Monday Mornings-Rest

Genesis 2: 2-3 "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." Mothers, we need to rest. We act as though God wants us to work until we drop. After we have rested, because our bodies force us to, we are back to the crazy schedule as before. If God willingly rested, why do we think we shouldn't? Give yourself permission to rest through play. Take time for yourself. Let the laundry go. Do something fun with the kids. Start resting today. "Dear God, please help me to rest today. Help me to recognize and seize the opportunities to play with my family and friends. Help me to ask for help when I need it and take time for myself. I know when I have rested, I am a better servant for you. Amen"

Fun Friday! Cooking Show

It's Fun Friday! Visit our blog each Friday to find a fun activity to do with your family over the weekend (or whenever you want) !

Today's Fun Friday activity-Film a cooking show! I know, it sounds a bit strange but believe me when I tell you that my kids, ages 2-4, love this!

What you need:

-A video camera (or phone or laptop with camera....etc....)

-Chef hats for everyone in the family. Visit here for an easy DIY version

-A kid friendly recipe (we always do "make your own pizza" for Cooking Show)

Set the stage and you're ready to go! We set up all the ingredients on the kitchen table and prop the video camera up somewhere to film the show. After I say "ACTION" the little chefs are off! Pizza dough is flying and so are the laughs. We usually get really silly trying to talk in fancy, french sounding accents (why, french...I have no idea?) and somewhere along the way my husband goes crazy and starts tossing ingredients up in the air and making a really big, fun, mess. We all have a great time pretending to be fancy chefs.

After we film our show, we all sit together and watch the episode while we eat the meal we just prepared. The kids love seeing themselves on TV acting like the next Top Chef and I will always cherish these silly memories with my family.

Easy. Affordable. Fun.

If you film a cooking show, share it with us! I will have to dig one up to share with you soon!

Monday Mornings-Come To Me

Hello, beautiful friends! Welcome to "Monday Mornings". I don't know about you, but some Mondays can be tough on me and my little ones. In the busyness of getting our week started I find it easy to forget to take some time out to get my heart and spirit ready. Devotions are easily forgotten as I'm checking things off of the "to-do list" and before I know it my Monday goes from great to stressful in no time.

We hope that you will check into this, our little online home, every Monday for a quick devotion, prayer, and encouragement to get your week started on the right foot. And if you ever need prayer PLEASE let us know! We want this weekly "Monday Morning" to turn into a place of refuge for all of us. If you feel comfortable, leave your prayer requests in the comments and let's become a community of women who love the Lord and love each other!

Here's to starting our week off the right way! ....and for our first "Monday Morning" post...

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

-Matthew 11:28

Let's be honest, girlfriends. We are often in a "weary" state of existence. Between the late night/early morning feedings, cooking, cleaning, working, working-out to loose the baby weight, trying to be a trophy wife (ha), and the daily grind of being a MOP (Mother of Preschooler) some days are just plain hard. (this list could go on forever, right??!)

Add on top of all of that....which is only our "normal life".....the pressures of financial stress, marital problems, job changes, school choices for kids, and the expectation to be a perfect mom to our children, we can often feel like we are barely making it. Or like we got hit my a mack truck.

Have you ever just wanted to go back to bed, pull the covers over your head and surrender!?

If you're answer is "YES" than you are in a good place. No, really. I'm serious. In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells us to come to Him.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

We cannot come to Him if we're not surrendered to Him. Wanting to give up is okay....we just need to make sure we're "giving it up" to God and not just giving up all together.

We need Him. We need to lean on Him. We need to REST in Him and He has made it very simple for us to do this. All we have to do to go to Him!

So today, here's what I want you to do.

-March back into your room

-Shut the door (the kids will survive for a few moments)

-Crawl back in bed

-Pull the blanket over your head

-Spend 5 minutes surrendering to Jesus.

Do it! Give Him everything today. Your pain, your frustration, your burdens, your worry, your stress, your fears, your anxiety....

