading the books. But I do encourage you to read during this time, uh,

00:26:08.220 reading, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, it makes you a better thinker. It makes you a better

00:26:13.160 writer. It makes you a better speaker communicator, and it helps you place the moment that we're in the

00:26:19.560 political, social, cultural, spiritual moment that we're in, um, in its proper context. It allows you

00:26:25.920 to think more critically. And that's really, that's really the goal of this book club is to encourage,

00:26:32.740 um, is to encourage women to think more critically about the issues that matter. So read or learn

00:26:42.380 something during this time. Um, there are people out there learning how to knit, learning how to make

00:26:48.240 bread, learning how to do things. They didn't know how to do practicing things that they haven't

00:26:53.780 practiced in a while. Uh, Proverbs 1 5 says, let the wise hear and increase in learning. And the one

00:26:59.720 who understands, obtain guidance. Number six, memorize scripture kind of goes with number five. Uh, so the

00:27:06.640 navigators, if you go to their website, they have a topical memory system that is effective.

00:27:10.820 That's not what I use, but it works for a lot of people. Uh, I literally just read a verse and I

00:27:16.860 read it over and over again. And then I try to repeat parts of it until I can repeat all of it.

00:27:21.100 And I repeat it over and over again until I know it until I can repeat it off the top of my head.

00:27:27.500 This has been one of the most valuable practices that I have put into place throughout my life because

00:27:32.680 I am now able to read the Bible and read something and my mind goes to another reference. So I'm able to

00:27:39.700 mentally cross-reference. I am not good at memorizing references. I will say that, but I am able to

00:27:46.180 relatively, relatively quickly think of a verse that corresponds with the verse that I'm reading

00:27:51.080 and look it up on biblegateway.com, which, uh, is pretty much just as easy, but you could probably

00:27:56.680 be better at memorizing the references than I am. My friend and I, uh, we memorized Ephesians back in

00:28:02.780 college and I still have that entire book. It just comes top of mind really easily. And that's why

00:28:09.680 it's one of my favorite books. So start with one chapter. I heard John Piper recommend on his podcast

00:28:16.760 the other day, ask pastor John that we all memorize Romans eight during this quarantine. I think that is

00:28:23.280 a great idea. Um, and in fact, if you guys want to do it, just let me know when I will commit to

00:28:28.920 doing that with you guys. I read through it and I found verse 18 of Romans eight, especially

00:28:35.300 pertinent. And that is for, I consider that the sufferings of this time are not worth comparing

00:28:42.580 with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Um, and then Psalm 119 11 is also very relevant to this

00:28:51.220 particular tip. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Number seven,

00:28:58.220 tip number seven, pray. Maybe every day you dedicate to praying for a different person or a different

00:29:04.600 group. Uh, maybe it goes something like this. Of course you can pray however you, um, need to pray

00:29:12.100 or however makes sense to you, or you can pray for multiple things in a day, but this is just an idea,

00:29:18.420 a template, an outline to keep it simple. So maybe Monday you pray for your family. So your spouse,

00:29:24.960 your kids, your extended family, Tuesday, you pray for your friends, the people that you know,

00:29:29.300 the people in your church, whatever they might be going through, uh, Wednesday, you pray for the

00:29:34.700 church. So generosity, the gospel, uh, would be shared that grace would be shown that all of these

00:29:43.180 things would be displayed in the church, that the church would be, uh, reaching out and would be

00:29:48.740 as available as ever to the people who need hope. Um, maybe Thursday, you pray for our government

00:29:55.260 leaders, that they would have wisdom, that they would be humble before the Lord and repent of any

00:30:00.420 sin that they need to be repent of and look to follow God in all of their ways. Friday, uh, pray for

00:30:06.940 healthcare workers, law enforcement officers, first responders. Saturday, uh, pray for anyone who is sick,

00:30:13.940 the families of people who are sick, that they would have the resources and the peace that they

00:30:18.380 need. Uh, Sunday pray for families, for moms and dads, that God would build up families and build up

00:30:25.800 homes every day. Pray for the lost, that they would know God and that they would glorify God as who he

00:30:31.780 is, the alpha and omega. There are lots of other things to pray for. Pray that we make the most use

00:30:37.760 of our time. Pray that we do God's will as Christians. Pray that we love well, pray that we would make

00:30:42.720 wise decisions, that we speak in a way that is true and helpful. Uh, pray that we would be bold

