COVID-19 health & wellness the whole & simple gospel

COVID-19 (updated regularly!)

March 4: I took some time on Instagram stories yesterday, to talk through the way I’m handling the coronavirus conversation. I got some great feedback and was asked for resources, so I’m throwing it out here in a more permanent space. It feels important to keep my mind, heart, body, and family healthy (pun intended) as we navigate uncharted territory in the world of infection control. In order to do that, I’m focusing on two things.

First, I’m trusting the science. As far as we know, COVID-19 is transmitted via droplets with an airborne component. Basically, someone sneezes, coughs, spits, etc., and it hops into your body when you’re in close contact. Additionally, it’s possible for the virus to land and live on a surface that you later touch. This means that at this time, the basic advice for flu prevention works for COVID-19 prevention. Wash your hands often. Avoid touching and hugging and kissing in public. Do not touch your face. Stay home when you’re sick. Keep your kids home when they’re sick.*

Second, I’m trusting the experts. I found myself feeling panicky the other day, when a patient asked for a six-month refill of his medicine “in case of a quarantine.”** I had to step out and talk to my mentor physician just to get my head back on straight. I must be very careful about the content I consume, and also what I share with others. Entire industries are suffering because of the headlines. The fed cut interest rates this week, flights are being canceled, medical supply companies are experiencing shortages, and grocery stores are struggling to keep basics in stock. Being prepared is not the same thing as being panicked, and I’m fighting to stay on the side of reason.

March 13: When we practice social distancing and hand hygiene, we protect the medically fragile. When we pay attention to who’s losing income due to shutdowns, we uncover opportunities to be generous. When we stay home on sick days, we honor our elders. When we take only what we need at the store, we fight back against greed and panic. To consider the other is to wage war on fear by saying, “I am not just in this for myself.” To consider the other is to think like Jesus.

March 17: I know we are overwhelmed by the COVID-19 content at this point, but this week matters if we hope to flatten the curve. Without protective measures, the cases of extremely sick people will overwhelm our hospital systems. With protective measures, we can stagger and slow the spread of disease to the most medically fragile. Right now, it appears as though only 20% of infected individuals require hospitalization. As Italy has shown us, we cannot handle that number all at once. Social distancing and self isolation will help us slow the spread to a steady trickle, so as to preserve hospital staff and resources and therefore save lives. Social distancing is as simple as staying home as much as possible and keeping at least six feet of distance between contacts. Feel free to get outdoors, and support your locally-owned businesses with curbside service!

March 28: hands-down the best account and hope-filled guidance on the virus I’ve seen. It needed its own post. ICU doc in NYC on a Zoom call with family and friends.

March 31: This is going to be a marathon, folks. According to the data, hospital admissions begin somewhere around 7-14 days after community spread starts. Hospitals won’t start to get overwhelmed until weeks after that. Most of our cities didn’t start with travel exposure, so we’re looking at months and months of COVID-19 discussion; lots of us will be sick of talking about it before it even hits our community full force. What we do know right now, though, is that it’s real and it’s intense. As of this writing, one person is dying from COVID-19 every 4 minutes in New York City. Nearly every healthcare provider I’ve heard or seen has reported a gross shortage of necessary equipment, space, and resources. God, help us. It’s important to remember that the hype and intensity of our precautions does not serve to inform us as much as it helps to protect our community at large.

On the topic of self-care, boundaries, and mental health: I’m only reading news headlines once per day, and only on websites that offer live updates from around the world. I’m avoiding TV and anything that doesn’t come from healthcare experts, economic experts, or research experts. I prefer to read the numbers and firsthand accounts from Twitter and other real-time platforms, and I try to filter out opinion pieces and conspiracy theories. I also try to find encouragement, hope, lightheartedness, and even humor each time I open my social media accounts. I prefer Twitter, then Instagram. I avoid Facebook like the virus itself.

