Ep. 17 TRANSCRIPT –

spk_1:   0:01
today, Letters from Home Podcast is bringing you a bonus episode last year. Could anyone have predicted that the entire world would be locked away in quarantine? Crazy? It has brought many beautiful things, and it is also taking a toll on families in the form of anxiety, stress, fear and just not knowing what to dio. We’ve never done this before. So I found a couple of

spk_0:   0:25
moms to join me in a conversation about our quarantine lives in hopes of encouraging you and giving you some ideas to help make quarantine 2020 a time for his Also look back and celebrate

spk_1:   0:41
Well, hey, I have a real treat for you all out there today. I have to dear ladies here who are experiencing struggle in the midst of quarantine times and they have families and they’re working through these things in their lives. They have faced some anxiety and some depression, difficult things, and I found the Lord to help them through all of this, we have caress Snyder, who has written this beautiful devotional both anxiety elephants, which is a very easy to digest and understand and put your finger on what anxiety is as I was reading, and I found it very helpful where I think a teenager or even an elementary kid could be able to understand what this feeling is, and I recommend out a lot. And then we also have Gen. Ervik on who has written a couple of books, and one of them that she wrote to help with anxiety is called When my mind winds up, she really points out some great things in there this time of crisis world going through is families as moms or is just all of us. I thought it be helpful to have a discussions caress I

spk_2:   1:54
Hi, Thanks for having me on.

spk_1:   1:57
Absolutely. Can you give us a picture of your life right now? I know your own mama.

spk_4:   2:03
Yes. So life right now looks very interesting and fun, I’m sure, just like many of you. I have two daughters, have a daughter who is 11 and in fifth grade and a daughter seven. And she’s in first grade. My husband as well, is also working from home right now, so my dining room has become his office and my office has become our school room. That’s where our school is in. Then our kitchen table has become the puzzle slash artwork slash writing letters slash everything else besides eating, we’re just all together. We’re all together, like everybody else. Everybody else, I think, literally in the world is experiencing life this way right now.

spk_1:   2:55
Yep, same I have my husband’s working from home, and I’m just so thankful. I know there’s so many people out there that are laid off, and I am just praying for them, too, because it’s it’s so difficult and then I have it. Our daughter eat and was in a nursing school in the other side of the state, about to graduate. She’s doing classes online, or 19 year old Mike owes doing college and or again, and he’s in the middle of his first year MBA program, and he had to come home. And then we have a junior who’s doing zoom classes all of his classes online and eighth grader. So we’ve kind of come up with their own schedules around here. I thought, I’ll have them do their own schedule because if they come up with it, there might be a little more chance that they’re gonna do it. So we have our my eighth grader wrote one schedule on the other end wrote another. So, yeah, we’re kind of all trying to figure stuff out here is well as get exercise and all those things for health and for our hearts, bodies and minds. Jen, how about you?

spk_2:   3:57
You know, it’s so funny. Oh, and thank you for having me to This is so exciting to just chat with you ladies. It’s funny. I used to beg my boss. I’m one of eight pastors on staff at a church, and we don’t have a lot of office space, so we end up having shared spaces a lot. But I’m one of those people who kind of needs to work in silence like I don’t even want music and stuff like that. And I used to bake him. Please let me work from home and like day one of this quarantine, I was like, You know, when I begged you to work from home, I didn’t think my husband and kids here. Oh, my land. So I have my husband. We’ve been married. It’ll be 17 years the end of this month. And so we’ve promised to celebrate by staying on different floors from each other, and I’m just kidding. I I have two boys. I have a 15 year old ninth grade freshman year. He’s in driver’s ed, all the fun things and and they even moved Driver’s ed on to zoom. And then I have a 12 year old sixth grader. First year of sixth grade of middle school. I mean on And his name is Alex. I’ve ate an analogue, and that’s my world right now.

spk_1:   4:59
Enquiring minds want to know how the old driving zoom class

spk_2:   5:03
works. His teacher teaches on Zoom. They all log in, but he has a darting attention span. And so the teacher was very clear that their class won’t count if the computer Comptel they’re not paying attention cause I guess the zoom program can use the computer and to tell if their eyes are engaged with the screen if they’re tuning out or looking elsewhere. And so his first zoom meeting of for drivers that he’s all Mom. I fell asleep the last 10 minutes.

spk_1:   5:30
Oh, I’m like, Don’t you do that? It costs like 600 some dollars.

spk_2:   5:36
Yeah, it driver’s ed is expensive, but he’s doing the defensive one, so going to become a great little driver. He’s a kind of and actually an anxious driver talking of anxiety, but I’m confident he’s going to do find

spk_1:   5:48
So heads up all your parents zoom Big Brother’s out there keeping count. I know totally airy,

spk_4:   5:55
that they’re watching in that

spk_2:   5:56
manner what it is. But it is kind of cool that they can make sure kids are paying attention for any of us. You have kids doing zoom sessions for sleeping.

spk_1:   6:05
I know of a teacher friend of ours who he says when he’s at his all the teacher meetings, which could be so many he’s perfected, learning how to sleep with his eyes open. So maybe our kids how to develop some new quarantine skills? I don’t know. Just saying,

spk_2:   6:21
Let that hash tag quarantine skills

spk_1:   6:23
if you later zehr willing, I thought we would start with all stress and anxiety, has affected your life in a general way. And then, well, maybe talk about how it’s affected your lives in a quarantine way.

spk_4:   6:36
And I always tried to preface with this by saying many years ago I was one of those people who did not believe anxiety was riel. Others would come to me for prayer, for advice for wisdom. You know about anxiety or depression. I did not respond to them with the compassion of Jesus at all, but my response to the work. Carter, pray harder. Try more, read your Bible more or suck it up, buttercup. And just keep moving on. And it was just not very compassionate. Until I begin to realize what anxiety really felt like I would get overwhelmed with anxiety. I would feel different physical symptoms. My heart would race. I would be gripped literally grit in fear and panic, and I could not move off of my couch. I can remember moments on my oldest daughter was choose to years old, should be playing in her play room. And I would just be sitting on my couch thinking that I was having a heart attack and it was just a outright anxiety attack. But I didn’t know what anxiety was. And I don’t know about you, ladies, but for me, I was convinced I was the only one dealing with that, that there was no way anybody else was gonna know what this was and I had ever experienced it. And if I let people know within the charter to the enemy. Always had me convinced if you tail, they’re going to turn their back on you if you tell guys not gonna be able to use you. So I would just hide it now it push it down and push it down and try to numb it. And it just got to the point where I couldn’t do that anymore and it begin to effect my daily task, begin to effect my thought to my beliefs within myself. And I moved from just anxiety to anxiety and depression and begin to think things about myself. Like you are worth less your hope, less your purpose less. You are useless. And it was a struggle. And I hit that for a long time in my life. That was hard to just be there in that place,

spk_1:   8:38
something you didn’t even know to put your finger on to be able to reach out.

