Share Your Story--May 3rd Meeting Recap

At our last meeting, we were so blessed to hear the experiences of two of our own extraordinary moms during our "Share Your Story" meeting.

Phyllis Hovey was the first to share.  She and her husband, Brian, were called into mission work and started an adventure to share God's Word in Chile. Though they had planned to remain childless due to some medical issues, God had other plans for them! Phyllis told us about the beginning times of realizing she was pregnant and shared a funny anecdote about trying to buy a pregnancy test from behind the counter of a Spanish-speaking pharmacy where she ended up playing a sort of game of charades with the pharmacist to communicate her needs.  Then, once she had the test--all the instructions were in Spanish, too! God knows how to provide what we need and He led Phyllis to someone who helped her get set up with an English-speaking OB/GYN. Even though she was nervous, she remembered that our kids are God's kids and HE is in charge.  She reminded us that we should, "Give God the pen in your story."

Phyllis also shared these important verses with us:
Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.  Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.  Psalm 112:1-2

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.   1 Corinthians 15:58

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.    Ephesians 3:20

Phyllis, along with her husband Brian and son Gunner, soon will be headed to Pennsylvania, and plan to continue mission work in Papua New Guinea in the near future.  You can follow their experiences though their blog.

Our second speaker was Jamie Stanislav.  Jamie has been part of our group for several years.  She has been married to her husband, Matt, for 8 years and has two little boys, ages 4 and 2.  Inspired in part by a foster care panel we held at MOPS a few years ago, Jamie and Matt prayed and felt led to learn more about the world of foster care.  Over the course of several months, they met with other families that were foster parents or adoptive parents. Even though their initial feelings when they first heard about it was that foster care was probably not for them, God slowly changed their hearts. The county only requires 6-10 hours of training, but Jamie and Matt used the experience of others to learn more about the process.

Jamie and Matt, along with their two boys, welcomed a baby boy into their home this year. They have cared for and loved him and have given him a wonderful home.  Jamie said that some of the most common questions she gets are, "Won't it just be too hard when you have to let them go? Won't you get too attached?  What if the place they are going still isn't a good situation for them?"  Jamie's response to these questions felt so profound.  She said, "The whole point is to pour love into the child and it is impossible to not get attached. If we said "no" to taking him in in the first place, that would be far more difficult for the child that us having to say goodbye to him at the end of our time together.  We have to trust God."

Please take some time and watch this video, ReMoved, that Jamie recommended.  It shows an example of what life is like for foster children through their own eyes.

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Our "Silver Spoon Award" winner for the week is Sarah Peterson! Please click on the link to see the recipe for her winning dish:


Blueberry Cheesecake Crescent Rolls




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Announcements:

• Pre-registration for next year is now open! We will have forms available for you to fill out during the meeting, so please bring your checkbooks! If you register before June 30th, you can save a few dollars off the regular fee!  Pre-registration fee is $22.95.  If you have to miss the meeting or forget your checkbook, you can mail in your registration form to Bethel Church Attn: MOPS 1611 Hemlock Ave., Owatonna, MN  55060 
• We are currently working on planning our 2nd Annual MOPS Family Picnic!  Stay tuned for more information.... 
• Do you know someone would make a great mentor mom? If so, please let someone on the steering team know!  Thank you!

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Looking forward to our next meeting on May 17th:

At our meeting this week, we will make a fun craft that will inspire you to think outside the box when planning summer activities to do with your kids.  For the craft, please bring either a mason jar (no lid needed) or a clean, empty can.  If you have extra, please consider bringing a few to help out those that might forget. We will also be enjoying some fun with friends at our tables and we will have some great prizes and treats to give away.  Don't miss our end-of-the year celebration!

The EXQUISITE and SPIRITED tables are on for breakfast and the JOYFUL table is in charge of bringing items for MOPPETS this week.  We have enough snacks for the kids, but we are still in need of Dixie cups and napkins. Thank you!

God's Marriage and Speed Friending--April 19th Meeting Recap

At the beginning of her talk, our speaker, Melissa Dueul, asked us to think about three questions:

1.) What is your dream or desire for your marriage?

2.) What is God's design for your marriage?

3.) What is the reality of your relationship right now?

After pondering those three questions individually, Melissa talked a little more about God's design for marriage.

In 1 Peter, we learn that wives are commanded to respect their husbands and husbands are commanded to love their wives.  I had always read this with thoughts swirling in my head.  Why would we not be told to both love and respect eachother?  Why this seemingly "unequal" treatment?  Melissa helped explain the passage with the help of a book called Love and Respect, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.  In the book, Dr. Eggerichs explains that we need to show love to our spouse in a way that makes sense to them. As Melissa said in her talk, "Speak respect to your husband--he'll get it.  Your husband should speak love to you--you'll get it."

