Any nerds out there who have always loved everything about August because it meant new school supplies? Anyone else run on a school year calendar rather than January to December (despite having been out of school for years)? The start of the new school year is exciting because it represents a new world of possibilities: new classes, new friends, a new schedule and of course, new supplies!

But this fall is not the same. This fall does not feel like something new, it feels like more of the same: more uncertainty, more changes to school routines, and more precautions. Without the newness to rejuvenate us and our families, how can we breathe new life into our routines? How can we stay the course? How can we stand firm?

Together. We can stand firm by standing together.

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Knowing in advance how a situation will play out changes behavior. Here is a simple example: when I make coffee in the evening and set it to automatic brew, it’s easier for me to pry myself out of bed to go get a cup early the next morning. Another example involves preparing for a trip. When we travel, the destination dictates what to pack and how to get there. I realize that I am a bit of an extreme planner, but I have never understood how people pack for surprise trips--do I bring a parka or a bathing suit? Snow boots or flip flops? Heels or running shoes? Both? Knowing the destination changes everything.

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Lately, one of the questions that has dominated the landscape amid all of the health concerns has been, “what can we expect?” What can we expect if we get sick? What should we expect the next few weeks to look like? When can we expect life to return to normal? We all want to know what expectations we should have. The reality is, in this unprecedented pandemic, we can predict, but we cannot know for certain what to expect in these areas.

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We have been encouraging moms (and dads!) to complete a 30 Day Prayer Challenge to pray specifically and intentionally for our children every day for 30 days. It is our hope that this prayer challenge is a reminder of why, for Jesus followers, prayer and parenting are inextricably linked. Daily prayer is life-giving, but to successfully create a habit of daily fervent prayer, it is important to believe it will make a difference. Over a period of 30 days, in addition to suggested prayers for our children, the challenge offers 30 reasons we should make it a priority to pray every day. The following is an excerpt that is especially relevant now.

DAY 17: Because in a crisis, we need to be looking for the chariots of fire that are surely filling the surrounding hillside.

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Recently here in Georgia we experienced all four seasons in a single week: warm and sunny followed by thunderstorms and tornadoes followed by snow, fog, more sun and then rainy and humid. We never know how to dress, much less how to set our thermostat, which in most homes is already a point of contention, as the thermostat determines how comfortable we are in our homes. Recently, a Relay Exchange mom shared with me advice her own mother gave her: remember to be the thermostat in your household, rather than the thermometer.

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This has been a week of uncertainty and disruption. We are in prayer for all those directly affected by the current health landscape, and for those indirectly affected as well. Some have already lost loved ones, and some are on the front lines serving others. Some are battling illness or anxiety, and still others are working to adjust to a new and more limited routine. The news has been covered with stories, warnings, statistics and advice. In the midst of all of these stories, a familiar passage in Luke jumped out in a new way during a daily reading this week.

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Anyone else need both Jesus and coffee every morning? Anyone else a list maker? Anyone else love to check things off a list? Who likes to check things off in their own timing? Anyone else’s family avoid them until after the daily dose of Jesus and coffee? Don’t answer that one! But, if you answered yes to any of the others, you may have also discovered that in order to work from God’s list and not your own agenda, it is very necessary to get up early and surrender the personal to do list in favor of His. (And to get up early, you may need all the coffee).

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Have you been in a situation lately where you seem to be getting nowhere and making no progress, despite your very best efforts? This comes up all the time in parenting, or in any situation in which you are caring for others. Many times circumstances are beyond our control. Sometimes we are dealing with failed expectations we built for ourselves or for others. Other times it is the frustration of waiting for circumstances or people to change. In those cases of day in and day out caregiving and prayer, we can grow weary and begin to feel very burdened. 

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More than several years ago, when our older girls were still in elementary school, we were in the Bible study portion of a Relay Exchange lesson and the girls seemed particularly distracted. One of the girls was seated in one of those roly poly TV chairs for kids, and rolled up and back, up and back the entire lesson. Preaching the word--up and back. Talking about application--up and back. Another girl reading out loud from the Bible--up and back, up and back, up and back. At this stage, we were still hustling to finish a lesson hours before we had the meeting, so it was especially unnerving when we seemed to be getting nowhere!

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