My M.O.P.S Announcement

This is My Year to Give Back

For the past 7 years I have been attending MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) at Crossroads Baptist Church in Englishtown.  My childhood friend Bianca told me about it when Julia was about 10 months old and at the time I was already expecting our 2nd child and was excited to get out and make new mommy friends and just learn how to be a good mom.  I loved going to the meetings and just hanging out with other moms, drinking coffee, sharing ideas, sharing birth stories, laughing, listening to more experienced moms, all the while our kids were being taken care of by super sweet ladies from the church upstairs.

The mantra of MOPS is "Better moms make a better world!"  I fully believe that!  The more we encourage and equip moms to be all that they can be as moms while they are pouring into their families daily has this awesome ripple affect to their own families, people in the community and abroad.

Last year as I sat on the fence about what to do with homeschool and as I was praying about how I could be a blessing at home to Amelia and Micah I really felt God calling me to coordinate MOPS next year.  But I was scared and was wondering if I could really take this on.  At our last May meeting I felt the tug on my heart again that said, "Go for it!  You got this! You can do this! This is your year!"

I'm happy to announce that I will be coordinating this Fall!  I got my kit in the mail 2 weeks ago and I am really excited about diving in and being a blessing to all the Moms who come out this year.  Our theme is "Starry-Eyed: Seeing Grace in the Unfolding Constellation of Life and Motherhood."  I had a huge turn out at my first planning meeting at the end of May and I feel really blessed to have such a great team of supporters willing to step up and help out!

I will be clinging to Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"I am excited to use my gifts and energies to this really fun task of journeying alongside moms who are doing an amazing job of raising little ones!  I know for a fact that MOPS helps Moms when they are in the trenches of diaper duty, nursing sick babies, balancing home life, making routine and structure, planning meals...it's a lot of work!

One of my favorite parts of MOPS is when we bond as moms by going on field trips or play dates and watching our children become friends as we get closer.  I remember those first few years as a stay at home mom feeling so cut off from society and so lonely.  I couldn't wait to go to MOPS on Tuesdays, and neither could my kids for that matter!  It was a great time of socializing, and planning outings, and drinking coffee, learning new recipes, doing a craft together, praying together, hearing from a guest speaker, watching short DVD snippets to inspire you.  I always left MOPS ready to conquer the rest of the day/week with full intentions of being a better mom!  I got "filled" on those days and I can't wait for this year to do the same for others!

Let's face facts, mothering is a very hard job.  One never feels that she has "arrived."  There is always more to learn and better ways and new ideas to handle disciplining, potty training, nursing, sleep training, the list goes on and on.  Learning from other moms, listening, giving advice, getting encouragement and giving back to other moms this is what it is all about.  We all know that this mothering season is just that...it's a season...and we all want to do our best at it while we have the chance.  God gave us our particular children for a reason.  We are the best mothers for our children.  Let's take advantage of this sweet time and do all we can to pour into and invest into our little ones.

For those of you prayer warriors out there please pray for me as I lead this year that I will have clarity and discernment and creative ideas and ultimately that I will be a blessing to each mom that sets foot in our doors.

If you are interested in hearing more about our MOPS group please don't hesitate to leave a message!

We meet on the 3rd Tuesday every month from 9:30 a.m.-12pm (we provide breakfast) and September 20th is our launch day! Our meeting spot is at Crossroads Assembly of God Church off Main Street in Englishtown.

I am getting so excited because Fall is almost here and that means MOPS will be starting along with all of our fun Fall playdates to go Apple Picking at Battleview Orchards and Pumpkin Picking at Green Meadows Farm.