STEP OUT & BE BRAVE!

This summer is a time of transition for North Shore MOPS as a new leadership team prepares to take MOPS into the next year.  The new theme is absolutely perfect for what is happening at North Shore MOPS!  It is about stepping out and being brave & trying new things.  Here is a brief look at the new MOPS theme:

Theme Verse:  Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:18-19   (NIV)

At any given moment in our lives each of us has...

• Conversations we've been putting off.
• Reasonable risks we've been avoiding.
• Goals we want to achieve.

Yet often times the more significant an action feels the easier it is to put it off.  We get distracted from the big decisions by the immediate needs of the day. What all of us seem to have in common is that we need a nudge, a nudge to help us get out of our ruts and routines so that we can begin risking bravely.

At MOPS we believe that you were meant to live deeply and so we have created this year’s theme to inspire you to choose the extraordinary.

Be you, Bravely is designed to help us focus on making the choices that could create the most good in our lives, help us to step into healthy risk and to do it in the context of community where we can cheer one another on.

Sometimes, good people wait patiently for God to intervene when what he is wanting is for us to act bravely and do something. Being a follower of Jesus calls for courage. The journey feels unexpected and unconventional. It requires bravely playing hide and seek in the dark, confronting the fears that scare us and holding the hand of a redeemer-guide who calls us to courageous acts of risk and trust. It means coloring outside of the lines. Dreaming bigger than we ever have before and getting swept up into the plans of a God who leaves us breathless with wonder.

It takes courage to ask brave questions and even more courage to search for the answers. We are so excited to journey alongside you this year as we ask one another what it means to  “Be you, Bravely”.

We joined together as leaders for a MOPS Leaders Retreat at the end of May.  This was a time to transition the leadership to the new leadership team for the upcoming MOPS year.  We enjoyed time together to plan our MOPS year, to learn what it means to be a MOPS leader & to build friendships with one another.  It was a wonderful time doing these things together.  As the new leadership team prepares for the MOPS year, please pray for them.  Pray that God would reach moms in our community through them & North Shore MOPS.  

The summer is full of opportunity to get together with MOPS moms & kids.  We have a weekly play group & enjoy getting together throughout the area parks to play & have fun.  

MOPS will also be at the Waterfront for Kids parade which kicks off the Menominee Waterfront Festival activities.  Watch for us on Thursday, August 7th at 4:00 in the parade or join us and help spread the word about North Shore MOPS!

Me Time at MOPS

Buttons, buttons, buttons... there were buttons everywhere at MOPS in April!  After listening to our speaker share on setting a vision for our families, we were able to focus on our family initial.  Using buttons, glue and burlap our moms showed their creative side making initial artwork.  What a great way to remember our family & to consider what we want our family to be, stand for and drive towards.

                       

                  

At our final meeting of the year, we were treated to some pampering.  What a joy to sit back, relax, have conversation & pamper ourselves!  The moms who attended North Shore MOPS in May enjoyed a great amount of delicious 'comfort' food (what a spread!).  We were able to treat our hands by using Essential Oil sugar scrubs made by Angie then dipping them in paraffin wax.  

Selina made it possible to make those soft hands beautiful with her nail polish and products.

Our feet got a treat using Mary Kay products and foot soak baths.

The last station available featured shimmer tattoos applied by Lisa.

After getting all pampered up, we had fun taking goofy, memorable photos in our makeshift photo booth, provided by Jami.  Overall, the moms had a great time & felt special after leaving.

One lucky mom received a complete makeover during the meeting!  Heather received the ultimate spa treatment from Brandie and loved her new look:

Coming up for MOPS is our weekly play date schedule:

Let It Grow!

At MOPS, we talked about growth. Growth and change come into our lives when we decide to follow Jesus & have a relationship with him. It is more than just believing in him - we need to grow in him.

To continue the theme of letting things grow, we planted Easter grass & have faith that it will grow. The Easter grass centerpieces remind us of new life & growth only possible through Jesus Christ.

God Wants You to Grow Up

by Rick Warren from The Purpose Driven Life

Your heavenly Father’s goal is for you to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ.  Sadly, millions of Christians grow older but never grow up.  They are stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers and booties. The reason is that they never intended to grow.

Spiritual growth is not automatic. 

It takes an intentional commitment. You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in growing. Discipleship - the process of becoming like Christ - always begins with a decision.  Jesus calls us, and we respond:

‘Come, be My disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed Him.- Matthew 9:9

When the first disciples chose to follow Jesus, they didn’t understand all the implications of their decision. They simply responded to Jesus’ invitation. That’s all you need to get started.

Decide to become a disciple.

Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you.  