May 8: I took some time on Instagram stories, to talk through a few things I’m seeing online, in comparison with what I’m living. I’ve seen a lot of outrage about death certificates, as if physicians are padding numbers by blaming Covid-19 where other causes of deaths might be more appropriate. This very well may be happening somewhere, but I have seen the opposite in my personal practice. I’ve had patients with Covid-19, clearly symptomatic and in my opinion, dying from the disease. However, our physicians have blamed another diagnosis, such as stroke or heart failure, as the cause of death. They do list Covid-19 in the section of contributing factors, just like they would pneumonia or a fracture or anything else that a patient might actively have at time of death. But I see my doctors being very careful about blaming covid as the clear cause of death, even when it appeared clear to me during my assessment.

I’ve also seen some stuff floating around online about coding, which is how providers note the diagnosis in order to bill. This could be in a primary care practice, or an urgent care, or during a hospitalization. I have not seen this. I have seen a code on patient charts with positive diagnosis, and I have seen notes that say things like “presumptive” or “suspected” if a patient’s test result has not yet come back. I think this is just safe and responsible medicine, especially when multiple people are caring for this patient or he/she might be transferred soon. Providers get paid for service time and tests, sure, but not necessarily by the severity of a patient’s diagnosis.

Lastly, I’ve seen a Covid-19 lungs compared to COPD lungs. This is a way for people to say that the medical community is blowing this disease out of proportion and we should all calm down a bit. I haven’t taken care of as many patients with covid as with COPD, but I have listened to enough covid lungs to say with confidence that they are completely different. Covid-19 pneumonia is often bilateral, which is an unusual presentation, and it comes on suddenly and aggressively. COPD is a chronic, often years-long disease where flare-ups are insidious and slower.

As is the case with any topic, I’m fine with dissenting opinions and difficult dialogue. But it feels important to stress the fact that there are experts in the field, as well as people who are in it everyday (not me). It feels important to stress that we should be listening to them.

Yes, the majority of the population will avoid this disease and the majority of folks who contract Covid-19 recover really quickly. That is great news! But as a follower of Jesus, I must look at the big picture. My life is not my own. I belong to Him, but I also am at the service of my neighbor. And while a disease might not pose much of a threat to me, when it is disproportionately affecting (and killing!) people of color and other vulnerable populations like nursing home residents, I must pay attention. It’s my job to pay attention.

It might go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. We should not take things at face value, when it comes to the news. It’s important to dig and research and ask questions. Someone ALWAYS benefits and someone ALWAYS pays the price, with every headline and law and governmental decision. Hopefully, digging deeper will make us all more compassionate and discerning, like Jesus. But you will never hear or see me say that we should blindly accept any one guideline or recommendation, be it from a news organization or a governmental agency or even a religious group.

Additionally, I want to speak to the conspiracy theories for a quick moment. I’ve been here. I’ve watched and read and boycotted over many an issue in the past fifteen years or so. I’m comfortable in the limbo-like space, where we aren’t sure who to trust and what to believe. The reason I’m comfortable with these conversations is because I can give an answer for the hope in which I have. My foundation is Jesus. The hill I’ll die on is the gospel’s. Everything else is up for grabs and I’m okay with that. But here’s where I’ll ask the million-dollar question. Does it matter? So what if ____ is true? Does it change our approach to mitigating the spread disease, protecting the vulnerable, and keeping the economy afloat? If not, then why argue and waste time on topics that divide? There is much power in aligning ourselves with a common mission and being willing to disagree along the way.

And now, for some resources I find helpful. Last update: June 15, 2020

national and international experts

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – situation summary

World Health Organization – Coronavirus

Information is Beautiful – data pack of graphs

COVID Act Now – select your state to see statistics and projections

local experts

(find your local health department and a university nearby that has a medical college)

SC Department of Health & Environmental Control – Coronavirus Disease

Medical University of South Carolina – Coronavirus updates

Alaska Department of Health & Social Services – COVID-19

human experts

Interview with infectious disease specialist and economist – On Point

Website of infectious disease doctor who helped with the Ebola outbreak, complete with podcasts and articles – Dr. Celine Gounder

Thoughts from a PhD professor specializing in infectious disease and human social patterns – Dr. Malia Jones

Interview with two Italian doctors, one of whom has the virus – Here & Now

Helpful information on group panic and toilet paper – CNBC

Thoughts from an infectious disease doctor, with a link to graphs – Dr. Andrew Norwalk

Podcast with lead epidemiologist at University of Chicago – Dr. Emily Landon

Updated podcast ten days later with lead epidemiologist at University of Chicago – Dr. Emily Landon

Firsthand account on PPE (personal protective equipment) and CDC guidelines, from an ER doc in Massachusetts – Dr. Josh Lerner

*Stay home in general right now, per the updated CDC guidelines.