spk_4:   8:42
I hid it from my friends and my family as long as I could, because I was terrified of rejection, and I finally got to a point where I had such a severe anxiety attack. I had to go to the doctor and I had to call my husband. This was that I had to finally tell him. And I was just convinced that now that he’s going to see this woman who he knew as the strong put together bold type a lady and now he’s gonna see me weak and broken in a mess. And I was just convinced when he would see me in that way that that was gonna be it. So when he had to come to the doctor, he had to get our daughter. He was very concerned and he loved me through it. He had never had anxiety. So he didn’t understand what I was going through, that he was very supportive of me through it all. And then Teoh, tell my friends, You all know sometimes women can be hard. It can be tricky. Sometimes we tend to want to battle one another instead of joining together in the battle, right? The enemy’s missed us of that. So once I finally hit rock bottom, I had a miscarriage and my doctor, she came into play and said, You know, it’s time for you, for you to get help. I found a counselor and my doctor began to help me. I finally stopped saying here in the South, if any of you can hear that Southern accent, But you know, people will say How are you doing? And we always say, We’re fine, We’re good, you know? We never say what’s really going on. And so a friend of mine actually asked me one day, How are you? Once I kind of hit rock bottom and I finally said, I’m not good And I told her, You know, I’m dealing with anxiety and depression and she looked at me and she said, You too.

spk_1:   10:34
It

spk_4:   10:34
was kind of like the wall came down and I was like, Okay, my friends get it, They’re going to the same thing and we need each other. We need to tell each other And so that was a big turning point for me to see. I’m not alone and they needed to see that they’re not alone and their struggles to

spk_1:   10:52
Well, thanks for sharing up. How long ago was that that you went through that?

spk_4:   10:56
That was 2011. That was nine years ago, and it has just been a process to kind of get to where I am. I still have days. I still have moments where the anxiety may get the best of me, but I’ve learned how to not stay in it and let it just kind of overwhelm every part of my life. If that. If that makes sense,

spk_1:   11:18
absolutely. Thank you so much. I know we’ll get more into that a little bit. How about

spk_2:   11:22
you, Jim? Yes. So just talking generally for anxiety. For me, I mean their similarities and differences in my story with caress. But I think for me, you know, it’s been something I’ve just had my whole life. One thing is like if anybody who follows the any grant, I’m a one to some of perfectionist and I want people to like me, and I want to serve others. And so if I ever fall short that I berate myself. The other thing is to without sounding. I know we have all kinds of different listeners here without sending over, you know, overly spiritual. But I have a sensitivity to both the Holy Spirit and the negative side of that, too. And so my story goes way back. When I first was really battling fear, I was five years old. I had a nightmare that I had a nightmare. Okay, so I had a nightmare that I had a nightmare, went to sleep with my parents and I couldn’t fall asleep in a snake, came on my dad’s night stand and tried to attack me. Then I woke up from that, that I woke up into real life. If you’re following me. And when I was awake, like actually awake, talking like I am to you guys, I audibly heard an evil laugh, and I believe it was stating laughing at me, five years old, You guys, I was fine. It was like this a laugh, lifelong battle with fear and nightmares and And the joke that state was always trying to tell me is you have no power. You cannot save yourself. So you know, those of us who Pentecostal, maybe others are always told that we can rebuke things in the name of Jesus. But the big joke Satan would love to play on my mind is that I wouldn’t have a voice, so I try to rebuke in my dreams. I, like try to say, Leave me alone in the name of Jesus but I would be mute until one day I realized that so stupid God created the deaf dumb, debuting the blind that says that in Genesis and Exodus in them. Do you think he’s not gonna help people who really can’t talk like that, so don’t know. It’s just once the truth starts coming and set zoo free, then you start getting more and more ground. And so a big thing to like I said that perfectionists and me that one wing two of my any a gram. What I learned with anxiety is it’s very self focused, and we don’t think of it that way because we’re thinking of just how gloom and doom and, however, totals groups and stuff. But look at look at that pattern there even what Paris was saying. I am a failure. I’m useless. Look at me dead. It added A Once we turn the focus off ourselves an outward onto anything else, it begins to set you free from that. And so that’s my overall general battle with anxiety.

spk_1:   13:47
Thank you for sharing that you said so many things, and I know so many people struggle with those bad dreams than fears. I think of that person revelation where it says that the enemy stands to accuse God’s people night and day, and he plans that little thing. You’re not worthy, but I’ve heard that the enemy tells us the truth about ourselves. But he doesn’t tell us the truth about God. And when we see ourselves and that truth and can’t work on some of those thoughts that there’s such grace for sure, like you, Lady said. I’m sure for everyone it’s a process. And and of course, sometimes people need medication for help. For these things, there is no shame and medication working together with your doctor and your family on these issues. The

spk_2:   14:39
medication part is another thing is, there’s a negative stigma with medication. I don’t quite understand cause I feel like God gave us a mind and talents and these tools, and he wants us to partner with him. He’ll help us. He’ll walk with us. We pray to him, but he wants us to help ourselves, too, and it’s a partnership. God has always wanted to partner with his people. I do take a medication. I have a chapter called Period Prozac because I take it during my cycle because of the hormones, do play apart into my anxiety as well. And helps me. It takes the edge off. It doesn’t make the world seem like it’s going crazy, and I am a full supporter of that. As long as it’s not like changing who you are and who God created you to be and all of that so well in my

spk_4:   15:24
doctor When she told me I needed to be on medication, I cried. I cried so bad because of the negative stigma with it. And she said to me, She said If I were to sit here and tell you that you had diabetes, are you had high blood pressure or you had cancer? Would you argue with May or question me on treatment? And I was like, Absolutely not. And she said, This is the same, You’re you’re out of battle, Menschel hormones are out of balance and this medication is gonna help you get imbalance. And so when she explained it to me that way, I have said okay and I took it and again, I think I cried every day for about two or three weeks taking it. But I bet three week. Mark, my daughter, she had her big birthday party and we’re at this place that had the big, jumpy houses that probably causes anybody Toe Have anxiety when you’re but I normally I am just very How strong is very I’m an achiever. I’m a three wing 212 please. And just make sure thing is that the best it can be. And she said, Mom, when you go down the slide with me, I told her yes, and that normally I would not do that. But I just felt the fog had lifted and I just felt like I could enjoy life again. Like that medication helped me to see things in a different, clearer picture. But it was so funny because we got it to the top of the slide and when he looked down and everybody had their cameras out taking pictures, but they weren’t taking pictures of her, they were taking pictures of me because they saw me finally enjoying life. And I knew then, Okay, this medication is helping me. This was a part of one of those tools like you said that God needed for me to use. I needed to do that I needed to go to counseling. I needed to use my church, family, all those pieces or important in my healing in the healing process.

spk_2:   17:29
I love that. And I love that you had that God send of a doctor. Thank you. Jesus.

spk_4:   17:34
You see, I still go to her. She is amazing. She is so supportive and just never was condescending. She she totally got it.

