It's MARVIN MOPS Week! Meeting THIS THURSDAY, January 24th at 10 a.m.

Good Morning Moms,

2013 is off to an excellent and exciting start! We kicked off the new year with a packed room filled with new and returning friends and opportunities to to make and deepen connections that were made in the fall semester. Thanks to Sarah, Sherry and Judy for setting the groundwork for a productive and meaningful new year!

Don't forget, our next meeting is this Thursday, January 24th at 10 a.m. We are looking forward to welcoming and listening to Mr. Ken Brumley from Green Acres Church speak on "Envy." It is a topic that WE ALL can relate to and have felt at some point in our lives. We hope you come with open and honest hearts and engage in an important discussion about how we can understand and improve ourselves.

If you will be using childcare, also know as our MOPPETS program, you may bring your children to the childcare rooms which are located on the first floor. There will be a sign to direct you. If your children are not coming, and you are signed up for childcare, it is important that you contact Stephanie Lamb, our MOPPETS Coordinator, to let her know: steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net, or 903-363-7447. This affects how many volunteers/workers/rooms we need.

 

Some additional important reminders about our MOPPETS program:

- Please LABEL ALL of your child's belongings (sippy cups, pacifiers, etc.)

- Please DO NOT bring your child if he./she shows ANY signs of illness. Please refer to the "MOPPETS Guidelines" for further instruction

- Drop off time is 9:50-10 a.m. before the meeting. Please pick up your children promptly by noon to be courteous of the MOPPETS staff

THURSDAY MEETING REMINDERS:

1. The RED table will bring food/drinks

2. Spring Semester Dues will be collected ($50 with childcare; $30 without childcare). Checks are payable to "Marvin MOPS"

3. Please bring any items for our 2013 service project to support teenage girls that are represented by CASA. Items such as cosmetic samples, scented soaps, lotions, etc.

4. Start planning your TABLE NIGHT OUT... get to know the mom/mentor sitting next to you in a fun and relaxed setting. This is your time to make the most of the connections you have made!

UPCOMING MOPS EVENTS:

- TOMORROW! January 22nd 10-12, MOPS Playdate at the Discovery Science Center

 

- MOPS Semester Kick Off Night Out on Tuesday, January 29th at 7 p.m. JOIN US at Zaza's Modern Italian Cuisine located behind FRESH on Old Jacksonville Highway. EVITE Invitations are forthcoming. This will be a FUN night of reconnecting with friends, meeting new moms, and catching up with the mentors!

 

I hope to see you all on Thursday!

Have a wonderful and blessed week,

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

Our FIRST Marvin MOPS Meeting of 2013

Welcome Back Moms!

To our returning and new moms, I hope your holidays were wonderful, and that your new year is off to a productive start! Our steering team and coordinators are super excited about welcoming everyone back to MOPS this THURSDAY, JANUARY 17th at 10 a.m. We will meet in the same room as last year, the second floor FAITH classroom, room 248.

Our Coordinators, Sarah Burkett and Sherry Trump, are currently working on our NEW table assignments for the spring semester. We will be sitting at DIFFERENT tables, and have a new Table Leader and Mentor. Your new Table Leader will contact you in the next few days to introduce herself and to let you know which color table you will be sitting. For this upcoming meeting, we will meet (hello), greet (welcome), eat (yum), experience Judy Carter's devotional that speaks to each of our hearts (powerful) and have intentional table time to get to know our new table friends and mentors.

If you will be using childcare, also know as our MOPPETS program, you may bring your children to the childcare rooms which are located on the first floor. There will be a sign to direct you. If your children are not coming, and you are signed up for childcare, it is important that you contact Stephanie Lamb, our MOPPETS Coordinator, to let her know: steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net, or 903-363-7447. This affects how many volunteers/workers/rooms we need.

Some additional important reminders about our MOPPETS program:

- Please LABEL ALL of your child's belongings (sippy cups, pacifiers, etc.)

