What’s Happening in Growing God’s Way Children’s and Youth Ministries:
These last 3 months your family may have experienced many emotions. I am sure there have been amazing days and challenging days. I have been praying for you.
Last week I attended a virtual Ministry Conference. It was very encouraging and I would like to share with you some of the things aboutchildren and anxiety. Usually, 1 in 4 children experience anxiety. That ratio probable increased in the last few months. A child’s therapist recommends a daily age appropriate “how are you feeling check in” with your kids.
- Listen , observe, and ask questions. Show love and empathy without solving the problem. That can feel like control.
- Watch their habits, see if there is any change. Ask them how they are feeling,use a 1-10 scale, or a feelings chart. Another option is for them to draw what they are feeling.
- Use Head, Heart, Body questions. Head-how are your thoughts, what do you think about? Heart-can you name your emotions? Body-how are you feeling physically, headache, stomach, a sore neck? If they can name why they are feeling this way, come up with a plan, and if possible make changes.
Grounding Techniques can help calm anxiety. When we are calm there is more blood flow to the front of the brain, anxiety causes more blood flow to the back of the brain. Here are some examples of Grounding Techniques:
- Name 5 things they can see, 4 things they can hear, 3 things they can smell, 2 things they can touch, 1 thing they can eat.
- Name blue items or items of any color you choose.
- Breathe, slowly and deeply, pray, and recite Bible verses.
If you see their anxiety increasing or things don’t seem right, ask for help. Please let me know how I can be praying for you and your family.
Lisa Schodorf
Lil’ Sprouts: God made the trees and flowers. Every moment is a teachable moment. While driving or walking encourage your little one to look for flowers and trees. And thank God for His wonderful creation! Thank you God for the pretty purple flowers, the big oak tree…
Sprouts and Evergreens: We will continue to teach about Moses. Later in the month we will be teaching from the book of Numbers. I hope the kids (and adults) are learning something from the videos. I encourage families to read about Moses in the book of Exodus.
Youth: The Youth will be studying the book of James this summer.