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

Episode Date: March 30, 2020

Time inside doesn't have to be time wasted. Today I give 10 pieces of advice to help us make sure we make the most of our social distancing.

Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Monday. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know a lot of you out there getting antsy. And some of you are worse than antsy. You might be in a very desperate situation right now to where you don't know how you're going to make ends meet. You're waiting for that check from the government and rightfully so because you just need to provide for your family, provide for yourself and be able to make rent or pay the bills, do everything that you need to do. So, know that I'm thinking about you guys in all of your situations. It's absolutely impossible to think about all of the unique situations that people are in across the country right now and all of the different needs that everyone has. And so I won't list all the situations that I have sympathy for, but know that no matter what circumstance that you're in, that I am thinking about all of the people that have needs right now

and praying for you and hoping that, there is light, imminent light at the end of this tunnel. I am confident, like I've said, that America is going to be able to learn how to chew gum and walk at the same time. So save as many lives as possible, protect as many lives as possible, help the most vulnerable among us while also allowing people to get back to work. Because in a way, in a way that's prudent, in a way that's wise and cautious so that people can provide for themselves and their families. I mean, that's just a practical need that we have to think about and it's not callous to do so. Okay, today I am going to kind of take a break from just talking about the news of coronavirus and talk about what we can do during this time.

Because we're all kind of in the same boat in a similar boat, no matter what our financial situation is, no matter what our medical situation is. Most of us, the majority of us, are inside. we are not going into work. We are not running errands. We're not going to lunch with our friends. We're not doing all of the normal things that we're doing on a daily basis. And we're trying to figure out how to make the best use of our time. As the Bible says,

we should be always making the best use of our time because the days are evil. But especially right now when most of us are tempted to apathy, most of us might be tempted to laziness and to idleness, something that the Bible tells us that we should not fall into. Now, if you're like me, you're not any less busy than you typically are. If you've got kids at home, if you've got a job that maybe can be done remotely, you might even be busier than normal because you don't have maybe you in your circumstance, you don't have the typical child care that you have.

And so you are not only either homeschooling your kids or taking care of your kids, but you're also trying to work remotely. maybe your spouse is doing the same thing. And so you feel even more stretched thin than usual. Now, you might be a student or a single person and you don't have kids. And so you're feeling like I don't even, there's not even enough Netflix series in the world for me to occupy my time. And so you're trying to figure out how to stay busy and how to be redemptive with your time. And no matter what, you're trying to figure out how to be the most productive that you can.

and the most helpful that you can and to make sure that you come out on the other side of this, not feeling like you wasted all of your time, like this was just lost time. That's the position that I am in feeling like, okay, I want to do something good with all of this time that I'm spending inside, all of this time that I am spending at home. I don't want to spend all of it scrolling on Twitter and scrolling on Instagram, which just to be totally transparent, I feel like I've spent a lot more time doing that, which every time I spend too much time scrolling through my phone, I always feel guilty about it, and I wake up every morning saying I'm not going to spend too much time doing that and then I do.

And so I am giving you and me 10 tips for how we can so-called redeem the time, and how we can make sure that we are making the best use of our time. So when I'm giving you this advice, know that this is advice that I am also trying to take myself. I haven't mastered all of this, but these are things that I'm trying to keep in mind. Just humble advice. Take everything, anyone says, ever with a grain of salt,

but apply this as you may. Use your own discernment in this. But since it is typically Theology Monday, I will be also using a Bible verse in accordance or in connection to the 10 tips that I am giving us today that I feel leads us in the direction of keeping in some of these habits that I am going to be suggesting. So number one, the first of my 10 tips. So it's going to, well, first before I say what my 10 tips are, it's going to go from practical and personal to relational and spiritual. and then more outward. So that's kind of the progression that we are going in in this episode.