spk_1:   17:44
What a blessing. So for those of you out there struggling or with your kids, I know it’s such a learning process and there are so many layers. I know for me. I had one panic attack when I was pregnant with my son, and I had no idea what it waas and I thought I was dying. I didn’t hydrate. I was going over a mountain pass. I didn’t get a lot of sleep. Pregnancy number six I was about five months along, and also and I felt like I was gonna die s Oh, yeah, it’s an awful feeling. And I went to the doctor and she said, I think you’re depressed and I was so discouraged as a Christian because I thought I am not depressed. I love being a mall. I’m thankful for my life. I love where I’m at and I don’t know that, she explained. Anything really well went to a naturopath, and it turned out my adrenals were completely shot. He gave me one supplement that he tested me for just for an adrenal support. My life was changed for May. I learned your body can be imbalanced in. It’s a real process of discovery to figure out what’s something you can do something about what something you can’t do something about. You know, we’ve all been through this quarantine, and I met a mom’s group, and I know a lot of imams are struggling and their kids air struggling, meeting some hope and help for how they can help their kids better. How they can help themselves better

spk_4:   19:12
think this quarantine time has been overwhelming. Maybe that’s a good word to use for everybody. We are thrown into something completely different and completely new, and and no one knows the right way to respond. I don’t think there’s gonna be be different for everyone. And so what we’ve had to dio I’ve never home schooled my kids and and my girls were like is this what homeschooling is, and I might really it’s not because a lot of my friends home school and you, you know, they get to have that freedom to go and travel and do different things. This is quarantine school, completely different. One thing that I’ve tried to encourage moms like you’re saying in the grapes and I’m union is Grace. We have got to give ourselves Grace, give our kids grace my daughter, my youngest. She deals with a lot of fear at night. And so she got up a bunch of times last night. My husband and I could I could tell we were like giving frustrated because she wouldn’t listen. You know, she wouldn’t do what we told her to do, and then we had to step back. I was like, You know what? Wait a minute. This whole situation is affecting her with just different things that she would come back with with just little small questions. About what? About this Or what about that? So you know, it’s like, you know, we’ve got to give grace. We’ve got to give her grace and understand that she seven and she’s trying to process and best her little seven year old mine can do. We have just had to figure out what works for us will work for us. It may not work for others, but that’s what’s gonna work for us. Knowledge. Your feelings. Don’t think you have to hide it or pretend that it’s not there. It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to be man. It’s okay to have all those emotions that God gave us the dimensions.

spk_1:   20:54
I really liked that. You said that to look at our kids because we’re thinking about we fully understand all what’s going well, we don’t understand. We’re like, what in the world is happening to our world, so we don’t understand. They understand less, but they feel that same impact. And I kind of love that way that we could look on our kids with a little more understanding if they seem to be acting out

spk_4:   21:18
and it works my kids cause I’ll say if you need to cry, it’s

spk_1:   21:22
OK to

spk_4:   21:22
cry if you’re upset because you miss your friends and you miss your teacher, that’s OK, and they will like it’ll just coming hit him in, you know, in a wave of emotion and and they will. They’ll say You want to go back to school? I want to see my friends or I want to go to church. You know, I don’t want to just sit and watch from our couch. If we could teach them now how to process emotions and not hide them and ignore them, how much further along they could be as an adult and honestly, another thing that has helped us, Right, Neil in the quarantining. You guys can answer this. Teoh. I’ve been very specific in what I allow them to hear and when I allowed in to see kind of like a shield of protection. And I guess, if you will, half the media, we don’t know what they’re really telling us is true. They’ve got some kind of stance that they’re trying to push. I know that if I sit and watch the media or social media all day long, that overwhelms me and it scares me, and I’m taking in that negative those negative things. And if it’s not good for me, it could could cause trauma for the up. So they’re very they’re very sheltered and what they know about what is happening they understand that it is a riel situation, and we need and we are praying and believing for God to move. But they don’t know everything. Because if I can’t process it as an adult like you said, their little minds can only handle so much, make it fine and find the things to be thankful for because we were thankful it keeps coming. The anxiety.

spk_1:   22:55
Yeah, I think one thing we’ve done is building more free time during the day for the schedules, and we do kind of start our day throughout the week with a spiritual time. We’ll sit in open the word my husband. I will just have ah, really brief prayer time in the morning Monday through Friday, like we usually do during the school year to start that time. They are kids are a little older, a 14 16 and then about 19 and 21 in the house right now. But we kind of start that day off with what should we pray about and maybe have a prayer request that’s on their heart. Kind of what you said about being thankful, caress, kind of focusing their mind of like, Oh, well, let’s pray for people in the hospitals and they’re on the frontlines. Let’s pray for the elderly in the hospitals or the young moms aren’t used to having their kids home or the people who’ve just lost their jobs. And so, as a family, we’re taking some moments to think about others and to pray. And one of the things that it was actually our 14 year old alleges idea was when we were talking about our schedule, what do you want to put in our schedule? And he said some way to bless others. So my kids have two big giant trunks of free time and during the free time, and this is what they came up with. They have to do 30 minutes of exercise, 30 minutes of projects or a 14 year old just got through building a carpet ball game, which is kind of like pool with the pool balls. And he designed it and my husband and he went to Home Depot, and we just got to use the maiden voyage yesterday. But I feel like I said a light or write your name on the bottom and right Glessner Quarantine made by Elijah in the date So there’s something with the date on it that commemorates a special time. A lot of my friends, kids air, doing art pieces and drawing or drawing art for their friends, My friends who are selling or making mask and dropping it by each family. We’re all minded a little bit differently. Maybe I’m not the Ark family or that this, but, oh, I was going to say the other thing. They put in their schedules 5 to 10 minutes to bless somebody outside of the house and then there, each cooking a meal once a week. So last week my 16 year old made gumbo and it was really good. And usually with the sports and church and all the things we’re doing quickie meals. So it’s been kind of a fun to see some of these more beautiful things. It’s not perfect and about perfection. We’re all trying to be moms, and we’re trying to take time for ourselves. I’m I’m not used to having people home all the time. And as much as I love my family and have a good relationship get along, which I know isn’t everyone’s experience, we all have a different kind of level of difficulty or things that were facing. But I’m used to having some free time during the day. So I’m trying as a mom. But one of things were saying, How is a mom? Can we also help ourselves? Not expecting that I have to be the perfect mom every day. I’m gonna, you know, sing with the birds and make the two hour dinner every No, that’s not what I’m doing. I need some down time. I need to have a a bubble bath, but I can’t be on it all day long is the moan that’s I’m not able to keep sanity and do that on some days, I think, for people that are struggling with depression and all the thinking, some days it’s OK. You just want to get through the day and just focus on one day. When I feel overwhelmed, I just break it down and just give myself the grace to focus on today. I don’t need to worry about tomorrow. I need we’re all the court God gave me today. If you’re at that point, ladies, I just want to say it’s it’s okay, it’s okay to have a day where you are just trying not to hurt people or or whatever it is. That’s your you know, we’re all humans. We all need. Jesus,

spk_4:   26:49
I love what you said. You’re talking about your kids helping others. Jan. You touched on that about how far? Get out of that anxiety when we focus, stop focusing on on ourselves and focus on ways to help other people. I think that’s so true. I know for me when we find ways to give back to others, it does something to you mentally, to your mind. But your body, you physically feel better. He physically feel different.

