If someone had sat me down in January 2020 and told me what the year would hold, I would not have believed them.

It would have seemed so incredibly out there that I would have laughed and wondered what bad pizza they ate the night before.

A worldwide pandemic?

Closed borders?

Frantic embassy emails warning us to go home now?

Stay-at-home orders?

Curfews and quarantines and masks and online school and zoom meetings and shortage of toilet paper?

Looking back at the unrest, the political scene, the intense conversations, the deep loss, unbelievable grief of missed opportunities, canceled events, failed travels and interrupted dreams, it’s still difficult to imagine a year quite like the one we’ve all endured.

Although not here on this blog, I actually did quite a bit of writing and processing this year. Through themes on other platforms, I was able to think through and write out the lessons God has been working in me. I’ve been able to express the ways He’s been teaching and developing my heart.

As I looked back over the posts from this year, I can see these lessons and the flow of how God patiently works in us while lovingly encouraging us to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep resting, to keep trusting and to keep sharing.

Continue reading A Look Back at Lessons from 2020 at Our Goodwin Journey.

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This year has brought about so many unknowns for families all over the world. If you’d told me on New Year’s Day of 2020 what the year would hold, I don’t think I would have believed you.

At that time, our year was full of events, a busy travel schedule and ministry opportunities.

With the rest of the world, it all changed and pajamas, stay-at-home days, zoom calls, online school and plenty of mask-wearing has become normal.

One of the interesting, unexpected results of 2020 is that I’m once again homeschooling two of our girls.

Because of COVID restrictions, pandemic worries, travel limitations, health concerns and a certain amount of uneasiness, we made a last-minute decision to keep our younger two back from boarding school and continue their high school through homeschooling.

It was a huge decision for our family and one that I knew would change our lives.

Diving back into homeschooling full-time at the high school level is incredibly daunting. Honestly, it wasn’t something I ever thought I would consider doing so it caught me a bit off-guard.

With a few twists, turns and multiple course changes, we’ve settled into a routine that fits the personalities of the girls, gives me a bit of freedom and also, keeps the fun, free homeschool approach that we’ve always loved.

Continue reading Tips to Homeschool High School Online at Our Goodwin Journey.

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It was a busy, fun 4th of July picnic at our house with our team and a few other worker friends. I was not thinking about health issues or medical needs. It was a holiday after all!

I was doing some last minute prep for Jeremy who was grilling outside when Annalise came in the kitchen.

“Mom? My arm is burning.” I turned to look and she had a red mark on her upper arm. Like any other mom, I said, “It’s fine. We’ll check it tonight.” She shrugged and went back to play with her friends.

By that evening, it was burning, blistering, oozing and spreading. She had no idea what she’d touched or done to cause it. It didn’t look like any allergic reaction that I’d ever seen so I started googling plants and bugs, assuming she’d brushed against something that burned her.

Sure enough, in talking with friends and consulting the internet, we realized there’s a blister beetle that probably landed on her arm. Anywhere the blisters leaked caused a new burn to begin. By the time we realized this, she had a burn on her face, neck, arm and stomach.

Continue reading Tips for Handling Health Issues and Medical Needs Overseas at Our Goodwin Journey.

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We are going to tackle a huge topic and talk about how to stay connected in all of these crazy seasons of life.

Connecting is a big subject because it incorporates connecting with other workers, staying connected with family at home, starting new connections with national friends, remaining in constant connection with Jesus and learning to connect yourself to all of those people around you.

In this season of quarantine, stay-at-home and social distancing, learning how to stay connected with others has become very important for us all.

Whether in real life or online, using technology or having a face-to-face sit down at your kitchen table, connecting takes a bit of creativity, purpose and intentionality.

It also takes a bit of courage to step outside your circumstances or struggles and put yourself out there again and again.

I had a long time friend recently ask me if I had good friends on the field. My answer was a quick, “YES!”

But, they are baby friendships. They are new relationships and the connections are fresh. Each new friendship starts at the basics of our lives and it takes a bit of work and valuable time to grow a friendship past that point.

Continue reading 8 Ways to Make Real Connections With Others at Our Goodwin Journey.

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When it comes to sleeping, the go-to verse to go to sleep in our house is Psalm 4:8.

Hands down. Wherever we are in the world, wherever we are sleeping, we cling to this verse.

Be it a new town, new hotel or new country, this verse helps us all sleep well.

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 4:8 has been a capstone in how we end our day as a family. A part of the prayers we pray at bedtime. A normal phrase to settle minds, calm fears and drift into peaceful sleep.

Yet in the difficult days of our world today, the stress, anxiety and intensity can keep us from being able to go to sleep and stay asleep. We’re all battling for peace and calm and rest, especially at night.

Having a process for bedtime can be incredibly helpful to us in the sleep battle.

To start, we know that Psalm 4:8 alone is powerful. But when you include the entire chapter, you have an extremely valuable tool that is greatly applicable to us as we go to sleep each night.

Continue reading How to Go to Sleep in Peace During Difficult Times at Our Goodwin Journey.

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