And then at the end of this, if I have time, I am also going to list some of the was you rather's and the things that you just don't get that you guys sit me. Okay, number one, keep a routine. This is something that my family and I have tried to do during this crazy time. My husband has been working from home for over two weeks now, and they are probably going to be at home for the next two weeks. I'm not really sure. It's kind of like until further notice for his work. And so we have all of the sudden had to figure out how we both work from home and take care of our baby, which we of course love to do, but figure out this balance of working in the same confines all day long and how to give each other a break when we need to and all of

that. But something that we've tried to do, to stay sane, to stay normal, to keep things on track is to keep a routine. So that starts in the morning and that obviously it ends when we go to bed and it has not been perfect by any means on a day to day basis, but we try to keep this routine in mind. So when it 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 or as early as I would recommend. Of course, everyone's situation is different. Ever since I got pregnant, I have been tired, y'all. Tired. I'm 28 years old back in my youth so we're talking like 22 23 years old I would wake up there's a period of time that was probably lasted about three or four years and probably even before that I could do this too but in the three or four years after college I could wake up at I could wake up at like 455 5 o'clock 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 solid nine hours,

and that was like going to bed at probably 11 or 12, if I don't get a solid nine 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 the morning. I don't know if it's age. I don't know if it's hormones, but if I wake up before 6 a.m., no matter what time I went to bed,

I am not feeling good that morning. And I'm not feeling good for the rest of the day. I get a headache. So ideally, though, ideally I would wake up at 6 a.m. every day, but that just typically doesn't happen. I wake up at 7 or 7.30, which honestly, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit because I really, that to me is late. Like if you're going to have an organized day, at least in my life and according to my schedule, but I do. I wake up about 7 or 7.30. Maybe sometimes if I'm really tired and I went to bed late, I'll wake up even later than that.

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 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 this out there, God bless you. I want to be the kind of mom that wakes up an hour to an hour and a half before my baby wakes up one day before my multiple kids wake up. I want to have drink my coffee. I want to have read my Bible, maybe done some laundry, you know, picked up around the house. So everything looks organized, be dressed. and ready to go and then go wake up my sleeping cherub at 7 or 7.30. That is not exactly what happens. Despite my feelings in the mornings, though I do try to keep a routine. I try to wake up, wash my face, put moisturizer on, brush my hair, get dressed, which consists of nothing fancy. As you guys know, I consider myself lovingly a trashed person. So that means putting on some kind of sweatpants. and a shirt typically the shirt matches if it's a good day uh put the baby in her play pen uh drink my coffee read my bible then the rest of the day is a rotation between playing eating her napping uh me trying to get some work in we do go on a walk every day that is very important to me especially when it's sunny outside

i really tried to take advantage of that i think that really affects people's mood and they're just overall well-being, their health. And then when dad is done with work, I do something he helps out while I work out, I clean, I work, whatever I need to do while he is playing with her. And then we put her to bed, we eat dinner, and then we chill out. We either watch, well, we pretty much always watch a couple episodes of the office, which we've been through, I don't know, it's probably 15 times both individually and together, but we always do that. It's like a comfort thing. It's just part of the routine. But the bottom line and my tip number one is to keep some kind of routine. Maybe you're way more, way more discipline than that. You wake up at 6 o'clock,

you work out, you drink your coffee, you eat your breakfast, you read your Bible, you work, you call your mom, and then you go outside and then you come back and you work, you eat lunch. that could be your day and I think that that is wonderful and awesome if you've got the capacity to do that then I would say do it that was me during a season of my life hopefully it will be again we're still working on what time the baby wakes up to sometimes it's like 5 a.m and then it's just the schedule is thrown up I am not a naturally organized person I am not a natural well I won't say I'm not naturally disciplined I can be a very disciplined person but it takes a lot of effort for me to organize my life, for me to organize my belongings. I have always been that way.

