Connect with God
Inviting God to be present in your
life every day is important to deepening your relationship with Him, your
understanding of His love and to feel the comfort, strength and freedom that
this relationship brings.
If I worry or feel stressed about
something, I can pray about it and hand it over to God. If I am happy or joyous
about something, I can thank God and share that joy with Him. If I am sad or
depressed, I can ask for help and comfort. Whatever the situation, I can take
it to Him or share it with Him and He always helps, forgives, comforts and
loves me.
I want my child to also experience
this amazing relationship. How important then is it for us to share our lives
and grow in our faith alongside our kids and grandkids? Joel 1:3 says
"Tell it to your children, and have your children tell their children, and
their children tell their children".
- What then can you do in your home during the week, to strengthen your relationship with God and your family's relationship with Him too? Some ideas I have recently been trying out and found helpful include:
- Each member of your family sharing a high and a low from their day.
- Praying together each taking turns to say "Dear God I thank you for..........I praise you for.............I am sorry for...............and in the spirit of forgiveness I ask you for.............
- Read something from a devotion book together.
- Read a Bible verse or story together.
- Stop to pray together out loud throughout your day when you, your child or someone you know is struggling. Ask God to help them with their struggle.
- When you are out somewhere or even at home and can see someone is sad, alone, unhappy or cross, quietly say a prayer for them.
- Use car travel time to pray for things happening that day in your family.
- Say Grace together at shared meal times.
- Bless each other at bed time and put the sign of the cross on them.
- Keep a gratefulness journal for your family. Write three things you are grateful for and thank God for these things.
All of these are simple things but
they all help to direct your thinking constantly to God. Gradually you will
find Him at the centre of everything in your life, where He wants and needs to
be. You don't have to do it all every day, just keep trying to make an effort
to do at least one thing each day to connect with God for you and your family.
Be consistent and it will make an amazing difference!
Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments
that I give to you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your
children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on your door frames of your houses
and on your gates.
“Deuteronomy 6:5-9”
Beth Einthal
This Sunday at Good Shepherd
This
week’s message is “Disillusionment: when
life’s going nowhere” as we start a new series Is this all there is?
Podcasts
of weekly messages are available at www.paravista.org.au
Bible Readings:
Luke 24:13-35
Kingdom Kids (including Baby Zone)
will not be running during the school holidays.
Kindy Zone Team Leader
We are still praying for someone who
would love to lead Kindy Zone and be part of a passionate and fun team! Please
consider if this might be you and get in touch with me (beth.einthal@paravista.org.au) for a chat!
Step Up
Is running again this year in May
for children now in Year 5 at school. The Step Up program helps to prepare
children for admission to Holy Communion. The first session will be a shared
lunch held on Sunday 4th May with four sessions on Fridays May 9, 16, 23 and
30, all held in the school library. Please contact the church office on 8263
5087 or email Beth (beth.einthal@paravista.org.au) for further information, or to register your child.
Beth Einthal - Children and Family
Team Leader
Prayer Requests:
Prayer requests are not included in
the weekly news. If you would like to view the current requests refer to the
email that alerted you to this weekly news. If you have a prayer request please
email churchequiries@paravista.org.au
with your request.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Women’s Fellowship
45th Anniversary Luncheon
on Tuesday 3rd June 2014 @12pm. GSPV Church Hall. Donation $12
RSVP by 27th May to Ruth
Oster Ph. 8265 0221
Noticeboard
LCA Mission International
Visit the website
http://www.lcamission.org.au and listen to some exciting stories of God at work in
Cambodia.
All together all right - Launch Sunday
27th April @ 7 pm
Concordia College Chapel (45
Cheltenham St. Highgate) Books & CDs available
“A hug is the body's battery re-charger”