**I do think it’s wise to have 1-2 weeks of groceries and supplies. A short quarantine is recommended for anyone who has been diagnosed or exposed to a positive case.

health & wellness life lately the whole & simple gospel

This has been my practice.

As a nurse, I was trained to develop a practice that I could defend decades later. That way I could say, “I don’t remember that situation, but I always checked blood pressures before giving meds. I always reviewed lab work. I always ____. It has been my practice.” I will never not ask your name and date of birth when I first enter your room, and you had better believe I care about your last bowel movement.

As a future provider, I am being trained on evidence-based guidelines. Standards of care are created after years of study and thousands of results; EBGs show us the best way to treat patients. For example, narcotics are no longer indicated for chronic pain. Sinus infection symptoms should persist for 7-10 days before antibiotics are prescribed. A specific set of maneuvers guides us to a vertigo diagnosis when someone complains of dizziness.

I’m not on my own yet, but for the last few years, I feel most safe and secure when I explain a plan of care using evidence. “This is what has worked for tens, or even hundreds, of years for people in your situation. This is the standard of treatment.” What’s interesting, though, is the number of providers under whom I’ve trained who don’t use the guidelines. I understand the need to deviate on occasion, but I frequently meet folks who don’t reference them at all. They tell me the guidelines just don’t work for them. The real world is different.

I might not choose this path in medicine, but I do this in so many other areas of my life. I’ve learned how to eat and exercise to get healthy. I have a basic working knowledge of generous and gracious ways to function in relationship. I’ve tasted and seen that spending time in God’s Word helps conform me to the image of Christ, which has and will always be my only goal here on earth.

So why don’t I choose these beneficial disciplines all of the time? The answers are vast and wide, depending on the day. I might opt for self-indulgence, or I don’t want to feel restricted. Maybe I claim to be avoiding legalism, or I’m just plain tired. Either way you slice it, I’ve chosen to respond like one of those providers. The guidelines just don’t work for me. The real world is different. Is it, though?

Here is what I know. God’s truths have stood the test of time, trial, and tribulation for thousands of years. I can depend on His character and His promises to be true and unchanging. Therefore, I can trust his precepts. They are my evidence-based guidelines for life.

Living my life this way will always give me a defense, a proven thesis on which I conduct myself from now until the day I die. I may not remember the exact decision, or the interaction with a particular person, but I will remember the way I lived. A life built on the precepts of God. I will always have an answer for folks on earth and my Father in heaven.  I chose to steward my body well. I chose to pursue peace in relationship. I chose to spend time in the Word. This has been my practice.

books & things community life lately the whole & simple gospel

when I write for others: Ember

Occasionally, I get to write for magazines, newsletters, blogs, and everything in between. It’s neat to go back and read my words from another time. There’s always room for grace and growth and a smile or head nod. It was an honor to be asked to try something new for a recent women’s gathering in my city. I said yes, thinking I’d read something from Every Moment Holy (highly recommend, by the way). But my husband encouraged me to write my own, and the leadership team blessed me to do so. Below is the liturgy I delivered for our May event. See you in August?

Sometimes, it’s hard to sing of the goodness of God. There’s a lot going out there. And in here. Sometimes, our breath feels better spent elsewhere. Sometimes, it’s hard to sing of the goodness of God.

And still… God remains good. He cannot be anything else.
God is faithful in that He is good. And His goodness comes after us….
For no reason at all, other than the Savior of the world takes great delight in us.

