March Meeting Recap: Notice Goodness

We had a great meeting last month!  Noticing Goodness is one tenet of this year's theme, A Fierce Flourishing, and in March we focused on noticing goodness in the unique personalities that God has given our family members!

Devotion

Megan shared some great thoughts with us based on the Scripture passage of Luke 10:38-42 where we learn about Jesus' visit with Mary and Martha.  Too many of us moms tend to be like Martha... busy, hurried, serving and a little angry.  Megan gave us 3 practical steps to help alleviate the
"Martha syndrome"and you can click here to read her full devotional.  Thanks for sharing, Megan!

Craft

Our craft was simple and perfect for the Easter season.  We made these beautiful pallet board crosses, and as you can see there are endless style possibilities for these crosses.


Here's the how-to:

Start with a rectangle of wood prepared however you would like.  We used boards from old pallets that had been cut down, lightly sanded and then stained.  Painted wood would look cute too!

Take two strips of fabric or burlap, cut about 4 inches longer than the length of your board, and center the first strip lengthwise on top of your board.  Holding the fabric in place, turn the board over and wrap one end of the fabric over the top edge of the board.  Staple the end of the fabric strip securely to the back of the board, then wrap the other end of the fabric strip over the bottom edge of the board and staple that end securely as well.

Turn the board over so you're looking at the front.  Using a 5-6 inch piece of clear fishing line, gather and tie the fabric where you'll want the intersection of your cross to be (about 3/4 way to the top).  Cut off excess fishing line.

Position your second strip of fabric across the front of the board, crossing over top of the first strip where you want the intersection of the fabric to be (where you've gathered & tied the first fabric strip).  Again, holding fabric in place, turn board over and secure both ends of the fabric strip with staples.

Turn the board back over to the front and repeat the gathering/tying process with the second fabric strip, taking care to position the second tie over the top of the first tie.  Hot glue a decorative detail (button, fabric flower, etc.) over the intersection of the fabric strips to hide the ties.

Speaker

Lisa Fields, the founder and director of Heath's Haven was back to speak to us and we just LOVE HER!  Heath's Haven exists to provide tools for healthy relationships and you can click here to find out more about the resources this organization provides.

Lisa started off by asking if any of us feel like we are living in a zoo?  (um... YEAH!)  That's because we are!  She explained that there are 4 different personality types (all made by God) that can be characterized by different animals (lion, otter, golden retriever & beaver).  Most homes have a combination of several different "animals" living in them so it makes perfect sense that your home might just feel like a zoo! 

The key to NOTICING GOODNESS in these different "animals" (your children) is to realize that each personality type is God-given.  Don't try to turn them into anything else (no matter the gender).  You may need to work on some hard edges and refine personality traits, but your goal as a parent is to help them to be the best, well-balanced type that they are created to be.  In other words, we are trying to appreciate the personalities our children have been given, and then help them become the best version of themselves that God intended. 

Lisa mentioned 3 elements needed to parent the family zoo:  Self-awareness, Observation, & Flexible Response.  She also explained that one of the greatest benefits of learning about personalities is the relief you feel when you can understand why another person acts and reacts as they do.  If you'd like to take the animal personality quiz click here to be directed to Gary Smalley's website.  He's got lots of great info on personality types as well as resources for strengthening marriages and families. 

We appreciate Lisa coming and always look forward to the the wisdom she shares with our group!  May we all notice the goodness in our children's personalities and have a little better appreciation for our family zoos!!! 

March Devotion

At our meeting last month, Megan shared the following devotion with our MOPS mamas.  She addressed the struggle that is so very common to moms of young children and we wanted to post her wise words here.

Luke 10:38-42

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? 

Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 

⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.

Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Have you ever felt like one of those circus performers that spins plates on sticks? One false move and everything comes crashing down around you. This is me.  There is so much required of us as mothers that the job can be daunting at times.  We serve our families, many of us serve our church, our community, our children’s schools, and in MOPS.

Over the past few weeks, I have been planning for MOPS, serving on youth staff, planning birthday parties, and various other jobs and responsibilities. Many days, I feel like I am in a constant state of motion shuttling kids, shopping, planning, and trying to be everywhere that I need to be. It is stressful and overwhelming.  I am Martha.  She was there with Jesus, she was serving others, she was doing good things, things that she felt needed to be done. But she was angry, stressed and overwhelmed.  She was distracted from the one thing that was most important at that moment:  the presence of Jesus.

We can’t disengage from being mothers and wives.  There will always be dinner to prepare, children to tend, bills to pay…but we must find balance.  I don’t want my children remembering me as the mom who did lots of stuff, but was always hurried and anxious.  God doesn’t desire this for us either. 

What do we do?

