Blog - Denham Parish Church

Wellbeing Thought for Monday 1st March 2021

March 1, 2021/in Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

Monday 1 March

Spiritual renewal

Have you ever allowed your petrol gauge to get into the red zone? Not only could you run out of petrol, you could also damage the engine. The same is true for your spiritual life: If you don’t refill your spiritual tank, you will get depleted on the inside and eventually do damage to every part of your life.

After his spiritual high, when he won a victory over the Baal priests, Elijah the prophet went into a deep hole of spiritual depletion. This can happen to us, too! When we give out without receiving from God for ourselves we can end up with spiritual burnout.

God lovingly restored Elijah. This involved a 40-day journey to Mount Sinai.

The Lord desires us to spend time alone with him. Henri Nouwen wrote, “We don’t take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.”

We live after Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, so we don’t have to go on a 40-day pilgrimage to do that! We can learn to practice the presence of God in our everyday life.

Thank God today for his presence. Invite him to help you become more aware of him in your everyday life. Consider how you can make time in your daily schedule to seek him. “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4.8)

Wellbeing Thought for Sunday 28th February 2021

February 28, 2021/in Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

WEEK FOUR: SPIRITUAL WELLBEING

Sunday 28 Feb

True rest and refreshing

Holidays can be good for our replenishment, but they don’t necessarily satisfy our need for spiritual rest and wellbeing. Saint Augustine famously said, “Your Lord have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find yest in you.” Selwyn Hughes writes, “If God is not satisfying our souls, we will seek something else to satisfy us.”

Our spiritual wellbeing is of critical importance to every other area of our lives.

God’s forgiveness, peace, presence and rest is available to all who accept what Jesus is offering them! The Bible promises that all who believe in and receive Jesus are born again, made spiritually new and alive through his resurrection power.

No matter how long we have been a Christian, we need to keep coming to Christ and ‘drink’ regularly, because – in the words of John Wimber – ‘we leak’!

If you have never experienced Jesus coming into your life, then why not invite him today? You could pray like this: “Lord Jesus, I admit my need of you and invite you to come and forgive me. I believe that you died and rose again so that I could receive new joy, purpose, hope and wellbeing. Please come into my life and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I commit to following you and your ways all the days of my life. Amen.”

If you follow Jesus as your Lord, why not turn this prayer into thanksgiving and recommit your life to him?

210228 Sunday Worship: Spiritual Wellbeing

February 27, 2021/in Uncategorized/by Christoph Lindner

We’re showing off your beautiful mugs during the countdown of Sunday Worship, so do get there for 10.30am! Edda and Christoph are leading the service live from the Rectory as we continue on The Wellbeing Journey. [Find all the links below the video]

Click here to watch (or click image below)…

Church Coffee Online…

Sign up for The Wellbeing Journey…

Download the latest Denham Parish News…

Living Life to the Full Website…

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:

Open the Book Bible story (Elijah part 2)…

Wellbeing for pre-schoolers…

Wellbeing for Keystage 1&2…

Bible puzzle colouring in sheets…

Wellbeing Thought for Saturday 27th February 2021

February 27, 2021/in Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

Saturday 27 Feb

Sabbath

The concept of Sabbath is often misunderstood; it means ‘to stop’. The biblical creation account tells us that God rested on the seventh day – delighting in his creation. Often this biblical command to ‘keep Sabbath’ has been made into an unhelpful, stifling religious duty. Jesus responded to that by saying that ‘the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’ (Mark 2.27). It’s a gift from the Creator to his creation. Our goal should be to work from rest, not to rest from work: “People who keep sabbath, live all seven days differently” (Walter Brueggemann).

> Do you take a weekly Sabbath? What could you do on that day that refreshes you?

> Take some time today to review what you’ve learned this week. Which one step could you take into greater emotional wellbeing?

Prayers for Friday 26th February 2021

February 26, 2021/in Prayer/by Christoph Lindner

Father we thank you this beautiful morning for the gift of Life, for persevering us through the night, we say thank you Jesus for a new day that you have graciously brought us into.

Thank God for the well being journey we all are in and the positive feedbacks we are receiving, for the uplifting power of gratitude.

Forgive all our shortcomings, Cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Oh Lord we commit all of our activities today into your able hands, praying and asking for your mighty hands of protection to rest on us all, lead us aright today, provide our needs today .

Jesus we ask for your Mercy and healing on all that are troubled in body, mind and spirit, please disconnect them from every alliance that will not bring you glory.

Jesus we surrender our lives and all that concerns us today, deliver us from harm and build a hedge of protection on us all

We pray for Briony and Sean , Briony’s parents and also the family of Paul Stapleton at this difficult time of grief. May your Holy Spirit comfort them.

We pray for Ferry Dukes, thank you for her recovery, we pray that her physiotherapy will go well and for her full recovery.

