Dr. Madkins chatted with Ann Nance recently about the stresses on you and your family because of “sheltering in place”.

Dr. Madkins is a Licensed Psychologist and is Board Certified in Counseling Psychology. Her practice is located in Bryan, TX. For more information about Dr. Madkins and her practice, please visit https://drjmadkins.com/

 

 

Some of the links and Apps Dr. Madkins mentioned are:

Sanvello – An anxiety and depression and stress management app.

ACT Companion – “Acceptance & Commitment Therapy” – ACT Companion: The Happiness Trap App, available free of charge for the next few months, as a resource for folks who are having a hard time at the moment as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Just enter the code TOGETHER on the subscription page to unlock all the app content for three months. The code is valid until the end of June. NB: Unfortunately the app is not compatible with the latest version of Android, so it may not be supported on some newer Android devices.

American Psychological Association Help Center – links to topics regarding the stresses surrounding COVID-19

Additional websites and resources:

Taking Care of Your Mental Health in the Face of Uncertainty
https://afsp.org/taking-care-of-your-mental-health-in-the-face-of-uncertainty/?fbclid=IwAR1D8dVuD8oltkrHNFj65nTID2G2BQJUOATYgZ4Cl2PIHl5tG3_CrNTn_AQ

Managing Stress and Anxiety with COVID-19
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html

How Do I Cope With My Coronavirus Anxiety?
https://www.goodrx.com/blog/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-how-to-cope/

COVID-19 and OCD
https://iocdf.org/covid19/?fbclid=IwAR2m-gU9en66V2VfT2eydP-CVVbsnKxJhrujJq1djHaPByLujv6HYfb-5Jk

My Kid’s School Is Closed, So Now What?
https://confidentparentsconfidentkids.org/2020/03/13/my-kids-school-is-closed-so-now-what/?fbclid=IwAR0ehVCUCEEb4oRgw7usKK7CsEKbQY2d_sR1Ns5TG7nN4e0Iv6s9_A3u7RA

Helping Children and Teens Cope with Anxiety About COVID-19
https://pulse.seattlechildrens.org/helping-children-and-teens-cope-with-anxiety-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR2WiHOzH09JvM3bii2-yaakul6Y3eTy8G151fHVlveJ34VXpma5mW3x5tM

Parenting in the Time of COVID-19
https://www.fontenellepsychology.com/new-blog-1/2020/3/14/parenting-in-the-time-of-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR3G78UxsGXQocg_zlllSLfLIOcjv-mw9W40vdL3023UhF9t-9DiZJc6qWM

10 Tips For Talking About COVID-19 With Your Kids
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/10-tips-for-talking-about-covid-19-with-your-kids

National Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-TALK
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

American Psychological Association Help Center
https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/

National Disaster Distress Hotline 1-800-985-5990
https://www.nctsn.org/resources/samhsa-disaster-distress-hotline

 

Moms and Dads, with your kids home for an extended time, you may be struggling to find things to fill their day. “Storytime with Brian and Ann” can help! Brian and Ann have recorded several short stories, including stories from the Bible, Dr. Seuss, and others. They’re all family-friendly and guaranteed to take your kids on fun adventures of the mind. Brian and Ann will be adding more stories, so be sure to check back here often!

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A message from Brian and Ann…

 

“Parting of the Red Sea” from The Bible

 

“Treasures in Heaven” from The Bible

 

“God Talks to Samuel” from The Bible

 

“The Story of Palm Sunday” from The Bible 

 

“Little Bear Goes to the Moon” by Else Holmelund Minarik

 

“Corduroy” by Don Freeman

 

“The Story of Creation” from The Bible

 

“Adam and Eve” from The Bible

 

“Are You My Mother” by PD Eastman

 

“Daniel in the Lion’s Den” from The Bible

 

“Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss

 

“Jesus Blesses the Children” from The Bible

 

“Jesus Feeds 5000” from The Bible

 

“Jesus Walks on the Water” from The Bible

 

“Noah and The Ark” from The Bible

 

“The Burning Bush” from The Bible

 

“The Easter Story” from The Bible

 

“The Princess and the Pea” by Hans Christian Anderson

 

“The Son Who Came Home” from The Bible

 

“The Three Little Pigs” by Joseph Jacobs

 

“The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop

We’ve heard that God said, “Do not fear” 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the week, right? That’s a lot of times! Now, granted, most of these were said to a specific person for a specific reason. Even so, the phrase was never said lightly and there are a lot of other promises in the Bible that back up the fact that we don’t have anything to fear.

