God’s Faithfulness in Isolation

“ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18

For the past 14 days, we’ve been in a self imposed quarantine.

That’s right.

There was a possibility my family was exposed to Covid-19, so we decided it would be wise to quarantine ourselves for 14 days. Which included staying in our house and not going to the store or anywhere else where we could possibly pass this on to more vulnerable people. The days were so long and began to run together unlike anything else since the social distancing and initial lockdown began in mid-March.

We’re praising God, because none of got sick and we’re all healthy!! What an answer to prayer!!

For months, I’ve been nervous and worrying about this global pandemic. However, knowing this threat had reached my house was almost more than I could bare. It was hard for me to sleep, just waiting for the inevitable to take place. Even when I was overwhelmed, God was with us. I’m here to testify to His goodness as He gave me strength for each and every day.

My poor girls have been stir crazy. For the first ten days, we didn’t do anything except homeschool and other activities inside our home. In the finals days of our self-quarantine, we let the kids ride bikes and play in the driveway while we watched to make sure they stayed at our house. Yesterday, my girls couldn’t wait to ride their bikes all over the neighborhood and burn off all of their pent up energy over the past two weeks!!

As a result of our isolation, we’ve already finished 7 puzzles in just 6 weeks. Don’t judge us, but some 1,000 piece puzzles we finished in just one day. It’s a nice distraction when there isn’t much else to do.

This extra time also gave me a chance to plan out upcoming 2020-21 Homeschool Year. Jon even ordered all of our curriculum for next year, which was a huge thing off my To-Do List! Additionally, I’ve been organizing like crazy and trying to make room for all of our new books. I’m so excited about our new school year!!

As a result, we’ve received tons of packages.

One day we got excited for the boxes to arrive, we left goodies for the delivery man who has been working hard during this time of crisis. We all yelled, “Thank you” through the screen door. Truly any amount of human interaction was life giving to our weary souls.

In the final days, I had to go to the store, so I put on my mask and gloves to run to the store. Honestly, I felt silly wearing everything, but I didn’t want to spread germs to anyone else if I could help it. I felt ridiculous in my white mask and black gloves trying my best to not touch my face until I got back in the car and could sanitize my hands first. Life is so strange right now.

Off and on throughout our self-quarantine, I’ve been scared. However, God was with us. The Bible says, the Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. It was our theme verse over these long days at home. I’m thankful God will continue to be with us until all the worldwide lockdowns come to an end. Life might be crazy right now, but He is still God. He has not changed.

Praying this encourages you while we all continue to wait for this crisis to pass.

Launching My Monthly Newsletter

For weeks, I have been working on something new for all of you!! I am thrilled to finally share this news publicly. At the end of this month, I'll be sending out my very first Monthly Newsletter!!

Like I said above, my newsletter will be sent out at the end of each month. It will be an email filled with encouragement for your soul, delicious recipes, and other fun things I won't share anywhere else. Trust me, you don't want to miss this!!

As a result of social distancing, many of us are feeling isolated and alone. I want to offer you some extra encouragement during this time and a chance to have a break from the daily grind of life. I'm so thankful, God has given me the opportunity to pour into your lives in this way.

To Sign Up...

To sign up, visit my “Living a Changed Life” blog. Scroll down to the white "subscribe" box on the right. Enter your email and you will be added to my list of subscribers. Then at the end of each my you will receive my monthly email newsletter!! Sign up now, so you don't miss out!!

I'm so excited to stay connected with you in this way.

Homeschooling Q & A...Part 1

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, life has changed drastically. This must be so hard for those of you who are at home “crisis schooling” right now. The homeschool community is here to help you in anyway we can during this time. Last week, my sisters told me their children's’ schools have been canceled until September when the new school year will hopefully start again. I was devastated for my niece and nephews. On top of everything else, my sisters had lots of questions about homeschooling. I answered their questions and told them I would support them anyway I could as they navigate school at home. As a result, I decided to share all of these incredible homeschooling tips with you too. I hope it is helpful as you try to figure out your new normal with your kids being home all the time.

In case you don’t know, I’m Jen Newsham a homeschooling Mom of 5 girls!! I have been homeschooling now for almost 5 years. My oldest Olivia is in 2nd grade, Sophie is in 1st grade, Matilda is in PreK, and my twins Evelyn and Zoey are almost 2 years old. Long before I had children, God called me to homeschooling. Click here to read more about our Homeschool Testimony now.  I'm excited to connect with you!!

Finally, if you have additional homeschooling questions, please leave them in the comments below and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can. If I get a lot of questions, I will share them as well in a Question & Answer...Part 2.

