Ep 231 ｜ 10 Tips to Make Quarantine Count
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
189.76427
Summary
We are all in a similar boat right now, no matter what our medical situation is, and we need to do what we can to make the most out of the time we have at home. As the Bible says, "Make the best use of your time."
Transcript
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
00:35:04.060
probably feeling especially vulnerable. Uh, first Thessalonians five 11, therefore encourage one
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
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
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
00:37:42.400
to abort their babies. Uh, it's terrible. It's terrible. And so pray for these pregnancy centers,
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.