Some of you, it comes a lot more naturally, and that is wonderful. You should spare your gifts for other people. You should give us some tips, but I've tried pretty much all the tips and the advice in the book. And so we are trying over here, but we do keep a semblance of routine every day, and I think that that has helped us. We have tried to stay focused on the task at hand in keeping in our routine. And it's also good, as you guys know, for kids to keep a routine as well. Proverbs 314, my verse to go along with this tip is the soul of the sluggard craved and gets nothing while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

Now, that's a convicting verse for me because there are plenty of times when I scroll on my phone, when I shouldn't be, and that would be considered sluggish behavior at some points, not at all points, but when I should be doing something productive and I'm on my phone wasting time, that would be considered sluggish behavior. So, Proverbs 13, 4 certainly applies to me. Tip number two, tidy up. This really makes you feel like an normal person. And I would say my husband and I, it doesn't come naturally to either of us, but we have done, I would say, an even better job during this quarantine time than we typically do, which is a little bit weird because we're home all day, but maybe because we're home all day, we feel, and I'm always home all

day no matter what, but we're both home all day, so we feel like we have to, I don't know, have our space be a little bit more clean and functional. And so we have done, if I do say so myself, by the grace of God, we have done pretty well keeping our house just this manageable level of clean at all times. So if you are looking to do that as well, now some of you are a lot better at this than I am, so you've got better tips than I do. But from a naturally trash person who has made an effort to do better in this and has succeeded in this recently. This is what we've done. Do a little bit of laundry multiple times a week. Try to make your bed every morning. Currently, my bed is not made, but every other morning I have made my bed. Change your sheets once a week.

I know that's a lot. My husband hates helping me change the sheets, but it's important. Vacuum and sweep at least every other day. If you've got pets, you might need to up that a little bit like we do. Clean your kitchen every night. I would say this is a big one. Other parts of my house can be messy. I really like my kitchen to be clean. I put loose things where they need to go. Now that's every day, every week. That's like your regular cleaning, the little stuff. Try to have your house picked up after dinner. Light a candle. I've got a candle burning right now. Is it too hot? Now, if you just need, if you're watching on YouTube, you're about to get a suggestion for a candle. If you're not watching on YouTube, so sorry. But this candle that I am holding right now, where did I get it from? I think I got it

from Target. It's just a scented soy candle, azure coast. It smells amazing. So I highly, I almost just dropped it because it's hot on my fingertips. That would have been disastrous. Um, that's my recommendation to you. It will feel very rejuvenating. If you tidy up your house, you clean your kitchen, you have everything where it needs to go and you light a candle at night and then chill and do whatever you need to do. You read, you watch the office or lay there and stare at the ceiling, whatever it is that you need to do. That's what I recommend at the end of the day. Bigger things. Maybe you do over a weekend. This is what we need to do. Clean out our refrigerator, clean out and organize your pantry, under your sink, your drawers, your cabinets, spring cleaning.

Take clothes to Goodwill. Now, I am pretty good at this. I don't like hoarding clothes. I don't hoard clothes. I give away clothes every single season. Take clothes to Goodwill or at least to get them ready to go to Goodwill if you don't want to actually go to Goodwill. There's probably a lot more people right now who are shopping at Goodwill or who will have to shop in goodwill in the next few months because of financial hardship. And so it's a good contribution for you to give your clothes to places like that. You can also try a Playtos closet. If you think you can get some money from your clothes, here's my standard in cleaning out your closet. If I did not wear an item this season or last season, it's out.

or if I just don't envision myself wearing it for another season. Now, I am not someone who has a ton of clothes. I am not someone who is like, who has expensive clothes. I still have clothes that are like the nicer clothes. I have had some of them for probably nine years. I'm a very simple person. So the things that I wear don't typically go out of style quickly. I'm just not super trendy.