And so, we sing. Not for His sake. The Creator does not need reminding of what He’s created.

No. We sing to remember. We sing to fight. We sing to rally our hearts to the sounds of His promises… That He will never leave us. That He will never forsake us. That whether we turn to the right or to the left, we will hear a voice behind us saying, This is the way. Walk in it.

For the woman out there there searching for a water that will never leave her thirsty again, here is Who I know.

I know a God who named the stars and numbered the hairs on my head. I know a Jesus who who died on a cross and walked out of a grave with my name on his lips. I know a Holy Spirit who allows me to feel the full weight of my sin, so that I may experience the full measure of His grace.

For the woman out there searching for a water that will never leave her thirsty again, here is Who I worship.

I worship a God who loved me enough to rescue me… not just from hell, but from my myself. I worship a Jesus who exchanged death for life on my behalf, so that my yoke is now easy and my burden light. I worship a Holy Spirit who whispers sweet somethings in my ear when things get dark, and I feel alone and afraid.

For the woman out there searching for a water that will never leave her thirsty again, here is Who I serve.

I serve a God who gave me a new name, a forever family, and an incredible inheritance. I serve a Jesus who set me free to treat every person I meet as if they bear the image of His dad. I serve a Holy Spirit who directs my steps so that each breath, the magical and the mundane, becomes worship.

To the woman who thirsts, you’re invited. So come. Come and see the man who told me everything I ever did and loved me anyway. Follow me, as I follow Him tonight.

Together, may we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Together, may we make Him our best thought; His presence, our light. Together, may we remember that the work is the Holy Spirit’s. It has always been His. Together, may we rest in the Father’s lap and remind ourselves that to worry is to rebel against our new nature as daughters of the King. And the King’s kids don’t worry.

On behalf of this broken and busted and still beloved world, the Spirit and the Bride say come. Let the woman who hears say come. Let the woman who is thirsty come. Let her take the free gift of the water of life.

community life lately the whole & simple gospel

They belong in my business.

The other day, friends from our new family group gently asked why we haven’t hosted at our place yet. We typically rotate homes, and they know we used to have folks over all of the time. For some reason, it just stopped when we abruptly changed churches. I think maybe I’ve been scared, or grieving the loss of the last season, or just plain tired. When they pressed the other night, I told them I didn’t know. There was no good answer.

We all went out to lunch yesterday after church, and one of the boys innocently asked to come home with us. I felt Holy Spirit saying now was the time, so I sent a text on the way home and invited the entire family group over for the evening. The grass needed mowing and the house wasn’t “ready,” but we straightened what we could and rested until everyone arrived.

It was, of course, the perfect summer evening. Our friends complimented our house’s quirks and ignored her flaws. The kids ate their weight in popsicles and jumped on the rusty trampoline with the sprinkler aimed right at it. The adults threw corn hole and munched on last-minute snacks. And as we applied a charcoal face mask in the bathroom, the one with the cracked sink and dripping bathtub faucet, I looked at these women in the mirror and remembered. I can’t afford NOT to have people in my business. They belong there.

the whole & simple gospel

This is the promised land.

One of my pastors recently shared about a meeting he had while visiting pastors in an Asian country. His goal was to collect advice and wisdom to share with Middle Eastern church leaders, most of whom are refugees faced with the opportunity to return home. He was blown away by the response he got from the Asian pastors, all of whom have been arrested for practicing their faith openly. Here’s what he wrote down.

A visa is not the goal. America is not heaven. The Middle East is your promised land, because it’s where God has called you. Go back home, whatever’s left of it. Settle down, and let God use you.

To this day, I’ve never been arrested for following Jesus. I’ve never been forced to leave my country for my ethnicity or family background. For that, I am so grateful. But I do know what it’s like to want to flee. I know what it’s like to wish for a new season, or a new home, or an old community, or a different set of circumstances. I know what it’s like to question God’s goodness and faithfulness. I know what it’s like to want to quit and find something easier to spend my life doing.

