Ladies, check out this post written by one of our Women Around Southeastern team members, Bre Brunswick, for some great resources on “how to stay sane during COVID-19”!

***To view the original post, follow the link HERE: womenaroundse.com***

Hi, ladies!

For most of us, our sense of normalcy and routine has been thrown completely out of whack. Trips are cancelled, events are cancelled, classes are moved online, kids are out of school, your favorite restaurants and coffee shops are closed, and  work- whether it be through a small business or a large company, are feeling the economic weight that the virus has inflicted.

Life feels different, and it’s okay to grieve that loss of stability and normalcy. This virus is a big deal; each of us has felt the tension of it in some area of our lives.

We have reached out to you, our Women Around SE community to see how you were coping. We asked specifically about the things have you been doing to help build or maintain routine or a sense of normalcy? Here are the many creative suggestions that you gave for these 6 areas of life: exercise, creativity, parenting, creating routine, maintaining community, and building up your spiritual life.

Please let us know in the comments if there is anything else that you would like to add!

EXERCISE

The SEBTS Faith and Fitness group ran by Molly Lydick and Erica Wu – These incredible women have been so diligent in posting many accessible, free workouts and even creating their own that you can do without any equipment! If you are a woman connected to SEBTS you need to join this page ASAP!

FitOn – A completely free fitness app that you can even set to give you reminders to move!

8Fit – An app with exercise videos and nutrition plans!

YMCA – The YMCA is offering a ton of virtual classes. This is an amazing resource for adults and kids alike.

Yoga – There are numerous free videos on Youtube, but one of my favorite resources is Yoga with Adriene.  A local gym, Triangle Rock Club, is also offering free yoga classes available here.

Get outside – A number of you suggested just getting outside whether it was to go on a walk around the neighborhood, a run to challenge and push yourself, or to dust off your bike and go for a ride at your local trail or park. Being outside in God’s creation is healing, and can help fight the blues that we are all susceptible to when we feel trapped indoors.

CREATIVITY

Pick up Hobbies – Brit + Co is a lifestyle brand that offers a ton of classes on everything from cake decorating to productivity and they usually range from $20-40 but for a limited time you can use the code SELFCARE to get these classes for free! Take this time to learn a new skill or to really cultivate the gifts the Lord has given you. Blueprint.com is another platform that offers classes for kids and adults.

Become a Writer – We are constantly looking for new writers for our blog. Has the Lord laid something particular on your heart lately? Are you learning something in one of your classes or in life that the women around you just need to know? Reach out! We would love to have you write for us!

Maybe you’re a talented fiction writer. One response we got was someone challenging themselves to write 200 words a day. It can be a continuation of a previous work, or something completely new. Just write!

Improve your Cooking/Baking – A few of you said that you have decided to try out baking again. Making bread and other pastries is a methodical practice, and can really help foster patience and creativity. Who knows- maybe you’ll have found a new skill!

Read Casually – Are you a student bogged down by textbooks and other non-fiction works? Take this time to read something “fun”! Keep your mind active if you are out of school (like me) and set a goal to finish one book in a month.

One resource that keeps me reading is the Book of the Month club. You can pick one new book to be sent directly to your door and skip months as needed!

PARENTING

While we were mostly met with silence on this topic because no one wants to pipe up and be the expert in this field, we were sent this great article by The Gospel Coalition titled “Your Child is Your Neighbor”

How are you handling having kids at home 24/7 with a complete loss of routine? What have you learned that you think would be helpful for others to know? What are some of the online learning communities that you are using to help your kids through this time? 

CREATING ROUTINE

The first response most of you said was to get out of your pajamas! This is such good advice because it tells your body and mind that it is time to work. No lazy days here! One of our first days working from home, Missie sent our team this video, “Work From Home: 10 Tips to ACTUALLY Get Something Done”  While the advice in it may be simple, it is a game changer!

Get those projects done – Make lists, check things off, and set goals for the future. As we have all learned, life can constantly shift and make unexpected turns, so hold these loosely, but take this time to work and to work hard unto the Lord.

MAINTAINING COMMUNITY

Zoom. Facetime. Skype. Marco Polo. Snapchat. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter.

Technology is amazing, and while we can give social media and other platforms that are not face-to-face a lot of flack, I have never been more grateful for these means. Churches are cancelled and have gone virtual if they have the means, small groups disbanded, and even if you live with family you can feel very, very alone.

Check on your single friends, check on the mom whose husband still has to go into the office, check on the newly married couple, check on the girl with roommates, check on the college student who had to go back home for the semester. Each person is struggling because we are meant to be in community. For some of us (looking at myself here) we can be really comfortable with being alone and isolated, but this can be equally as harmful. Isolation is when sin is allowed to fester, which leads into our next category, building up our spiritual lives.

BUILDING UP OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES

Seek out someone who can hold you accountable. When we do not have to come face to face with friends, our church family, or even our coworkers, it allows sin to hide in the darkness.

Luke 12:1-3 famously says, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

Satan is pleased when we are isolated from our community. The more that we are alone, the more we can allow depression, anxiety, pride, sexual sin, envy, anger, and a multitude of other sins to consume us and pull our desires away from righteousness.

Sisters, seek out accountability, stay (or become) diligent with your study of scripture, spend time in prayer, and memorize your favorite passages. The word of God is living and active and has the power to give you peace and comfort in times of trouble.

There are many free resources of Bible studies that are at your fingertips including:

Lifeway Women, She Reads Truth, and Lifeway’s free studies for children.

We at Women Around SE and SEBTS are committed to cultivating teachable, theological, and missional women who are empowered to seek out and accomplish God’s calling on their lives, to faithfully make disciples, and to fulfill the Great Commission. Please let us know if there is any way that we can serve you better during this time by emailing womenaroundse@sebts.edu

Bre is an administrative assistant to the ADOS of Women.
She is an English graduate from the College at Southeastern.
She grew up in Wake Forest but has lived in Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, and Virginia. She enjoys creating jewelry, listening
to podcasts, and going on adventures with her two pups and
husband. Bre is a member of Open Door Church and has a passion
for seeing women grow personally, academically, and spiritually
through the unique gifts that God has given them.