But so I will keep things that are. actually relevant to my life and that I would still like. But I throw things out really easily. And I've never regretted throwing something out. And so if you're a hoarder, my husband's a little bit of a hoarder, just remember that you're not going to miss something. I guarantee you're not going to miss something. If you didn't wear it this year, especially if you didn't wear it last year either, you're not going to miss it. Just go ahead and do that. Follow the Alley standard with that. Tip number three, preparing or persisting, preparing and or persisting. So whether this is, when you're talking about preparing or planning, we got the three P's here,

preparing, planning, and or persisting, this tip goes along with seeing light at the end of the tunnel and realizing that one day we're going to get out of this pandemic, there's another P for you, just goes along with the P alliteration. There is going to be a time when we are no longer in a pandemic, and you are no longer quarantining. So that means you need to be preparing for whatever life will look like at the end of this, whether that is work,

whether that is your planning on vacation for the summer, make sure that Airbnb that you're staying in or that condo that you're renting is still available and that there hasn't been any change in policy or anything like that. If you're in school, if your kids are in school, make sure that you're prepared for whatever is coming next, whether that's at home, a home project that you need to finish,

your job making sure that your clients are taking care of persist in the things that you need to persist in plan for the things that you need to plan for prepare for the things that you need to prepare for now so here's another P at the end of it you're not panicked you're not in the state of you're not caught up in pandemonium uh when all of this has passed and you uh and you're like oh my gosh all of these things all of these projects this just the alliteration never ends all of these things that you have been doing for so long that you felt like for a period of time you could put on hold because we're just on a long weekend if you persist at least as well as you can i know that's not easy when you've got kids at home and you've got other things that are going on or you're out of a job or whatever but as much as you can persist

prepare plan and so that when we get to the end of this we still feel like okay life didn't just stop. We kept going and we are now in a place where we are prepared for whatever is ahead. Oh, I forgot. The reason why I paused is because I forgot on number two, my verse that goes with that. So I don't have a verse that goes with tidy up, but I do have the general principle that God is a God of order that he made human beings to be people of order. That's why he put Adam in the garden to tend and to keep it. That's why he had Adam named the animals. That is why Adam was given the charge to work before the fall. Work is not a product of the fall. Work is innately good. Human beings are created to work and to beautify and to nurture and to be productive. All human beings are called to

that and when we fall out of that we atrophy mentally emotionally spiritually even physically and so we are called to work and to keep and to tend and to beautify and to make better to maximize the world around us that is how god created each of us and like i said god himself is a god of order a god of peace he is not a god of anarchy he doesn't do things haphazardly and so the principle the biblical principle behind keeping things tidy is that it is not some zen thing where we are trying to spark joy it is not this new age thing that if we clear the space and create a proper aura that we're going that's going to be reflected in our mind that's not what i'm trying to do i am saying that god created us to be people of order so as organized as we can be something that i am trying to learn um we should do that

And then number three, preparing and persisting, as I already explained, that includes if you need to apply for jobs, apply for those jobs, start that blog, continue your work or your workout or your eating plan, keep it in touch with clients, saving money, budgeting. Just try not to treat this time is a time to just sit back and do nothing. My verse for this is Proverbs 31, 25 through 27, so you've heard of the Proverbs 31 woman. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth. with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. So she looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. It is important that during this time, that even if we don't have time to maybe pick up on the projects that we were doing before this quarantine, that we are not eating the bread of idleness. Idleness, apathy, laziness is not something that's pleasing to the Lord. number four now you might be surprised hearing this from me but hopefully not hopefully you know that i'm like a normal enough person that i believe in this and that i do this myself number four is treat

yourself treat yourself if you've never seen um parks and wreck then you might not know the reference but it simply means do something that you want to do so you have heard me talk about the damaging effects of the culture of self-care. But a distinction that I've always tried to make and that I think it's important to make is that the reason why I talk about the damaging effects of self-care is not because getting your nails done is bad, not because watching Netflix is bad

or doing things that you want to do is bad. Of course not. Like God has, by gifts of common grace, he has given us wonderful things to enjoy, wonderful food to enjoy, wonderful activities to do that give us energy, that we have fun doing, that we enjoy doing, the ability, the capacity to laugh into the necessity of leisure.

