Exhale Patience
"There is a time   for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and now it is time to go back to school! Remember the routines we gladly let fall by the wayside at the end of the school year? It is important we pick them back up or maybe, in some cases, implement new and improved routines to ensure smooth transitions for our families and success for our children.
 
Begin each day:
 
RESTED .  Establish a bedtime routine that works for your family: who takes a bath first, who is going to read the bedtime story, what time is lights out?  It may make for a calmer morning if decisions are made the night before about what to wear the next day.
 
NOURISHED .  Begin the school day with a healthy breakfast together. Set the tone - calm, prepared and excited to face a new day.  Does the classroom schedule include a morning snack time?  What's for lunch?  Have a conversation with your kids about what they want to eat for snack and lunch. Let them help pick out the food or pack their own lunch. Your idea of a great lunch may not be their idea of a great lunch; it may go uneaten or get thrown away.
 
PREPARED .  Whether it is the first day of kindergarten, or third grade at the same school as last year or middle school or high school, it is a new beginning with lots of unknowns.  And unknowns can be anxiety provoking for you and for your children. Talk about the first day of school. Tour the campus. Practice driving the route to school; where is drop-off, pick-up? Attend "Meet the Teacher;" find out what is the best way to communicate with the teacher.  Friends help ease anxiety; check-in with parents of your children's friends to see if they will be classmates.  Shop for school supplies together; buy the necessities and splurge on a fun pencil box or a "cool" notebook and brainstorm what the new assignments might be.
 
And at the end of the day, take time to share highlights of each other's day. "What did you learn today" often gets answered with "nothing."  Start a new tradition: "Share a high and a low for today" and you go first! Breathe in patience, exhale understanding.  Enjoy the school year - highs and lows - because that is the season we are in.

~Sharon Darin, Registered Mental Health Counseling Intern
STRONGER;
A Walk to Save Hearts & Minds
An Opportunity for Families, CoWorkers, and Friends to Join Together and Support Each Other!
Join Us on September 24, 2016 to Help Make Our Community STRONGER: 
All Funds Raised will go to Support Crisis Care and Suicide Prevention. 
Teams and Sponsorship's Available!
CAN'T MAKE IT??? You can be a Virtual Walker and still be a part of this outreach!

NEW INTERNS AT LCS
At LCS we value the education and training of new professionals in the Mental Health field.
 As our School Ministry Program Grows we have been blessed to add 3 registered Interns to work in our six schools; Kolby Nance, Abby Wirick, Matthew Antolick. Sharon Darin will continue to work in our schools and she will continue to see clients in our office. Our Plymouth program has entered the sixth year of service. Jennifer Bloom has joined the LCS staff as a registered intern working with the Residents of the Plymouth in Winter Park. 
LCS in the Community
  • Dr. Armstrong led a Leadership retreat at Hope Lutheran in the Villages August 11
  • Dr. Armstrong is currently working in conflict situations in three Florida Churches.
  • Dr. Armstrong will be preaching at Trinity Lutheran Church in Downtown Orlando on August 28
  • LCS has begun the Fall round of Assessment for Church Candidacy with United Methodist Church Center for Clergy Excellence in Florida
If you or your organization needs assistance or would like to schedule a workshop or retreat led by the professional staff at LCS please contact Jamie at 407.644.4692 ext 122 or email jamie@lcsfl.com

 At LCS we strive to surround All of Our Community and the People of God in Love. The Crisis Care Fund allows LCS the financial resources to provide professional, outpatient mental health counseling, opportunities for training and debriefing, and Care for those have bee involved in providing services to victims and survivors. This fund will not only support those who have experienced recent tragedies but will allow LCS to provide care in any future Crisis Situations. 

SUPPORT THE CRISIS CARE FUND
July 2016| Lutheran Counseling Services | 407.644.4692 | admin@lcsfl.com | lcsfl.com
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