Tell me what you are committed to, and I’ll tell you what you will be in twenty years. We become whatever we are committed to.

It is at this point of commitment that most people miss God’s purpose for their lives. Many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life. Others make halfhearted commitments to competing values, which leads to frustration and mediocrity. Others make a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter. Every choice has eternal consequences, so you had better choose wisely. Peter warns,

Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! - 2 Peter 3:11

Christlikeness is the result of making Christlike choices and depending on His Spirit to help you fulfill those choices. Once you decide to get serious about becoming like Christ, you must begin to act in new ways. You will need to let go of some old routines, develop some new habits, and intentionally change the way you think. You can be certain that the Holy Spirit will help you with these changes. The Bible says,

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. - Philippians 2:12-13

This verse shows the two parts of spiritual growth: “work out” and “work in.” The “work out” is your responsibility, and the “work in” is God’s role. Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit works with us, not just in us.

This verse, written to believers, is not about how to be saved, but how to grow. It does not say “work for” your salvation, because you can’t add anything to what Jesus already did. During a physical “workout,” you exercise to develop your body, not to get a body. When you “work out” a puzzle, you already have all the pieces - your task is to put them together. Farmers “work” the land, not to get land, but to develop what they already have. God has given you a new life; now you are responsible to develop it “with fear and trembling.” That means to take your spiritual growth seriously!

Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle.

The core of that lifestyle is thinking of others, as Jesus did, instead of ourselves. The Bible says,

We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please Himself. - Romans 15:2-3a

Thinking of others is the heart of Christlikeness and the best evidence of spiritual growth. This kind of thinking is unnatural, counter-cultural, rare, and difficult. Fortunately we have help:

God has given us his Spirit. That’s why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think. - 1 Corinthians 2:12a

"Up"cycling at MOPS!

It has been a very cold month here in the UP!  Despite the cold temperatures, North Shore MOPS has been warm and welcoming to all that come through our doors.  We hosted a play group at North Shore church on Tuesday, 2/25.  Winter did not stop the fun from happening!

On March 11, we had a meeting and "up" cycled t-shirts.  The moms had a great time turning old, worn out t-shirts into trendy & fun scarves.

Not only did we make scarves out of t-shirts, we also made headbands, bracelets and leg warmers with those long sleeves!  What a fun activity and this also gave us ample opportunity to talk.

In MOPPETS, we had to say goodbye to our wonderful volunteer, Leta Williamson.  Leta and her husband are moving to California at the end of this month.  Leta has been a joyful, always smiling, volunteer in our MOPPET nursery.  She is going to be missed a great deal!  Our little babies and our nursery volunteers will miss her smile and her attitude.  We wish her the best of luck in her new adventure!

We are looking forward to another meeting in March when we will hear about setting a vision for our families.

Here is to looking at spring temperatures to match up with spring on the calendar!

What's Next for MOPS?

Four years ago, God called me to start the North Shore MOPS group at North Shore Church. Four months from now, my youngest will graduate Kindergarten, and I will no longer be a "MOPS Mom".  Considering this status change and after much prayer and reflection, I will not be coordinating North Shore MOPS come fall of 2014.  With change comes some uncertainty on What's Next for MOPS?  However, I believe that it is in God's plan to continue this ministry at North Shore and He will provide the insight, resources, and leadership necessary to do so.  As I near the conclusion of this phase of my life, I wanted to share with you my testimony regarding MOPS, its impact on my life, and its potential as an ongoing ministry.

What is MOPS?

For those of you not familiar, MOPS stands for Mothers Of Pre Schoolers, and by preschoolers it means kids from birth through kindergarten. MOPS connects moms in their own neighborhood, who meet together to laugh, cry and embrace the journey of motherhood. MOPS rallies women to be more honest, to feel more equipped and to find our identity by journeying along side one another. MOPS are moms, and we believe that better moms make a better world.

My MOPS Journey

I moved to Menominee 9 years ago. I moved here with a six month old baby. I knew no one. I had no idea what I was doing as a new mom. I was alone and isolated in a new town with a new baby. A friend invited me to a MOPS meeting at Faith Baptist Church in Peshtigo.

I went to that first MOPS meeting. Since that meeting, I have not looked back or ever considered NOT going to MOPS.  I even went to MOPS meetings while vacationing in Florida. It was wonderful! Here was a place that had other moms! I got to meet other moms in the same or similar stage of life as me. Other new moms who, like me, hadn't quite figured this mothering thing out, yet. I loved that I could get a break from my baby and talk to other moms. And oh, how I learned! MOPS had speakers that applied to me as a mom, woman, wife, and friend. I am who I am today because of what I learned from those MOPS speakers, moms, and leaders. I got involved in the leadership of that MOPS group. I learned new skills and honed others that I already possessed in order to continue offering MOPS to other moms. That nurturing and development led me to that place four years ago when three fellow MOPS veterans and I started North Shore MOPS to bring the amazing and wonderful world of mothering together, MOPS, to Menominee.

