"Monsters-in-Law" or "Mentors-to-Love"

Wow, it's already Friday! Hope everyone had a great week. Our next meeting is this coming Monday. Susie Rogers will be our guest speaker. She is going to talk to us about our relationships with our Mother-in-Laws. I personally do not have a good relationship with my Mother-in-Law so there's a part of me that wants to bail on this one so I don't have to hear something I don't want to hear but I trust God has something great planned through Susie and I vow to come with an open mind. Below is a little about Susie.

Since 1987, Susie Rogers has enjoyed being involved in ministry at Hill Country Bible Church. Part of Hill Country Austin’s early pastoral staff, over five years, she was the first, full-time Director over their Children’s, Women’s and Communications Ministries. More recently, she’s resourced in roles as Creative Communications Consultant launching ministries, events & initiatives in Austin & Pflugerville. She is wife to Keith, mom and mother-in-law to Kendall & Adam Brunson, grandmother to Ainsley, Cori & Addie – also mom and mother-in-law to Rachel & Andrew Erwin, grandmother to Emery. A Realtor, too, she has loved helping families transition between homes since 2006. As a daughter-in-law for over 3 ½ decades, Susie will share, challenge and encourage us in an evening of candid conversation. 

I'm looking forward to having Susie join us on Monday night.

Every year Hill Country Bible Church MOPS participates in Operation Christmas Child. I've been doing this since I was a child and now my children love doing it. Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. This is a ministry that provides Christmas gifts, school supplies and other practical necessities for children around the world who normally would not receive anything during the holidays. All you and your family will need to do is pack a shoebox full of gifts and supplies for a child in need. We should have some boxes available Monday night or you can use your own box. We will be collecting the shoe boxes at our meeting Monday if you have them ready. If you want to participate but need more time, you can drop it off at the church office (where we meet) by November 15. For more info about Operation Christmas Child visit their website at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/. On the website, you will also find detailed instructions and tags you can print off for your box. After you print a tag you can register it and you will receive an email letting you know where your box was delivered. My kids love knowing where their boxes went. This is a great way to make a difference this holiday season and teach your kids about giving.

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. See all you mamas on Monday for some great fellowship.

Family Fun Night Recap

Happy Monday Mamas!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Dare I ask if anyone actually got an extra hour of sleep on Sunday? Hopefully if your kids got up at the crack of dawn they at least went to bed early.

I totally forgot to post Bobbie Davis' Mentor Moment last week. Bobbie talked to us about being high on a mountain and deep in a valley. She mentioned when David cried out in Psalms 22, "My God, My God why have you abandoned me?" When David was in a valley, he ran to God and he was very real with God. Bobbie encouraged us to come to God and let him help us deal with our messes when we have come to the end of ourselves. God said, "I will go before you." Run to God, humble yourself and stand on His promises. Thanks Bobbie for that reminder that God will never leave us alone. He is alway with us.

This past Monday our Mentor Moment was brought to us by Dawn Burleson. She talked about joy bonds and fear bonds. She encouraged us to let our kids know we enjoy being with then, get excited to see them, listen to them and ask questions such as how their day at school was, care about how they are hurting, offer comfort for their pain, and when playing games let them win sometimes. We should do everything for their benefit. They are not there to meet our needs. Communicate clearly to them how blessed you are to be their mom and have them as your little boy or girl. She advised us to avoid building fear bonds with our children. Don't fall into the trap of confronting them with criticism. Don't shame them. Dawn shared some lyrics with us from Hawk Nelson's "Words." It's a great song and an excellent reminder to honor God and build our children up with our words. Thank you, Dawn, for bringing us the Mentor Moment.

Jamie Ivey was our speaker Monday night. She talked to us about Family Fun Nights. This recap is brought to you by Shellie Carriker. Thanks Shellie for letting me use your write up.

Family Nights equals fostering togetherness & creating space for the family

Jamie challenged herself in her blog for one year to do something different each month. One of them Family Fun Nights. Her themes, Camping night, Luau, Nacho Night and Movie Night. She discovered through her own mess these nights sounded fun but were a lot of work for her. She loved being together but what it took was not working for her.  So she scaled it down and realized that simple was best for her.  She discovered a regular night out at their favorite restaurant but rename it Family Night made all the difference in the way the family team looked at it. Her focused shifted towards the togetherness aspect of the night instead of the actual activity. She made it work within her family routine or dynamics that were already in place. 

