NEXT Meeting-January 5, 2012

Our speaker for our next meeting is Ann Bacon Spooner.  She will be talking with us about making sensible decisions in addition to what it means to be a "Super mom".  Ann's full bio can be viewed via The Peacemaker Center.

 

We're excited to hear from Ann...and hope to see you all at our first meeting in 2012! 

Advent Calendar

For a tutorial on how to make this Advent Calendar- Click Here!

For this and other Advent Calendar Ideas Click Here- All Things Beautiful

Ideas for how to use an advent calendar-

For each day, read part of the Christmas story from the book of Luke.  Here is a link to coloring pages that will make a book at the end of the 25 days.

**We'd love to know what you used last year...please send in your ideas to jennifer.l.kring@gmail.com and I will post them here so others can use them!**

Gifts From the Kitchen: Rise and Shine!

We had a GREAT night!  Thank you to all the 40 ladies who came out to make this evening enjoyable.  Also, a HUGE thank you to the team of ladies who worked so hard at putting it all together!

 

Self-Control

At our November meeting we heard from Courtney Gifford on Self-control. Courtney shared meaningful words, comical "mom" stories, and guided us to learn how to take control of our behaviors and attitudes.  Courtney shared she used to be very involved in MOPS and really enjoyed her time at MOPS.  She is a mom to 3 kids and before that was a school counselor. She shared the role of being a mom is the hardest job she have ever had.  

Courtney felt led to speak on self control because it is something she struggled with as a mom for many years. She has had lots of practice in trying to work on personal self-control and modeling and teaching it to her kids.  Below you will find her outline with helpful advise.

Self Control- the Definition: the ability to exercise restraint or control over one's feelings, emotions, reactions.  Self-control is the discipline of delaying impulse or gratification for a greater purpose.

We are all tempted by different things.  

No one in this room is perfect.  NO ONE!!  No one is the perfect mom or has the perfect child.   In order to develop self-control, we must first be honest with ourselves about our weakness.  We need to admit them to ourselves, each other and God before we can deal with them.   For example, Courtney shared:

            A.  I have always been a very emotional person. 

            B.  Didn't realize how angry I could get until after I was married and then                  had kids. 

            C.  Tone of voice-loud and critical is something I struggle with.

Think about your weaknesses so you can come up with tools to try to help.

Spend 10 minutes talking around your table about what it means to have self-control as a mom and give examples of ways you can do this? Some examples are:

            A.  body language

            B.  Mommy time out-hide in bathroom

            C.  Scripture memory 

Courtney shared that one of the things that has helped her tremendously is to know what she struggles with, so she can take her struggles to God and ask HIM to help her overcome them.  There are practical tools that we can use to have self-control but the power to change comes from the holy spirit. 
II Corinthians 12:6-9.  

There are a number of Bible verses that talk about temptation and struggles.  The Bible talks about how Jesus Himself was tempted. 

            A. I Corinthians 10:13 talks about how God will always give us a way out of our                           temptation.

            B. Phil. 4:13-I can do all things thru Christ who gives me strength

            C. Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,                                   goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control...

Ways we can teach our kids to have self-control. 

Q:  What are some ways that you teach self-control to your kids?

            A.  Practice

            B.  Reward positive actions

            C.  Consequences-What would be a better choice?

            D.  Talk about self-regulation-be aware of emotions, anger, self-talk

We all make mistakes regularly.  We all mess up so instead of letting that ruin our day and feel mom guilt, we can give everything over to God and ask Him to take our raw gooey eggs and make a yummy breakfast.

            A.  Whole Eggs-our psyche as a mom, our kids psyche

            B.  Broken Eggs-What happens when we lose self-control

            C. Scrambled Eggs-What God can do with our mistakes

                        1.  Be transparent with other moms-we all struggle with this

                        2.  God can change us through our brokenness

                        3.  Ask for forgiveness to your kids.  Great model of humility

Bold, Loving, Sensible

Summing It Up

Laugh today, moms....laugh! See you all on Thursday, September 15th at 9:15am for our MOPS Kick-off Meeting!

MOPS 2011-2012

MomSense: Bold • Loving • Sensible – equips moms to embrace their mothering instincts and develop their own parenting style while navigating through the myriad of daily mom decisions. Most women wonder: 

• How do I decide what to do when I really don’t know what to do?
• Should I trust my intuition?
• With so much available information, how do I discern what’s best?
• What are the most important family values?

Developing a mothering strategy is somewhat like playing a game — and this year’s theme is appropriately game related. Have fun being a mom! Playing games involves being bold and taking risks, loving those in the game with us and being sensible while figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
Just as in real-life, sometimes in games, unexpected, “chance” events occur, abruptly changing our paths. We must regroup and determine our next steps. Sometimes we follow the instructions of “experts.” Sometimes we follow the advice of trusted friends. Sometimes we decide our “house rules” work best for our family. Teaming together with other moms is a great strategy. Relying on a spouse or mentor can help us play more effectively. And, most of all, developing a strong God-Sense is essential for mothering. Growing as a mom through the analogy of game playing assures every mom gains confidence in her abilities as a mom.*

*MOPS International 2011-2012 Theme Description