Isn’t this a crazy time? Schools are closed and church services are canceled and we are told to remain at home except for “necessary” or “essential” matters.  Our family and team were “scheduled” to be in Michigan for two weeks of revival campaigns but instead are at home in Florida along with our college son (who is now doing home college -lol) and our Evangelism Intern Nicholas.  I suspect you and I are in the same boat!  With all of us in this together, here are five suggestion for a happier “stay-at-home” experience.

1. Make a schedule.  Before we entered this unusual and crazy time, many of us by default had a schedule of some sort. We left for work and school at specific times and we usually had a routine in place for when we returned home.  So, make a new schedule.  What time will you begin the day? When is breakfast and the other meals? Who will take care of the daily chores and when are they to do so? When will the kids begin their school work? What time will we head to bed? A written schedule will help this time be a much happier one.
2. Pray.  Many of you who read my blog are professing Christians. Make sure you spend extra time in prayer. Pray with your spouse daily. Pray with your children daily. Pray with thanksgiving at every meal.  Call your parents and your grandchildren and even pray with them. Pray by yourself. Pray that God will “deliver us from evil” and that He will eradicate this virus that is plaguing so many.  God really does hear and answer prayer so let’s make sure that we pray frequently and fervently.  
3. Invest.  Have you ever said this: life is sooo busy!  That has changed a bit for many of us so take full advantage of it.  Invest in your children.  Play games. Watch a movie.  Laugh together.  Do some teaching. Teach them to cook or change a tire or mow the grass or drive a car.  Do some talking. My Jake and I walked our dog together last evening and had a nice talk as we did so.  Invest in your marriage.  Sit and talk. Drink coffee together.  Walk.  Do some flirting!  Do some projects. Invest in yourself.  Grow spiritually by giving some extra time to God’s Word and to reading.  Take an online class. Do a project that you never have time to accomplish!  Making some good investments will make this experience a happier one. 
4. Turn off the news. I almost put that one in all caps because I believe it is vitally important!  Turn off the news.  Someone said that the five leading causes of depression would be “CBS, MSNBC, FOX, CNN, and ABC.” I know it was a joke, but there is certainly some truth there.  For one thing, we often don’t know who to believe. For another, today’s news is  usually very negative and very emotionally-driven.  It is hard to maintain a right spirit if we are continually bombarded with such negative emotions. So, watch the news once a day for 30 minutes or less and be done with it. I am convinced that you will be happier if you do.
5. Limit technology.  This is just as important as the one above.  We have become so addicted to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all the others that we are actually damaging ourselves.  We waste hours of time. We accomplish little or nothing of value.  We confuse our emotions by continually and rapidly switching between hilarious videos and heart-wrenching stories.  We hit “like” on requests for prayer, and then scan to the next item without praying. Something needs to change.  So, turn off notifications. Check your email twice a day (once in the morning and once in the afternoon). Put the phone down or consider putting the phone away.  Take a technology sabbath for a few hours or for a whole day. At the very least, limit your technology and it will help you to have a happier experience during this season of our lives.

So what do you think? What suggestions would you add?  What are you doing to make this “stay-at-home” time a happier one?  I would love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading.

Your sincere friend,

Dave Young