In yesterday’s blog post I talked about seeing this season of being home (for most of us) as an opportunity to build ( if you haven’t read its “ why you shouldn’t cancel 2020”). Our daily habits are the building blocks of a great life. I’m exchanging some of my old habits for new ones. So I wanted to share what new habits I am either trying to create or reinforce to build the life that I want beyond this pandemic.

1. Daily quiet time. I was already doing this but imagine the places you can go with God when you don’t have to get up early to be to work by a certain time. You don’t have to rush through quiet time. I am sometimes caught off guard by how much I have to talk to God about when I linger in his presence.

2. Running three times a week with my sister. I always feel so accomplished after this. I haven’t run since high school so I'm feeling better about my body every day. I'm amazed at what it can do. The goal is to get up to 3 miles in 30 mins because when I have kids and a husband 30 minutes is all the time I’m going to have to devote to working out. I’m trying to create sustainable habits lol and if it’s too hard or too much I’m not gonna do it.

3. Committing to a skincare regimen. This is so important because let's face it I'm not in my twenties anymore and I want to age gracefully so that whenever my husband finds me I'm not looking like I've been waiting for forever lol

4.  Reading. I have a list of books that I’m reading during this time. (I’ll do a post on that soon) but more importantly, I'm reading because I want to learn and constantly improve myself. Self -care takes care of both the mind and body. I want to be a complete person. I don’t want to have a beautiful face and an empty mind.

5. I'm working on pursuing my passion which is helping and inspiring women to live a set apart life through the actual life I lead, the content I post, and blogging.  

Our destiny follows our discipline. I truly believe that. It is so important for me to use this time to create a solid routine that will stay with me even after this pandemic has ended. In 1 Kings 5:4-5 Solomon said, “The Lord my God has now given me rest on every side; there is no enemy or crisis. So I plan to build a temple” Now while that isn’t completely true for us because a lot is going on in the world God has given me rest from my worldly work so that I can pick up the purposeful work that he has called me to. I plan to do just that.

Whew! What a year this has been, and it's only halfway over! We are watching the world change before our very eyes. From a pandemic that has caused us to step back and appreciate the slower pace of life to protests that have brought on a racial reckoning, I think we could all agree that something is happening. I don’t know if we would call it a rebirth or a rebuilding but its definitely an opportunity to come out different on the other side.

I’ve seen so many memes about canceling 2020, and since its not really possible I found myself asking God what is the purpose of this year for me personally?

Those are the questions we need to be asking. So I did. And I’m sharing with you what I believe God has revealed to me. You may read It and find that it resonates with you as well.

1. Every season can be yours if you know what to do in it. A pastor said this and I have always remembered it. Recognize the season. It’s a time of rebuilding. I’m reading the book of Nehemiah and in it, Nehemiah is very clearly convinced that the time was right to rebuild the temple in Judah that had been destroyed. This temple was important to him because it is where his ancestors were buried. It is also a temple that was built to honor God. Nehemiah was so concerned that he asked the king if he could take off work and travel back to the town to rebuild the temple. The king gave his blessing and Nehemiah set out to rebuild the temple. He knew that this was the season.

2. Don’t let the Chaos of this world pull you out of the quiet place that God put you in. This pandemic has paused things in an unprecedented way for a reason. Some work is only accomplished in the quiet place, often it’s the inner work. Don’t miss it. Many people tried to talk Nehemiah and distract him while he was rebuilding the temple wall but he was steadfast and committed to it so as not to lose a moment to distraction.

3. A building is built brick by brick. What is God trying to rebuild in you during this time? What old habits is he trying to replace with new ones? What old ideologies is he tearing down so that a renewing of the mind can occur? Figure out what that is and focus on that. There is grace for that thing in this season. When others tried to tempt Nehemiah to come down off the wall his response was always the same. “ I am doing a good work and I cannot come down.”

Most of us have more time than ever, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. God has literally slowed things down so that you can accelerate. This time is not a burden its an opportunity. To spend time with your kids, to work on your hobbies, to spend time with God, etc. Rebuild in this season so you can position yourself to accelerate in the next.

I recently wrote an article for ABIDE Magazine on being single during quarantine. I’ve included a little excerpt for you here:

Being single during this quarantine has no doubt magnified for us that we aren’t married and don’t have a family and that can be lonely. However, we have to begin to separate truth from facts. It is a fact that you are sheltering in place but it's not truth that you have to be lonely. The two are different and your ability to recognize between that will determine how you come out on the other end of this shelter in place…

You can find the entire article here!