Virginia's Life: Springtime & Quarantine Edition

Welcome to Virginia's Life: Springtime & Quarantine edition!

It's been six months since I posted here, so it's time for an update! We've been in coronavirus-lockdown-of-sorts for over two months now. What does that look like for me?

The main thing is that I am working from home (WFH) for the foreseeable future. My employer sent us all home with laptops and headsets. We don't have a definitive word on when my department (crisis hotline) is going back to the office, but I suspect it won't be anytime soon. I don't miss the hour long round trip commute, I like working at home, and it's not so bad with teenagers who respect the need for privacy and quiet. 

My desk with snack rack to the right

I miss seeing my adult children and my grandchildren as often. We did a drive-up-and-stand-on-the-sidewalk greeting when my second daughter turned 31 in April and some of us have cautiously seen each other at various other points in time. Easter was really quiet with only my three teens who still live here, as well as their father, who lives nearby and came over to the house to join us for the meal. (He kindly planted the hibiscus bush that you see at the top of this post.) Our family also keeps in touch and sends photos via a group thread in the Messenger app. One of my sons joined the Navy in February, survived quarantine in boot camp, and is in another training school for the next year. We're glad that he could rejoin the family conversations once they returned his phone!

All ten kids together before one brother left for bootcamp!

For my Mother's Day present, my sweet kids hired Daniel Morris, a violinist in California, to do a splendid virtual serenade concert for me. I especially love his rendition of Andra Day's "Rise Up" and I've been playing the recording frequently! It's also such a cool way for him to support his family during quarantine! Check out his page (clink on his name above) to listen to his beautiful music, leave a tip, or hire him for an online gig! A YouTube of Andra Day's vocal version is at the end of this post.

I am also super proud of two of my daughters who were featured on the news recently - one as a hospital cardiovascular PCU RN and the other for fundraising and delivering meals to nurses in her sister's unit and what was then the COVID-only floor where her sister-in-law is a nurse. Watch it here! Sister's Project Helps Siblings, Nurses Care for OtheSister's Project Helps Siblings, Nurses Care for Others er's Project Helps Siblings, Nurses Care for Others

Besides my family, the other thing I really miss is in-person church services. Our congregation, Church of the Incarnation, started out with live-streaming on Sunday mornings (with just several people in the chapel to run the show), but then switched to pre-recording on Fridays. Though we could officially start in person services, we are holding off and don't have a return date set yet. I have been able to take part in two of the recordings as the Scripture reader. Here is the Facebook video link for April 26, with my part starting at the 9 1/2 minute mark. I will be even more involved in services in whatever format) all summer since I am interning at the church for my Mentored Ministry class at Asbury Seminary.  A team of 14 from our church was scheduled to go on a "listen & learn" mission trip to Honduras for a week in July, but that got cancelled because of the virus, so we're especially having to improvise to replace those internship hours I would have accumulated there. My pastor and I have brainstormed about expanding our use of virtual & digital ministry. We are already using Zoom for weekly prayer and Bible study meetings, but we are evaluating the opportunities for more online liturgy, mentoring, encouragement, and congregational care.

Zoom Bible study! I'll be leading one on Philippians soon!

I have been practicing for all of this by making some quarantine-care videos which you can see on one of my other blogs here:

• Talking About Time (time management framework)
• Time -- and Time Again! (kairos time: noticing, waiting, listening)
• Brainstorming and Problem-Solving (especially related to Zoom meetings and video making)

As for shopping, for groceries I am mostly using Walmart's online ordering with curbside pickups once or twice a week. This usually works well, but my last try was a 70 minute wait even after they said my order was ready. I also put on my mask (which a sweet friend made for me) and venture into Aldi for a quick socially-distanced grocery trip every few weeks.  I order frequently from Amazon Prime, like my favorite lemon protein bars, toiletries, tripod and mic for video making, printer ink, and curtains and decor lights for my daughter's newly reorganized bedroom. I got the Prime service for six months free as a student, and now pay only half price for it. I also order Kindle books for seminary and for personal reading. Why Kindle? Lots of reasons! Saves space, immediate delivery, no paper or packaging, adjust font size for my eyes, color-coded highlights, search function, copy & paste with citations, and read anywhere on phone or laptop or tablet!

  

Speaking of school, this semester I had two classes which were mostly online with just five full days in a real classroom: Practical Theology and The Theology and Practice of Equipping the Laity. I had originally signed up for  different ones but due to a cancellation, I reworked my whole plan to ensure that I can get my required Ministry major courses as soon as possible and leave the electives for later. The two courses I chose both met for the hybrid classroom sessions at the Kentucky campus during the first week in March. I found a beautiful room to rent in a vintage home a few blocks from campus, and it was like taking a personal retreat. I even got to visit for a few hours with a beloved aunt who lives a few hours from there. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience despite a bit of emotional overwhelm on one of the days. One interesting realization is that all of the campuses were shut down just a week after I got home; if I had taken the original courses, I would have missed out on the classroom portion since they were scheduled later in the semester. I am so very grateful the way it turned out for me. I just finished my second year there, still with a 4.0 GPA, and I only have one year left if I can hold the pace!