spk_2:   27:14
Yeah, you’re absolutely right. It’s It’s amazing house. I mean, everything about God’s kingdom is backwards, right? You want to be the greatest Middle East. You want to be a leader, be a servant, and that’s what it comes down to with anxiety to to help yourself to get your mind doctor yourself. You’ve got to put it on somebody else, and it’s amazing how freeing that is. Another thing I I love that, Meg said, was she just listed all the different ways that people in her family or those she knows is being creative. I mean We are all many creators made in the creators image. And so that is why being creative gives us peace and settles any anxiety and unsettled nous within us to I know I love toe, water, color paint or sing, and it just brings a piece that you just can’t explain. We’ve

spk_4:   27:59
done a lot of painting here and Legos my has been. They’ve taken apart those, you know, the sets. They come together and say this make this set So they have taken apart sets and created their own their own creation. And it’s been neat to see them, like you said, be these little mini creators. But it’s also been really nice to see them work together and listen to each other’s ideas and come running down the steps, excited about what they have come up with together, and they have a whole story behind it and what they think about it and to just have the blessing of time. Months ago, I was praying to God to give us more time, give us more time, and I might well, here

spk_2:   28:45
we are. I know So now we can

spk_4:   28:49
spend it together and we can walk in those gifts and talents that God’s given us when we can shift that perspective and see the good in it and see OK, this is an opportunity to help others, and this is an opportunity to grow in what God has for me to date. So I think that’s I love how you said that many creators. I think that is a really, really cool way to look at ourselves in the image of God best really, man.

spk_2:   29:13
At the beginning, it was interesting because my little 12 year old, he was like,

spk_1:   29:18
yea free vacation.

spk_2:   29:19
Can I go to my friend’s house? And I like No, you can’t And he didn’t understand And he’s like, Well, can I go spend the night at Papa and memos? Well, actually, the beginning I did, because that was before they were like, you know, stay within your own house, who you live with first I was like, Well, they’re family. I can go over there But then the more and more we learned about Kobe, I was like, Oh my gosh, I just sent my little Petri dish to spend the night. Look to my parents and their over 60. Everybody’s good. Everybody’s fine, but it’s been hard for him to understand what is this is happening and why we can’t play with the neighborhood kids, why we can’t go see other family members because they don’t live under the same roof. But it is pretty strict here and in Washington, in the Puget Sound area. And so that’s been hard for him to understand at first. But he’s getting better at it, and, of course there’s X box. And so you can see his friends and stuff. But my 15 year old and

spk_1:   30:13
this is what’s

spk_2:   30:14
funny to is. I always thought my 15 year old was the extroverts in my 12 year list, the introvert. But it was the 12 year old. It was dying, dying to go see his friends, and my 15 year old was like, really cool with it. Like he’s usually he’s like the popular kid at church. You know what, the youth group and stuff, but he’s like whatever. He was just doing his own thing, although the first couple weeks into it. So what was that March? I’ve lost all track of time. My church actually still got to meet the first couple of Sunday’s cause we did drive in church, so that was fun. So, like, my kids would look forward to that to get out of the house to go. Do that, cause even though you can’t, like, hang out with your friends, you can still wave to them in the car next to you, right? But they’re they’re hanging in there pretty well, I think my oldest, he was just starting track. We bought all his track gear for the high school, and then now it’s not happening. So that kind of stuff, it’s hard. But for drivers and for him, it’s gonna, you know, in the fact that he is kind of an anxious driver. It’s been a dream because there’s nobody on the roads. Oh, it’s really easy to go take him on his drives and stuff. My husband, uh, he has a lot of stress. He’s kind of he’s not like a health care worker, anything that he helps run a tech support company, so he’s essential in that way more than ever. Now, with all these companies doing zoo meetings and all that, he’s working from home and with the kids annoying him and me annoying him so It’s a lot for him. And then his 81 year old grandma lives right below us. And so he worries all the time. You know, going to a client cause he’ll see maybe one or two clients a week that he’s bringing something back. And he doesn’t want Teoh make his grandmother ill for me. I remember the beginning going into the cinema, pastor on the staff pastor, and I was spending all my energy king by. People feel better, like they’re worried about their jobs. They’re worried about their kids, does it out of that. And I was outpouring, outpouring. And then one time before we couldn’t go to work anymore, we couldn’t be in the office anymore. Remember sitting at my desk and I where everything on my face and my boss, the head pastor came in, is like, Are you OK? And I burst into the tears like

spk_1:   32:15
I’m fine. I just finally hit

spk_2:   32:16
because it was like a moment of silence for a minute. You know, it just kind of hit me, but I I was telling somebody else in another interview last week that I’m relegating the chance to practice what I preach you know all my little trickster anxiety because I am a roller coaster of emotions right now. One minute I’m fine, and I know God holds us in his very capable hands. The other a minute I’m like, but But this this, this and this. But that’s just me wanting to control. And so I have to have focus on other people you know, do all the things. And so that’s my family, That’s what How were kind of handling it?

spk_1:   32:49
I just thought I’d share one thing that we’re doing with our family. We let the kids to find what the dailies are, which is your bed should be made. Your floors picked up. There’s nothing in the main areas. The pillows air, the right spot. There’s nothing on the floors. There’s no dishes in the sink. So that’s just called the dailies. So once they come to land and say Mom, the dailies air done, they could be online with their friends for a long as they want. It’s about them owning it in taking the initiative and saying, I have got this all covered. Now, of course, do they break this every second or third day? Yes, they Dio. And when they break it, then I say, you know what? Did you finish all that first? Well, except for And then they say, No, you’re right, Mom. I didn’t My bad. And then I say, is so tomorrow or no games for the rest of the day. And it’s kind of the battle that’s where line is drawn. Tell our listeners out there have smaller kids, and at that point you’re saying 20 minutes and you’re monitoring. But as they get a little bit older, you kind of want to be a little more self monitoring and like, Oh, if I do this this and this, then I can go do this so we kind of simplify it. If that makes sense, ladies toe, have it be one rule. You get your stuff done. I trust you to one. They already know what we think is okay for games and not games. If they get a new game, they need to talk to us. We’re not wanting the bloody ones. I don’t want guns shooting at people. You know, everyone families got their own standards. There’s some basic ones that they know, and then every once were like Whoa! What is that game? I don’t remember. Okay, well, someone so was playing that okay. And then you kind of. But anyway, I’m sure for a lot of families, preteens and teens, especially boys. Girls, two girls can Netflix in out and you have to go say, Hey, what are the shows were wanting to binge. That’s one thing that’s worked in again. Some people were just trying to get through the day and we’re not trying toe add more work. Keep your bar super low so you can be successful. But if you have a day where you have a little more energy and you want it help with some of those things. And for me, what works the most successful is the simplest for me to follow up with. So I make it easier on myself. Don’t give 10 consequences for every little thing. You will never be able to keep track of that. And they won’t either.

spk_2:   35:15
Yeah, we have almost the exact same thing at our house. I have a dry erase shortlists what they have to do every day on the fridge, and then they mark it off. And then on Saturday, if it’s all checked off and I didn’t have to, like, do gentle reminders. They get their $10 allowance. One thing I thought about when you were like talking about, you know, doing the dailies and then, you know, being on the computer. I mean, my kids do spend a lot of time on the computer, but my 15 year old, what I love about teenagers, is they start to become little adults, and you start to have more of a friendship in a companionship with them. So he always finds a really cool movie, and we watched probably about one movie a day together. And so we do that. Go on old school like back to my childhood, growing up in the eighties and stuff like playing actual board games. We played Monopoly the other night. It was like four hours just creating those memories so that I found something and I posted it on Facebook. It was just something I found. I was scrolling that was like interviewing what our kids that we have now interviewing them as college kids, studying this time in history. And it was like, What do you remember from that time? And they’re like Honestly, I don’t remember all this bad stuff you’re talking about. I was a kid. I remember having dinner around the table every night, getting to play board games as a family, going for walks. It was the best, most fun time of my life, and that really hit me. I feel like if we focus on that, that naturally will take some of that anxiety away. But these this is a time that can really go by and down as one of your family’s best memories. 2020. Wow! Remember that year.

