Meeting Recap - May 8, 2014

Our second-to-last meeting of the year featured a local Wellness Coach and registered dietician, and we also heard from our MOPS Coordinator for next year, Laurie Burke. But first, let's get to those announcements:

• There's only ONE more meeting for this MOPS year - NEXT WEEK - May 15th. That's right, we're meeting two weeks in a row this month. Don't forget, ladies!
• Please bring any cards or gifts you'd like to give to your MOPPET worker(s) to next week's meeting.
• MOPS Family Fun Day is Saturday, May 17th from 4-6pm at the Dunlora Clubhouse
• Bring a picnic/snacks for your family. Drinks are provided
• Feel free to bring lawn/outdoor games for yourself and your kids
• VBS Registration is open at FBC! The dates are July 7-11th, and volunteers are needed and welcomed! Your bed baby or toddler will also get to come to VBS if you volunteer. See the FBC website for more information.
• FBC will start a summer Bible study series on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm starting June 3rd. The study will be on Divine Design, True Woman 101 by Mary Kassian and Nancy Leigh DeMoss. See the church website for more information and to sign up.

Laurie Burke

We were in for a special treat this week, as we heard from Laurie Burke, our MOPS Coordinator for next year. Laurie is a Texas girl through and through, and never thought she'd find herself in Charlottesville, Virginia - a place she had never heard of until relocating here! Laurie grew up in a family of faith and always knew and trusted God. However, it took a series of challenges and uncertainties the past few years for her to fully trust and fully surrender her heart to Him. Laurie shared that amidst the difficulties, the one thing that was consistently a huge blessing to her was MOPS - a group she is thankful for and is excited to be leading next year. She shared one of her favorite Scripture passages that has been a source of comfort - Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Thank you Laurie, for embracing your story and encouraging us with it!

Our guest speaker this week was Kris Bonham, a registered dietician and Wellness Coach at ACAC. Kris spoke to us about Emotional Brain Training, or EBT, which is a tool to teach people to how to optimally process their daily emotions and can be an effective tool for dealing with stress, depression, anxiety and weight issues. EBT can help individuals change the "wiring" of their brain, so that when dealing with a highly stressful event, the person will not fall back on a pattern of unhealthy, unconscious reactions.

Kris shared that 70% of our brain patterns were formed in the first 3 years of life and were directly impacted by our parents - especially our mom. A daunting thought to this room full of moms with young children! However, Kris told us that no matter how good or bad our patterns are, EBT can help us to "re-wire ourselves" - essentially change our thought patterns to ones that deal effectively and optimally to stressful encounters. 

Kris Bonham

Kris went over brain state characteristics and gave suggestions and tools for going from a brain state of 4 or 5 (stressed and highly stressed) to a 1 or 2 (optimal and healthy). Such an interesting topic sparked a lively question and answer period - including (from a nursing mom) how do hormones affect my brain state?! Ha.. only at MOPS, ladies!

For more information on EBT, you can check out the website, www.ebt.org or contact Kris at ACAC. Many thanks to Kris for introducing us to this fascinating topic!

How sad to say we only have 1 more meeting of the year.. next Thursday, May 15. Hope to see you there!