Soul Care | Ministry to Parents Kids

How to Care for the Soul

Email 1

Copy/Paste the following email:

Subject Line: How to Care for the Soul

Dear (Insert Parent’s Name),

When you are a parent, you give, invest, and sacrifice for your family. We are so thankful for all that you invest in the lives of your children!

This month we want to take things in a little different direction and focus on you. It’s really simple. A healthy parent will lead their wild, fun, messy, (insert whatever word you need) family toward health.

This month we want to talk about your health. How are you doing? How are you caring for your soul as a parent?

Here is our coaching video for the month…

https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/368984523/4801fdc3b6

Praying for you as you ask yourself these questions!

(Insert Leader’s Name)

Email 2

Copy/Paste the following email:

Subject Line: How to Care for the Soul

Dear (Insert Parent’s Name),

We usually talk about ways that you can invest in the spiritual lives of your children. This month we are flipping the script and working on you. Are you caring for your soul?

If you missed this month’s coaching video, here is the link…

https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/368984523/4801fdc3b6

How are you doing with soul care? We know you give and give and give all day long with your family. When is the last time you looked deeply into your soul to see how you are doing?

We heard some helpful steps to take to ensure we are caring for our souls as parents. If you are going to put any of those in motion, then you are going to have to make one first, brave step. Calendar it, and don’t apologize for blocking off time for you to take care of your soul. Things get very real when we sit down with our calendar, and we start blocking off time. We see that goal, and we have the chance to work toward that goal. When you calendar soul care, you always have the opportunity to say no to other opportunities because it’s on your calendar!

If we can help you process any of these ideas, please email me back. We are here to help, and we are cheering you on!

(Insert Leader’s Name)

Video Script

Caring for Your Soul when You are Caring for Everyone Else

Welcome to this month’s online parenting class. We are so thankful for the spiritual impact you make each day in your child’s life, and it’s our joy to help you think about parenting each month. This month we are going to talk more about your soul more than the soul of your child or teenager.

Parenting well can leave us tired and sometimes overwhelmed. We know there is so much joy when it comes to our role as mom or dad, but there is also an immense amount of serving that goes into caring for our kids. Trust me, even parents of teens will tell you that it does not slow down, and the demands and problems just keep shifting. In the midst of caring for your family, how are you caring for your own soul?

Weariness is something the Bible actually talks about. We discover through different Old and New Testament writings people who are tired and actually admit it. They even admit to God how tired they are. The Psalmist writes….

Psalm 63:1 (NLT2) O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

Parenting can feel like that. It can feel like a dry land where there is no water. It can feel like we are always giving and never receiving when it comes to soul care. Our challenge this month is for you to take your soul care personally. The greatest gift you can give your teen or child is your own healthy soul.

There are some steps you can take to care for your soul that will help you parent from a healthy place for the long haul. Here are a few of them…

Stop trying to be the perfect parent and be yourself with joy. / Trying to be something you are not only bringing more stress and emptiness into your life. God made you your child’s parent, so be the best you that you can be. Stop comparing yourself to other parents and go ahead and drop the image of the perfect parent you are trying to chase.
Make time for your spouse away from your kids. / This could be a date, it could be coffee in the morning on the back deck. The version you and your spouse choose makes no difference, but your soul needs that parental partner more than you even know. Fighting for marriage health always leads to better parenting because it links both of you together. Get that babysitter and get some time for your spouse on the calendar. If you are a single parent, then substitute this spouse idea with friends you have. You need other meaningful relationships in your life!
Find some space for spiritual growth in your week. / Prayer, church, meditation, reading, Scripture reading, small group…you need some time each week to be with the God that made you a parent. We worship God, not our kids, so why don’t we make intentional time for God as we do with our kids.
Find a mentor or counselor you trust deeply. / Yes, I said it. Get a therapist or find a mentor and get real. Discover more about your personality. Explore your weaknesses and what makes you angry. Dive into your past. What I am saying is that it’s ok to work on you. We all have things we need help with, and we all have blind spots. Mentors and counselors help us see our blind spots and give us the great insight we need.

One last tip as we close is to give yourself as much grace as you give out to your family. I hope you are giving grace to your kids. Find the freedom to give yourself that same grace and enjoy this season. This stage is temporary, so make sure and bring your best self to the daily journey of parenting.