Her suggestions for ideas on family Fun Nights:

*Cook 

*Regular Day=special, it becomes Family Day (pack a picnic go to a park)

*Pizza Night with Movie

*Family Date Night 

Jamie suggested on Family Fun Nights to make it no phone/technology zone & to make the moments count! Just because you are in the same room does not mean you are connecting. Develop those moments.  

She also commented on marriage being very important and it is the foundation to the team. So if your foundation is struggling then it will show up in the family members. MAKE your marriage a priority. 

Mom’s are the backbone of the family.  God thought YOU to be the best choice for YOUR family & your family the best for YOU. 

"you can not measure your parenting only by the best or even the worst days!” (best line of the night)

Jamie made it clear if you are someone who loves to do theme nights (Pinterest style or such) then do it by all means! The whole goal is to create togetherness. She is just offering up what works for her Family Team!

Below are the questions from last night.

Questions:

1. How has your idea of quality family time been warped by the society that we live in?

2. What do you need to do to get back that healthy view of quality time with your kids?
3. What is your big picture for your family? How will that effect how you foster time with your family/kids?
4. What's a fun family night that you've experienced that you can share with your group?
5. What fun family night activity do you want to incorporate into your family?
6. How can you take steps to improve your marriage before you work on your family?
7. When you have days of bad parenting and want to crawl in bed, how do you deal with that? How can you still create family unity in spite of this?

Praying that this topic touched you in a way to take a minute to see what your Family Calendar looks like & create those together times! I know I walked away with new ideas & a better perspective! 

Thanks again, Shellie, for the recap!

We have a great speaker and topic planned for next week. Details coming soon but you won't want to miss this one. I think it will be great as the holidays are approaching! ;) I hope everyone has a great week. Remember to create a joy bond with your kids and build them up with your words. See ya next Monday!!!

Family Fun Nights Brought to Us by Jamie Ivey

Happy Monday Mamas!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I know a bunch of us have been sick so prayers for healing for all the sickies in the group. There's just nothing fun about being sick and having to take care of little ones.

We had a great time at Parkwood Meadows on Saturday morning. All the kids looked so cute dressed up in their costumes. The residents and staff seemed to really enjoy our presence. Thank you to everyone who came and to Annabell Hill for coordinating it for us.

Jamie Ivey will be our guest speaker tonight. She will be talking to us about Family Fun Nights. I don't know about you but I am super excited about this. My family has Friday Family Fun Nights and we could sure use some new ideas of things to do together.

Jamie has been married to the man of her dreams, Aaron, for 12 years. She thinks Aaron is the coolest guy she's ever met. Aaron is the worship pastor at their church, The Austin Stone Community Church, and he does a lot of songwriting in his spare time. They love to go on dates, eat at nice restaurants, enjoy food that is very above average, a nice bottle of wine, watching TV after the kids are in bed, and going on vacation. Jamie and Aaron have four children, Cayden, Amos, Deacon, and Story. Jamie has a blog titled "Dreaming Big Dreams." There she blogs about adoptions, parenting, marriage, family life, her crazy kids, what God is teaching her, and lots of other crazy thing. To learn more about Jamie and her family, including the adoptions of three of their children, check out her blog at dreamingbigdreams.net.

A few last minute reminders:
-Tonight is the last night to get your t-shirt money in. Shirts are $12 for size S-XL and $14 for XXL and up.
-If you haven't paid your dues, please do so or talk to your DGL.
-HCBCRR will be hosting Parenthood on Sunday, November 3 from 6-7:30. The topic is "Discipling your Children." The cost is $10 per family and childcare is provided. Please RSVP if you plan on coming.

Have a great day Mamas. Looking forward to seeing you all tonight.

"The Talk" Recap and Resources

Hey Mamas,
 I hope everyone is having a great week and embracing their messes. I know I am. It just dawned on me that I don't have any costumes for my 3 kids for the Halloween festivities this weekend and frankly, I'm too tired to care. So I guess we will be getting creative with what we have at the house and whipping up some costumes. I'm sure it will be a great weekend and the kids won't even know the difference.