00:30:48.600 in sharing the gospel. Pray that we would see our own sin. That's what I'm always praying for, that I

00:30:53.140 would see my own hypocrisy, which is bountiful, and that God would reveal that to me and that he would

00:30:58.720 give me the power to repent of those things. Lots of things to pray for. Maybe write them out, put them

00:31:03.620 in a sticky note, stick it on your mirror, above your kitchen sink, wherever you're spending a lot of

00:31:07.820 time to remind you to do that. And I'm going to do that as well. Number eight, work on your

00:31:13.620 marriage. So apologize more, communicate better. I've only been married for almost five years. And so

00:31:21.580 get marriage advice from people who have been married 25 years and 45 years before you get

00:31:26.220 marriage advice from me. I'm just telling you from my experience, what we've been doing. Uh, like I said,

00:31:31.120 my husband has been working from home. So we've been spending a lot of time together in close quarters

00:31:35.860 and we've had to figure out how to balance all of this together. And I think that God has allowed

00:31:41.840 us to learn how to communicate better during this time and to avoid conflict as much as possible.

00:31:49.600 That means avoiding unnecessary criticism and nagging as much as possible and being quick to

00:31:56.260 apologize and quick to forgive. I think that has been, um, X like apologies and forgiveness have been

00:32:03.540 expedited. It seems during this time, because ain't nobody helped by a grudge during a quarantine and

00:32:09.180 during a pandemic. Like I, I think that we are trying as best as we can to keep lines of communication

00:32:14.860 open, to give each other the benefit of the doubts, to be more patient, more gracious, and to realize that

00:32:20.640 we are, we really are in it together. We keep on saying this about everyone, but when it comes down to

00:32:25.420 it, it's really you and your family that are in it together. So we try to minimize the things we do

00:32:31.020 that annoy the other one. Uh, we try to pick up after ourselves, apologize quickly. Like I said,

00:32:36.360 no time for grudges during all of this, give each other the benefit of the doubt, be helpful to one

00:32:41.500 another. So if I'm getting the baby ready for bed and, you know, giving her a bath and feeding her,

00:32:46.940 then he is probably the one cooking. If he has a phone call, I take her somewhere. So she's not,

00:32:52.100 you know, making a lot of noise and distracting him. And honestly, we've had a lot of fun together.

00:32:56.700 Like we've had a lot of fun together and I'm going to be really sad when he goes back to work,

00:33:00.400 a lot of good conversations and good times. And I'm very thankful to the Lord for those things.

00:33:04.680 He is, um, my husband is extremely supportive and extremely helpful. And we are just good

00:33:10.260 partners with one another. And I'm just very, very grateful for him. Um, the verse that I have for

00:33:16.980 this couple of verses, love is patient and kind love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude.

00:33:23.580 It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It is not rejoice at wrongdoing,

00:33:29.360 but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes, all things,

00:33:34.520 endures all things. Love never ends. That is first Corinthians 13, four through eight.

00:33:39.780 And then be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God and Christ forgave

00:33:46.300 you. Ephesians 4 32. Always a good reminder when we want to withhold forgiveness from someone else,

00:33:51.640 that God had every right not to forgive us. And he chose to, despite us, uh, not deserving his

00:34:00.300 forgiveness and his grace at all. Number nine, reach out to, I said, 10 people that, you know,

00:34:06.780 can be five people can be three people just depends, but reach out to 10 people that, you know,

00:34:11.300 could be 20 people make a list of 10 friends, family members, uh, fellow church members,

00:34:17.100 acquaintances, coworkers, reach out to them, ask them how they're doing. If there's any way that

00:34:22.540 you can pray for them, if there's any way that you can help, if they need financial help and you

00:34:27.620 are unable to provide that, maybe there's something else that you can offer. You can connect them to

00:34:32.760 someone who can give them the help that they can give. If you've got pregnant friends right now, 0.95

00:34:37.700 I'm telling you that especially your friends in the third trimester, they might be freaking out.

00:34:43.320 They don't know if they're going to have their husband, uh, or, uh, their doula or whoever be

00:34:48.540 able to come back with them when they are giving birth and they might be worried, uh, pray for them,

00:34:53.600 encourage them, send them Bible verses, know that you're thinking about them, uh, send them baby

00:34:59.540 supplies, do whatever you need to do to support them right now. Cause your pregnant friends are 1.00

00:35:04.060 probably feeling especially vulnerable. Uh, first Thessalonians five 11, therefore encourage one 1.00

00:35:10.300 another and build one another up just as you are doing. Uh, did I already say the reference?