Lord we bring before you Dot Hone, we pray that you will perfect all that concerns her lungs and her voice.

Thank you Father for hearing us in Jesus mighty name we pray, Amen.

Wellbeing Thought for Friday 26th February 2021

February 26, 2021/in Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

Friday 26 Feb

Slow down to be present

Slowing down is essential but it can be hard. Our fast pace can make us especially vulnerable to burnout if our identity is rooted in what we do rather than who we are. A wise Christian leader counselled a younger one, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Slowing down is part of becoming the person God has designed us to be. Only when we slow down can we learn to be present.

The Christian approach to mindfulness is being present to the One who is always present to us. It is about learning to ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46.10). The Prayer of Awareness (developed by St Ignatius of Loyola) can be helpful in this. It consists of five steps:

(1) Thanking God for specific good things. (2) Searching my heart for anything that has come between me and God. (3) Reviewing the day just gone – have my actions and circumstances taken me towards God or away from God? (4) Confessing anything that I have become aware of in steps (2) and (3), not allowing any sense of condemnation, but receiving his forgiveness and love. (5) Abiding in God’s presence and love.

News Sheet Sunday 28th February 2021

February 26, 2021/in News Sheets/by Christoph Lindner

Click here to view…

Wellbeing Thought for Thursday 25th February 2021

February 25, 2021/in Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

Thursday 25 Feb

Gratitude

“Rejoice always, … give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5.16-18)

Studies have shown that the attitude of gratitude can increase our happiness by as much as 25%. It helps us savour the good things in life. But it’s not enough to feel gratitude – we need to express it. Some people write down three things they are grateful for each night. The Book of Psalms is full of songs of gratitude to God. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter full of gratitude to God … from prison! (Read Philippians 4.4)

> Which gratitude habits could you adopt? Read Psalm 103 and write your own list of what you’re grateful to God for.

Combatting Zoom Fatigue

February 24, 2021/in Article, Faith at Work, Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

(This is from a longer article by Curt Thompson. Read the full article here…)

By now, most of us have noticed. And either we or someone we know is talking about it. Zoom fatigue. Irritability. No fever, cough or body aches necessary. Just the normal, run-of-the-mill symptoms of social distancing. And mostly, people are describing how much more exhausted they are at the end of their days compared to what their lives were like before three weeks ago. All of this highlights one element of what it truly means to be human that our encounter with the coronavirus has drawn our attention to: our bodies.

God made our bodies as part of what it means for us to be human, and much like asking someone to breathe air that is only 15% oxygen instead of the normal 20%, we’re asking our bodies to do things they were not made to do. Even so, along with other suggestions I have offered regarding COVID-19, here are some additional things you can do to help:

Make it a practice to take at least three 5-10 minute walks every day. Shorter, more frequent movement not only extends your body’s movement over the course of the day, it also gives you something to look forward to throughout the day, thereby reducing your anxiety along with your irritation.
If possible, change your location of work in your home. This may be challenging, but different physical locations within your home over time gives your body the awareness of movement by virtue of being in a novel location.
When possible, stand while doing work, especially when using a screen. This practice enables your body to work even while being less mobile.
As you are able, limit the number of people on videocalls to three or less. This may sound unreasonable, or impossible. But the fewer people your brain—and body—has to keep track of, the less tired you will be. This may simply sound like common sense. That’s because it is.
Greet as many people as you can whenever you are able. There is little cost to acknowledging the presence of another person, and we need to be acknowledged even by strangers. Not only will your thinking mind give and receive it, your body will as well.
Plan for daily singing/worship while standing. Sing along with your most loved YouTube worship video as a means to use your body to tell your mind and soul that you are quite alive—and that you are not alone.
Talk about your anger. There may be nothing more important than having a close friend or counselor validate that your anger is real and isn’t crazy. Not to mention that talking to someone about your feelings connects you to another person, which in and of itself will reduce your irritability and give you a greater sense of agency.
Practice contemplative prayer. This form of prayer, especially while standing, strengthens your capacity to live in the present moment which protects against the irritability that emerges in the face of immobility.

Our bodies are hard at work. And although we are in a season in which we are asking them to work differently and harder than usual, know that you are not alone, and your work is not in vain.

Wellbeing Thought for Wednesday 24th February 2021

February 24, 2021/in Wellbeing/by Christoph Lindner

Wednesday, 24 Feb

A hope that doesn’t disappoint

Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp, tells how hope was the most important factor in surviving. Hope is the belief that things can change. It sustains us. It helps us deal with suffering and disappointments. It’s important that we learn to deal effectively with such disappointments, including the need to mourn a sense of loss before moving on. Often, when we trust God, he will bring turnaround in his way and his timing. As Christians, our deepest sense of hope is that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and rose triumphantly from the grave. All things will be put right when he returns!

> Bring your disappointments to God and renew your trust in him. Read and meditate on Romans 15.13.

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