- Please DO NOT bring your child if he./she shows ANY signs of illness. Please refer to the "MOPPETS Guidelines" for further instruction

- Drop off time is 9:50-10 a.m. before the meeting. Please pick up your children promptly by noon to be courteous of the MOPPETS staff

 

THURSDAY MEETING REMINDERS:

1. The Steering Committee will bring food/drinks

2. PLEASE PARK ACROSS the street from the church as there will be a senior adults lunch program on Thursday and the parking lot closest to the church will be closed/reserved.

3. Please bring any items for our 2013 service project to support teenage girls that are represented by CASA. Items such as cosmetic samples, scented soaps, lotions, etc.

UPCOMING MOPS EVENT:

- MOPS Semester Kick Off Night Out on Tuesday, January 29th at 7 p.m. JOIN US at Zaza's Modern Italian Cuisine located behind FRESH on Old Jacksonville Highway. EVITE Invitations are forthcoming. This will be a FUN night of reconnecting with friends, meeting new moms, and catching up with the mentors!

Lastly, the new year brings new tables, friends and experiences to share. Now that you have at least a semester under your belt, I hope you have each begun to realize the special and meaningful relationships you can develop in this group. Continue making those connections this semester with your new table mates, table leader and mentor!

I hope to see you all on Thursday!

Have a wonderful and blessed week,

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

"The Wife of Noble Character"- Minutes from December 13, 2012

Dear Moms, Our last meeting of the Fall semester was a joyous and delicious celebration of the holidays coupled with a creative craft led by Jennifer Davis. It was also a time to visit with friends, and be reminded about the true meaning of the Christmas holiday, and our roles in our families as we began our own celebrations and traditions. “Our role,” you may ask? Well, we have many roles, and wear many hats, but as Judy always does, she has provided scriptural depth, and meaning behind one of the many roles we have.     Judy’s Devotional: Proverbs 31: 10-21 Who and what we are is “the wife of noble character.” - Use good judgement in what you do in providing for your family - Need to be generous and show your children HOW TO BE GENEROUS - Always have food in the pantry Behind every man is a GREAT WOMAN, so she is to be RESPECTED. She is: - Wise, caring and loving - Not Lazy - Her Children and husband (who praises her) arise and call HER BLESSED Step back and be this noble woman in this “season of busy” and that is ALL that matters! Encourage developing your family holiday traditions. The children will LOVE them as they get older and have wonderful, fond memories! i.e. Play xmas music throughout the house, in the car, at all times after Thanksgiving until Christmas. Let it be known this is “your thing.” i.e. Make your own holiday wrapping paper (use festive sponge shapes, dip in paint and sponge paint large sheets of paper). So fun to do with kids.  We hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season with your precious families and are enjoying the non hurried pace of the new year’s start! We look forward to seeing everyone back at MOPS on Thursday, JANUARY 17th. We will have new table assignments, and another inspiring agenda for the Spring semester! Debra Bochow DIscussion Group Coordinator

 

"Knit To Your Soul" - Minutes from December 6, 2012

Dear Sweet Moms,

My apologies for not providing our meeting minutes to you earlier or at least in 2012 ;), but as many of you could relate, the end of the year flew by with many wonderful activities, celebrations and commitments. As my commitment is still to you, I hope you have some time during this break in your schedule to catch up on our wonderful end of year program summaries from the selected meetings you were unable to attend.

Judy’s Devotional:

James 1:22

“Hearing without doing is like chewing without swallowing.”

1. Enourage us that our faith is a FAITH JOURNEY

2. Prayers are true conversations with God

3. Your heart is a SERVICE Heart

4. Life is committed to God

James 2:19

Your Faith needs to be living and acting out

James 2: 14-17

Faith not accompanied by action is DEAD

You do not get to heaven by just good deeds

John 15:7

God is always listening but your prayer must come from your heart. You are in a conversation with God…throughout the day.

Colossians 3:23-24

Matthew 6:24

We are to be servants for God…this is a positive thing! We get to be his servant. You CANNOT serve both God and the World.

Galations 2:20
We must have total commitment to Christ. CHOOSE to chew and swallow. Be committed!