NSC MOPS Leadership Team, 2010

North Shore MOPS 1st Meeting, September 2010

Why MOPS?

MOPS takes effort, a great deal of effort.  It takes leaders to plan the meetings, and lead the table discussions, it takes volunteers to watch the kids, it takes others to decorate and make the food we all enjoy.  So why do we happily go through all the effort?

MOPS Provides A Bridge To The Church

We all know family, friends and co-workers who, we pray, might begin their journey of faith.  Many of us have tried to get such acquaintances to come with us to church, but they won't.  It is often difficult to convince someone to take a leap of faith and give it a try.  It's also a challenge to keep inviting them after initial rejections.  It's not uncommon for those without a church home or church background to be nervous and reluctant to step inside the church on a Sunday morning.  MOPS provides another setting and another, perhaps more comfortable, way to come through our doors.  It places them immediately in a relationship building setting, allowing for a foundation of trust to be built and fears to subside.

MOPS also reaches those we don't even know.  Even if we were 100% successful at persuading others we know to take their first step of faith, we don't know everyone.  MOPS can break through such barriers by providing invites in the halls of the YMCA, in the packets of new resident mailings, through a national website query, or in the folders of pre-school children.  MOPS has ways to reach others the church can't.

MOPS Addresses the Priorities Set By Leadership

Pastor Travis recently shared with our congregation North Shore Church's mission to do the following: Connect, Grow, Serve, and Go. MOPS is a ministry that eagerly addresses all such segments.

Connect: MOPS connects women. Moms in the early stages of mothering, when our children are under the age of 5, are in a very unique situation. Many times, it is our first child. You have a new baby and really no clue what you are doing. You are with this child all the time yet, you are lonely. MOPS meets this need for moms to connect with each other. Moms need to see that they are not alone. Other moms are doing this and feeling this, too. 

Grow: MOPS is for ANY mother of before school children, no matter where they are in their faith, career, or point in life.  I have never met a mom who didn't care what kind of mother she was. MOPS connects moms and shares how to become better moms together. MOPS helps to grow moms through various presenters and guests, through table discussions and prayer.  We also grow moms as they step out into leadership in MOPS. North Shore MOPS is a local group led from within. Leaders can receive training from MOPS international. Leaders grow through planning meetings and sharing our own experiences with the moms in our group. Our leaders have done things they never thought they would ever do before: speak to the entire group, be on a couples panel with their husband, share some of their own failures so that other moms can learn from them. MOPS grows moms and we grow future leaders. 

North Shore MOPS Leadership Retreat, Summer 2013

Serve: MOPS is a great launching place for serving one another. We serve each other at every meeting! The tables each rotate taking their turn at providing the food for the meeting. Our MOPPET teachers provide a valuable care-giving service to the moms each and every week. MOPS moms serve our MOPPET teachers by providing thank you gifts and an end of the year appreciation lunch. We serve one another by making meals for moms who have had a new baby or just had surgery. We bring in outgrown clothes, toys or baby items from our kids to offer to others who may have kids getting into those stages.

Go: Through various relationships, we also have the opportunity to serve the world community. One of our tables is supporting a child through Compassion International together. After coming to MOPS, a mom can't help but go out into her world better. Better moms make a better world. When a MOPS mom has learned something from a MOPS meeting about being a better mom, she goes out and puts that into practice in her life & home. Perhaps her husband or children sees or notices that change & then they change. As her children grow up, they remember how their mom was at mothering. The ripple effect continues on and on into future generations. Better moms make a better world.

NSC MOPS Red Table, October 2013

I look ahead to what is next for me in my mothering. I am a little scared and unsure. I trust that God will guide me. I know that He has something for me to do in this next stage of life. I also know that I will be surrounded by the friends that I have made over the years. Would you be surprised to know that most of them are friends that I have made through MOPS?

I hope that this inspires you to pray for North Shore MOPS.  I hope that if you are a mom who is feeling alone even when you have a child with you 24/7 that you will come and check out North Shore MOPS.  We have a seat for you.  I hope that if you are a MOPS mom and feel that you may want to step out and try leadership that you would contact me or one of the other leaders.  We will equip you.  You may be what's next for MOPS.

God Can Use ME?