spk_4:   36:42
Agree. We’ve spent a lot of time playing face 10. That’s been one of my girls. They love brain. And then we bought puzzles, 1000 piece puzzles, been doing bad and actually walking around our neighborhood, you know, just taking the time to spin just in this quality time together. And so, like the girls know, every Friday night Dad is gonna grill out and we’re gonna play bass 10 or, you know, whatever it is like there’s there’s things that they look forward to and that helps them every day to go through this, and it’s the need. Teoh, laugh and talk with them like I think somehow I would take those little things for granted because I would be rushing to get them to the next activity and rushing to get here and rushing to go to church and rushing to get this finished and get this homework assignment done for not having to rush. It’s been need to just watch their personalities kind of blossom, So those things have been nice for me. But it did open my eyes to see what what I was missing out on. What I took took it all for grain. It took it all for granted.

spk_2:   37:47
You hear a lot about like watching your friends on social media and stuff like everybody’s like off work and they’re at home, and so they have all this time to do like home improvement projects and all the stuff. So me and my family, we don’t really have that. I’m still working, you know, as a pastor, but from home and my husband, Like I said, he’s working nonstop, literally the full weeks doing tech support for people. So I find myself jealous. I will also say that I’ve always had a very open and honest relationship with my kids, so um, I don’t go out of my way. Teoh. Hide how I’m feeling or what I’m going through because I want them for two reasons. I want them to see that even people like your mom and dad, he rose in your life or whatever are going to struggle, and they can see how brutal that is. But then in the end, they’re going to see me also turn to God and that because he is the one that we can run to and everything, so I do. And you know, I like I said, I’m a pastor to So the bad things that happen I don’t know what’s going on in our church family. We’ve got hit hard. This week’s like people are losing family members, not even due to coverted. We had an A T V accident. Another 11 of my host team members found her has been dead in the bathroom last week from a just a heart attack. But that’s brutal stuff. As pastors, I can’t go comfort them cause six feet away, you know, like all that kind of stuff. But I’m very open and honest about that. Just said that they have a grip on reality. So I think that that kind of helps the things I did to you. Like if you’re just honest, like if that’s because they know kids are smart, that they know something’s

spk_4:   39:20
office. I think if we can help them learn, it’s OK to not hide what we feel. We can run to God in these times, like we don’t have to come to him just when everything is perfect, like he’s here in the mess and the hard stuff. And even though everything else around us is changing, he hasn’t changed like he’s still got and he still is loving and he even in the midst of this sorrow he’s there. And so I think that has been helpful, that to teach our girls how to do that and to even like you’re saying, be honest and tell them we don’t get this right, we’re not going to get it right every time and for them to understand, even as adults, they may mess up, but we still have. We can still turn to guide and trust him if they’re not gonna get in trouble. If they have questions. If they’re feeling upset, if they’re feeling scared that they’re not gonna get in trouble for that. That we’re a safe place and save people to talk to about that. I asked him all the time. How are you? How are you feeling? Alright. What do you think? It does this bother you? Does that bother you and have to pull back sometimes. But I don’t want to make the think that they have to feel something, so but I know just that Freedom. I think that openness to talk about things, helps giving outside has been a game changer for us. Also, because we’re not We’re not inside kind of locked in like we’re out in nature and we’re seeing things, and we’re just giving that that vitamin D and that fresh air, so that’s been been helpful for them. And both of you have touched a limit on this having a schedule, having those routine things, so that gives him somewhat of control, like they know. Okay, this is consistency. I know Here, I’m going to do this in the morning, and then I’m gonna have free time. I think that gives when they have that consistency in their schedule. It kind of makes him feel somewhat in control. I know we’re not the ultimate one’s in control, but they know this is what I expect next. This is what I’m gonna do next, and that that can help them not allow their their minds toe wander off into into other places. So even if they know what I have next is free time, they still know what to expect, what’s coming. So I think having that routine that is also helpful.

spk_2:   41:32
Oh, yes, definitely. It’s a It’s a form of grounding. Yeah, that’s perfect. I know for my family, Teoh things that are healing for us even before this time of Kobe it in this locked down and all of that. My family has actually experienced quite a lot of death over the last several years, and so we’ve had our share of hard times. What helps my family is humor lacking, and so we love to make light of things, and it’s not a disrespect for the seriousness of what’s going on. But it’s because when you can make light of it, it just brings light. I mean, let’s just look suspicious is being plain and simple like that, and so I know some people you know, God made us all our personalities are different. They might find the little means and things you find on social media. Disrespectful, but really it it brings just a lightheartedness to it to know that it’s not all gloom and doom, and you’re not going to die. And so one thing that we’ve done to partner humor and serving others is we like to send Happy Male. And so do you guys watch Seinfeld. It all there’s with the whole toilet paper thing. There’s a net episode where Elaine is in a public restroom and there’s no toilet paper. So she’s asking the person next to or Can you spare a square in the ladies? I cannot spare square. I simply don’t have a square to spare, has simply cannot spare it. And so we printed out that mean and took one square toilet paper, and we would send it out to people and say, We will always spare square for you, you know, just awesome. I called it Cove It times, you know, like Valentine. It’s just stuff like that, you know, being humorous in a others focused. It always just brings so much light into your life

spk_1:   43:06
absolutely like that. You ladies have been vulnerable with some of the struggles, and it’s good Parkins to see. Like you said, it’s good for them to see the struggle because then they see our faith. They see us turn to the Lord or get help from doctors. They see our process of healing. They see God do, Oh, work in our lives And then we’re in it together as a family and you care about me and I’m your mama and I care about you. And I know you know kids go through different seasons where they’re less open or more open, and so we can just keep praying for our families and that God leads us along that journey

spk_2:   43:46
for my family, it’s mostly the routines of God willing of God being in our life that were always there Before this ever started being that anchor, not consistency, and it’s carrying still. Now I always do my Bible reading. When I go to bed, every night I go lay in bed and I start reading my Bible. My kids know that, and it’s like a cue to them, like Oh, mom’s head into the bedroom should be reading her Bible for, you know, the next 15 minutes or whatever. But just having all that knowing that because we’ve always had that it’s nothing’s, you know, this scary times not gonna change that. We’re going to continue to trust God. I think that’s a huge key for times like this is having those things that were always established norms in your family that God has always been the head of this household

spk_4:   44:33
and something that I’ve started doing mine and they’re a little bit younger just to give them that visual of God’s word. We just started this actually just getting like coloring sheets with Scripture on it and to their coloring. Um, and we’re hanging them up, so their goal is to memorize it by the end of the week. And if they do, they get a reward for that. So, like this first time with Isaiah 41 TN beer, not crime. Would you be not dismayed frying your God? I will strengthen you and help you And I pulled you with my righteous right hand because when that fear does come on, man. I love that verse because the 1st 2 words are here, not just for them to have that reminder. And in my head I can just see Scripture all around their room. How powerful is that if they wake up at night and there’s that word right in front of them and we know that God’s word is living and it is active and for them to learn now it gives me chills to think about how to speak God’s word and how if you have it hidden in your heart, you can immediately punch the enemy in the throat with it. You don’t have to give him. I know how toe fight you. It does not. What guy tells me this is not what his word says. It’s been alive and living for thousands of years, and it’s still tree is still true for us.

