When I woke up, I could hear the rustling of leaves from trees blowing in the wind outside my window. I heard songs of the neighborhood regulars, the birds that frequent the feeder swinging from our live oak tree. The sun was bright, and the sky was clear. 

 

You know what? I can't say that I pay attention to much of the outside details when I'm preparing to leave the house for work each day. But quarantine? That's changed everything about my routine; from how and when I wake up, to what I wear, to if I even brush my hair. Now, I even have to wait in line for my own coffee pot!

 

My guess is, a lot about this life has changed for you, too these last few weeks. We see images in the media, we hear stories from the news, neighbors, and our social media feeds. We know some people felt the strain of a suddenly changing economy early on. We commiserate with other moms and dads on the new territory of homeschool. 

 

Last week, God laid on my heart the idea for the next two episodes of the Spoken Freely podcast. I sit down with different women and have conversations about life in quarantine. One is a small business owner who's had to make significant changes. Abby McKinney, owner of Ella Mae's Boutique in Indiana, shares the realities of how shelter-in-place affects our local stores.

 

Then I visit with a guest we've learned from before, Sarah Goodman. The Tackling the Clutter organization expert is back to talk about the gift of time. We've been given weeks of it. How are we using it? She talks about the pressures to accomplish big tasks and what's realistic for each of us. She points out that our kids have been given this same gift and how we can make this time meaningful for them as well.

 

Friends, I hope you find wisdom in today's episode. I can't wait for you to hear from these two women.