This morning, we had the amazing opportunity to hear from Lesley Swanson of Healing Hearts Ministry International.  She shared her personal story of bad choices and decisions and how that could possibly be used by God.  Have you made a horrible choice?  Are you wracked with guilt?  Do you wonder how YOU could be any good?  At ANYTHING?  What do you possibly have to offer?  After hearing Lesley's story, I hope that you know that God can use YOU!  He can use you AND your poor choice(s).  He loves to use people because we are imperfect.  God knows that He can show through the mess of our lives.  It is those messes that He uses to change & strengthen us.  We go through things that can be used to help and serve others and only WE can help & serve BECAUSE we went through it.

As a biblical counselor, Lesley takes God's Word and applies it to those she counsels.  In her reading in preparation for this talk, she describes four diagnosis typical in our society.  The information is from Dr. Higbee of Harvest Bible Church.

DIAGNOSIS - HOW - BIBLICAL TERM - ATTITUDE
Disruptive - Affects our behavior - Anger - Fighting God
Impulsive - Affects our behavior - Foolishness
Anxious - Affects our mood - Fear - Fleeing from God
Depressive - Affects our mood - Despair - Forgetting God

  

As we look into these four diagnosis most often used, we see that God's Word addresses each.  All in all, it is a heart issue.  We need to check our hearts when feeling or acting in these categories.

Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Know that whatever you are going through, God is with you.  He has a plan for you.  He can use even your bad choice for His glory.  Continue to seek what He may want to do with you.  Let His Word comfort you.  Trust that you are not alone.  When you are in doubt, read this to yourself, filling in the blanks with YOUR name.  YOU matter to God!  These are His words to YOU!

Ephesians 1:2-2:10

To the saints who are in ________, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you, ________, and peace from God, your Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of your Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed you, ________, in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose you, ________, in Him before the foundation of the world, that you, ________,should be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined you, ________, for adoption as daughters through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which he has freely given you, ________, in the One he loves.  In him you, ________, have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of your sins, ________, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on you, ________. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to you, ________, the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him you, ________, were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that you, ________, who were the first to put your hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you, ________, also were included in Christ when you, ________, heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, ________. When you believed, you, ________, were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance, ________, until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith, ________, in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, ________, remembering you in my prayers.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you, ________, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better, ________.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, ________, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for you, ________, who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

As for you, ________, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you, ________, followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for you, ________, God, who is rich in mercy, made you, ________, alive with Christ even when you, ________, were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you, ________, have been saved. And God raised you up with Christ and seated you, ________, with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to you, ________, in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you, ________, have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourself, ________, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For you, ________, are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you, ________, to do.

Advent

Today is the 2nd day of Advent.  What?  What in the world is Advent?  We talked about Advent at MOPS, last week.  Advent is the season of waiting with hope.  The preparing and waiting for the Christ child to be born.  Advent is often lost in the hustle and bustle of this season, as are many of the real purposes and meanings of Christmas.  Advent is a season to prepare our hearts for Christ and enjoy the time of waiting.  Waiting doesn't ever sound like much fun, though, does it?  Our society stresses busy, hurry, fast, go, go, go.  Waiting is boring.  But waiting can bring joy.  Waiting can bring peace.  Waiting with hope is worth the effort.  At MOPS, we planted paper white lilies to focus ourselves and also to have a way of teaching our children about the season of Advent.  The bulbs planted represent our hearts and our lives before Christ comes.  We place the bulbs in the dark and then wait.  The darkness is our lives before we welcome Christ.  It is cold & dark.  In 4 weeks time, the bulbs grow into beautiful, white flowers - just in time for Christmas.  This represents our hearts and lives with Christ in them!  We are now beautiful and white - the darkness is gone.  The wait is over.  We blossom with life.  In this way, we remember how Advent begins as a dry flaky bulb and ends as a blooming flower.  Thank you, God, for Christ at Christmas, may he bloom in our hearts.  "Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.  The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains."  James 5:7

Mother's Advent Prayer

Dear God,

Help me to plan this beautiful Advent season with Your will for my family in my heart.  Deliver me from my desires to be the perfect mother, the craftiest mother, the most organized mother.  Deliver me from the desire to impress others with my clean house, cooking skills, perfect photos, and dazzling presents.  Keep me humble, and help me to lead my family towards You, even when it isn't the most popular way.  Even when others don't approve of my methods.  Even when I get funny looks or ridicule from people.  Stay with me through this season.  Help me to be patient and loving to my family, especially when tight schedules and busy hands create stress.  Help my family stay focused on You.  Even though Christmas is a lot of work for mothers, keep me prayerful, and remind me to offer up my struggles and sufferings.  help me to make good decisions, and to walk the narrow path.  Amen