Speaking of Halloween festivities, don't forget we have our October Community Outreach event this Saturday. We will be visiting the elderly residents at Parkwood Meadows at 10 am. You are encouraged to bring the entire family and wear your costumes. It will last about 45 minutes and I know the residents will be delighted to see us. You should have received and evite about the event but if you didn't, send your DGL an email and we will get an evite sent out to you. Hope to see you and your families there.

Blake Magee was our speaker at our last MOPS meeting. He made a sarcastic comment about how comfortable he felt talking about sex in room full of women but he did great. He didn't stumble at all. He also had a bunch of really useful information. Blake started off by telling us these horrible yet funny stories the pastors at HCBCRR had shared about how their parents talked to them about sex. Most of them were "what not to do" stories but nonetheless, very humorous. Below are some guidelines Blake talked to us about to make the sex talk with your kids impactful.

-It should NOT be a one time conversation, but an ongoing conversation.
     -You're telling your child they can talk to you about it anytime.
     -Reduces awkwardness.
     -Be exhaustive about it.

-Begin the conversation when your children are younger.
     -Prime age is between 8-10.
     -They aren't thinking much about sex and haven't been exposed to much.
     -They are still emotionally detached so it sounds more scientific.
     -They still see you as the authority.
     -Lay the foundation before they learn if from school.
          -Play offense not defense.
          -If your kids are around a bunch of other kids, they may know more than you think.

-Mothers should primarily talk to daughters and fathers to sons.
     -Moms can help dads plan for the first talk to make it as easy as possible.
     -Give the dad the resources.
     -Encourage the dad to talk to someone else who has had the talk with their son.

-Teach the emotional and psychological impact of sex.

-Speak with authority and confidence.


Here is a list of resources Blake provided for us to help talk to our kid about sex.

Books for Parents to Read Themselves: 

How and When to Tell to Your Kids about Sex: Shaping Their Sexual Character – Brenna Jones and Stan Jones

 The Parent Connection: A Health Education Resource for Parents of Teens – Susan Boe

 Angry Birds and Killer Bees: Talking to Your Kids about Sex – Todd Bowman

 How to Talk to Your Child about Sex – Josh McDowell

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/sexuality/teaching_children_healthy_sexuality/how_to_start_early.aspx

Books for Parents to Read to Children:

God’s Design for Sex Series: 

The Story of Me – Brenna Jones, Stan Jones, and Joel Spector

Before I was Born – Carol Nystrom

What’s the Big Deal? Why God Care about Sex – Brenna Jones and Stan Jones

Facing the Facts: The Truth about Sex and You – Brenna Jones and Stan Jones

Passport2Purity – Dennis and Barbara Rainey  

Thank you, Blake, for taking the time to come speak to us about this subject. Thank you, Mary, for sharing your husband with us mamas for a night and for your great insight to the topic as well.

A few reminders and announcements:
-Like I mentioned above, the our October Community Outreach is this Saturday.
-If you are wanting a MOPS shirt, please get your money to your DGL. Shirts are $12 for sizes S-XL and $14 for XXL and up.
-If you haven't paid your dues for the semester, please do so. If you are unable to do so, talk to your DGL.
-Please RSVP for childcare on Monday nights if you need it. We would rather you RSVP and not end up bringing the kids than the other way around. We need to make sure we have enough workers for all the kids in attendance. \
-HCBCRR will be hosting a parent equipping class called Parenthood in the YMCA small gym on November 3 from 6-7:30 PM. The topic is "Discipling Your Children." The goal is to help equip and encourage parents in the exciting yet chalenging task of making disciples of the next generation. Parents of children from birth to 18 are invited. There will be two breakout sessions. The first for birth to 4th grade and the second for 5th-12th grade. In each session they will discuss age-appropriate ways you can lead family devotional time, help your child study the bible, and develop a plan for your family's spiritual formation. Childcare will be provided. The cost is $10 per family. Please RSVP as soon as possible. You can send us an email at roundrockmops@yahoo.com or let your DGL know.

Have a great week mamas!

