Finding Calm in the Chaos

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I've seen the chaos happening around us mostly on social media and online.  It hasn't quite hit our small midwestern town yet.  I went to our local Walmart in our town of 6500 people on Friday morning and it was business as usual, shelves well stocked.  I do not know if they had toilet paper at that point because I didn't check.  I saw pictures from friends and family in other states whose grocery store shelves were bare and was glad that this had not happened in our small corner of the world yet.  

View of the barn in the backyard with a little snow

,We were driving to what I'm sure was the last fish fry of the lenten season when I received a text from the kids school.  We found out that our kids will be missing school for a few weeks.  I am glad that they will be home with us, glad that I am home with the kids so it's easy to be flexible in these situations, and glad that my husband's university will be going to online classes.  I know that things are a lot harder for so many others going through this, so I don't take it for granted.  

View out the front door

 We are kind of an unusual family in that we go to two churches on a regular basis.  We have always gone to both Catholic and Methodist.  We get to be part of two church families this way and we always go together as a family.  We still had church today, in fact the kids have one last day of school tomorrow to prepare for their long break.  I know church may be cancelled soon, but I felt so blessed and reassured to be in church today.  

The message was on target with our current situation!  You can listen to it too at fumcduquoin.podbean.com.  The service went much longer than usual.  Since today was a national day of prayer, there was a lot prayer.  I will admit I have felt some uncertainty with all of the news about coronavirus, it would be hard not to, but pastor April was so reassuring.  My mom has been reminding my sisters and I to pray Psalm 91.  Someone in church reminded us all of this verse today during the "sharing praises and concerns" segment.  

My littlest enjoying some sunshine

The message today was about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendnego.  We may be in harm's way, but God will be with us, he will not abandon us.  Pastor April said the most repeated command in the Bible is "Do not fear".  Here is the link again, fumcduquoin.podbean.com.  If you need some reassurance listen to this message.  To give you a little background, Pastor April is phenomenal.  She is spirit filled and gives an incredible message week after week.  If you want to fast forward to the message, feel free, otherwise enjoy some good prayer and worship in the beginning.  

I don't say any of this to say you shouldn't be prepared to feed your family over the next few weeks, but to say that we shouldn't live in fear because God is with us.  We will be social distancing with the rest of you and have stocked our pantry so that we don't have to go out of the house, but we will pray and listen to God's command, "Do not fear".  

​Since we are all staying in, I will try to post more recipes especially recipes using freezer and pantry staples.  If you need an easy recipe idea, here is a video I posted on instagram last night.  You can see it on facebook too.  

I find peace and strength in doing yoga

Even when we cannot attend church in person, we need to take comfort and peace in spending time in his presence.  ​I have two devotionals that I love.  One was gifted to our family at our open house this Christmas.  It is a Guideposts devotional book, the other is Jesus Calling (amazon link).  This is the easiest way for me to spend time with God.  Plus I usually take a moment to look up the Bible verses for each day which gets me in the word.  Whatever works for you and is your easiest way to spend time in prayer and devotion, do.  You will feel more at peace in his presence.  We have the Jesus Calling children's bible stories (amazon link) and the kid's version (amazon link) of Jesus Calling too.  I have been meaning to read these with the boys so with our time off, I want to start on these again.  

I have started doing yoga again on a regular basis (for a couple of months now).  Nothing fancy, youtube videos and a yoga mat (amazon link) .  I love how it makes me feel.  It is so calming and I feel myself getting stronger.  I usually watch yoga with Adrienne (the best), but I recently searched for Christian yoga and found some nice options.  I tried one which included prayer and bible verses while doing yoga.  

Do  what works for you to spend time in his presence and not in a spirit of fear.  

Just for fun, hear is a cute video of my littlest in the rain.  

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