1. Choose joy - My husband recently called me out on this. He said that I spend so much time trying to be supermom and make everything perfect, that I miss out on the joy in the process. I really hate it when he’s right.  I am a perfectionist.  I put ridiculously high standards on myself and cause a lot of anxiety in the process.  Stress and anxiety will rob you of your joy.  As mothers, we can become so focused on the job, that we miss out on the moments. Life is going to happen.  I don’t want to waste that time angry or stressed. I want to choose joy.  Psalm 118:24 says...This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it. It doesn’t say the day will make us happy, but that we must make the decision to rejoice in it.

2. Get in his presence - Martha was there with Jesus, but she wasn’t in his presence.  Jesus said, only one thing is needed.  We need his presence.  We need His word.  This is a really hard priority to make when you are a mother of small children.  You don’t have to read the whole Bible in a year. Just carve out a few moments a day to meditate on Him. It will breathe life into your soul and give you strength to face the day.

3. Rest - Part of our theme this year is to embrace rest. I am a musician, so I often think in musical terms. The literal definition of a rest is a beat of silence, a pause.  Sometimes we have to cut out all of the noise and the unnecessary distractions. Put the phone down, turn off Netflix, and rest. (Still speaking to myself here, by the way) I feel like God is telling me to STOP! Be still! Sometimes this means saying no to things that are causing me added stress and worry. Getting rid of distractions allows us to focus on the things that matter most…our relationship with God, our spouses, and our children. Jesus said, only one thing is needed.

 

Fun for moms & kiddos - March MNO & MOTT

Last month we had a couple of really fun outings in addition to our morning MOPS meeting!  Each month we have a Mops On The Town (MOTT) and a Moms Night Out (MNO).  You can find information on these on our calendar page and this extra time together is a great way to build relationships with the fun mamas you meet at our MOPS meetings!

MNO - Bowling

MOTT - Happy Cow Creamery

Tasty Tuesday: Resurrection Rolls

Resurrection Rolls are a creative way to tell the Easter story and provide a teachable moment for your kiddos!  Below is the recipe and the story to tell while assembling the rolls.  The recipe is simple enough that children can actively help and of course you can modify the story to make it age appropriate.  As an added bonus, the rolls are quite tasty!  Enjoy and have fun celebrating Easter with your family! 

photo source

Ingredients

1 Cans of Crescent Rolls
8 large marshmallows
melted butter
cinnamon sugar

Directions/Story

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

The story:   (Note: you may want to modify for younger children)
Jesus is God’s son who was sent to earth to pay the price for our sin. He never sinned. The white of this marshmallow represents the purity and sin-free nature of Christ.

After Jesus died his body was prepared for burial. After he was buried, his friends prepared him to be buried with oil and spices. Dip the marshmallow in butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

Jesus was wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb with a large rock rolled in front. Wrap the marshmallow in one triangle of dough covering it completely like a ball (rock).

Complete the process for all 8 triangles and marshmallows.

Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Allow rolls to cool. Say after 3 days, his friends went to visit the tomb but the rock was rolled away and two angels said, “why are you looking for the living among the dead?”

Reveal that when you cut open a roll or take a bite that the marshmallow has disappeared, leaving an empty “tomb.”

Remind children that the rolls are sweet just like the love God has for us.

Follow-up by reading the Easter story together from the Bible so that children know that it is true and that Jesus died for them and wants to be their savior. Pray with children, thanking God for the gift of Jesus.

Recipe adapted from this Lifeway post.  

Guest Blog Post: Parenting... Enough Said (by Samantha LeMonds)

We have so many talented and wise women in our MOPS group!  Today we have the pleasure of featuring a post from Samantha's blog "Whatever is Lovely".  She shares some great advice for all of us undertaking this parenting endeavor!  

 

Thanks for sharing Samantha!  If you want to read more her writing, click here to be directed to her blog. 

 

Parenting...  enough said

When you become a parent no one tells you about the constant struggles you deal with or the many, many decisions that have to be made. It seems like every day one of the boys are hitting a new milestone in life which comes with its own set of struggles and decisions. It was doable when we just had Westyn, but now we have two different kids going in two different directions. Literally. Outside playing today Lincoln was running towards the road while Westyn was going towards the woods. All of a sudden I had a choice to make. Which kid to physically stop and which kid to ask to stop. Luckily, this decision was easy. Obviously, I ran and grabbed Lincoln before he could get smashed by a car and I yelled at Westyn to wait.

This got me thinking though. As a parent there is going to come a time when we have to move beyond being able to physically stop our children when they're making poor decisions, and move more towards having a conversation with them. I feel like with Westyn, my four year old, we are getting more to this point. I no longer have to pull is hand away from a hot stove, I just have to explain to him that it will burn him. Those things are easy. What's not going to be easy though, is when he's making decisions that will will effect his Spiritual life.