"The Talk"

Our next MOPS meeting is Monday, October 14. We had so many new mamas join us that we had to create a new table. We now have a black table. I'm so excited for the growth and getting to know all the mamas who have recently joined us.

This week our guest speaker will be Blake Magee. Many of you may know Blake's wife Mary who is a DGL at the purple table. Blake and Mary have been married for almost 13 years. They have 5 children, who are 9, 8, 6, 4, and 2. He currently works on the staff of Hill Country Bible Church Round Rock as family pastor. His previous work experience was in technology - working for Dell for almost 5 years and a small Austin-based company. He doesn't have a lot of hobbies but is an avid reader and spends his spare time with the family, dates with the kids, watching his favorite TV shows with Mary, and helping with kids activities. He is a native of Austin and graduated from Texas State and Dallas Theological Seminary.

Blake will be talking to us about how to talk to our kids about sex. I don't know about you but I'm a little surprised at the questions my kids ask at such a young age. I struggle answering some of them so I'm looking forward to hearing what Blake has to say and getting some ideas on how to address some of these questions.

Just a few reminders...If you haven't done so already, please get your dues paid or talk to your DGL for other arrangements. If you are interested in ordering a MOPS t-shirt you can turn your money into your DGL. Sizes S-XL are $12 and XXL and above are $14. The shirts are ladies fit and will have our MOPS logo and Beautiful Mess theme on them. I hope everyone has a great weekend. See all you mamas on Monday!

Meeting Recap from 9/23

Hey Mamas,
Hope everyone is having a great Monday. Last Monday was Bring a Friend Night. We had 11 Friends join us. Way to go members. You did not disappoint. I hope all of our guests had a great time.

Our Mentor Moment was brought to us by Kimberly Mason. She asked us to visualize our mess. Then she used the analogy that our messes are each a fragment of stained glass. It may not look like anything when just looking at one individual piece but when you put all the stained glass fragments together, it makes a beautiful picture with a kaleidoscope of colors. Thank you, Kimberly, for the reminder to look at the bigger picture.

Our guest speaker was Carrie Stephens. Carrie talked to us about "Being a Mary in a Martha World and Embracing Love as a Mama." As moms we can feel like we are in a lose/lose situation. We can be like Mary and start to feel guilty for not doing enough and at the same time be like Martha and feel guilty for not connecting with our loved ones. A lot of us are in that place and Carrie stressed that we can NOT stay there. It's going to kill us. She encouraged us to stay sane and not miss the beauty before our eyes. We must cling to what is most important, loving one another. Carrie gave us a handout with some action points on them such as dance parties with your kids, reading, and putting your electronics down to spend time with your kids. She asked us to find our bright spot. Your bright spot is something that you are already doing that helps love flow freely and generates growth and goodness. She told us that we are God's bright spot. He looks at us and sees all the good he made in us. He loves who we are and His love can never be taken away once you fully step into it. Make it a season of love and let your children remember it. Thank you Carrie for joining us and sharing that message. As moms, it's easy to get stuck in a vicious cycle of guilt. So find you bright spot, mamas!

Just a few reminders:
-The next Explore God meeting will be October 7.
-Our next MOPS meeting will be October 14.
-Don't forget to get your dues turned into your table leader if you haven't already.
-Before our next meeting your table leader will be contacting you about a Girl's Night Out. I would encourage you to attend if you can. It will be a great time of fellowship to get to know the other mamas at your table out side of a MOPS meeting.
-Find your bright spot and create a season on love. :)
-Have a great week Mamas!!!

Bring a Friend Night!

Our next meeting is this Monday and it’s Bring a Friend Night! I’ve heard awesome things about this night so don’t let me down, ladies. Bring your friends, neighbors, co-workers, random strangers off the street or whoever else you can think of. We will have an awesome drawing for our friends, as well as prizes for members who bring the most friends. So join us…and bring a friend!

Our guest speaker this week will be Carrie Stephens. Carrie is a pastor’s wife, mom of four, occasional freelance writer, but mostly she’s just a girl trying to reconcile her love for God and the way life takes some getting used to. Some things that interest her are design, her husband, her kids, how to glorify God in this crazy world, and her wonderful church family at Christ Community Church in Austin. She loves old music with musty pages and beautiful love stories. Carrie will be speaking to us about what it means to be a Beautiful Mess. I can’t wait to meet Carrie and hear what she has to say. To learn more about her, visit her blog at http://carriesburnttoast.blogspot.com.