Beautiful campus!

Calligraphy notes for my classmates

Leaving the building after evening chapel feeling bittersweet,
suddenly captivated by this reflection in the glass doors.
"Strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow."

My sister arrived from Maryland the day after I got home. She rarely travels or even leaves her home due to her disabilities. We spent a long-anticipated day at EPCOT's Flower and Garden Festival and a night in a Disney hotel just a couple days before they shut down all of the Orlando theme parks. We also enjoyed visiting with my six grandchildren, most of whom she hadn't met yet, just before quarantine started.

The only cultural outing I've had recently was going to Leu Gardens with my youngest daughter. Just what my soul needed! We had masks with us but didn't need them because everyone was spread so far apart.

 

Other than that, I've just kept busy in my house, organizing My Blue Haven (my bedroom), cleaning up other messy areas, and decorating my foyer for summer with Americana.

I also created a prayer reminder, adapting the concept of the Anglican prayer beads. I knew I needed actual words to prompt my prayers, so I bought alphabet beads at Walmart, arranged them into words on my blue table, and put them together into a long strand. Later, I bought more beads and restrung them into two strands. There is nothing magical or even mystical about my prayer beads. They are just a tangible and creative reminder of what is important enough to me to pray about. It's another way for me to turn my heart toward God.

This strand is for worship, confession, and communing with God,
and the next one is for intercession about things important to me.

Since I also love liturgical and classical prayers, I've been copying many of them into a yellow journal. I find them in the Book of Common Prayer, John Baillie's Diary of Private Prayer, Celtic Daily Prayer, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers, Field Guide to Daily Prayer, and of course the Bible (as you can see from my Romans 15:13 calligraphy earlier.) These pages seemed particularly relevant to this time of global crisis we are experiencing right now. "Give peace, O Lord, in all the world."  "Lord, keep this nation under your care." "Let your way be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations." "Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor be taken away." "Jesus help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet." (I found the last prayer in the Lectio 365 daily prayer and Scripture app, which I highly recommend.) I also have a blue prayer journal which I use to write my own prayer-filled thoughts and reflections.

 

And that's pretty much been my life these past two months of quarantine! All in all, it hasn't been too difficult for me since I enjoy being home and still have a job, but I do know that the virus and the shutdown has caused so much grief for others. My heart goes out to them. So many of the calls I get on the 211 community referral and crisis line are related to this, and it's always difficult to hear their stories. I am grateful that I can play a small part in helping them find resources to get through the crisis, and in giving them an empathetic listening ear. Though I can't pray for them audibly on the phone, I sure do it in my heart.

I also know that food pantries need donations. If there is one in your area which serves the Hispanic community, consider buying several varieties of Goya brand non-perishable foods and dropping them off! (Near downtown Orlando, the Healing Hunger Food Pantry is a joint effort of Christ the King Episcopal and Iglesia Episcopal Jesús de Nazaret. I will be working with them for part of my internship.) With quantity limits for each product for any one customer, sometimes the pantries have a hard time getting enough of what they need. So having lots of people buy a few of each is a good method for restocking their quickly emptied shelves. It's so easy to do on the Walmart grocery shopping app, and if you got a stimulus check this is one very effective way to share beyond your own household. Two of my prayer bead words are COMPASSION and COMMUNITY. This is a way to put those prayers into action.

As Andra Day sings:

You're broken down and tired of living life on a merry-go-round
And you can't find the fighter but I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
Move mountains, we gonna walk it out and move mountains
And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up, I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up, and I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up, high like the waves
I'll rise up, in spite of the ache
I'll rise up, and I'll do it a thousand times again
For you, for you, for you, for you
When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to its feet
Move mountains, bring it to its feet, move mountains
And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up, I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up, and I'll do it a thousand times again
For you, for you, for you, for you
All we need all we need is hope
And for that we have each other
And for that we have each other
And we will rise, we will rise, we'll rise, we'll rise
I'll rise up, rise like the day
I'll rise up, in spite of the ache
I will rise a thousand times again
And we'll rise up, high like the waves
We'll rise up, in spite of the ache
We'll rise up, and we'll do it a thousand times again
For you, for you, for you, for you

(My friends, it is time to rise up for one another, in every way we can.)

Blessings to you and yours,
Virginia Knowles

"I'll rise up, rise like the day!"

OH! One last thing! This song has been such a blessing to me. We sing it at church, but I adore this version sung quarantine-style all over the United Kingdom! I've played this over and over again. What a prayer! What a benediction! Be blessed!

