Take Time For Yourself
Email 1
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Parents,
Hi!
I hope your week is off to a great start!
This month, our Online Parenting Class is on the topic of The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Child,” and addresses the importance of self-care.
The topic of this lesson is especially important because if you aren’t taking great care of yourself, you can’t take great care of your kids. Taking care of yourself is not only good for you and your kids, it’s something God commands us to do because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. ~1st Corinthians 6:19-20.
I want to remind you that I love and care about each of you. Please let me know how I help you, and how I can pray for you and our family.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/147482215/33143c0879
Partnering with you,
Preschool Pastor
Email 2
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Parents,
What have you done for yourself this week?
If the answer is ‘nothing’, you need to change that.
I also hope you’ve had time to watch the video for this lesson—the video that reminds you that it is okay…even necessary for you to take care of yourself.
The Bible contains numerous verses pointing to the wisdom of taking care of yourself and giving yourself some much-deserved ‘me time’ on a regular basis. Let’s take a look at a few of these verses now. I also want to encourage you to adopt some of the suggestions you’ll find at the end of this email that will make you feel better about yourself as a person and as a parent.
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. ~3rd John 1:2
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ~1st Corinthians 3:16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:13-14
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ~1st Corinthians 10:31
Now for those tips I promised…
#1: Hire a sitter or trade childcare services with friends once or twice a month and spend the day doing whatever YOU want to do without interruptions.
#2: Put a lock on the bathroom door (high enough to be out of reach of little hands). Use it when you are taking your shower/bath.
#3: Don’t forget to spend time with God each day. Twenty or thirty minutes at the start of each day in Bible reading and prayer are just what you need to keep you feeling complete and sane.
#4: Take turns with your spouse when it comes to bath time and bedtime with your preschooler. When it’s not your turn, take advantage of the time to read, do your nails, return phone calls or emails, enjoy a cup of tea and dessert, exercise, or whatever else makes you feel special.
#5: Spend some time each week enjoying a hobby or being involved in a ministry project or Bible study. While you might not be kid-free for everything, you’ll still be taking care of yourself and that’s what matters.
Partnering with you,
Preschool Pastor
Video Script
Preschool #6- The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Child
You do a lot for your child every day.
Between meals, diaper changes, bathing, and play dates the list of things you do for them is pretty long.
Let’s don’t even start with all that you buy your child. All of the toys, the clothes, the doctor’s bills, and on and on.
But you’ll keep doing and giving and doing and giving until you are utterly exhausted. Do you know why? Because you really love your kids.
We’re not talking about just any kind of love. God plants a deep love in the heart of a parent for their child. It’s the kind of love that would lead us to do anything for our child.
So, I’m going to suggest something that you can do for your child that you might not have considered lately.
I’m going to ask you to consider taking some time to take care of you.
In all that we do for kids, sometimes the first thing we forget to do is take care of ourselves.
That sounds selfish doesn’t it to say that you should take care of yourself? You might be wondering why I suggested that taking care of you is the best thing you can do for your child.
It’s simply because of this, when you practice self care, your kids get the best version of you to take care of them.
Your kids don’t know how to give you a break. It’s highly unlikely that your kid is going to sit down next to you and say, “Hey, you look a little tired, why don’t you take a break?”
But trust me, your child would rather have a happy, rested parent then a moody exhausted one.
I know it’s not easy to take a break. It’s exhausting to think about hiring babysitters, asking family for help, making plans and arrangements, and all of the things you have to do to be able to take care of yourself.
But trust me. When you return from your rest, your parenting batteries will be recharged, and you’ll be ready to play and give your best attention to your child.
Scripture paints a beautiful picture of this rhythm in Phillipians 2:3-4. It says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves; do not look only to your interests, but also the interests of others.”
Did you hear that? It didn’t say “Don’t look out for your own interests.” It said, “As you are taking care of yourself, make sure to also care for others.”
What a perfect picture of a healthy parent.
It’s not just a gift you give yourself. Your children will be grateful as well!
Weekly tweets from you to parents:
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: Loving yourself lets you love others better. #takingcareofme #urchurchparentministry
Tweet Two: Moms of preschoolers need lots of TLC #takingcareofme#urchurchparentministry
Tweet Three: Parents of preschoolers deserve ‘me time’! #takingcareofme #urchurchparentministry
Tweet Four: The lock on the bathroom door is my favorite house feature #takingcareofme #urchurchparentministry
Tweet Five: Quiet time in a house with preschoolers is a luxury #takingcareofme #urchurchparentministry
Tweet Six: Parents of preschoolers need a hobby with no kids allowed #takingcareofme#urchurchparentministry
Tweet Seven:I love my preschooler every day in every way #takingcareofme #urchurchparentministry
Tweet Eight: When your preschooler is away a parent can play #takingcareofme #urchurchparentministry