Surender it all. Go to Him. He will lift your burdens and give you the rest you need to make it through.

Dear Lord,

I come to you today, in my weariness, and I ask you to help me. I give you every burden that I am carrying (name burdens/stressors) and I acknowledge that I need to surrender them before You and in turn, receive your peace and rest. Thank you for helping me today and each day. I trust you.

Amen.

How can we pray for you, friend? We are in this together. Leave your prayer requests in the comment section and let us encourage you today.

We Can Make A Difference

You can make a difference, you can change a life, you can change a legacy.

No Mom Alone. Reaching every mother for Christ. That is the mission of MOPS and you can help us accomplish it. With our fall semester quickly approaching, it has been made clear to us that many mothers who want to join our MOPS group are in a season of financial stress. It is our hearts desire to say "YES" to every mom who is interested in joining our group but it appears as though our scholarship fund will be running thin, due to the increasing need.

This is where you come in. We are asking you to pray and ask the Lord if you can sow into this ministry. No gift is too small! Just so you have an idea, each mom pays the following:

$35 Fall Registration Fee
$20 each for her first 2 children and $10 for each child after that

Perhaps you can give a registration fee? Or maybe cover childcare costs for someone? Maybe you can give $5 or $10? Any amount that you can give will make a huge difference in the life of a mother! Thank you for considering giving a gift.

If you can give a gift, please email MOPS Co-Coordinators Brittany Cranor and Ida Mundell at FBCmallmops@gmail.com.

You can also mail a check to the following address:
First Baptist Church at the Mall
Attn: MOPS
P.O. Box 90669
Lakeland, FL 33804

*Please designate scholarship fund on your check.


Again, thank you for gift, no matter the size and the most important gift you can give? Prayer for the families who will be reached through this ministry!

In HIS love,

Ida and Brittany
MOPS Co Coordinators

One Month Out!

Ladies!!

Can you believe it? We are officially one month away from the fall MOPS kickoff! A few members of our steering team are headed to Nashville this week to MOPS Convention and we couldn't be more excited about this coming year.

We just wanted to remind you that registration is still at the discounted price of $30 until the first official day, August 30th. So register now! UPDATED: If you are on our MOPS email list you should have received an email  with the registration form attached, if not, leave a comment with your email address and we will get it to you asap! :)  (sorry for the confusion downloading the form.  Scribd has changed their policy and we were unaware)


Please mail your completed form and check to:

First Baptist Church at the Mall

Attn: MOPS

P.O. Box 90669

Lakeland, FL 33804

Hope you will be joining us!

Love you all,

Ida and Brittany

Register for MOPS 2011-2012!!

Hey Ladies!

Its that time of year again!! Registration over the summer can be yours for the low price of $30. Just print out this registration form

Mops Registration 2011-2012

(to download, just click the little button that looks like a cloud, then print it from your computer)

And then send it and a check to:

First Baptist Church at the Mall

ATTN: MOPS

P.O. Box 90669

Lakeland, FL 33804

Hope to see the registrations pouring in... it's going to be a great year!!

Love you all,

Ida and Brittany

PS- If you get two new MOPS moms to register, we will give you $10 back from your registration costs! Just have them write "Referred by: _______" on their registration form. (Available one time only, I hope you get more moms to register, but we're only gonna give you back $10) :)

Registration goes up to $35 if you wait until August 30th.

No Mom Alone

If you've been part of a MOPS group for any amount of time you have probably heard the language "No Mom Alone". It is the MOPS mission to reach each and every mom where they're at. To be a source of encouragement, community, friendship, and help. To show and give love with no expectation of a return. To offer hope in a hopeless situation....I could go on and on....

I know that time after time I have had the great blessing of being on the receiving end of some "MOPS love". Today I am overjoyed to share with you how we can be on the GIVING side.

We,here in FL, have been fortunate to not have to deal with any devastating weather so far but sadly our MOPS friends in Joplin, MO have faced the storms and lost much...including homes. Please remember to pray for these families daily!