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Homeschooling Q & A...Part 1 

What time do you work on homeschool each day? 
We do Bible time and Reading with the twins, but then during nap time from 1-3pm, I do book work with the big girls. So Math, Language Arts, Science, and Handwriting. It’s too hard to try and help the big girls when the twins need my attention too. It’s what works best for us at the moment


How many hours a day, do you work on school? 
For the most part, I do school for roughly 3-4 hours per day, but it’s broken up into different periods of time. Bible time in the morning for 20 minutes. Book work from 1pm-3pm while the twins nap, such as math, language arts, science, and handwriting. Reading school books and the girls Read-Alouds from 7pm-8pm right before bedtime. Also, once or twice a week my sister-in-law teaches the girls Art for an hour or two. This is what works for us right now, while the twins are still so little.


Do you stager the kids work so you aren’t trying to help everyone at once? 
Olivia, Sophie, and Matilda work together on our group subjects like Bible, Read-Alouds, and Science. During nap time, we work on individual subjects and their “book work”. We do math first, because Olivia and Sophie can work independently while I help Matilda. Overall Matilda’s curriculum is the easiest, so I try to get her done first so then I can focus on helping the big girls with language arts. I have educational games and activities set aside as “school toys”, which Matilda can play with quietly when she’s done with school. Finally, Olivia and Sophie take turns waiting as I help them work through their spelling and everything else.


Do you do every subject everyday?  
No. On Monday through Friday, we work on Bible time, Language Arts, and Reading. Then we break everything else up, so Monday, Wednesday, Friday is Math. Tuesday and Thursday we work on Science and Handwriting. Once or twice a week, my sister in law teaches Art. Do you follow a lesson plan for Bible time or just read out of the Bible to them? I read the Bible or listen to it on my phone on the Bible App. Then we practice our memory verse and sing fun kids worship songs on my YouTube playlist. Then we pray. We keep it simple, because the twins are with us. Right now we’re reading through Matthew and do one chapter at a time and then talk about it together. I also created YouTube playlists with Kids Worship Songs, so we can sing our Bible verses and dance to Vacation Bible School songs. I've listed them below and you guys are welcome to use my playlists with all kinds of songs..Educational, VBS, and Disney Dance music.

**Jen's YouTube Playlists** 

Kids Praise Songs 

For the Girls (Educational & Disney Dance Music)  

What do you do with your twin girls when the big girls are learning? 
It can be a struggle, because my twins want to do whatever the big girls are doing. As we work together, I let the twins use colored pencils to draw. I also have puzzles, Lincoln logs, and board books they play with during school time. The Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring Activity Pads are great too. Honestly, if the twins wake up early I have them watch Cocomelon on YouTube or another show which holds their attention for a little while until I can finish. I understand it's not ideal, but sometimes necessary under certain circumstances.

Additional Resources 

A few weeks ago, I compiled a list of “Free Homeschooling Resources”, which I hope will help you as you teach your children at home. There are fun story times from Space, art tutorials, exercise, lego stuff, worship, and more. If you have other online resources which you’re using right now, please leave me a comment so other parents can use it as well.

Our Thankful Jar

Three weeks ago, our lives changed in some very drastic ways. I lost my Grandma, a global pandemic was issued for Covid-19, I celebrated my birthday at home while social distancing, our vacation was cancelled, we lost power, we missed our friends wedding, church was cancelled, and so much more. I understand it could have been worse and I kept telling myself it wasn’t that bad.

However, I was devestated!

In reality, I was sad and grieving over all the losses I experienced in just a matter of days. I felt overwhelmed with anxiety and despair, not knowing how to properly cope with everything going on in the world around me.

On top of everything else, I started to worry about my husband (who is a commercial pilot) like never have before. Each day, I looked online to check the number of Coronavirus cases are in the states he was scheduled to be in. Long ago, the Lord taught me to trust Him with Jon's life as he works as a pilot. Unfortunately, I had a momentary relapse as I tried to regain control of my life in any way possible.

I continued to read my Bible and found comfort in God’s word and a willingness to pour out everything before the Lord. On Beth Moore’s twitter account on March 24, 2020, she said,

“Something I’ve done when my mind is bombarded with unknowns in a specific crisis. I make 2 columns with these headings: What I don’t know / What I do know. And I start listing. Though the list of what I don’t may get long, it shrinks beside the sheer divine power of what I DO.” 

 - Beth Moore 

I loved this idea!!

Quickly, I opened my journal and started writing two lists, “What I don’t know” and “What I do know”. It was hard to write down all my worries and questions. However, as I listed out what I know about God, it far out weighed my worries and concerns. This practice also helped to comfort my grieving soul. If you’re struggling with overwhelming circumstances right now, I encourage you to try this, because remembering who God is will give you the strength You need for each and every day in this new normal.