Then comes 2020 and this coronavirus. There is talk about it everywhere. It’s all over the news. There are announcements at work, schools, daycare, stores and churches. There’s so much information and misinformation out there, it’s easy to be fearful.

God was not surprised by ANY of this. He knew a long time ago the list of things that currently threaten our peace of mind. He knew that the fear of the unknown can paralyze us.

Let’s look at a few things that we DO know – to fight the unknown. I’ve been reading a little book lately by Clint Byars called, “God Says ‘Yes’ to Over 3000 Promises. No, I’m not going to list all 3000! This is supposed to be a short blog post! But I’ll tell you some of my favorites:

• 2 Corinthians 1 – 20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” ascends to God for His glory.
• 2 Peter 1 – 4 And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
• John 10 – 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me
• Colossians 2 – 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
• Proverbs 1 – 33 But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.
• John 14 – 27 I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

And I think my favorite is 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
This verse has become especially comforting now in the midst of what seems like chaos during this health emergency. There are four distinct parts to that verse that are relevant to us now.

1. Not a fearful spirit: Fear can paralyze us and keep us from seeing where God wants to use us. And He definitely wants us to share peace right now.
2. Power: Through Christ, we have power over the things of this world. We can use His power to shine bright and give hope when things seem dark and scary
3. Love: There are a lot of people that need love right now. (as always, it just may be more obvious right now).
4. Self-discipline: I doubt when Paul wrote to Timothy he was thinking about a virus. But we do need to be self-disciplined through this… wash your hands often and if you get sick, stay away from older people and those that have chronic health problems.

Focus on God and His many promises more than watching the news.

Oh, and wash your hands and don’t hoard toilet paper!

 

• Annie Nance

Peace Family here’s what President Trump had to say on Friday afternoon. It’s always good to stay informed… though we know God is still in charge and on the throne.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-declares-national-emergency-coronavirus

 

*Photo courtesy of Drew Angerer/Getty Images

At times, I think it would be nice if I could make time stand still… to just extend the time with whatever awesome thing Jesus has placed in my life at that moment. But since I can’t, I take pictures… as reminders… like the Israelites stacking stones in the wilderness. Pictures are something I can go back to and remember God’s love, His care, His provision or just the joy of that moment.

These pictures are from a tree in a friend’s back yard in El Paso. God did some amazing healing in my heart through my time in that desert city!! When I think of how much my life has been renewed, I always think of Isaiah 43:18-19 – “But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

A friend reminded me recently… even these awesome memories and feelings are NOTHING compared to what eternity with Jesus will be like!! Right?!!

– Annie Nance

A few years ago I had the privilege of staying with my daughter and her new family after my youngest grandson was born. It was a sudden and very difficult delivery. He was about 5 weeks early and his early days were a bit scary. I was able to stay with them for a couple months, it was WONDERFUL… and exhausting. There’s a reason YOUNG people have babies! I was in my fifties and definitely tired easier than when in my twenties!

I was on the “night watch” and was having trouble getting little Arlo to sleep. For some reason he was always calmer when he could see outside, so I was rocking him near their big picture window. I’d wound up a musical snow globe I had given my daughter. It had a sweet scene inside of an old village with people window shopping and it played “Let it Snow”.

The middle of the night has always been tough for me. As a child I was fearful of the dark. But even as an adult I would often have long wakeful periods, not because of fear, but my mind would grind on and on about a billion things. So looking through the snow globe into the darkness of early morning was a bit depressing.

Arlo and I fell asleep in that rocking chair and I didn’t wake until his daddy got up to go to work.

I laid Arlo down in his crib to get some more sleep. The sun was coming up as I sat back down in the chair in front of the window. As I snapped a picture of the sun lighting the snow globe the verses in Lamentations ran through my head… 3:22-23 “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

I smiled and thanked God for the reminder… then shuffled into the kitchen to make coffee.

Sunrise gives a new perspective to MANY things!!

• Annie Nance