Julie Love Brown gave us all much to consider and think about in this new era of social networking and “friendships” in a Facebook world. Friendship today, and what it means now in this era of Facebook is a new concept to Julie. Her social networking in the past revolved aournd “real” connections centered around getting together with friends, catching up and investing in one another. She self admitted to “holding out” on participating in Facebook but when "faced" with the challenge of speaking to us about this topic, she dove right in!

In her brief FB experience, she quickly realized there were many pros and cons to the Facebook world:

PROS:

- Keeping up with old friends

- Running business entities

- Catching up with family near and far

- Event planning

- Pictures!

- Great way to keep in touch

Not so great features…

- Building a facebook world that is COMPLETELY FAKE

- Building a fantasy world of one’s life

- Unintentinal hurtful FB posts; i.e. social gatherings with selected attendance

- Does not allow for connections to be face to face

Bottom line, Social Media Friendships are NOT DEEP!

How can they get deep?

- INVEST- time, energy, devotion to your friends! We are all busy, but we must carve out this time in order to deepen friendships/connections

- INTENTIONAL- You cannot sit around and have people come to you! CHOOSE GODLY friends that know the Lord and The Word.

- LISTEN to that other Mom… listen to her struggles, provide words of advice or comfort, or just listen.

- Building friendships require that you make time in your busy schedule

- Let friends know you need them! NO ONE has it together!!!! BE VULNERABLE to your friends.

- Be there for a friend when she needs a friend or help

- Pray with your friends if there are health scares in their lives or families’ lives

- Help out your friends in ALL areas

There is NO SUBSTITUTE for FACE to FACE time.

Julie encouraged us to find and cultivate these DEEP/MEANINGFUL friendships, and find those special people who “knit to your souls.”

We encourage all of you to seek out and "PLUNGE" into deepening connections you have begun to form here at MOPS. We all can understand, relate and empathize with each of your struggles, but also can celebrate your great joys on this mothering journey.

Make it a priority in 2013 to invest in this essential part of your life!

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

It's our Last MARVIN MOPS Meeting in 2012... this Thursday, 12/13/12!

Good Evening Moms,

Yes, it’s true.  Our last meeting of the year is THIS THURSDAY, December 13^th at 10 a.m.   It is hard to believe our Fall semester is almost over, and it’s been wonderful getting to know one another, and making meaningful personal connections.  As Julie Love Brown spoke last Thursday about friendships, it is that investing in intentional and personal time that creates depth and connection to one another!   You are actively doing that by participating in MOPS!

Our upcoming meeting will consist of several components;  Christmas Favorites and (making) a Craft led by Jennifer Davis.  Please bring your “favorite” Christmas dessert or appetizer, along with its recipe to share.  Please write/type out your recipe on a one sided card/sheet of paper.   We will make copies of all of the recipes for the group to take home.   

If you will be using childcare, also known as our MOPPETS program, you may bring your children to the childcare rooms which are located on the first floor.  There will be a sign to direct you.  If your children are not coming, and you are signed up for childcare, it is important that you contact Stephanie Lamb, our MOPPETS Coordinator, to let her know:  Steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net, or 903-363-7447.  This affects how many volunteers/workers/rooms we need.

Some additional important reminders about our MOPPETS program:

·         Please LABEL ALL of your child’s belongings (sippy cups, pacifiers,etc.) 

·         Please DO NOT bring your child if he/she shows ANY signs of illness.  Please refer to the “Moppets Guidelines” for further instruction

·         Drop off time is 9:50-10:00 a.m. before the meeting.  Please pick up your children promptly by noon to be courteous of the MOPPETS staff

Thursday Meeting Reminders:

1. The PURPLE table will bring other food/drink items
2. Please bring any items for our 2013 service project to support teenage girls that are represented by CASA.  Consider those items that you may have in your home that are not being used that a teenage girl would enjoy;  cosmetic samples, scented soaps, scented lotions, etc. 
3. Consider signing up to ring the bell for the Salvation Army on December 15^th.  Information regarding open times will be provided.

If you are UNABLE to attend this Thursday’s MOPS meeting, please notify your Table Leader.  If your children are not coming, and are signed up for childcare, please also notify Stephanie Lamb (MOPPETS Coordinator) at steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net or 903-363-7447.