This portion of the talk reminded me of another book that we have heard about before at MOPS--The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman. If you're not familiar with it, the idea is that there are 5 different ways that we can communicate love to others.  (Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Gifts, and Acts of Service) We each have one or more languages that we "speak" and gestures of love that fit our primary language make us feel more loved than others.  We must learn the language of our spouse and strive to show them love in the way that makes the most sense to them.

Melissa offered recommendations of several other books relating to the topic of marriage during her talk.  Here are all of them with links to Amazon if you would like to read more about them.

Love and Respect, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs 

The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman  

The Marriage Project, Kathi Lipp

Better Love Now, Tommy Nelson and David Delk

Love & War, John and Stasi Eldredge

Mystery of Marriage, Mike Mason

Sacred Marriage, Gary L. Thomas

After the speaker, we had the opportunity to branch out from our tables and get to meet some new people through Speed Friending!  Half the group was given a sheet of paper with questions.  The people with papers paired up with someone else without one. Then, each person took turns asking and answering questions.  When time was up, it was time to find another partner.  We hope you were able to make some fun new connections!

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Our "Silver Spoon Award" winner for the week is Holly Dodds! (She was really excited.) :)  Here is the recipe for her winning dish:

Easy Cream Cheese Danishes

Makes 24 pastries

Ingredients

2 cans Pillsbury Grands Crescent Rolls (big & flaky)
1 can pie filling (I like cherry)

8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

powdered sugar
milk

Directions
Place crescent roll cans in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper.
Beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
Open the cans and slice each into 12 pieces, approximately 1/2″ slices. (Don’t unroll them, pretend they’re slice and bake cookies.)
Place six slices on a cookie sheet, flattening the centers to create an indent. (I used a large spice container dipped in flour, plus my fingers for a little extra flattening in the middle.)
Fill the indent half with the cream cheese mixture and half with the pie filling.
Bake until edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
In a small bowl, mix a large spoonful of powdered sugar with a little milk until liquid but still thick. Spoon into a pastry bag or Ziploc, cut off the tip, and drizzle over the pastries

How to Curb the Compulsion to Compare--April 5th Meeting Recap

On April 5th, we welcomed Christy Engelhart as a guest speaker.  In this world with Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, etc. we have a window into the lives of others.  However, what we see is likely not the full picture, and comparing ourselves to others hardly ever puts us in a good state of mind.  We either feel bad about ourselves, or feel better about ourselves by putting others down.  Neither is a good situation.  Christy introduced us to three ways to help us to keep from feeling like we need to compare ourselves to others.

Step 1:  BE REALISTIC! 

- 95% of the population will never look like the body images we see in the media.
- If you try to be someone you're not, you do a disservice to yourself and others.
- Remember Psalm 139:13-16          For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

We can choose to love and embrace the person that we've been created to be and stop trying to be someone that we aren't!

Step 2:  BE THANKFUL!

- Studies have shown that people feel less happy after spending time on social media--you're seeing people's highlight reels--not an actual depiction of life.
- Embrace and be thankful for the things we do have--if you haven't yet, check out the book we each received for our birthdays from MOPS this year. (One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp)
- Focus on what we are good at instead of what we aren't.
- Having a spirit of thankfulness is a way to worship God...
       Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
       Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.  (Philippians 4:8)

We can choose an attitude of gratitude and to boldly embrace the special talents and personal traits that we have each been given.

Step 3:  BRING YOUR BEST!

There are always going to be others who are smarter, more talented, prettier, stronger, etc. However, you don't have to BE the best to bring YOUR best.
       For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)
      And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:17)

If we are willing to bring our best to the table--however inadequate it may seem in the moment--we may be surprised at the profound impact it has on the world around us.

Click to read Christy's own blog post for more on this topic.
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Our "Silver Spoon Award" winner for the week is Shaylah Dansie! Yes, not only is she is a supermom with newborn twins, she is also now an award-winning cook.  Here is the recipe for her winning dish:

For the icing, she used:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 butter
1+ c powdered sugar
1 1/2 ish tbsp milk
1/2 top vanilla

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Announcements:

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped with our garage sale fundraiser last weekend!  We had many members volunteer to spend time setting up, sorting, working the sale, and cleaning up at the end. We ended up raising over $1,200, making this our most profitable garage sale so far! We couldn't have made it happen without all of your hard work!