It's true, the MOPS year is winding down. We have been The Starry-Eyed since September, and while we may be tempted to feel sad about being one meeting away from a summer break, there was nothing but celebration at our April meeting.
Craft: Busy Box
Need a way to keep the kiddos occupied while riding in the car or waiting for their food in a restaurant? This month we packed pencil boxes full of fun, creative activities to keep them busy.
Announcements
- Lisa Fields will be presenting her 3-week Love and Logic class on 4/23, 4/30, and 5/7 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Upstate Church of Christ. We hope many of you have registered!
- Jodi D. announced that she will be collecting new and gently used shoes for the Montessori School's shoe drive.
- Former MOPS leadership team member Alecia spoke to us about the great need for Hospice volunteers. You are a providing a great service for patients, as well as providing experience on your resume. Please get in touch with a Steering Team member if you were not at the meeting and would like more information.
- Moms Night Out: Bowling on Tuesday, 4/25. $3.50 per game, plus $2.50 for shoes.
Devotion
Jenny shared her thoughts on the concept of Choosing Joy. Here is her devotion, as written:
On an everyday basis, though, I find that too often I am shoving joy aside. Take yesterday, for example. Schools dismissed early because of the weather, and I waited in the car line at Concord for about forty minutes with two of my children in the back. They were wonderfully behaved, but that’s forty minutes I’ll never get back. And also a forty-minute nap for my toddler instead of a three-hour nap. Not a lot of joy there. When we got home, the kids were all amped up from the change in our daily schedule, and I felt like a witch when I knew in my heart I was SUPPOSED to be enjoying this unexpected time with them. Then the toddler pooped on my bedroom floor and peed on the suitcases that were waiting to be packed for our spring break trip. The dog wouldn’t stay in the bathtub as I tried to bathe him. Our Church Easter Egg hunt and supper were postponed, and I had nothing in the house for dinner. Joy just felt… absent.
I want to be joyful. Isaiah 12:6 reads: “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” Matthew 5:15 says, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” So, I should have enough joy, not just for ME, but to share with the world! (Or at least the people in my house, right?) I should be bursting with joy, because I have a God that loves me so dearly that he sent his only son to the cross for me. So why am I not shouting? (For joy, I mean.)
Motherhood is hard, friends. It is exhausting physically, and even more so mentally. This is why MOPS exists. This is why we’re here. Because there’s no way we’re going to make it through without our faith and each other. During our meetings, for the short hours that we’re here together, I feel like I am able to breathe. I don’t feel like that very often.
After just one year attending MOPS, I decided to join Steering Team this year. I did it to create some deeper connections with other MOPS mamas, and also to be a part of something so important. Steering Team does all of the behind-the-scenes work that makes these meetings, and our monthly activities, happen. They are the ones who open the door for joy to walk on in. I’m so thankful for the experience I’ve had this year, and i hope that those of you who have been considering joining Steering Team will prayerfully consider it. For me, that was my way of choosing joy. And when you focus on bringing joy to others, you inevitably will find yourself just a little happier as well."
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| Author Jen Hatmaker |
Video: Jen Hatmaker on Female Friendship
The gist: As moms, we need the support of friends who are willing to be genuine and honest with us, who will tell us things that are hard and accept us when we are at our worst. When our friends hurt us, we have to fight - just as we would fight for our marriage - to heal the relationship. This is how important it is for us, as moms of young children, to have real, mutually supportive friendships, particularly with other moms.