spk_1:   45:45
I love that, and as a mama who’s got older kids or oldest is 29. The other day I was talking to my older son, who’s 24 he said, Oh, you know, Mom, that were the siblings were reading or memorizing first Peter and I said, Oh, no, I didn’t know that. So I didn’t know that my 24 year old and the other four younger or having like a group thing where they have memorizing first Peter on their own. It was a little gift and blessing The Lord gave me the other day is a mama to here? So I just want to say the things that you’re learning And then I have another kid who you know, your kids that grow up and then they struggle in there people and they all need Jesus. And we’re still trust in God for all eight of our kids, just like we pray for them when it was in the womb. What of my kids was struggling kind of a low point and who this gives me chills when I think about it and her very lowest 80.0.1 of the old hymns that we was saying she was just weeping and in a bad place, and that him of God’s presence came flooding into her heart. The time that we pray for them as Mama’s, the time that we take to put those versus on there bed or sit and share with them our struggles that all is there in their hearts. And Jen, I liked what you said that maybe God would use this quarantine time some way. I’m gonna pray that for my family and for your families and for anyone who’s listening, I’m praying for you, too, that God would find some beauty in this time of quarantine. The one other thing I wanted to say is that I read this article the other day that the reason it feels so hard for people’s because we’re all grieving were grieving. The loss of our normal life were grieving. The loss of our friendships were grieving. The loss of meeting as God’s people in the joy. Yeah, we’re doing the cool zoom things, and all the things to that we’re always gonna remember is part of this crazy time. But even if we don’t realize that there’s a grief in a loss that’s happening and and so we don’t quite know what to do with that. And I think our kids are all experiencing that as well. So that’s what is so great, you laters air talking with your kids or, you know, we’re all listening. What’s on their heart. What are they missing all those kind of things. So it is okay to be sad. I also have it deep sense of my heart that God is doing something great. He has got to get tension of the whole world were listening. Lord, what do you want to dio? We’ve been praying for the nations and for different countries and that God would get salvation. And I don’t No what that’s all gonna look like. But God is big.

spk_2:   48:34
What is so big? And I I’m so excited that I feel like what we’re going to see here is there’s the church and there’s all these denominations, but the Capital C church. I feel like we’re going. We’re holding hands were joining hands now and we’re gonna walk out of this pandemic straight into a revival. And we’re We’ve got this unique opportunity to just introduce everybody to the god of the Christians, This Jesus who is a real person who really loves and really did die for everybody. It’s just a unique opportunity. I’m excited for what we’re gonna do about it. And I’m I’m just excited for all my brothers and sisters out there. Capital C Church.

spk_4:   49:12
I agree. I believe I believe revivals coming. I believe a great awakening is coming for a world that where is that their hearts or softened and that they’re ready to listen. But that we, as believers, our own awakening to city. We are the hands and we are the feet of Jesus. If not now, when up this world is waiting to hear hope, it is waiting to hear good news and we have it. We have it and we are to be the mouthpiece in its time, like there’s no more. I’ll do it later. I’ll do it. Win at the time is now like you, said a Capital C church. We are. We have joined hands the enemy. What he meant for evil has backfired completely on him. And now we are coming together worldwide across the world like you. Here we are in different parts of the country, and we have come together for one common mission, and that is to lift up the name of Jesus and toe level on others. Through that, you’ve got to keep going. We can’t can’t stop, you know, throttle Dione and let’s keep moving. Let’s keep 11 on the world. Let’s keep being the hands and feet and be a part of what God is doing I don’t think that it is by accident that all of this is happening right around Easter on our pastor, he said. Even though our churches maybe NC Easter Sunday, the grave is empty tape.

spk_2:   50:32
Let’s do it.

spk_1:   50:33
Amen. A couple of weeks ago, I was on a zoom call

spk_0:   50:39
with my fellow podcasters from the Christian Podcasters

spk_1:   50:42
Association Way were overcome with the desire to help are putting world. This collaboration is our response. Each podcaster came up with a 1 to 5 minute mini episode of Host Just for You, and it will end with one for my family in July.

spk_0:   51:02
Hi, I’m Brenda Gable. From the Road Home to You, a podcast offering hope and faith in Jesus to those wounded by others stuck in addiction or afflicted by the storms of life after Jesus sat at the well with an outcast woman from Samaria, having shared all he knew about how she longed for something more meaningful than one failed relationship. After another, she got up and went to her townspeople and shared her story. When two men were walking down the dusty road after Jesus had been crucified, they met up with 1/3 man who at first glance appeared not to know why they were so sad. But then the third man spoke, and he shared the stories of past generations of prophecies being fulfilled. And soon the men realized that they were indeed speaking to the risen Christ, and they two went and shared their story of how they’d met Jesus. Stories are important. They’re the Touchstone to our past. They remind us of where we’ve been and where we’re going. In times such as these, we hear many stories from doctors and nurses on the front lines, to the politicians working to make the right call for their states to our own neighbors, friends and family who are sick or fearful of getting sick, their stories coming out every day that illustrate both the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. I’m fortunate enough to have a story from my great grandmother, who was 14 years old when the flu pandemic of 1918 happened. She had recently moved to Spokane, Washington, and had only been in school for a week when, because of the flu, the schools were all closed down On Thanksgiving Day. She and her aunt, along with 10 other young women, went to a local play the next day. She recalls she in the girl she sat next to the previous evening. Both woke up sick. Five days later, her friend had died. She recounts every one of those girls, except my Aunt Virna had the flu and my mother was scared to death. My mother and grandmother got flu, but my aunt stayed home and nursed all of us and never did get it. And my grandfather never got it. Dad never got it, either. Whenever the Indians came, he light up his pipe and smoke it and they’d be coughing and they were dying like flies. But when they leave, he’d spray formaldehyde, and he thinks that’s what kept him from getting it. I was in bed for 10 days. The doctor said. Go on a liquid diet. No solids. Stay in bed until your temperature is down. For three days, my uncle nearly died of it. Christmas. We’re all starting to get well, so got together. And we were a bunch of the shakiest people you’ve ever seen. This is a rare look into the time and experience my ancestors were living through as they faced a pandemic. I’ve read this accounting so many times, but not once would I have guessed that I’d live to see a pandemic also. But here we are, and we also have a story to tell. Each one of us is experiencing so much of the same thoughts and feelings, yet we’re all walking through them differently. Our understanding of the world around us is unique from anyone else’s. And in the midst of all of this were each experiencing God. What’s your story? How has this time of social isolation affected you? What have you learned about yourself? Your priorities, your boundaries, your hopes and fears? What have you learned about your relationships about God in writing our stories down? Not only do we leave a legacy for our descendants, but we also give ourselves a chance to reflect and process our own experiences. The very act of writing is therapeutic and calming. The other wonderful thing about stories is that they provide a memorial for us to see and remember God’s faithfulness, like the Israel lights as they wandered through the desert, leaving memorials of stone when God provided the stories we share with each other about God’s provision and presence. Stand out as beacons of hope during the darkest of days. Go grab a notebook and a pen and start writing your story. Then share it because I promise someone will be blessed and encouraged when you dio. Be sure to check out the road home to you. Podcast that road home to you dot com or wherever you download podcasts and remember love, God love people and pray hard bikes.