Honestly, when I am moody, my family’s mood shifts as well. In an effort to get us all back on track, I wanted my family to practice thankfulness again. So, I created a Thankful Jar. It’s nothing fancy!! I found an extra clear vase in the garage, then wrote “thankful on a piece of printer paper, and taped it inside the vase. Then I cut up pieces of white printer paper and put them in a snack bag labeled, “I’m thankful for…”. Our thankful jar lives on our kitchen counter. We’re using this jar, until we’re out of lockdown as a way to show our love and appreciation for those around us. The girls immediately jumped onboard and starting writing things they are thankful for on different pieces of paper. I had to ration out their paper, because I was afraid they would use it all in one fell swoop. I’ve been trying to do the same and write down things I’m grateful for each week.

As you all know, life hasn’t been anything like we planned this year. However, I can’t wait until this pandemic is over and we have a chance to remember everything God has been doing in our lives throughout these long and isolated months in quarantine practicing social distancing. Don't forget, God is always with you!!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" 

- Psalm 118:29

Waiting Is Not Easy

As the Coronavirus rages around the world, I’m in lockdown waiting for the outbreak to become more manageable and allow us to move around without restrictions upon myself or my family. Honestly, everything reminded me of another season in my life when I spent a lot of time waiting. Can you guess what event I’m talking about?

My twin pregnancy!!

That’s right, back in Spring 2018 my midwife put me on “modified” bedrest for more than 10 weeks, as I waited for my body to go into labor, so Evelyn and Zoey could be born. If you want to take a minute and go read my twin birth story, I’ll wait until you get back. Just click here to read, "Evelyn & Zoey’s Home Birth Story". I just love birth stories and it’s awesome to remember how God was involved in each and every step along the way.

During my twin pregnancy, once I reached 30 weeks my contractions started to come more and more frequently. My desire was to have my twin girls at home, but if I wanted to do that I needed to reach 37 weeks and not go into labor early. As a result, my midwife place me on “modified” bed rest, which meant I would have to get off my feet every 1-2 hours for at least a half an hour or more. I could not believe what Lincey was saying!! Didn’t she know that I had three other kids to take care of and a husband who is gone for many days at a time as he worked in Dallas or Houston!? How on Earth was I supposed to do this?

I felt so discouraged.

For the next 7 weeks, my mission was to make sure my baby girls stayed put and let myself relax enough to ensure I wouldn’t go into pre-term labor.

Honestly, I was terrified my body would go into labor early while my husband was out of town. On top of that, waiting to see if my body would go into labor was hard. Every twinge, ache, and pain, which happens all the time during a twin pregnancy, I thought could be my body going into labor. Throughout those seven weeks, every time my husband was gone, I was often overcome with anxiety, fear, and worry. To me, the unknown is torture and waiting around for my inevitably labor was overwhelming.

During these days, I clung to God’s word. I wrote Bible verses on notecards and did my best to claim the promises in God’s word. One of my favorite verses is from Lamentations...

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."” - Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

To God’s glory, I reached 37 weeks!! What a relief. As long as I continued to stay healthy, I could finally have my baby girls at home. I wish I could say they came right away and the wait was over. However, that just wasn't the case for me. I continued to wait another 3 weeks and 3 days until my body finally went into labor. To my delight, both of my girls were born at my house just as I dreaming about for months. What an answer to prayer!!

I’m wanted to share this story with you and testify to God’s faithfulness, because we’re all struggling right now in lockdowns and waiting for life to return to “normal”. The days are long and life is challenging as we try to find our new normal.

In my own life, it helps me to look back and remember what God has done in the past, because it gives me courage to walk forward in my current situation. Times are tough and I pray you would turn to God as you wait for this crisis to pass. Sit down and write out what you remember about who God is and what He has done in your life. As you remember God's faithfulness in your life, He will fill you with courage to help you be brave on the hardest days. I hope and pray, even though life is overwhelming, you will look for God in the hardships. Only then can the Lord begin to transform your sorrow into joy, which will be your strength in the coming days.

Don’t forget, waiting is not easy, but worth it.

Evelyn Rose & Zoey Faith

Free Homeschooling Resources

For the past four years, I’ve had the privilege to be a Homeschool Mom to my girls. You see back in 2010, the Lord called me to lay down my own ideas about traditional school for my future children and be willing to embrace homeschooling. Click here to read more about our Homeschool Testimony.

