Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin! It’s been an interesting week.
Though the second week of work from home was claustrophobic and it was weird for my roommate and me to restrict a late-night drive to our local campus “neighborhood” instead of the outer Austin roads since the “shelter-in-place” order meant getting a misdemeanor (a.k.a. up to $1000 fine or 180 days in jail) if we weren’t going grocery shopping or doing anything productive, I’ve found life to stabilize itself amidst this panic and for a new norm to take over life.
When the virus started to hit the U.S. it was initially very hectic, as there were a lot of transitions taking place. So many adjustments and changes made every day feel like a storm, and the news didn’t seem to relent over how the local government, hospitals, and businesses were taking action.
But as time goes on, we humans find ways to adapt, overcome, and change to our environment.
For the city, though our neighborhood no longer clamors with much public noise, there is a steady stream of bikers, runners, and dog walkers out and about.
Additionally, traffic now consists of cars and motorcycles representing Favor, UberEats, H.E.B., or any token delivery service caring for their respective area.
In a sense, people adjusted quite quickly to life in quarantine.
Even with many shops and services closed down, this afternoon, there were many people seen giving haircuts to their roommates on patios, and our neighbors below were blasting trap & EDM amidst their hair salon session.
For me, these transitions brought a new norm of forced rest.
No longer physically present with many people (besides my roommates), I no longer could escape from the busyness of life. Though I can fill my calendar with many virtual hangouts and events (something I’m still working on balancing), I find myself more able to relax and enjoy activities without any time-based pressure.
I’ve picked up new hobbies where I relax and go on bike rides, and run with no clear direction in mind (besides being 1.8288 meters away from people).
And quiet times with God are truly quiet.
Silence.
No noise can be heard all around.
My emotional side has definitely been positively impacted, and whilst watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (creds to my friend - 10/10 inspirationally recommend), I teared up two times and found myself emotionally gushing over several scenes.
All in all, though there is chaos going around the world and we’re still in the process of repairing our systems that maintain society, God has ministered to me at this time.
My hope is that I can make the most of this season (while following the law), and take away many beneficial rhythms out with me to nurture myself and others in the future seasons God has in store.
Anyways, I hope y’all have been finding moments to rest amidst fighting through this season. As we live out this new norm together, I know God will reveal to each one of y’all new ways to live. Continue to run this race with that hope in mind!
Thanks for tuning in, wash your hands, and I'll see y'all in the next update! :)
Weekly Collections
Faith
Plans Will Fail Without Friends - DesiringGod
It is very easy for us to make plans, but there are many times when plans will fail.
This article pulls up a lot of amazing scripture to glean over how to make plans, and points toward the right direction when planning.
Do you have friends who you can ask for counsel on?
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”
- Proverbs 15:22Are your plans just for yourself, or do you plan them for others?
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.”
- Proverbs 11:24–25Main Principle: Do not plan by yourself, and do not plan for yourself.
Wise Words from C.S. Lewis in 1948
In 1948, the dawn of the atomic age was at hand. Life seemed out of control and there was an ever-present fear of being blown up.
In that time, C.S. Lewis gave a short excerpt that provides a realistic yet reasonable perspective in the midst of their situation. A call to live not out of fear, but to live doing sensible and human things.
It’s a very sobering excerpt, as it speaks relevantly to our current situation of COVID-19 today.
The author takes the punchline and recasts it in the context of our current pandemic, which is what I leave y’all with:
“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together.
If we are all going to be destroyed by a virus, let that virus when it comes find us doing sensible and human things, but with social distancing in the near term to slow it down—WFH, teaching remotely, reading, listening to music on our stereos, bathing the children, exercising at home, chatting to our friends over a video conference—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about viruses.
They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
Our Souls + Our Screens - Passion City Church Sermon
This sermon hit hard, as I find my phone and social media to consume much of my life. If you have forty minutes to spare, I assure you it is worth it to watch this and be enlightened by what this idol in our lives causes, and what truths we need to cling to.
“Are we going to our phones for an escape, comfort, validation"
I always have to be on my phone…
If I’m forced to be alone with my thoughts, it forces me to think about the emptiness of my life, and I can’t handle it, so I fill my life with noise”
Takeaways:
1. Embrace Salvation instead of Validation
2. Pursue your Restoration instead of Distraction
3. Prioritize Communion not just Connection
Entrepreneurship
Productivity
Life During a Pandemic: Adjusting to a New Normal - Pocket
“The best guides to managing life amid the disruptions, from
Verse of the Week
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
- Hebrews 10:24-25
Challenging Quote
“Trying and struggling looks like incompetence right up until the moment it looks like success.”
- Anonymous
If you’ve been following the newsletter since the beginning, you probably noticed a change in format! Let me know your thoughts on the changes, and I appreciate any feedback!