And so as I sat listening to my pastor share of his travels and teach from Philippians 2:12-18, I wasn’t inspired or encouraged. I was convicted. I often do very little without grumbling or arguing. My heart doesn’t always feel like it’s shining as a star in the sky. I don’t choose to rejoice some days.

But as I let the Holy Spirit gently nudge me, I also felt the grace of Jesus’ work hit me like a tidal wave. This is the promised land. The kids and the work and the school. The new church with its new routines and new faces. The seasons that either don’t change quickly enough, or are far too short. The body, the marriage, the house that isn’t ever quite good enough for my tastes. This is all the promised land. God called me to it. Time to settle down and let Him use me.

books & things community household management

when I write for others: Restoration House

Occasionally, I get to write for magazines, newsletters, blogs, and everything in between. It’s neat to go back and read my words from another time. There’s always room for grace and growth and a smile or head nod. Here’s a fun interview I did with Kennesha Buycks in February 2019. Find the original here.

Tell us the story of your home. (go as deep or stay as superficial as you want with these) To you, what sets it ap1. Tell us the story of your home. (go as deep or stay as superficial as you want with these) To you, what sets it apart or makes it unique aside from the fact that you and your family are the ones who live in it.

 My husband and I scooped up our dream home near our hometown several years back. It’s got farmhouse vibes and was built in 1890. It sits on a few acres and we’re living the dream with some chickens and a rope swing. We’re not in a position financially to remodel the entire thing, but it’s fun to work on one room at a time and really make it our own.

How would you describe your personal home style?

If I had to name my aesthetic, it would be, “You’d never know six kids grew up here.” The walls and couches are white, and the toys are tucked away. I keep a pretty minimalist and tidy home. I find it brings a sense of serenity and security to the chaos that tends to accompany large families with full lives.

What is your favorite space in your home and why? 

Probably my bedroom! It’s free of technology and pictures and the bed is comfortable. I also love the spot on my couch where I read my Bible most mornings. The sun creeps in and the whole world feels ripe with possibility when I’m sitting there, reading and sipping my iced coffee.

If you could share one thing about yourself with readers that you’ve perhaps never shared publicly or via social media, what would it be? 

Gosh, that’s hard! I’ve been online since dial-up internet! I will say people are often surprised to find that I’m an introvert, because I stay pretty bubbly on social media. I love being around people but I feel most charged up after a few hours alone. I can power through an entire book on Audible in a single day if you’ll let me!

What was life like for you growing up in your childhood home?

I had a glorious childhood. My little brother and I talk about this all of the time. We spent our formative years in a small neighborhood with a pool and tennis courts, the kind of neighborhood where you could bicycle everywhere and stay out after dark. My childhood bedroom was a fun space, too, one that my parents did their best to personalize for me. My favorite bedroom setup had pale yellow walls and sky-blue bedding with clouds on it. I went through a zebra phase later, too.

What does home mean to you? What do you want others to feel when they enter/spend time in your home? 

 Home means peace. No matter the location, no matter how many times home must change, I always want my family and guests to feel a sense of peace. Jesus lives in our home and I want folks to really experience him just from hanging out with us at home.

Proudest DIY?

 I guess I’d have to say our chicken coop, which my grandfather designed and helped us build. Or maybe the floating bookshelves that I dreamed up and my husband installed in less than an hour! There’s a pattern here… I dream of beautiful things, and the men I love make them come true for me.

Do you think you’ve learned to embrace your story? Your home? Why or why not? Explain. 

Great questions! I’d say I’ve learned to embrace my story. I’m quite comfortable with my past and present, and expectant for my future. It is far more difficult to be content with my home. We’re working with a bare bones kitchen and bathrooms, for example, and I struggle with the notion of my kids outgrowing the space before it ever fully feels like ours. What helps, though, is seeing photos and memories made in the house as is, knowing that my family is content here and it’s okay if we never get the floors redone or a real shower installed.

If there was one piece of advice that you could give to others as to how to embrace their home and their story, what would that sound like? 

