Meeting Recap - September 11, 2014- First Meeting!

It was so great to be back together and to welcome a host of new faces this year! Laurie opened us in prayer and then we enjoyed an amazing breakfast. Thank you, Steering! Let's start with important announcements first:

• Please drive slowly in FBC parking lot as children are being dropped off for preschool. 
• If we know we will be missing MOPS, we need to contact your table leader ASAP as well as Cynthia Pistulka. Her email is Cynthia_Pistulka@embarqmail.com. 
• Try as hard as you can to be present at MOPS meetings. There are many women who want to be a part of MOPS who are on the waiting list. If you consistently miss MOPS meetings, your spot will be given to a mom on the waiting list.
• Breakfast is provided on a rotational basis by tables. Two tables provide breakfast each week and your table leader will notify you when it is your turn.
• For moms who have newborns (up to three months), your babies are welcome to stay in the main meeting. If your baby is three months or older, we ask that you send your baby to stay in the care of the workers. They want to love and hold your little ones, so please let them, and give yourself a break as well! 
• MOPPETS need to have a snack unless you are notified that your child’s room has an allergy, in which case you will be notified.  Strollers cannot be left in the hallways, but need to be left in the meeting.
• Consider joining a Bible study offered at First Baptist Church this Fall. She announced that Bible study opportunities are available on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at the church, including one on "What Women Fear" and one on living and sharing a life of wisdom. On Sunday nights your children can attend Awana (Bible-based scripture memory for children) while you attend Financial Peace University. For more information, please visit the FBC website, www.fbcparkstreet.com. 
• Jen Coon (Service Chair) announced a service project MOPS has an opportunity to participate in of collection diapers for CYFS (Children, Youth, and Family Services). We will be collecting diapers as a community service project, so if you have extra diapers that your kids have outgrown or want to pick up an extra pack of diapers at the store, we will be collecting them at our next meeting, September 25th.

After we had a great breakfast, Jayme Cherry led us in a fun ice breaker so we could learn a little bit about each other at our tables. We used M&Ms to answer the following questions: 1. What is a beauty product you can’t live without? 2. What is one of your favorite childhood memories? 3. What is a movies that makes you cry, 4. What is a baby names you didn’t get to use? 5. What would you do if you had an entire day to yourself? 6. What is your dream vacation destination? It was fun and definitely broke the ice! Thanks, Jayme!

Laurie then introduced the theme “Be You Bravely” and we watched the MOPS International video explaining their purpose in the theme. A few highlights of the video:

• Are you living or waiting to live?
• Do you hold back from living? If so, why?
• Why do we forget to live?

This year, we hope to learn what it means to "Be You, Bravely" -- to take the first step though it is uncomfortable, to make brilliantly bold mistakes as we endeavor to fly, and to spur each other on to choose courage and ask the hard questions. You will see feathers scattered about throughout the year, as the feather symbolizes courage because the feather symbolizes flight. May we find the courage to be brave - to be our true selves.

Laurie then talked about Isaiah 43:18-19:

“Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert."

She encouraged us that God is going to do something new and bring us out of captivity and make the impossible, possible. It is a promise, and He is equipping us at all times- especially in this season, that at times may feel like a desert. 

The rest of the meeting consisted mostly of introductions, including Steering, Table Leaders, Mentoring Moms, and First Baptist director of women's ministry, Nancy Ryalls. Nancy warmly welcomed us and encouraged us that First Baptist believes deeply in the ministry of MOPS, which is why they invest so much into our children and us. Thank you, First Baptist!

Michelle Cox, our Mentoring Moms coordinator, introduced each of our mentoring moms. Here is a little more information about each one that we are so blessed to have with us:

• Nancy Ryalls – how to care for parent with chronic illness, inductive Bible Study, balancing work and family, how to develop the gift of hospitality
• Ruth-  how to survive life as a military wife, living with Mother-in-Law, gardening, adoption
• Gayle Trevillion – how to cope with losing a parent, adoption, fertility, cooking, traveling
• Lori Woods – how to mother boys, life as a stay-at-home-mom, how to be intentional about mentoring your children (and have others mentor your children as well)
• Laurie Miller – adoption, how to teach children the Bible, transitioning from career to being SAHM, organization/time management
• Darla Rose – life as a single mom, living life with stepchildren, living with your mother, being financially responsible, raising boys with sports, consistency in parenting (especially if you are parenting single), Mormon faith
• Michelle Cox – pregnant at 39 for the first time, divorce, bipolar parents, parenting children with different temperaments, living with a parent

Amy Vesser announced new babies born this summer, Summer birthdays, and September birthdays. Congrats to the new mamas and to the soon-to-be-new mamas! There are many of you! This led to Amber Young's announcement about Meal calendars for new moms. Please provide meals for these mamas if you have the time and financial means to do so. It is such a blessing to those families! Amber then discussed the prayer jars on our tables. Each jar is filled with pieces of paper that we can use to make prayer requests known. Fill those out and leave them for Amber to pray over. 

Amber also introduced Enrichment groups – something new we are trying as an effort to build even deeper community in our MOPS fellowship. Available groups include- Book Club, Dinner group (meal exchange), Craft club, prayer team, Workout partners team, babysitting swap. If any of those interest you, please sign up at your table or let your table leader know.

We also have created a private group on Facebook called Heavenly Blessings for those who have experienced miscarriage or the loss of a child. If you have experienced it in the past and feel you can offer support, please message Amber privately. If you need support because you have experienced this loss, please contact Amber for her to connect you.

Stephanie Denholm then led us in a cute craft where we made "Be You, Bravely" necklaces with a feather as a remind to have courage. Thank you, Stephanie!

We are off to a great start this year, and look forward to many more great Thursdays to come. See you September 25th! Go ahead and SAVE THE DATE for a night with Mentoring Moms on Thursday, October 2nd at 7pm at the home of Lori Woods. Also, there is a Mommy-N-Me outing at Greenfield Farm in Ruckersville on the morning of October 16th. And MOPS Moms Market will be returning this year on November 6th if you are interested in offering your goods for MOPS moms to buy. More info to come!