©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com
If you find yourself doing home hibernation more right now, here are some tips (in no particular order) to help you pass the time productively and in enjoyable ways:
- Tour museums virtually. Open your eyes to the beauty found in several of the world’s top institutions and galleries.
- Escape to another place with a book. Not sure what to grab – or order? If you’re a suspense-lover, you can’t go wrong with anything by DiAnn Mills, Lynette Eason, Dani Pettrey, or Lynn Blackburn.
- Go on a photo-taking tour. Drive or walk around and take pictures of what catches your eye. You’ll see things in a new perspective.
- Buy or order some seeds and nurture something inside or outside your home.
- Organize your photos. Set aside favorites to print or frame. Forward a favorite photo taken with a friend to them with a note. Remember the good times surrounding the photos as you look at them.
- Bird watch in your backyard, on a nature or walking trail or in a park. Note how many different ones you can spot. Be reminded of how God makes all of us different – and how He cares for us.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Matthew 6:25-27 NIV
- Clean out your junk drawer (or drawers). We all have one or more – and they’re crying out for organization. See what you find that surprises you!
- Write letters to people you haven’t contacted in a while. You’ll make someone’s day!
- Send notes and cards to shut-ins and people in care facilities who may not be able to have company. Include an encouraging Scripture. Do you or your friends have elderly parents? Send them some love!
- Put together a jigsaw puzzle. Go big with a 1,000 piece one. Consider a relaxing nature or aquatic scene.
- Stretch your mind by doing word puzzles, Sudoku, crosswords and more.
- Watch a comedy online, cable or TV. Take a break from news and settle in for some good chuckles.
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:13 NIV
- Look for and share positive items with others online. Let’s encourage one another.
- Go for a long walk in the woods. Reconnect with the beauty of God’s creation.
- Listen to a Bible study podcast. Check out Jen Wilkens’ free online study of James.
- Support your local restaurants. Not comfortable going in? Or perhaps in-room dining has been shut down? Order takeout or buy gift cards to help their business. Tip on takeout. Servers need our support.
- Spend time in prayer particularly for the most vulnerable, and for those in leadership in all walks of life both in our country and in others. Pray for people to turn to God in this time of turmoil.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV
- Consider ways to support local businesses in your area. How about getting your car detailed or taking care of that oil change?
- Make a list of three difficult times in your life – and write down how God helped you through them.
- Buy (or order) a plant to put in your home. Green plants and blooming plants make a house feel more peaceful.
- Go through your closets and set aside items to give away to charity. Many people will be hit hard in this time and looking for affordable clothing at thrift stores.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” Matthew 6: 28-31 NIV
- Read about a difficult time in history, the resilience of people and the impact of faith.
- Pick up sticks in your yard. Bend from the knees and you’ll get exercise and protect your back.
- Practice a new cooking dish.
- Play games. Pull out your board games or do an old-fashioned game of charades.
- Put on an indoor picnic! Or do one in your backyard!
- Start reading a book of the Bible – chapter by chapter, verse by verse.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4 NIV
- Learn a new language for free.
- Give grace to others. It’s a difficult time for many.
- Spend time exploring where your next vacation will be!
Home hibernation doesn’t have to be sleeping all day and watching hours of television. Shake it up and make the hours at home have meaning. We’re not “stuck” if we set our minds and hearts free.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV
- What are other ways you can enjoy home hibernation?
- How can you use this home hibernation time to grow spiritually and emotionally?
- In what ways can you help someone else stuck at home with less mobility or support than you have?
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. Psalm 91:2-6 NIV
Remember…Life is Better When It’s Full – Joy-full, Thank-full, Purpose-full and Friend-full! ™