Clear the clutter! For real. Your kids will survive with less toys. Your kitchen can handle fewer dishes. Your closet won’t miss the clothes you never wear anyway. Pick one room at a time, and clear the clutter. I’ve found that having less things in my home actually makes it feel bigger, cleaner, and readier to host. Not only that, but having less to clean up or worry about gives me more time and space to focus on the things that matter.

How does what you do currently in your professional life/ministry tie into this idea that home is “more than just a place we live” and that it holds much more of a redemptive and restorative power than we may currently embrace culturally? 

I work in healthcare, as a hospice nurse. My husband works, in vocational ministry as a worship pastor. In a sense, we both pour ourselves out for a living. Home is place where we fill back up. Home is where we start our days, side by side on the couch in our Bibles. Home is where we reflect and reset, so we can refresh the world we meet when we walk out of its doors.

community the whole & simple gospel

when I write for others: The Refined Woman

Occasionally, I get to write for magazines, newsletters, blogs, and everything in between. It’s neat to go back and read my words from another time. There’s always room for grace and growth and a smile or head nod. Here’s a piece from July 2016. Check out the original post here.

I’ve always been small. I’m shorter than most of my friends and have had long hair for most of my life.  My face is covered in a faint smattering of freckles, and I’m usually described as cute.

I used to hate it. I wanted to be pretty,  striking or hot. Nowadays, I tolerate it. There are worse things than being thirty and cute, right?

But here’s the thing – I’m starting to feel beautiful. This might be the most beautiful season I’ve ever experienced as a woman.  I’m not talking about just my looks, because most days, I don’t feel as attractive as I did before four kids came out of my body.

So what’s changed over the last few years? I’ve cultivated influence. I’ve married, acquired stepsons and had children. I’ve built a ministry. I’ve invested in solid, ride-or-die friendships and built relationships with the next generation. I’ve made it my mission to dig deeply into my community. I’ve committed to a new level of vulnerability with the people I call home, to allow them to bring out the best in me and point me to Jesus.

These days, people are looking at me. Like, really looking at me –not judging or whispering as I walk by their lunch table. They’re asking how my heart is. They’re digging beneath the surface of small talk. And they’re asking me to look at them, and pour into them.

My family looks to me for wisdom, advice, and a soft place to land when they fail. My friends don’t hesitate to serve me with feedback, encouragement, love, affection, and correction. The teenage girls I lead value my opinions on their eyebrows, personal style, and how far they decide to go with their boyfriends. On any given day, people all over the world might read my blog or scroll through my Instagram feed and make a split-second decision about Jesus, just from peeking through my lens.

None of these groups are mind-blowing in number. I’m not talking about big stats and monster platforms. This is real life. Family, friends, the folks I bump into on the Internet.

But here’s what those groups have in common — me.

In some shape or form, I come into contact with all of these people. I touch them. They touch me. And it’s my choice whether or not to lean in, and be careful with their hearts in the process. It’s my choice whether or not to acknowledge the gift I’ve been given with them… my influence.

Strange as it sounds, once I began to feel the weight of the influence I carry, I began to see the beauty in it.  Influence is beautiful. Sacred.  As I brushed up against the idea that I could take hold of my influence and use it for good, I began to feel more beautiful. For the first time in my life, I could see clearly what my purpose is – to love God and love people. That’s all I ever have to do in this life.

Influence is freedom, and it is beautiful. It’s holy work, and I’m honored to do it.

Accepting responsibility for my influence made me care more about beauty than ever before, but in a healthy way. I started working out regularly — not to get skinny, but to take care of my temple. I actually don’t have time to feel insecure or negative about my body because I’m doing holy work.

So now I put in a few hours a week at the gym and try to watch what I feed myself. I pay more attention to my wardrobe. Not because I want approval from people, but because I know that teenage girls are watching me. I care deeply that they grow up to believe that God’s definition of femininity and sexuality exists to give them the best life possible.

I believe that Jesus is big enough to bring things full circle.  He’s kind enough to use our unique personalities in ways that teach us things about Him. I may forever be short and cute, but I’m beautiful because He’s asked me to use my influence over the small tribe He’s given me, and equipped me in all the right ways to do it.