All posts by admin

Flowing with Pastor Flo – June 2014

Can you believe the month of June is here! School is almost out, June 1 is Ascension Sunday, June 8 is Pentecost, June 15 is Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday, and June 21 is the first day of summer. Wow! Now let’s turn our focus first on Pentecost Sunday – the joyous celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit to comfort and empower the church for her mission. <!–split–> Pentecost (from the Greek pentecoste, meaning “fiftieth”) begins the 6th season of the Christian year, the Season after Pentecost. It commemorates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The event of Pentecost is the fulfillment of our Lord’s promise to bestow the Holy Spirit on all of His people. Pentecost is also the birthday of the New Testament Church. Friends, the Liturgical calendar tells us in June, we celebrate Father’s Day, June 15th.

As a Father, you probably always knew that your role in parenting was important. Most fathers do. Still, it has not been as clearly defined as a mother’s side of parenting. In my years of experience I have observed that fathers parent differently from mothers. They play more with their children. Their actions are more physical and less intimate with more of a reliance on humor and excitement.

I have been told that a father’s more playful interactive style is important in teaching a child self-control.

And these interactions appear to be central to the child’s ability to maintain strong, fulfilling social relationships in later years. I believe (if a father is present) that a father should be involved from the very beginning and create times and activities in which the father cares for the baby entirely alone. Tell how you (the father) feel. If you are fearful, frustrated, or jealous of the time your wife spends with the baby, discuss these feelings with your wife. Tune in to your children. Don’t rely on their mother to read what a child wants or needs. Accept your partner’s parenting style. It may be different from yours, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Have patience. Children might not immediately respond to dad who suddenly wants to be more involved – but give it a try!

Happy Father’s Day to all Dads!

— Grace, Peace (and Joy), Pastor Flo

Vacations and Health

Many people don’t take vacations often enough. In fact, according to recent poll, around half of readers don’t take annual vacations; in fact, many readers never take them! And now with increasing frequency, when we do take vacations, we often bring work along with us, keeping ourselves essentially still in the work mindset we’re trying to escape. <!–split–>This is unfortunate for several reasons:

  • Vacations Promote Creativity: A good vacation can help us to reconnect with ourselves, operating as a vehicle for self-discovery and helping us get back to feeling our best.
    Vacations Stave Off Burnout: Workers who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts.
  • Vacations Can Keep Us Healthy: Taking regular time off to ‘recharge your batteries’, thereby keeping stress levels lower, can keep you healthier.
  • Vacations Promote Overall Wellbeing: One study found that three days after vacation, subjects’ physical complaints, their quality of sleep and mood had improved as compared to before vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacations.
  • Vacations Can Strengthen Bonds: Spending time enjoying life with loved ones can keep relationships strong, helping you enjoy the good times more and helping you through the stress of the hard times. In fact, a study by the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services found that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages
  • Vacations Can Help With Your Job Performance: As the authors of the above study suggest, the psychological benefits that come with more frequent vacations lead to increased quality of life, and that can lead to increased quality of work on the job.
  • Vacations Relieve Stress in Lasting Ways: It should come as no surprise that vacations that include plenty of free time bring stress relief, but research shows that a good vacation can lead to the experience of fewer stressful days at least five weeks later! That means that vacations are the gift to yourself that keep on giving.

The bottom line is that taking a good amount of time away from the stresses of daily life can give us the break we need so that we can return to our lives refreshed and better equipped to handle whatever comes.

— Your Parish Nurse, Kara

SOURCE: http://stress.about.com/od/workplacestress/a/vacations.htm, written by Elizabeth Scott, M.S.