Questions for Self-Discovery

Questions for Self-Discovery

1. How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn't know you?
2. What are your core values?
3. What do you feel is your life purpose? If you don't know , what will you do to find out?
4. In what ways have you integrated your core values and life purpose into your daily experience?
5. If you have taken any personality inventories, such as Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram, what were the results, and how have they been helpful (or not) to you?
6. What are you pleased to have accomplished in your life so far?
7. What three goals do you most want to accomplish with your life in the future? Why?
8. What opportunity do you regret not taking? Why?
9. Who are your role models and what do you admire about them?
10. What have your in-real-life mentors taught you by example?
11. What are your talents?
12. What are your best character qualities?
13. What are your weaknesses?
14. Describe three incidences of failure, what led to them, and how you dealt with that?
15. What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
16. If you could write a letter to your past self, how old would the recipient be, and what would you say?
17. What do you believe about God? 
18. What does it mean to be a real Christian?
19. What role does the Bible play in your life?
20. What role does prayer play in your life?
21. What does an ideal healthy spiritual life look like to you?
22. What doubts haunt your spiritual life? How do you deal with them?
23. What beliefs (religious or not) hold you back from progress? How can you replace them?
24. How have your church experiences shaped you?
25. What do you value in a friend?
26. What do your friends appreciate most about you?
27. What are deal breakers when it comes to friendship?
28. In what ways have others told you that you annoy or anger them? Do you think this is valid?
29. How has your educational experience affected you?
30. How do you feel like your gender, and its cultural expectations, have shaped your life?
31. How has your race or ethnicity affected your experiences?
32. How has your family of origin (especially your parents and siblings) shaped you?
33. How have your intimate relationships shaped you?
34. What qualities do you (or would you) value most in an intimate partner?
35. What is your parenting philosophy?
36. What have you done to improve your relationships?
37. If a friend comes to you for help or advice with problems, how do you respond?
38. How willing are you to ask for help or advice when you have problems?
39. Is there someone with whom you have an unresolved conflict? What will you do about it? 
40. What makes it difficult for you to trust someone?
41. How do you set personal boundaries for what you allow in your relationships?
42. Would you describe yourself as usually dependent, independent, or interdependent?
43. Would you describe yourself as assertive, passive, or aggressive in your interpersonal relationships?
44. Who has made you feel especially valued or loved, and how?
45. What makes you feel rejected? How do you respond to rejection?
46. What makes you sad? How do you respond to sadness?
47. What makes you angry? How do you respond to angry feelings?
48. What makes you afraid? How do you respond to fear?
49. What makes you feel like you aren't in control of your own life? How do you respond to that?
50. What makes you happy? 
51. What makes you excited in positive way?
52. What calms you?
53. How do you motivate yourself to do difficult or boring things?
54. Where do you fall on the needing safety vs. willing to risk continuum?
55. How have you shown resilience in your life?
56. What do you like about your own body?
57. What makes you feel self-conscious about your body?
58. How do you feel about your style of clothing, hair, makeup, etc.?
59. How does your physical health affect your life?
60. What are you doing to improve your physical and mental health?
61. What has been your experience with counseling?
62. In what ways do you self-sabotage your own well-being?
63. What do you like to eat, and what does that say about you?
64. What are your favorite forms of exercise?
65. What kinds of experiences drain your energy?
66. In what ways are you introverted and/or extroverted?
67. In what ways are you flexible and/or structured?
68. What do you do to cheer yourself up?
69. What is your dream job?
70. What do you value about your current job or career?
71. What frustrates you about your current job or career?
72. What are your views on morality and social justice issues?
73. What are your political and economic views?
74. If you could make three laws to improve society, what would they be?
75. What organizations have you joined, and how do they add value to your life?
76. What does your schedule look like for a typical day or week?
77. What would you like to change about your schedule?
78. How do you handle a challenging project when you're not quite sure what to do?
79. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
80. How does being outside in nature affect you?
81. What natural setting do you enjoy most? Why?
82. What new day trip would you like to take? Why?
83. What three places would you like to travel to in your own country? Why?
84. What three places would you like to travel to in the world? Why?
85. What role does creating art and/or music play in your life?
86. What role does appreciating the arts play in your life?
87. What are your favorite games or sports?
88. What are your favorite books or other things to read?
89. What are your favorite movies, TV shows, or other things to watch?
90. What are your favorite songs, or genre of music?
91. How do you use technology, and how does this affect your life?
92. What are your favorite apps on your phone or other device?
93. Where do you go for trustworthy world and national news?
94. How do you manage your finances?
95. What are your three most valued physical possessions?
96. What do you like most about your current home?
97. What would you like to change about your current home?
98. Describe your dream home.
99. As you anticipate the rest of your life, what do you fear most? 
100. What is your "happily ever after" in your hopes for the rest of your life? 
101. If you could change one major facet of your life, what would it be?
102. If that change is impossible, what would be an acceptable, attainable substitute?
103. What could you do now to move in that direction?
104. If you could take any class or finish a new degree, what would it be and where would you go for it?
105. What three charitable organizations or causes are most important to you?
106. What legacy do you want to leave for the future generations?
107. Which of these questions made you most uncomfortable?
108. Which of these questions revealed the most to you about yourself?
109. Which questions do you need to answer more completely or authentically?

I compiled this list of questions several months ago, but they've been sitting here on my blog in draft form. I'm thinking hard about who I am and what I want in life right now, so I figured I'd dust these off, go through them myself, and share them with y'all. You're welcome.

Grace and peace,

Virginia Knowles