All of these things that the world counts as self-care are actually things that God has just commanded us to do and has given us the freedom to do and the ability to enjoy these things. And of course, we know that he calls us to rest in a Sabbath form, but also that we are required to sleep at night. And so God has made the human body to need leisure, to need rest, to need slumber, and to also have the capacity to enjoy things. And so if there is, if you have the ability to do something you enjoy regularly during this, so do something you like to do, watch something you want to watch, eat something that you want to eat, don't be so caught up in, oh, I'm not going to be idle and I'm not going to be idle and I'm not going to lose sight of my goals and I'm not going to stop being disciplined that you don't have fun and that

you forget that God created us to be joyful as well that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Now I'm not saying that that verse means to eat ice cream. I'm not saying that. But God does rejoice when we are rejoicing in the good gifts that God has given us and those can be really simple. And so when I say treat yourself, I obviously mean within the bounds of doing things that glorify the Lord and doing things that honor him and doing things that, of course, are not sinful. But we can't forget to also just enjoy the life that God has given us. If anything, if we've been reminded of anything, it's that we don't know what tomorrow holds. We can't predict things. We can't control things.

And so we can enjoy and be grateful for the life God has given us. by savoring the time, the food, the resources, the blessings, the people, the conversations, even some of the entertainment that God has allowed us to have during this. So don't forget to also be happy during these circumstances. Tip number five, read or learn something. So read your Bible in the mornings if you can at night, in the afternoon, whenever you have the chance to in the mornings is, you know, it's preferred because it equips you, prepares you for the day, puts your mind in order. But if the only time that you can do it is in the

afternoon, do it in the afternoon. I try to read something, something else in addition to the Bible for 10 to 30 minutes at night. That's what I'm trying to do. Join our book club if you are a woman. So women's book club with Ali on Instagram. I think it's women's book club with Ali Stucky. on Facebook you have to request to join you have to be a woman guys I've gotten some men who have requested to join it's women's book club it's a women's book club you can call it discrimination you can call it sexism you can call it whatever you want quite frankly I don't really care it's a women's book club and we are on book number two we're reading nothing to envy and it's about life in North Korea from the from defectors perspective for the

most part and it's very interesting but you can pop into the book club whenever you want to you can not read a book you can read one book and not the other it doesn't really matter i just ask that you actually read the book before you contribute to the conversation but it's been really fun it's been really edifying and we're learning things together and so i've had to be more disciplined in making sure that i set aside time to read each day rather than scroll through my phone and so if you need help and encouragement doing that we have discussions on this stuff. We encourage one another. We have a timeline.

And so join the book club. You can either read the book that we are reading right now or you can join in the next one or whatever you want to do. But don't join unless you actually have the intention of reading the books. But I do encourage you to read during this time reading, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, it makes you a better thinker, it makes you a better writer, it makes you a better speaker, communicator. and it helps you place the moment that we're in,

the political, social, cultural, spiritual moment that we're in, in its proper context, it allows you to think more critically. And that's really the goal of this book club is to encourage, is to encourage women to think more critically about the issues that matter. So read or learn something during this time. there are people out there learning how to knit, learning how to make bread, learning how to do things they didn't know how to do, practicing things that they haven't practiced in a while. Proverbs 1-5 says, let the wise hear an increase in learning and the one who understands obtain guidance.

Number six, memorize scripture. It kind of goes with number five. So the navigators, if you go to their website, they have a topical memory system that is effective. That's not what I use, but it works for a lot of people. I literally just read a verse and I read it over and over again and then I try to repeat parts of it until I can repeat all of it and I repeat it over and over again until I know it, until I can repeat it's off the top of my head. This has been one of the most valuable practices that I have put into place throughout my life because I am now able to read the Bible and read something and my

mind goes to another reference. So I'm able to mentally cross reference. I am not good at memorizing references. I will say that, but I am able to relatively, relatively quickly think of a verse that corresponds with the verse that I'm reading and look it up on BibleGateway.com, which is pretty much just as easy, but you could probably be better at memorizing the references that I am. My friend and I, we memorized Ephesians back in college, and I still have that entire book. It just comes top of mind really easily, and that's why it's one of my favorite books. So start with, with one chapter. I heard John Piper recommend on his podcast the other day, ask Pastor John that we all memorize Romans 8 during this quarantine. I think that is a great

idea. And in fact, if you guys want to do it, just let me know when I will commit to doing that with you guys. I read through it and I found verse 18 of Romans 8 especially pertinent. And that is for I consider that the sufferings of this time are not worth pairing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. And then Psalm 11911 is also very relevant to this particular tip. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Number seven, tip number seven, pray. Maybe every day you dedicate to praying for a different person or a different group.