I can't imagine what it would be like to tell my daughters that everything they love and cherish is gone. Dress up clothes, Buzz and Woody dolls, a favorite blankie...gone...It pains me to think about what this must be like. (And that's not even thinking about the "essentials" like wipes, diapers, and pacis....)

Tracey Solomon, a MOPS leader, has set up an Amazon Wish List to benefit the MOPS moms in Joplin, MO and their neighbors. (Isn't that awesome!?!? Thanks, Tracey!)

It's as simple as this: visit the link below, make a purchase (or 5... ;-) and the items will automatically be sent to College Heights Christian Church in Joplin, MO and distributed to the MOPS families in need and to others in the community.

Happy Shopping:

Joplin MOPS Wish List

Jennifer Sabin over at Family Musings gave a great shopping tip! "If you decide to make a donation, you should sign up for Amazon Mom first. This will get you free shipping on several items in this Wish List (plus stuff you might buy for yourself down the road)." Thanks, Jennifer!

So let's put some action to "No Mom Alone"! We might not know these moms on a personal level but we all have so much in common....we are MOPS!

Updated Playdate Schedule!

We had to adjust the dates for the play dates this summer, so make sure you check it out before making your plans. :)

Playdate Schedule:

TUESDAYS

June 7 and 14

Join us at Christina Park

On the corner of 540 and S. Fla

(behind the bank)

TUESDAYS

June 21 - Aug 9th

9:30am - 11:30pm

FBC@theMall’s

INDOOR PLAYGROUND!

Come beat the heat with your kiddos and bring some friends with you!

It’s a great way to get some new friends introduced to MOPS.

TUESDAYS

August 16th and 23rd

9:30am - 11:30am

Sunflower Playground/Barnett Park

Bring your swimsuits and take

advantage of the splash pad!

See ya this summer!

Tea and Testimony

We had a wonderful time at our last MOPS meeting, Tea and Testimony. We heard from several mothers who shared how MOPS changed their life. It's so important to remember that we can make a difference in someone's life simply by inviting them to join us. You never know what a mom is going through and you can change their life! If you would like to receive some business cards to share with moms during the summer or would like more information about our MOPS group, please email us at fbcmallmops@gmail.com with your address and we will get those things to you!

Don't forget to join us for play dates this summer!

Summer Play Schedule

Although our regular MOPS schedule is winding down, summer fun has just begun! 

Playdate Schedule:

TUESDAYS

June 7 - July 26th 

9:30am - 11:30pm

FBC@theMall’s 

INDOOR PLAYGROUND!

Come beat the heat with your kiddos and bring some friends with you! It’s a great way to get some new friends introduced to MOPS. 

TUESDAYS

August 2 - 23

9:30am - 11:30am

Sunflower Playground/Barnett Park

Bring your swimsuits and take 

advantage of the splash pad!

Also, you can plan on seeing a movie with your kids:

Summer Movies @ Lakeside

10am every Tuesday, Wednesday 

and Thursday.

Doors open at 9:30am.

June 14, 15, 16

Shrek Forever After (PG)

Ramona & Beezus (G)

June 21, 22, 23

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (PG)

How to Train Your Dragon (PG)

June 28, 29, 30

Karate Kid (PG)

Nanny McPhee Returns (PG)

July 5, 6, 7

Veggie Tales (G)

Cats & Dogs: Revenge of

Kitty Galore (PG)

July 12, 13, 14

Evan Almighty (PG)

Marmaduke (PG)

July 19, 20, 21

Despicable Me (PG)

Barnyard (PG)

July 26, 27, 28

Yogi Bear (PG)

Narnia: Voyage of the

Dawn Treader (PG)

August 2, 3, 4

Gulliver’s Travels (PG)

Megamind (PG)

MOPS will return in full force on August 30th!

We look forward to spending some time with you this summer.  It's never too late to be a part of the MOPS family.  

Ida and Brittany