Catching Up and Can I Ask You A Question?

Hi Ladies!
I am back after an illness-induced absence and have some catching up to do! There are some really SCARY GERMS out there.......have you been fighting them off, too? Well, good luck with the battle.
Don't forget our upcoming MOPS Spooktacular Halloween Party! It is coming up this Friday, Oct.23rd from 9:15-11:15 and promises to be a great time for you and your Moppets. See you there!
I spoke with Eileen Leine this morning and asked her some questions. Eileen has been a member of MOPS since our first year. She is working as a Discussion Group Leader this year and is a super person! Here are her responses:

Your favorite color? purple!

Easiest meal to put on the table in a hurry? Chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese....the all-time kid favorite!

Your ambition as a child? to be a lawyer.

Your hardest adjustment as a mom? It is harder than I thought! The baby stage was easy and then it got harder!

Pet Peeve? When my house is dirty.....it drives me crazy!!

Quality you are known for? being thoughtful.

Your greatest extravagance? going out to eat! I love it!

TV show you have to watch? House Hunters.

Night or morning person? Morning, but not before 7:00!

Tell of a MOPS memory. I remember my first meeting and how warm and friendly everyone was, especially Michelle Jensen and Ann Simmons. I felt so welcomed. I have never forgotten that!

Have a great Monday, ladies! Stay well!!!

Teachable Moments

Parenting is such a difficult job!
Every day we are presented with "teachable moments" to share with our kids.
Today, a whopper presented itself.
A 6 year old boy, and his brothers, presented a story of getting in a weather balloon and being carried away.
What likely happened...
the boys were playing with the weather balloon, accidentally loosened it...then the fun began.
The 6 year old, terrified of the trouble he was going to be in, ran and hid. The older brothers tell the story of him getting in the balloon.
It is possible that the brothers saw him get into the balloon, but not out before it floated away.
But what the 6 year old did, hiding, there is your teachable moment.

I called all of my kids downstairs, even the 3 year old. Showed them the news, explained the story and then asked, "is that what you would do? Is that what you should do?"
I explained to the kids that telling lies ALWAYS causes more trouble! And, hiding can cause big problems. I told them how the police were there and how the boy was going to be in BIG trouble because he hid, instead of just telling dad what happened.

Little opportunities present themselves everyday. Find them and don't waste them...it can really help make parenting a little less difficult when the kids are faced with difficult choices!

How big is YOUR God?

“My God is so BIG!!! So strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!” That song is stuck in my head after singing it with a bunch of 3 year olds tonight. It seems that recently a LOT of my conversations with friends have come around to that conclusion! Over and over I've heard their stories, and have stories of my own, that confirm how compassionate, how caring, how great, and just plain BIG our God is! You would think that after walking with God for a certain amout of time, or through a particularly difficult time, trusting Him would have become second nature – He is so predictably faithful! And yet every story blows me away yet again! Instead, faith seems to be a never-ending learning process, kinda like patience. We think we have it mastered, and realize the only thing we have down pat are the words to make it SOUND like we're trusting. My mouth can say a lot of words that my heart hopes in, but just doesn't or can't quite believe. Praise God for His patience with me! I hope and pray, with fear and trembling in my voice as I do, that God continues to stretch my faith until it really is FIRST nature to trust, rest, believe.

All that to say - we have met and exceeded our goal of $350 for Operation Christmas Child - enough to send all 50 boxes! I love God's accounting! As of Tuesday, we had an excess of $5. Yes, $5. Not a deficit, and not a huge excess, but just enough. I love it! So thank you to those of you who allowed God to use you to answer prayers, and all praise to God for proving, once again, how BIG He is!

Christmas??

Brian mentioned yesterday that we have but 11 shopping weeks until Christmas. That means that our annual Christmas Brunch is only 8 weeks away!
Many of you know that it is tradition to have music at this meeting. This year will be no different. So, I need your input! Think of your 2 or 3 all-time favorite Christmas songs. Put your requests in the comment section of this blog, on the FB MOPS page or email them to me. The songs that are most requested will be in the program!
So get requesting!
Michelle
Oh, and a side note...
I traditionally pick the singers based on who I know will sing...but PLEASE, if you would like to join the "MOPS Ensemble" let me know!

Operation Christmas Child - A Service Project

It has been said that the greatest hindrance to accepting the Gospel may be the idea of accepting a gift that we can never repay. I thought about that this week as I worked on our Operation Christmas Child project. Could it be that easy? Could it be that just our simple pride gets in the way of accepting a gift of eternal value? How incredibly sad! That's why I love this project so much. Some child, and the parents of that child, and entire communities, are going to receive gifts from total strangers thousands of miles away, who have never met them and know nothing about them, and still love them enough to send these very special packages. They will have no means of repaying us. We know this, and somehow knowing that makes the process of giving all that more precious and exciting!

What a beautiful picture of God's love for us. My hope and prayer is that through these gifts, one child, one family, one community may be able to better understand how a God they have never seen could send a gift they could never repay, just because He loves them, and because He CAN! I can't think of a better way to get across the message of salvation, can you? To be God's hands and feet to help spread His message of love on this earth – what bigger calling could there be?!

So jump on board! We are more than half-way to our goal of 50 boxes!! If you have not had a chance to contribute to the shipping cost ($7/box) you will have another opportunity at the next MOPS meeting. Check the newsletter for your groups assigned gifts (I promise you will spend no more than $5/person for your gifts!) and give generously as the Lord leads you. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get to heaven and hear how these gifts affected lives for eternity!

Jan

MOPS Halloween Party!

Save the date, Moms!

MOPS of Simpsonville is having a HALLOWEEN PARTY on Friday, October 23rd! The party will be held from 9:15am-11:15 am in our usual meeting place at West Campus. This party is for both Moms and Moppets.

Here is what you need to do:

Bring a candy bag for your child
Bring a snack to share (does not have to be homemade!)
Dress your child in their Halloween Costume and wear a costume yourself, if you dare!

Activities will include games, a kid craft and cookie decorating. It should be a blast so plan to attend!!!!

MOPS Day at Bargain Babies

The owner of Bargain Babies Consignment has graciously made a special offer to our MOPS moms. On Wednesday October 14th all MOPS moms will receive 30% off of their entire fall purchase.
The details?
Bargain Babies has 2 locations: on Fairview Road and on Main Street in Simpsonville.
The Fairview Road location will open early, at 9 am, just for us!
The Main Street location will be open no later than 11am, and is hoping to open early at 10am for us. All you need to do is shop...then at checkout time tell them you are a MOPS mom and VOILA!, you get 30% off!
There are a few exclusions...cutom orders, Squeakers and new embellished socks.
I hope you ladies enjoy your special discount and the great clothes that will be available for your kids!