Maybe it goes something like this. Of course, you can pray however you need to pray. or however makes sense to you, or you can pray for multiple things in a day, but this is just an idea, a template, an outline to keep it simple. So maybe Monday you pray for your family, so your spouse, your kids, your extended family. Tuesday you pray for your friends,

the people that you know, the people in your church, whatever they might be going through. Wednesday, you pray for the church. So generosity, the gospel, would be shared, that grace would be showing. that all of these things would be displayed in the church, that the church would be reaching out and would be as available as ever to the people who need hope.

Maybe Thursday, you pray for our government leaders that they would have wisdom, that they would be humble before the Lord and repent of any sin that they need to be repent of and look to follow God in all of their ways. Friday, pray for health care workers, law enforcement officers, first responders. Saturday, pray for anyone who is sick, the families of people who are sick, that they would have

the resources and the peace that they need. Sunday, pray for families, for moms and dads that God would build up families and build up homes. Every day, pray for the loss, that they would know God and that they would glorify God as who he is, the Alpha and Omega. There are lots of other things to pray for. Pray that we make the most used of our time. Pray that we do God's will as Christians.

pray that we love well, pray that we would make wise decisions, that we speak in a way that is true and helpful, pray that we would be bold and sharing the gospel, pray that we would see our own sin. That's what I'm always praying for, that I would see my own hypocrisy, which is bountiful, and that God would reveal that to me and that he would give me the power to repent of those things, lots of things to pray for. Maybe write them out, put them in a sticky note, stick it on your mirror, above your kitchen sink, wherever you're spending a lot of time to remind you to do that, and I'm going to do that as well. Number eight, work on your marriage. So apologize more, communicate better. I've only been

married for almost five years. And so get marriage advice from people who have been married 25 years and 45 years before you get marriage advice from me. I'm just telling you from my experience what we've been doing. Like I said, my husband has been working from home. So we've been spending a lot of time together in close quarters. And we've had to figure out how to balance all of this together. and I think that God has allowed us to learn how to communicate better during this time and to avoid conflict as much as possible. That means avoiding unnecessary criticism and nagging as much as possible and being quick to apologize and quick to forgive.

I think that has been like apologies and forgiveness have been expedited, it seems, during this time because ain't nobody helped by a grudge during a quarantine. and during a pandemic. Like I think that we are trying as best as we can to keep lines of communication open to give each other the benefit of the doubts to be more patient, more gracious, and to realize that we are, we really are in it together. We keep on saying this about everyone, but when it comes down to it, it's really you and your family that are in it together.

So we try to minimize the things we do that annoy the other one. We try to pick up after ourselves, apologize quickly, like I said, no time for grudges during all of this. give each other the benefit of the doubt, it'd be helpful to one another. So if I'm getting the baby ready for bed and, you know, giving her a bath and feeding her, then he is probably the one cooking. If he has a phone call, I take her somewhere so she's not, you know, making a lot of noise and distracting him. And honestly, we've had a lot of fun together. Like, we've had a lot of fun together and I'm going to be really sad when he goes back to work, a lot of good conversations and good times.