spk_3:   56:35
Hello, everyone. My name is Terra Kay Ross and I co host the Hope Pros podcast, along with Rebecca Black over at the Hope Rose podcast. We are big fans of books to be more specific. We love stories that air filled with hope filled prose, stories that meet someone within their fear, grief or confusion and offer hope, empathy and healing. I myself have personally seen how well crafted words can transform a person’s life. I’ve also seen through my work is an author and school based

spk_2:   57:08
speech language pathologist. How shared reading can bring people together in a way that is God inspired and so nurturing to the spirit to support the CPI, a hope collaboration we wanted to offer our communities recommendations for hope filled stories from across ages and genres that can be enjoyed as a family or on your own. These selections come from our own libraries and those of our listeners. It was next to impossible to narrow down to just three, but

spk_3:   57:39
we only have five

spk_2:   57:40
minutes. So we’re going to share our top three picks for preschoolers. School age and young adults during this unsettling and confusing time, well finally share three of our favorite picks to enjoy and find peace with, even as an adult. So our top three picks for preschoolers were Max Lakatos. You Are Special. The Garden, The Curtain and the Cross by Carl African and Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt Dillon. Penna are three hopeful picks for school age. Kiddos were A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine Wangle. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson And these air great read aloud Za za family are three hopeful picks for young adults, and this is our sweet spot because primarily what we do on the Hope Rose broadcast I Love the Giver by Lois Lowry’s We Enjoyed so Much. The story behind Stephanie Morales. Within these lines, it was also recommended by someone in our community and then another book that we think we just bring so much hope right now is 100 days of sunlight by Abbey Emmons. So for adults

spk_1:   59:01
as well as

spk_2:   59:02
for you needles and for great read aloud. So we have a couple of selections that we think might work for you to help feel inspired and hopeful during this time, as well as to share as a family. I just finished reading all manner of things by Susie Think Byner. And this was such a hope filled story which would be a great one for you to just read on your own. All the light we cannot see by Anthony Door is an amazing novelas Well and brings a lot of hope into a very dark situation. A great family book. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The classic beginning novel by C. S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia Andan Another one that could be great to read with your teenagers is Nadine Brandis is out of time series. There are so many other books that we could recommend that we’re trying to be good for time here.

spk_1:   59:54
I

spk_2:   59:54
remember reading is a perfect way to quiet your mind for a while to bring you back to truths that are eternal and unchanging. And reading does not have interruptions or commercial breaks with headlines. You can turtle away from the world for a while, and in most of these cases, order the e book or pick it up virtually from the library without needing to leave your house.

spk_3:   1:0:14
We’re praying that even within our isolation to reading timeless stories, we’ll be reminded of our connected humanity. If you want to hear more

spk_0:   1:0:23
about hope filled Y E books and listening as we check with authors who write HM subscribed to the Hope Pros podcast on your favorite podcast player. And with that,

spk_3:   1:0:33
we hope that we’ve inspired sparks for your creative dreaming. Hey, guys, this is Jenna Erlandson from the Bridge of the Faithful podcast. This is a mini episode about where I get my hope. I learned that I’m not a huge fan of the ocean MULLEN, Hawaii two years ago. While I’ve traveled to many places in my life, I hadn’t really spent much time at an ocean. My husband decided to surprise me by taking me there for 1/10 anniversary. He couldn’t wait to watch me experience my first time swimming in the beautiful blue waters. Never swimming in an ocean means I never had experienced waves. Nothing could have prepared me for the site of a huge swelling wave cresting on the horizon, coming toward me with no way to stop it. And then when that first rush hit me, I was completely who for taken and overwhelmed. I did not know how to get out from under it until it had dissipated. I realize this is melodramatic, and I was seven weeks pregnant at the time, so I’m sure that’s part of it. But the anxiety was riel. I’m here to say that I survived the waves and God has shown me a lot from that experience. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that no wave goes wasted. I’m a nurse, and at the time of this recording, we are at the crusting stage of this covert wave. At least in Ohio. I see things looming on the horizon ready to crash. But as I think about these kinds of swelling situations, God brought me back to thinking of him. You see, God controls the waves. There are two stories in the Bible that comes to my mind when I think of waves in rough waters. The first is in the Old Testament. God has just proven his power through the 10 plagues and proven his favor by rescuing the Israel lights and leading them toward his promised land. And then he led them straight to the Red Sea. Of course, Israel was terrified. They had a huge sea in front of them, blocking forward motion, and they had an Egyptian army behind them, chasing to overcome them and bring them back to slavery. They felt trapped and betrayed by God. So how did he respond? An answer there, crying out. He made some waves. Exodus 14 21 tells us that to make the famous path in the Red Sea, God sent a strong east wind. A scientific study I read did some experiments and found that it would indeed be possible if the winds were about 63 miles per hour for reference. An average tornado is 40 to 100 miles per hour, so with some turbulence in a strong push from behind God made some huge waves through that he provided safe passage when there seemed to be no way, he provided rescue in abundantly miraculous ways. Through those same waves, he provided vengeance and annihilation of a past that was pursuing and threatened to overtake, to drag them back to slavery. Sometimes the huge scary waves in our lives are the times when God exhibits his amazing power provides rescues from our own areas of bondage, destroying its ability to take us over again. Other times, God calms the waves in our lives. Mark Chapter four describes another tempestuous moment. It was night time on a boat with some experience fishermen. Even better. It was a boat that had Jesus. However, Jesus was tired and took a nap. In the middle of that nap, a storm rose up. It was so intense that those experienced fishermen were so scared they panicked and woke up Jesus, asking if he even cared that they were at risk of drowning. I kind of feel like that right now. Don’t. You were here writing out the scary, wavy tempest. But like those disciples, we have Jesus on her boat. What did he do when the disciples asked first. Hope 1st 39 says, and he awoke, rebuked the wind and said to the sea. Peace be still and the wind ceased and there was great comb. The next thing you did was ask a question. Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? I’m learning to find that faith, and that is where my hope is established. I belong to a god who either makes waves to rescue me or combs the waves that threatened to destroy me. I am safe in his hands despite the storms that surround me. And with this still coming, loving voice, he says to my turbulent heart. Peace be still and still it becomes Exodus 14 13 through 14. Moses answered. The people do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you Today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.

