Fall Kickoff Sunday!
Can you believe it? The first day of autumn is right around the corner, school buses are out and about again, and some trees are already changing into their autumnal attire. With this new season comes new wonderful opportunities at Eastside! We will be kicking off the fall season this coming Sunday with a new teaching series called “The Chosen” as we explore what it means to truly be chosen by God (Ephesians 1:3-5)! This series will tie in with the new Grow Group Tim and Kim Holt will be hosting on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings on the video series called, “The Chosen,” as well. Don’t forget to sign up! And that’s not all…Wyldlife is kicking off with a campfire night at the Kelly’s house on September 14th; Women’s Group is relaunching on September 21st, and on September 25th we are taking our service outside and worshiping at Perinton Park next door! Also, this weekend Pastor Kathryn will co-lead worship through singing with our new Music Director, Tim Lambert, as she steps into her new role of Assistant Pastor. It’s an exciting time to be a part of what God is doing at Eastside Church! Let’s be praying that God continues to use our small church to do BIG things!
Peaceful Sleep
“How’d you sleep last night?” It’s a question we ask each other in our family almost every morning. For some of us, the answer is usually, “Good.” For others, it may be, “It was okay.” And for some of you, the very mention of sleep causes anxiety because of how much you have been wrestling with it.
I recently read an article about the need for children to receive quality sleep at night (which of course reminded me of the great work “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” led by Donna Ritchie is doing for children all over our city). Sometimes we take sleep for granted and don’t realize how poor quality sleep can affect us. Study after study shows that our sleep quality impacts our behaviors, emotions, intellect, and physical and mental health. And no wonder! God created us to sleep at night. However, lack of quality sleep can lead to obesity, risk-taking and injury, mental health problems and disorders, poor social functioning, and negative behavior. I’m sure you know what some of those feel like. It’s difficult not to be irritable or miserable when we’re tired and stressed. And then, I came across what children need to receive consistent quality sleep from night to night. According to the research, children depend on feeling safe, feeling loved, having a consistent routine and rhythms to life, and a familiar-predictable environment. When any of those feel off to children, they tend to not sleep well and get the rest they need.
As I reflected on that list though, I think it applies to all of us, doesn’t it? No matter how old we are. And I am sure we can all relate to having nights or even seasons where quality sleep feels so out of reach. Perhaps there is something at school that is bothering us; a co-worker we are not getting along with; we feel like our finances are in a knot; or life in general is just stressing us out. So many things can lead to not feeling safe, loved, or like everything is out of sorts or unpredictable in our life right now. I know, I’ve been there too.
When I told someone about this article I read recently, they suddenly piped up and said, “You won’t believe what I just read this morning in my devotions!” Then they read these words to me: “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.” Those words are from Psalm 4:8. If anyone had a reason to not sleep well at night, it was King David who wrote this psalm. He had enemies who wanted to kill him, a nation to lead who were depending on him, and he endlessly wrestled with so much shame because of the mistakes he made in life. I am sure these words he wrote were so incredibly important to him and I imagine he may have repeated them to himself before bed or on those sleepless nights.
I share this with you because I know how hard sleeplessness can be whether it’s one night or week after week. It doesn’t just affect us physically but mentally, emotionally, AND spiritually too. Quality sleep matters to us and it matters to God. I want to encourage you before you go to bed to speak these words over your mind or to your children and grandchildren. Perhaps repeat this psalm instead of counting sheep or bottles on the wall. I will be praying for you because I know many of you struggle with this very thing. And I trust that we will “In peace lie down and sleep, for the Lord alone will keep us safe.”
Can you believe it? The first day of autumn is right around the corner, school buses are out and about again, and some trees are already changing into their autumnal attire. With this new season comes new wonderful opportunities at Eastside! We will be kicking off the fall season this coming Sunday with a new teaching series called “The Chosen” as we explore what it means to truly be chosen by God (Ephesians 1:3-5)! This series will tie in with the new Grow Group Tim and Kim Holt will be hosting on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings on the video series called, “The Chosen,” as well. Don’t forget to sign up! And that’s not all…Wyldlife is kicking off with a campfire night at the Kelly’s house on September 14th; Women’s Group is relaunching on September 21st, and on September 25th we are taking our service outside and worshiping at Perinton Park next door! Also, this weekend Pastor Kathryn will co-lead worship through singing with our new Music Director, Tim Lambert, as she steps into her new role of Assistant Pastor. It’s an exciting time to be a part of what God is doing at Eastside Church! Let’s be praying that God continues to use our small church to do BIG things!
Peaceful Sleep
“How’d you sleep last night?” It’s a question we ask each other in our family almost every morning. For some of us, the answer is usually, “Good.” For others, it may be, “It was okay.” And for some of you, the very mention of sleep causes anxiety because of how much you have been wrestling with it.
I recently read an article about the need for children to receive quality sleep at night (which of course reminded me of the great work “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” led by Donna Ritchie is doing for children all over our city). Sometimes we take sleep for granted and don’t realize how poor quality sleep can affect us. Study after study shows that our sleep quality impacts our behaviors, emotions, intellect, and physical and mental health. And no wonder! God created us to sleep at night. However, lack of quality sleep can lead to obesity, risk-taking and injury, mental health problems and disorders, poor social functioning, and negative behavior. I’m sure you know what some of those feel like. It’s difficult not to be irritable or miserable when we’re tired and stressed. And then, I came across what children need to receive consistent quality sleep from night to night. According to the research, children depend on feeling safe, feeling loved, having a consistent routine and rhythms to life, and a familiar-predictable environment. When any of those feel off to children, they tend to not sleep well and get the rest they need.
As I reflected on that list though, I think it applies to all of us, doesn’t it? No matter how old we are. And I am sure we can all relate to having nights or even seasons where quality sleep feels so out of reach. Perhaps there is something at school that is bothering us; a co-worker we are not getting along with; we feel like our finances are in a knot; or life in general is just stressing us out. So many things can lead to not feeling safe, loved, or like everything is out of sorts or unpredictable in our life right now. I know, I’ve been there too.
When I told someone about this article I read recently, they suddenly piped up and said, “You won’t believe what I just read this morning in my devotions!” Then they read these words to me: “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.” Those words are from Psalm 4:8. If anyone had a reason to not sleep well at night, it was King David who wrote this psalm. He had enemies who wanted to kill him, a nation to lead who were depending on him, and he endlessly wrestled with so much shame because of the mistakes he made in life. I am sure these words he wrote were so incredibly important to him and I imagine he may have repeated them to himself before bed or on those sleepless nights.
I share this with you because I know how hard sleeplessness can be whether it’s one night or week after week. It doesn’t just affect us physically but mentally, emotionally, AND spiritually too. Quality sleep matters to us and it matters to God. I want to encourage you before you go to bed to speak these words over your mind or to your children and grandchildren. Perhaps repeat this psalm instead of counting sheep or bottles on the wall. I will be praying for you because I know many of you struggle with this very thing. And I trust that we will “In peace lie down and sleep, for the Lord alone will keep us safe.”