Prayers & Tips for a New School Year

I hope this prayer is a blessing to you in this back-to-school season! 

To encourage you even more, below is a guest blog post from Health and Wellness
Coach and Speaker, Sandra Tadros Guirguis, is full of healthy lifestyle tips to practice with your kids in this busy season. Sandra is going to share some of these insights on our “Friends for the Journey” women’s panel for back-to-school but, we had to get them in writing to resource you as soon as possible!  Blessings to you and your families,

Lara Watson
—–

1. To parent well and for our children to thrive, we must first take care of ourselves
(gasp!) I know this is hard to wrap our heads around sometimes when we want to
devote so much of our focus and attention on our children, but caring for ourselves
is the most unselfish thing we can do.  We can’t pour from an empty cup, so let’s fill
up our cups so we can pour into those we love most all day long.

2. These suggestions are meant to encourage and inspire you. However, if you are
in a difficult season, please know these are simply ideas that may help us. However,
for the seasons where we can only scrape by doing the bare minimum, know that it
is more than enough and our beautiful Saviour reminds us

 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 

-2 Corinthians 12:9.

Let’s get right into it my friends. You may have noticed that how we start the day
will have an impact on the type of parent that walks out of their bedroom to get the
kids ready for school. This is explained by how our bodies work and which part of
our nervous system is activated. 

Nutrition

Very simply, if I choose to wake up, grab my cell phone and start responding to emails, I am more likely to spike my cortisol levels. My brain is already in reactive mode and with my elevated stress, I am edging
towards increased adrenaline and reactivity.  However, if I wake up, place a hand on
my heart (to stimulate self-compassion in the brain) and with deep diaphragmatic
breaths recite a favorite verse or prayer, it makes a huge difference. I personally
love —

“Thank you for this day, Lord, for loving me and keeping me safe. 
Your mercies are new every morning, please help me keep my eyes on You.”

Morning Rituals
Having a cup or bottle of water nearby and opening the blinds helps us get natural
sunlight which goes hand in hand with our body’s natural clock, the circadian
rhythm. Hydrating all day helps with cognition, athletic function and general health
requirements.
Now, despite the mornings often being rushed and hectic, can we add some of
these elements for our children? Encouraging them to wake up, pray, open the
blinds and have some water? Perhaps there’s a worship song or playlist that gets
you going so we can start the day with Jesus in our ears.

A great breakfast can set the tone for the nutrition that unfolds the rest of the day. 
Having protein and fiber in the morning helps with satiety and less sugar cravings
throughout the day.  Here are my favourite breakfast ideas and some can be
prepped in advance:
-Greek yogurt, berries (optional slivered almonds)
-Muffin tin egg bites
-Overnight oats
-Hard boiled eggs, avocado, on whole grain toast
-Smoothies
-Breakfast burritos (beans, or eggs/ground turkey and veggies)
Canada’s Food Guide also has many great recipes for every meal.  https://food-
guide.canada.ca/en/

Exercise
Moderate-intensity exercise for 10 minutes or more increases endorphins and joyful
feelings and reduces stress hormones. This might be a brisk walk to the bus, to
school, at lunchtime, etc. Walking or playing together throughout the day always
provides an opportunity to talk and connect.

Find ways you like to move together and brainstorm how you can incorporate them
into your day. Perhaps a short after-school dance party to a great song or two to
kick off the after-school routine. “Praise” By Brandon Lake, Chris Brown and
Chandler Moore is SO much fun.

Here are some more great tips and recommendations (children between 5-17yo
should get at least 60 min of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity per day).
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/being-active/children-physical-
activity.html

Bedtime
Sleeping well helps our immune system, our mood, muscle repair, memory
consolidation and our next day appetite which is regulated by the hormones ghrelin
and leptin.  Sleep hygiene refers to the evidence-based recommendations around
healthy sleep behaviours which can optimize our sleep:
-Set a fixed wake up time – the same time every day (our circadian rhythm)
-Avoid caffeine after noon
-Avoid or limit naps which can detract from nighttime sleep (a power nap of 20
minutes is likely alright)
-Power off ALL electronics 1 hour before bed so our bodies can naturally produce
melatonin which is otherwise blocked by blue light from electronics
Remember how much Jesus loves you! He loves our children even more than we do
and thankfully He covers our shortcomings with His grace and unfailing love.
I pray for your very peaceful, Christ-centered new year my friends, and I wish you
many blessings.

Sandra Tadros Guirguis, RPh, HEWL, FTS
IG: @stg_wellness
website: www.stgwellness.ca