00:35:16.780 That's first Thessalonians five 11. Okay. Last tip, donate money or items or food, whatever you can.

00:35:23.680 Now this can be $5. Uh, we know from the parable about the widow and the widow's mite that she gave

00:35:30.020 just, uh, I think it was just the one coin that she had the little bit of money that she had.

00:35:35.580 And it was glorifying to the Lord, not because she gave a ton of money, uh, but because she gave

00:35:41.040 her first fruits, like she gave from her heart. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver.

00:35:46.700 And that's our verse for this, that he loves people who give from the heart and who give generously.

00:35:53.020 If it is nothing for you to give a thousand dollars, that doesn't mean as much as the person

00:35:59.220 who gives $5 for which that was a huge amount compared to what they have and to the needs that

00:36:05.140 they actually have. So whether it's $5 or $5,000 or whether it's just food, maybe you can sew face

00:36:11.600 masks. Uh, maybe it's just your time, your energy, whatever it is. Um, be generous with what you have

00:36:20.040 to those who need it. Something I've been doing is reaching out to pregnancy centers that I know of

00:36:24.680 and asking, how do you guys need help? Can I post a link to your Amazon, to your Amazon registry?

00:36:32.600 Can I pray for you? What do you guys need? What kind of supplies do you guys need? And you guys

00:36:38.060 have stepped up to the plate and you have donated a lot of stuff, a lot of money, a lot of supplies.

00:36:42.980 There are a lot of moms right now who are a, they're considering an abortion because they got 1.00

00:36:48.280 let go of their job and they are scared about the future. And so they might be walking into these

00:36:53.140 pregnancy centers thinking that, okay, maybe they're, they'll help me get an abortion. And these women 0.99

00:36:58.140 hear about the gospel for the first time. They hear about their other options.

00:37:01.060 They're not coerced or manipulated or shamed or anything like that, but they are hearing

00:37:05.240 about the option for adoption. They're given hope. They are given confidence that maybe they

00:37:10.520 really could raise this child. They are given resources. They are connected to a doctor. They

00:37:16.960 are, uh, they get help signing up for Medicaid. They get help with the protection that they need.

00:37:22.600 If they're in an abusive situation, they're getting parenting resources and they're also getting

00:37:26.480 free supplies for their babies. So these pregnancy centers are doing amazing, amazing work. And moms

00:37:32.540 are in a vulnerable place, especially when you have Planned Parenthood doing what they do best,

00:37:36.420 which is capitalizing on a crisis to make women feel like they cannot be moms and encouraging them 0.97

00:37:42.400 to abort their babies. Uh, it's terrible. It's terrible. And so pray for these pregnancy centers, 0.98

00:37:48.660 donate to your pregnancy centers, give hand-me-downs to your pregnancy centers, send diapers to your

00:37:53.240 pregnancy centers, do whatever you need to do. And, um, we are doing what we can as a church to make

00:38:01.680 sure that we are protecting and saving as many lives as possible by the grace and the power of

00:38:06.840 God. Uh, okay. Those are my 10 main tips for you. Just a little, you know, some free tips. This is

00:38:13.920 always a tip that I have. It's always a good time to break up with that boyfriend that you know that

00:38:18.400 you don't need to be with. Now's an awesome time because you're not going to see him for the next

00:38:22.380 couple of weeks. Uh, now's a great time to, uh, forgive someone. Now's a great time to apologize

00:38:29.740 to someone. Now's a great time to rectify broken relationships. Now's a great time to do the things

00:38:36.280 that you know that you've needed to do, but that you have been putting off. Okay. Those are my tips.

00:38:41.480 I hope that you guys, uh, found them helpful. I don't have time to do the would you rathers and,

00:38:47.760 uh, that stuff. I'll try to share some of those on Instagram, but thank you guys so much

00:38:52.240 for listening and for watching subscribe on YouTube, give a five-star review to the episode

00:38:58.120 or to the podcast, if you like it. And I will see you guys back here on Wednesday.

00:39:02.400 I'll see you guys back here on Wednesday.

00:39:10.760 Bye.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - March 30, 2020

Ep 231 ｜ 10 Tips to Make Quarantine Count

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