Looking forward to seeing everyone Monday. Don't forget...BRING A FRIEND! :)

First Meeting Recap

Hey Mamas,

Thanks to everyone who helped make our first meeting a success. We had about 46 mamas in attendance. It was my first MOPS meeting ever but it was great to have veterans back and lots of new faces as well. Our theme this year is “A Beautiful Mess: Embrace Your Story.” I think all of us can relate to this theme. Our theme verse is “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ehesians 2:10. We have a great line up planned this year and I’m super excited for us to share our messes and embrace our stories together.

To start our meeting out, our Coordinator, Jenn Downing, opened us up in prayer and announced new babies, pregnancies and adoptions, birthdays, and visitors. Congrats to the new moms and the plehtora of pregnant moms in the group. (There really must be something in the water! ;)) I hope all the new visitors enojoyed the fellowship.

Tanya Curtis spoke about Explore God. Tanya and Joel Caldwell will be hosting an Explore God meeting on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month when MOPS is not meeting. The group will gather at the church office in the same room MOPS meets. Explore God is a casual conversation for everyone to discuss and explore some very common spiritual questions and curiosities. If you need more information or plan to attend, contact Tanya Curtis at tcurtis@cihq.org or Joel Caldwell at ajcaldwell99@yahoo.com. You can also visit exploregod.com to see what it’s all about. I’m really excited about this group.

Dena Johnson, who is one of our mentor moms, brought us our first “Mentor Moment” of the year. She told us that God takes our messes and makes them beautiful. She encouraged us to share our messes and joys with each other. Dena reminded us that it’s ok to come as you are, with or without make up, dressed up or dressed down, with take out or a home cooked meal, it doesn't matter. Just come and enjoy yourself and let yourself be part of the community. Thanks, Dena, for that great reminder.

We watched a funny video, "Never Leave a Baby with Spaghetti O’s." Please tell me I'm not the only one who relates to this. It's pretty accurate of what the baby, the kitchen, and I look like after lunch at my house.

We had a fun craft where we decorated coffee mugs with permanent markers to refelct the beautiful messes in our life. Don't forget to bake it in the oven for the marker to set. We also played a game where we each wrote down 5 facts about ourself and drew lines to each other when we had something in common. It was fun to learn about the mamas at our table even if I did learn there are way too many Aggies in the group! ;)

Our next meeting will be September 23. It’s “Bring a Friend” night. I hear this is always a fun night. There will be drawings and prizes for the person who brings the most friends and for the friends who attend as well. It will be the Purple table's week to bring snacks. Below are a few pictures from our first meeting. I hope everyone enjoys their beautiful messes over the next couple weeks. Looking forward to seeing all you mamas at our next meeting.

It's Almost Here!

Hey Mamas,
Summer has come to an end and our first meeting is just around the corner. Join us Monday, September 9th from 7 PM to 9 PM for fellowship and make some new friends. We will be meeting at the new Hill Country Bible Church Round Rock Church Office located directly behind Fuddrucker's off I-35. Grab your mama friends and come hang out.

MOPS Kickoff BBQ

Check your calendar! Rearrange your plans!

It's time for...

MOPS Kickoff BBQ

Saturday, September 7, 2013
11:30am - 2:00pm

SW Williamson County Regional Park

Quarry Pavillion

3005 County Rd. 175

Leander, TX 78641

Food and drink provided for everyone.

Splash Pad will be open for play.

Please bring your family! Come and enjoy!

NATIONAL MOPS Playdate Aug. 15th

Come and join us!!
Where:  Safari Champ
1400 E. Old Settlers Blvd. #200
Round Rock, TX 78665

When:  This Thursday, Aug. 15th
Time:   10am to 12pm

FREE children under 12 months
FREE Adults
$3.00 children 12-23 months
$7.50 children 24 months or older

If we have 8 or more kids the price will be $5 a kid!!  

Summer's Almost Over

Is this a picture of you?  Don't worry we are busy brainstorming and planning our "Welcome Back" meeting. Get excited!!!  Our first meeting will be on September 9th.