And I'm very thankful to the Lord for those things. He is, my husband is extremely supportive and extremely helpful and we are just good partners with one another and I'm just very very grateful for him. The verse that I have for this couple verses, love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It is not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, all things, love never ends. So this first Corinthians, 13 4 through 8 and then be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another as god and christ forgave you ephesians 432 always a good reminder when we want to withhold forgiveness from

someone else that god had every right not to forgive us and he chose to despite us uh not deserving his forgiveness and his grace at all number nine reach out to i said 10 people that you know can be 5 people can be three people just depends. But reach out to 10 people that you know, could be 20 people. Make a list of 10 friends, family members, fellow church members, acquaintances, co-workers, reach out to them, ask them how they're doing if there's any way that you can pray for them, if there's any way that you can help, if they need financial help and you are unable to provide that, maybe there's something else that you can offer, or you can connect them to someone who can give them

the help that they can give. if you've got pregnant friends right now, I'm telling you that especially your friends in the third trimester, they might be freaking out. They don't know if they're going to have their husband or their doula or whoever be able to come back with them when they are giving birth and they might be worried. Pray for them, encourage them,

send them Bible verses, know that you're thinking about them, send them baby supplies, do whatever you need to do to support them right now because your pregnant friends are probably feeling especially vulnerable. honorable. First Thessalonians 511 therefore encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. Did I already say the reference? That's first Sassalonian's 511. Okay last tip. Donate money or items or food whatever you can. Now this can be five dollars. We know from the parable about the widow and the

widow's mite that she gave just I think it was just the one coin that she had the little bit of money that she had and it was glorifying to the Lord, not because she gave a ton of money, but because she gave her first fruits. Like she gave from her heart. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver, and that's our verse for this, that he loves people who give from the heart and who give generously. If it is nothing for you to give $1,000,

that doesn't mean as much as the person who gives $5 for which that was a huge amount compared to what they have and to the needs that they actually. have. So whether it's $5 or $5,000 or whether it's just food, maybe you can sew face masks. Maybe it's just your time, your energy, whatever it is. Be generous with what you have to those who need it. Something I've been doing is reaching out to pregnancy centers that I know of and asking, how do you guys need help? Can I post a link to your Amazon, to your Amazon registry? Can I pray for you? What do you guys need?

What kind of supplies do you guys need? And you guys have stepped up to the plate and you have donated a lot of stuff, a lot of money, a lot of supplies. There are a lot of moms right now who are, A, they're considering an abortion because they got let go of their job and they are scared about the future.

And so they might be walking into these pregnancy centers thinking that, okay, maybe they'll help me get an abortion and these women hear about the gospel for the first time. They hear about their other options. They're not coerced or manipulative. or shamed or anything like that, but they are hearing about the option for adoption. They are given hope. They are given confidence that maybe they really could raise this child.

They are given resources. They are connected to a doctor. They are, they get help signing up for Medicaid. They get help with the protection that they need. If they're an abusive situation, they're getting parenting resources and they're also getting free supplies for their babies. So these pregnancy centers are doing amazing, amazing work. And moms are, in a vulnerable place, especially when you have Planned Parenthood doing what they do best, which is capitalizing on a crisis to make women feel like they cannot be moms and encouraging them to abort their babies. It's terrible. It's terrible. And so pray for these pregnancy centers, donate to your pregnancy centers, give hand-me-downs to your pregnancy centers, send diapers to your

pregnancy centers, do whatever you need to do. And we are doing what we can as a church to make sure that we are protecting and saving as many lives as possible by the grace and the power of God. Okay, those are my 10 main tips for you. Just little, you know, some free tips. This is always a tip that I have. It's always a good time to break up with that boyfriend that you know that you don't need to be with. Now's an awesome time because you're not going to see him for the next couple of weeks.

Now's a great time to forgive someone. Now's a great time to apologize to someone. now's a great time to rectify broken relationships. Now is a great time to do the things that you know that you've needed to do, but that you have been putting off. Okay, those are my tips. I hope that you guys found them helpful. I don't have time to do the would you rather's and that stuff.

I'll try to share some of those on Instagram, but thank you guys so much for listening and for watching, subscribe on YouTube, give a five-star review to the episode or to the podcast if you like it. and I will see you guys back here on Wednesday.