Honestly, it’s taken some trial and error for me to get my bearings, but after sometime we’ve finally settled into a good homeschool routine. We’ve had hiccups along the way, but I’m learning to be a better teacher everyday. In just a matter of days, COVID-19 has changed our lives in so many ways. Closing schools, restaurants, movie theaters, parks, and launching us into a season of Social Distancing. I can’t even imagine how most of you feel, as your own children are now home with you full-time for an undisclosed amount of time leaving you responsible to ensure they continue to receive an education.

Is anyone feeling overwhelmed yet?

All that to say, I’m praying for you. For God to give you patience and grace as you try to find a new normal for your family during this time. You are not alone. Don’t forget to keep things simple. You’re not required to do fancy Pinterest projects each day, especially if it doesn’t bring you joy and overwhelms you. Try to focus on the essentials and anything else you can work on with your kids is incredible.

Below I have complied a list of free homeschooling resources, which I hope will help as you teach your children at home. There are fun story times from Space, art tutorials, exercise, legos, worship, and more. If you have other online resources which you’re using right now, please leave me a comment so other parents can use it as well.
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FREE HOMESCHOOL RESOURCES LIST

{Art}

1. Art Hub for Kids This link will take you to Rob's website, full of video art lessons. He also has a YouTube channel full of art tutorial videos which we does with his kids.

2. Directed Drawing Videos This link takes you to a collection of Directed Drawing Videos where they teach you how to draw a variety of things such as butterflies, Santa Claus, polar bears, flowers, and more.

3. Free Disney Coloring Pages This link takes you directly to a list of "Classic Disney Coloring Pages". If you want Minnie Mouse coloring pages, just click the link and scroll until you find your favorite picture.

4. Lunch Doodles with Mo Williems When you click the link, it will take you to Episode 1 of “Lunch Doodles with Mo Williems” on YouTube. We are huge fans of the "Elephant & Piggie" books written by Mo Willems and our girls can't wait to learn how to draw different pictures from Mo himself.

{Exercise}

1. 10 Online Exercise Classes for Kids This link includes 10 online exercise and yoga classes for kids as a way to move their body while they're home.

2. Kids Workout This link takes you to a 25 minute exercise routine program for kids and parents. It's a great option to help burn off some of your kids energy each day.

{Reading}

1. Free Audible Books This link takes you to an article with links which will allow you to listen to some of the free stories for kids, which Audible is offering as a Coronavirus has closed schools.

2. Josh Gad Reading Kids Books Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf, is reading books to kids online every night of the Cornoavirus quarentine.

3. Read Aloud Revival Sarah Mackenzie's website has so many free book lists to help you determine the best books to read aloud to your family. She also has a Read Aloud Revival podcast with special guests and tips about making read alouds a priority in your home.

4. Storyline Online This is a free children's literacy resource featuring the world's best storytellers reading books aloud. Each video includes an activity guide with lessons for K-5 students to do at home.

5. Story Time from Space This is an awesome resource where astronauts read bedtime stories to kids from the Space Station.

{Other}

1. COVID-19 Break Packets This link takes you to a Google drive full of packets for grades from Pre-K to 8th grade, which are full of math, reading comprehension, and more.

2. The Good and The Beautiful Nature Notebook. This is a free nature journal you can download and print off. It might be fun!

3. Keep Learning at Home Free Online Resources This link takes you to a collection of ten links for at home learning resources such as, PBS, ABC mouse, and more.

4. Legos This link take you to the Lego 30 Days of Play Challenge for kids. There is a different Lego challenge for kids to complete each day. I can't wait to use this with my girls.

5. Seeds Family Worship This resources is amazing, especially for families who are trying to do church at home. They have worship songs for kids, which you can use as memory verses throughout the week. My family uses a lot of Seeds Family Worship during our Bible time.

6. Scholastic This link take you to Scholastic's website to help parents teach their kids at home. Day by day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.

7. Sonlight This link takes you to all kinds of free resources for families whose children are home as a result of Covid-19. They have book lists, games, and physical activity ideas.

8. Virtual Field Trips When you click the link, you will discover links to 10 virtual field trips which your children can participate in from the safety of your own home. The San Diego Zoo, the moon, and the Great Wall of China to name a few.

{Science}

1. The Good and The Beautiful This homeschool curriculum has a lot of free resources. Their Marine Biology science unit is free for you to download and print out at your convenience.

10 Self Care Ideas

Recently, I've been overwhelmed by the Coronavirus chaos taking place all around the world. Can anyone else relate? While so many of us are practicing social distancing, I thought it would be a great time to share with you how you can take care of yourself during this difficult time.