I hope to see you all on Thursday!  

Have a wonderful and blessed week,

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator

It's Marvin MOPS Week (12/6/12)!

Hello Sweet Moms,

It has felt like such a long time has passed since we have all been together, so I am super excited to see all of you at our next MOPS meeting THIS THURSDAY, December 6^th at 10 a.m.   We only have TWO meetings remaining in 2012, so we hope that you will attend these last few get togethers before our long break!

Julie Love Brown will be our featured speaker this Thursday, and she will talk about “Finding Friends in a Facebook World.”  WOW, can we all relate and understand the conundrum social media has presented for ourselves in this new era?  Connections now are so “easy” to make, but we lose the valuable “live” contact and interaction that we each need as MOMS.   Luckily, MOPS provides that outlet for us, but what about the other areas in our lives?  Please come and listen to Julie’s perspective on this very interesting topic!

If you will be using childcare, also known as our MOPPETS program, you may bring your children to the childcare rooms which are located on the first floor.  There will be a sign to direct you.  If your children are not coming, and you are signed up for childcare, it is important that you contact Stephanie Lamb, our MOPPETS Coordinator, to let her know:  Steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net, or 903-363-7447.  This affects how many volunteers/workers/rooms we need.

Some additional important reminders about our MOPPETS program:

·         Please LABEL ALL of your child’s belongings (sippy cups, pacifiers,etc.) 

·         Please DO NOT bring your child if he/she shows ANY signs of illness.  Please refer to the “Moppets Guidelines” for further instruction

·         Drop off time is 9:50-10:00 a.m. before the meeting.  Please pick up your children promptly by noon to be courteous of the MOPPETS staff

Thursday Meeting Reminders:

1. The BLUE table will bring food

UPCOMING MOPS Events:

-          MOPS Playdate will be on December 7^th (Friday) from 10 a.m. to noon at the home of Kari Smith.

If you are UNABLE to attend this Thursday’s MOPS meeting, please notify your Table Leader.  If your children are not coming, and are signed up for childcare, please also notify Stephanie Lamb (MOPPETS Coordinator) at steph.lamb@sbcglobal.net or 903-363-7447.

I hope to see you all on Thursday!  

Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Debra Bochow
Discussion Group Coordinator

As the World Turns and Changes, Your Word is STILL Your Word (MOPS 11/15/12)

Dear Wonderful Moms,

I hope this finds you in a place of calm anticipation of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  We missed each of our absent moms (YOU), and it is my hope this meeting (from last Thursday) recap will provide you with the terrific substance, information and inspiration provided by Judy and our speaker, Meghan Goade.

Judy’s Devotional:

Matthew 5:37
“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,” and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

Carrying one of the last meeting’s topic of discussion (Discipline) further, Judy wanted to expand upon the command from God that “Your Word is Your Word” as it pertains to your parenting.  Your child WILL respect you if you KEEP your word, and let your “Yes be Yes, and No, No.”  As children ourselves, we may remember having one parent that was “easier” than the other.  And even in our marriages, one of the two spouses may be more lenient when it comes to serving up discipline.  As MOTHERS, we are with our children the most time, and it is up to US to stand by our word.  It is not fun, and not the most popular but the key to garnering our children’s respect is to be CONSISTENT.  Take care and THINK before you speak;  try to think about YOUR ANSWER FIRST and its consequences.  You can change your answer if after you have given it some thought and realize there may be a better way, but you should NEVER give into BAD or WHINING behavior.  STAND BY YOUR WORD. 

Meghan Goade…
is the Girls’ Minister at Green Acres Church and her core audience/group she ministers to are girls in the 6^th through 12^th grades.  At this point you may be thinking, “wow, that is a tough group”, or you may be brought back to a distinct memory or broad experience from that time.  Well, I think we would all agree that she has probably heard and seen it all with respect to how kids are growing up these days.  Meghan has taken her experiences in her ministry and developed a talk about the “Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Children.” 

