EMAIL 1
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Subject Line: Learning To Valuing Rest
Dear Parents,
We all know that the holidays can be a bit crazy for all of us. This supposed season of joy can often spiral into a season of chaos with so much to do and so many places to be. We place value on a lot of things that, if we’re honest, might not really matter in the long run. This month we want to encourage you to take some time to value rest and maybe slow it down a little. What would it look like for both you and your family to learn how to rest in God and who He is and really celebrate “God with us” – Emmanuel? Check out this month’s Online Parenting Class video to take some steps in that direction.
To watch the brief video, click the link below.
[ INSERT LINK TO ONLINE PARENTING CLASS VIDEO ]
I hope you and your family have a great, restful holiday season this year!
Praying with you and for you as you lead at home.
[ INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE ]
EMAIL 2
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Subject Line: Embracing the Idea of Sabbath
Dear Parents,
In your life, do you embrace the idea of sabbath? Other than knowing that the church talks about Sunday being a sabbath, have you ever really thought about what sabbath means and how you can incorporate it into your normal rhythm of life? Instead of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted this holiday season, what if you decided to focus on doing less and on hitting pause (with a sabbath) so that you could spend more time savoring every moment with your family? In this month’s blog article, you’ll be encouraged and given some ways to do just that. Take a few minutes to check it out. You’ll be glad you did.
[ INSERT LINK TO M2P PARENTING BLOG ARTICLE ]
And don’t forget to watch this month’s Online Parenting Class video where we encourage you to learn a little more about what it means to embrace a normal sabbath in your life and learn how to live from a place of rest.
[ INSERT LINK TO M2P ONLINE PARENTING CLASS VIDEO ]
Thanks again for letting us speak into your life, and we pray that you and your family can embrace a life that flows from sabbath and rest.
In this alongside you,
[ INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE ]
Video Script
Well, welcome to the chaos! I mean we are in a time of life, the holiday season, where things get a little crazy. Your kids are ready to get to that long-awaited break from school and there’s a lot of stuff happening that lead up to Christmas. You may have family events and parties with friends, you have errands to run and services to attend and, oh yeah, presents to buy. But we all know that this season is supposed to be about something else … It’s supposed to be about Emmanuel, “God with us.” We get to celebrate the birth of Jesus and receive the spirit of God into our hearts and lives, and we get to lead our kids in that same direction.
Well, I have a question for you that might be good for you to ponder this time of year. How often do you take time to just rest? Yes, I said rest. I don’t just mean sleep rest. I don’t just mean Netflix binge rest or scroll on your phone rest. I don’t mean time off for vacation rest. I mean rest that is rooted in Psalm 46:10, which says: “He says (meaning God), He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’” How often do you step into the practice of being still? How often do you think about and allow your heart and mind to know that He, Jesus, is God? How often do you find a spot where you can put everything away, where you can focus your heart and your mind, and you can maybe live in what Paul in the new testament calls “a peace that transcends understanding” that only comes from God?
When it comes to this particular season, the holidays, I would encourage you to maybe do something that you might not normally do. I would hope that you could value REST in God. What if you could let go of the need for everything to get done, for everything to be perfect, and what if you could embrace a rest that focuses on God and His love for you? What would this season of your life look like if all the things that the world tells us are important just faded to the background and you didn’t run yourself and maybe your family ragged? What if “Emmanuel, God with us”, was enough? You can still have Christmas and buy presents and enjoy gatherings. But what if you took some of the time and emotional energy you normally put into the craziness of the holidays, and you just rested? And what if you led your kids to do the same?
Your kids are out of school and home. Slow down and enjoy it. Make the most of that time. Maybe focus on some simple traditions you can create for your family so your kids will experience the holidays in a different way. Maybe model for your kids a different way of living and show them that the most important thing we can do is love God and love others.
And then, when we head into a more “normal” time of life, whatever that looks like, step into some practices that will allow you to experience real rest. Do you value sabbath? Most of us, when we think about “sabbath” we think about Sunday as a Sabbath and that’s when we go to church and try to take the day off (but youth sports has ruined that). What if you embraced the biblical concept of Sabbath, a regular period of time in your life, say weekly, where you rest in God and who He is? Again, not just rest, but rest IN GOD? Sabbath is a way of remembering and expressing the truth that God is our creator and deliverer and sustainer. We are dependent on him for all we have in the world AND for the strength we need to lead in the way He has called us to lead our families. Make space for sabbath in your life and maybe lead your kids into a practice of sabbath. They need it. They need to learn the value of resting in God and the fact that He loves them. They need space to embrace who He has created them to be and experience the peace that comes with that.
Yes, the holidays can be crazy, and we can get worn out, but we all know that life in general can be crazy, and we can get worn out at any time of the year. If we’re going to be able to sustain any type of sanity and joy in life, we have to learn how to rest.