During times of stress and suffering, I put myself on the back burner in order to care for my immediate family. I wear so many different hats throughout the day, it's hard to make time to take care of myself, because it feels selfish and Christians aren't supposed to be selfish. Isn't it more loving, if I just focus on my family?

Thankfully, over the years God has shown me, the only real way I can love my family is to take care of myself. Sometimes I do this better than others! I hope these ideas will encourage you to begin to take care of yourself.

10 Self Care Ideas 

1. Reading my Bible 
Each and everyday, I make an effort to come into God's presence, because it is essential in my effort to daily take care of myself. I read my Bible, pray, worship, and memorize scripture. I'm a Mom of five little girls, so I never do this "perfectly". Most of the time, I'm squeezing in my Bible reading before breakfast while my twins watch Cocomelon on YouTube. I step away for a few minutes to be strengthened by God for the day ahead. Then, I listen to  The Bible Recap Bible Reading plan and podcast, while I work on unloading the dishwasher and making breakfast. The Bible Recap has been such an encouragement to me as I work to read/listen to the whole Bible this year.


2. Journaling 
I am a writer, who loves journaling. I've enjoyed journaling since I was a little girl. There are two ways I journal. First, I journal my prayers to the Lord starting with "Dear Jesus" and then pouring out my heart. Next, I journal what happened throughout the day and how I'm feeling. Trying to give myself space to process my feelings on paper. It helps me to be able to process my feelings when I see them on paper. It also helps me to unload my worries and fears before the Lord and physically leaving them with Him in my journal.


3. Listening to Podcasts 
I didn't grow up listening to a lot of audiobooks. Honestly, it took me awhile to be able to really like podcasts. However, now I have found some of my favorite podcasts, I just love them. They've become part of my daily routine. It's nice to be able to listen to podcasts as I walk around the house doing laundry, cooking, or cleaning. It helps me to be able to take a break from my kids and join in on some adult conversation about anything and everything!! Some of my favorite podcasts are...The Popcast with Knox and Jamie, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey, The Next Right Thing, Business Wars, American Elections: Wicked Game, The Bible Binge, The Bible Recap, and so many more!!


4. Date Night with Jon 
For a season, going on dates with my husband was rare, because my twins were young and we were living in Hong Kong. We went back to our roots, when we were newly married without any extra money and focused on some at home dates. Now we've settled into our new home, we've been trying to have a date night at least once a month and it's been wonderful! So nice to get out and have a break with my favorite person on the planet. It won't always look the same, but it's important to make date night a priority!


5. Eating Healthy 
If I'm not making healthy food choices, how will I ever have the energy to care for my family? Eating healthy feels selfish. However, during times of crisis, quarantine, and social distancing, it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself. With food shortages throughout the country, you may not be able to only eat healthy foods depending on what’s available at your store, but try your best!!


6. Going for Walks/Moving Your Body
It’s important for me to get out of the house and let me kids walk around the neighborhood for at least 30 minutes each day. It’s critical for my sanity and theirs. Maybe you don’t have a neighborhood
to walk around, if so try to make time to move your body for at least 30 minutes a day. There are tons of free workout videos on YouTube, so there’s no excuse for not getting up and moving your body.


7. Drinking Water 
This is also a struggle for me. I live up at altitude and need more water than the average person. So, I have a water bottle, which is just mine and I refill it throughout the day to make sure I’m drinking as much water as I can. I also have an app on my phone, which lets me log how much water I have consumed throughout the day. This is so helpful, because I can easily forget how much water I’ve had it I don’t write it down or keep track of it.


8. Reading or Listening to Books 
I love books. However, being a busy Mom of 5, I don’t always have time to sit down and read books like I want to each day. On top of that, I wasn’t very good art listening to books either. Over the past few years, I’ve learned to listen to books from the library. I’ve listened to all kinds of audiobooks and I love it, because I can work on dishes or cleaning while I listen to a good book. It took time to get used to listening to books, but it’s so worth it now! You should give it a try.


9. Watching shows on Netflix 
Honestly, not many of us can be out and about right now. As a result, I'm so thankful for Netflix and other streaming services which let me relax and watch good shows or movies after my girls have gone to sleep. I try not to do this all day long, but it helps to relax and unwind at the end of each day by watching a good show. What are some of your favorite shows or movies right now?


10. Choose a Fun Hobby
My final self care idea is to choose a fun hobby such as coloring, building puzzles, knitting, cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, baking,  or anything else which you find fulfilling. In our family, I we work on puzzles together. I also have a bunch of adult coloring books, which I enjoy coloring in when I'm feeling stressed or anxious.

Now it's your turn. What self care ideas work best for you?