Just last week we had our first incident with him stealing. Okay maybe stealing is a strong word. He was merely attempting to sneak a small toy out of someone else's house after I told him he wasn't allowed to take home any of their toys. Okay yea, he was stealing. Thankfully he was caught, had to return the toy, apologize, and then we had a talk. When having these talks with him I wonder if he really gets it. A little while later while we were walking into Aldi he stops me and says "Mommy please don't tell anyone I tried to steal something" in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard. Stick a knife right into my heart. I had to hold back tears of sadness and of joy because I realized that he got it. His little amazing heart felt the wrong that he did and he was ashamed of it. No parent wants their child to feel shame, but sometimes that's the only way we learn.

This entire incident just proves to me how very important it is for us, as parents, to instill strong morals into our children. We can't depend on others to do this for us. We made the decision to plant this little tiny tree, now it's time for us to allow the roots to grow as deep as possible in a strong faith filled environment, so when the day comes that we release this tree into the world they will not be able to shy far away from their foundation. They will have the ability to go into the world without being influenced by worldly things. They will be able to make good decisions based on knowledge instead of the whims on the people.

Okay, that all sounds great Sam, but how do we do this? I'm still working on that part out but this is what I have so far.

-- Prayer- Prayer is my struggle so I have a specific day that I pray for exactly this, the whole parenting thing and how to not fail at it.

-- Team Work- If you're luckily enough to have a spouse who shares the same beliefs that you do, then you are winning already. Talk with each other about this, how to handle situations that come up, and how to discipline/construct your children. God specifically put the two of you together for a purpose. Start trying to figure out what that purpose is. If you're a single parent (or just single in faith), then you have your work cut out for you, but I promise you are not alone in this. " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord YOUR GOD will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9  I suggest printing this verse out and posting it up somewhere you can see it daily. God will give you the strength to handle the hard times to come. He never promised life would be easy, He only promised that He would never leave you to do it alone.

-- Surroundings- This one is so important and one that Joe and I are struggling through right now. To homeschool vs public school vs private school. The list goes on and on. The people we allow our children to be around, not only can influence them, but will influence them. We have a small moment in time that we still get to choose their friends and the adults who watch them. Think hard and choose wisely. The biggest influence, however, is you. If you don't think your kids pay attention to what you're listening to, watching, and reading, then you are greatly misjudging them. As Rachel Cruz always says "more is caught than taught".

My husband and I will have to depend on each other, and together we will depend on God to get us through this thing they call parenting. I myself like to call it "jumping hurdles". You know, where you're constantly jumping over things (like toys) until that one hurdle comes up and you fall flat on your face. If you're like me, I tend to fall, a lot, but I've surrounded myself with enough wonderful people to help pick me up when I can't do it on my own.

Samantha LeMonds is a stay at home mother of two boys. The main goal of her blog is to inspire women and to be inspired by women. She also has a slight obsession with coffee.

You can find more of Samantha's writing at Whatever Is Lovely.

Tasty Tuesday: Irish Soda Bread

Since St. Patrick's Day is this week, I thought it'd be fitting to post a recipe for something Irish-y.  And since many of our families are not too keen on cabbage, this recipe for Irish Soda Bread seemed a good choice.  Homemade bread is soooooo good, and this is an easy recipe for anyone to try.  Enjoy!   

photo/recipe source

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Sharpie Paint Pens Craft Tutorial

This year we've done several really fun and cute crafts using Sharpie Oil-based Paint Pens.  The how-to is easy and the possibilities are endless!  We used the same method to complete several different crafts.  Read on for examples and instructions. 

Sharpie Mugs

In October we created personalized mugs... great for gifts or for yourself!  Just start with a clean dry surface and draw on the design of your choice.  (We were able to find all the mugs we needed at local thrift stores!)  Sharpie paint pens are available for purchase at any craft store and come in a variety of colors and line widths (fine point, extra-fine, etc.)  To set the paint so that it doesn't come off during use or washing, place mug on a cookie sheet in a cold oven and bring the temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool in oven before handling.  Hand washing your mug is recommended to help preserve the design.

Celebration Plates

In January we made family "celebration plates"...  You can design a plate to be used for someone's birthday or to celebrate a special day or experience.  For these we used clear plates (again procured at local thrift stores) and the same Sharpie paint pens as above.  Choose your design - you can create something yourself using Publisher or a similar computer program, or you can find an image or graphic on-line.  Once you have chosen your design, you need to reverse it to a mirror image (so that it looks backwards when printed).  Print your template and then tape it face down to the FRONT of the plate.  Use your Sharpie paint pens to trace your design onto the BACK of the plate.  Writing on the back of the plate will keep the ink from coming into contact with food and prevent the design from scratching off.  Use the same baking method as described above to set the design and hand wash after use. 

These crafts are easy & fun and personalize ho-hum dishes into something special!  Give it a try!