On a personal side note, Meghan has been married for four years, and is on a journey with her husband to have children.  You see, Meghan DESPERATELY WANTS to sit with us at our tables, she WANTS to be A Mother of a Preschooler!  Currently her journey is forging a path towards adoption, but she looks at each of us with great hope and anticipation that she will join us in our special bond.  She also suggested that we think of our day to day exhaustion as a BLESSING and CELEBRATION, as what could be more wonderful than to have given everything we have emotionally and physically to the personal gifts that God has given to us?  Let us REJOICE in our effort and work, as it is in glory to God, and to our precious treasures.

Before Meghan began to address these important conversation topics, she wanted to frame the discussion with a powerful point of reference and view that we all MUST understand…TIMES HAVE CHANGED!  Felt board vs. dry erase board;  typewriter vs. computer; walkman belting out the Paula Abdul cassette tape vs. IPOD with downloaded digital music! Our children are much more sophisticated at this age than we were.  So it is up to US to STEP UP to show our children the way in which we want them to grow in THEIR WORLD, in THEIR POINT OF VIEW. 

How can we talk to our kids? And how can we raise Godly children?  Here are the Five Important Conversations for you to have with your child (Girl/Boy ):

1.       GIRL- “You are more than the sum of your parts”…You are better than that.  Beauty and strength is more than what culture tells you what it is. 

            BOY- “Don’t let culture define your manhood”…it is your dad that should define the man
              you want to become, and who your dad is trying to be like, Christ.   

2.       GIRL- “Don’t be in a hurry to grow up”

             Enjoy your childhood (and parents, enjoy them at this age).  Don’t use an IPAD 
              to read books, enjoy the real books, turn pages, etc.  Do what God has called you to do… be
              a mom!
 

BOY- “What you don’t learn to conquer will be your master.”   If they can’t find balance in their life, there may be trouble later and that may be what defines them;  i.e.  step away from the video games before it becomes an obsession, do not hit (girls), teach them how to behave now, and then it will not be a problem later.   Remember, today is a new day, start now.

Sometimes you will have to NOT look at milestones because they do not apply today, or what is going on now in your child’s life.  Puberty is hitting earlier NOW.  Timelines vary by child. 

 

3.       GIRL- “Sex is good and worth the wait.”  God has created a sacred and special bond between a man and woman and you are a treasure to be SOUGHT. 

BOY- “Not everyone is doing it.”  You are the champion and you must stand up for what you want and pursue.    Teach your boys the difference between fact and fiction. 

Suggest having moms talk to their sons about puberty, from the female perspective.  Perhaps framing the discussion with a feminine point of view, and then having their dads talk more about the mechanics.  Also, consider having fathers discuss puberty with their daughters along the same lines of framing the discussion about how they should be treated, pursued, respected so their point of reference is a high standard.

 

4.       GIRL- “It is ok to dream about marriage and motherhood.”   TV shows/movies have glamorized the single adult female life, but our girls need to know that marriage and motherhood are wonderfully fulfilling aspirations.

BOY- “Boyhood is only for a season.”  Boys at some point have to become MEN,  and they need to start making choices for themselves.  It is up to the parents to celebrate the next step in their development;  i.e.  first hunting trip.

 

5.       GIRL- “Girls Gone Wild are a dime a dozen.”  “Bad” is the new “good” in our culture.  This is fleeting, and at some point, you will need something more substantive.  We want our daughters to lead a virtuous life through God’s word.  They need to be taught they are the ultimate beauty and THE STANDARD.

BOY- “Godly men are in short supply.”  We need more young men to stand up for God’s word,  there are not many of you.  Godly, Christian habits grows ups closer to God and Jesus. 

 

Remember, we are training our children in our home, and when we make wise decisions are children do the same.  But also remember, training is constant and every day.  It is not too late to keep our word, and model our families after Jesus.  Today is a NEW DAY. 

Please don’t forget, our next meeting is Thursday, December 6^th at 10 a.m.  Julie Brown is back with us to talk about “Finding Friends in a Facebook World.”  How relevant is this in our changing world?  I hope to see you all there!

I hope you all have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving.  You are all a blessing! 

Debra Bochow

Discussion Group Coordinator