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This is Tim Winders, and I’m a coach for business owners, executives and leaders. I’m also an author and I’m the host of the Sikh. Go create podcast. You confined the seat. Go create podcast on apple Spotify and most other major platforms. Or you could go directly to our website at Sikh. Go create dot com that seek go create dot com One of the interesting thing about us. My wife and I are actually nomads, and we currently travel, live and work in our 39 foot RV, you know, thes air. Such interesting times were in. I just wanted to take a few minutes and share a message of hope kind of in the midst of just ah bunch of crazy stuff that’s going on. We we discuss this some on our podcast, but in general were just in an unprecedented time and his people that consider ourselves followers of Christ. We we should be at peace, and we should not have any anxiety. But I know that there are many people right now that they are just scratching their heads and just wondering what in the world literally, what in the world is going on? And in many ways I’ve done the same thing. I just

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want

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to share just maybe a quick testimony that may give some of you hope, and then I want to wrap up. If I have time and and give some encouragement and uplift you as much as I can. My wife and I, we’ve been in business. We’ve been married for over 30 years, and we’ve been in business multiple times where entrepreneurs and and we’ve had companies. And heading into the 2000 and eight economic downturn, we had three companies that were all related to real estate that had done extremely well, and by the time 2013 enrolled along, all of those companies were gone. At one point, we even had over 15 million in real estate holdings over 100 pieces of properties. All of those were gone, and we basically were homeless nomads and ah, and I won’t let you know this that God took care of us. He sustained us, and it did not always look like we wanted it to look. But now, in looking back, it was the absolute best thing for us just to build our faith for us to gain closer, just the two of us, and for us to draw near to our heavenly father. Now again, I don’t wish that upon anyone, but but looking back on it, it was something that we needed to go through and that we needed to do. Now what we’re entering right now. I don’t know what this economy is going to do. I’m a business guy. So I’m studying all this. I’m watching it for my clients, and we may be in for a very rough ride. It’s very possible, but here’s what we all need to know. And that is that Romans 8 28 God will use all things for the good of his people that love him. So So, the thing that we need to do and this is where I want to encourage you, is for for us individually. This is the time for us to draw closer to him. You know, many of our our, I guess organizations of the world have really either closed or are going on hiatus or been quarantined or whatever you want to call it. I mean, there’s no sports currently is. I’m recording this. There’s no movies, there’s no celebrity culture. Even our universities and colleges and education have all closed down. And, you know, I could even say that maybe even the idols of the world have been shut down. Even even churches were not even able to gather in our churches. And so really, the thing that we have to do right now is to just spend quiet time and to spend that time just, you know, I guess ministering to ourselves but really ministering to the Lord and allowing the Lord to minister to us. And so some of the tips are highly recommend just as I wrap up. Here is number one. Focus on yourself. Make sure if you need help, ask for help. Back in 08 I didn’t ask for help like I needed to. If you need some help, reach out to people. Don’t get overwhelmed or discourage. This could be a time to get overwhelmed, Discouraged? Don’t do that. Make sure you’re nourishing your soul. Read, watch Listen to things that just feed your soul. And really, the thing that we way we need to be doing above all else during this time is focus on others. People need you right now. Text them, message him, find out what you could do to help them and just reach out to others. I believe that we will look back on this time and his followers of Christ. This was our time to shine Just go out and shine and be a light in the world I know you can do that.

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Hi. This is Teresa Blaze from the Unresolved Podcast Network and the unresolved Life podcast. When I think about hope, you know, it’s funny. I think about how God is going to make all things new. You know, Right now we are in this place of lock down and everybody’s afraid and all this. But there’s gonna come a day when all this won’t matter. There’s going to come a day when he’s gonna wipe every tear from our eyes. There’s gonna come a day when we’re going to see Yeshua Jesus, our Lord, face to face. There are days I think about that because I so desperately need hope, you know, because there’s so much stress around what we’re doing. And it’s so wonderful to consider that one day we’re gonna be with our Lord for all of eternity. No more guest, no more pain, no more suffering. No more crying. Now we’re going to be able to serve him forever. An effort. That’s what I think of when I think of the word. Hope it’s found in your shore. Thank you,

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I think is made from letters from home Podcast Boy, these are crazy times. We’re living in momentous times and historic. I asked my family this week what brings them hope? First, my husband might

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So in a time like this, with a global pandemic, there is a real need for hope. I’ve met people that are feeling very helpless and people that air feeling kind of hopeless. And the idea of being hopeless is, ah, horrible, empty feeling. And for me, it’s really important to separate What hope is from what wishful thinking is. You know, people think I hope I don’t get the virus or if I do get the virus, I hope I don’t get really sick and and my family gets sick or hospital. But hoping the Bible is about something that you’re you have an assurance and even ah, confidence conviction about. So I think that the pandemic is a place that doesn’t change someone’s hope. It all, it just makes it more clears matter, fact hoping the Bible. It’s always in the context of having to wait for something in the future, and it’s about the trials associated with the current present conditions. The idea of hope in the midst of a storm says I have something bigger than this storm that I’m anchored to talks about having an anchor within the veil of the Bible does the veil being that place of God’s presence, and so hope is something that brings you through really tough times. In Romans, it talks about a process that goes from suffering, which produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope. And it says specifically that hope does not make ashamed. So I think at times like this, hope is the

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best. Next even. She’s 22 is home from nursing school in this season. What I’ve learned about hope is that no matter what trial you’re going through, you have to have some type of anchor that gets you through it. And in this season, that anchor got tested for me with kind of the storms of social distancing and trying to do class online. When you’re a senior and don’t want to do anything, you just want to goto work. But one thing that really encouraged this is looking at how temporary this is and how we have a sure hope in God coming toe right. All wrongs for the new eat a new heaven and earth to be made and specifically quote by C. S. Lewis encouraged me. He shares about that God as the director when he walks on the stage and the play is over when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else something never that’s entered your head to conceive comes crashing in something so beautiful to some of us. And they’re so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left. Now, today is this moment is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it. If you think about life as a stage and when God comes on as the director at the end, that’s the end of the play that this world will be over and then the rest is a celebration after it puts in perspective how the little mess up several things that bug you are, if you feel down or depressed, that there is something afterwards and this is only temporary, and then you get that endurance to get through those trials, and that’s how I find hope. And third, Jordan, he’s 16 and he just got back from his shift at the grocery store.

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I found a verse first, Corinthians 13 13 and now these three remain faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I was reading a different version of this where it says these three things will last forever. Faith, open, love. So there to encouraging things that I find in this first encouraging thing is that the hope that we have right now in this hard time will last forever. And this is the same hope that we’re gonna have when we come to even more difficult times. So if we can find hope now, then we’ll always be with us. And the other is that if we confined the love of the Lord and the love of others, then we will be able to help produce hope, because that’s that’s really why love is the greatest because it produces faith and

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hope. If you’re struggling, please reach out on our website. We’d be glad to help in any way we can. Letters from home podcast dot com God bless you all to find out more about this podcast. Good were website letters from home podcast dot com were also on Instagram and Facebook. Most platforms if you click, subscribe or follow, the next episode will go right

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into your cue. You confined caress Snider’s book Anxiety Elephants and Gen. Er

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Biggs books as my Mind winds Up and When My Mind winds up on Amazon. If

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you follow all three of us on Instagram and tag Osama note, gym and caress will each send you a free coffee

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of their book. Other podcasts and podcasters that were able to be squeezed into this lengthy episode will

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be listed in our show notes with the others.