Thursday, December 11, 2008

Leadership Christmas Party

Hailey, Shannon, Shelley, and Marcy.

Melissa & Raylene.

Leslie & Elijah.

Crissy & Holly.

Jessica & Hailey.

Crissy, Eli, Carrie, and Bridgette.

Jane, Nancy, and Kerri.

Last week, the M2M Leadership Team celebrated the end of the year with a Christmas potluck and ornament exchange. Thanks to Melissa Johnson for hosting such a fun night! A good time was had by all!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

We have podcasts!

Are you bummed that you missed a morning of Mom2Mom last session? Well now, you can atleast hear the guest speaker that you missed. Just go to http://www.sccwomen.com/ and click onto podcasts. In the drop down menu, choose Mom2Mom and pick a speaker. It's a great chance to revisit your favorites, too. Enjoy!

Blesssings,
Catherine

Thursday, November 13, 2008

That's a wrap!

Kerri & Crissy.

Holly's table.

Crissy's table.

Kristen's table.

Debbi's table.

Danielle's table.

Raylene's table.

Shannon's table.

All 14 of our expecting moms!

The fall session of M2M has officially come to an end. Awww....

The Lord provided another fantastic session with many new moms and new friendships that were made over these last 8 weeks. We hope that each one of you will join us again in January! A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of our table leaders, mentor moms, leadership team, childcare workers, Shelley and Amber! We appreciate all that you do! Thank you for your love for this ministry and for your heart of service.

* Please be on the lookout for M2M Evites during the holiday break.

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Blessings,
Catherine

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Catching Daisies

To say that Daisy was simply delightful is an understatement. Wasn't she just adorable? So full of energy, joy, peace and gratitude. If you came to Mom2Mom yesterday thinking that the circumstances in your life were weighty, you couldn't help but re-evaluate and put things in perspective after hearing a little of Daisy Catchings' story. I had the honor of attending one of her workshops during the last Women's Ministry Fair. She taught a workshop on "How to Give Your Testimony" and since I knew that I was going to share mine with all of you this session, I thought I had better go to get some tips. She gave me great direction that day and still continues to encourage me to share my story with others. She is the kind of person that warmly greets you with a big hug and a smile when she first meets you and her youthful enthusiasm for the Lord (and for life) is both contagious and inspiring.

Besides sharing the importance of daily time with the Lord and the acrostic for the word WORSHIP, several other things she said spoke to my heart as well. It was evident that she has a passion for being a witness for Christ. She is obedient when the Lord calls her and takes her role of building His Kingdom seriously. I wonder how many of us were once like her when we first came to the Lord but since then, have lost some of our zeal? Hmmm...
I find it easy and comfortable to stay in my Christian circles but I was also reminded through Daisy that God calls us to be a light in the world. That means that we must be communicating with those who are lost. And for most of us, I would venture to guess that that means starting with our own family members and friends.

Seeking requires submission. For me, this is a daily desire of mine that also requires a daily death to myself. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." And James 4:10, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you." My greatest desire is to bring glory to the Lord and I cannot possibly do that without knowing what He wants me to do. To know that, is to know Him and His perfect will for our lives.

In spite of the early death of her son and all that she endured during the 22 years of caring for her sick husband, did anyone else find her attitude of gratitude amazing? Her peace and healing can only be explained from knowing the Lord.

She also encouraged us to persist, endure, and remain constant. James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." At the end of our earthly life, as God's servant and child, we all long to hear the words, "Well Done My Good and Faithful Servant."

Lastly, she instructed us to be good to ourselves because as mothers, we determine our households, don't we? In our hectic schedules, we must take small opportunities of time to enrich our souls with the word of God and claim His everlasting promises. By doing so and making it a daily habit, our children are learning from our example who to seek and praise in times of trial, suffering, joy and peace.

Thank you, sweet Daisy for bringing sunshine, hope and light to our morning.

Blessings,
Catherine

Monday, November 3, 2008

Don't Forget!

Pre-registration for the next session of M2M begins now! It's especially important to register early to ensure that your child(ren) will have a spot in Kid2Kid on Wednesday mornings. Hopefully, we will not have to turn away any moms next session due to lack of space or childcare volunteers. We hope that all of you will come back to join us for another terrific session in the winter! Please be praying for enough childcare volunteers over the holidays.

Also, be advised that registration will no longer be available online. Registration forms will be placed on all of your tables this week so don't forget to bring your checkbook or cash! We will not be accepting any forms without money (unless of course, you need a scholarship). You will be confirmed for the next session when you have received an email confirmation from Carrie Shepard, M2M Treasurer.

If you have any questions, please just ask any member of leadership!

Winter Session '09 January 14th~ March 4th
M2M Fee- $30
Kid2Kid- Free
Bible study (optional)- $8

Thanks,
Catherine

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Special Craft Day

The CV Christmas Store provides an opportunity for the community to serve families in Indio and the surrounding areas that do not have the financial means to have Christmas gifts or a special meal for the holiday. The CV Christmas Store is set up like a department store, where parents will have a personal shopper escort them from room to room to choose gifts for each child. While the parent shops and wraps gifts, childcare will be provided. In addition, children will be given the chance to make a gift for their parents. Each family will be given food vouchers for a Christmas dinner and a family photo before leaving.

We can also help the CV Christmas Store by contributing financially and/or volunteering. This morning, M2M contributed by making some of the 500 blankets that will be given out this Christmas. Thanks to Marcy (our Service Project Coordinator) for all your efforts in teaming up with the CV Christmas Store to coordinate this special craft day!

For volunteering information, contact Sue Ramirez at (760) 399-7820. The CV Christmas Store is located at 45-742 Oasis St. in Indio.

Here are some of you in action...





















Great job, moms! Thanks for your participation and support!

Blessings,
Catherine

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Walk for Life

A beautiful morning!

Melissa & Danielle.

Kiddies playing in the bounce house.

Hailey & Crissy.

Vivien having a snack.

Holly & Kerri.

Bridgette & Catherine.

Kristen, Shannon & Kerri.

The Fazzone Family.

Faith & Grace.

The walk is about to begin!

Signs along our route.

Teagan cruises by.

Derek & Morgan cheer us on.

Can't argue with that.

Fun for the whole family.

The White Family.

Thankful.

Blessed.

The 3rd Annual Valley Walk for Life was held this Saturday. This year's theme was, "Hope and a future." We pray that all young women would give their unborn children just that. It was a beautiful morning to celebrate LIFE! Thank you to all of you moms who came out to show your support!

Blessings,
Catherine



Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Spiritual Life of Your Child

It is always a joy to hear one of our mentor moms speak but this week, we got the added bonus of hearing her husband, too. He just happens to be our Senior Pastor at Southwest but for this particular morning, I tried to think of him less like Pastor Bob and more just like Bob, Ruthie's devoted husband and partner in raising their boys. :)

For those of you who have not yet had the privilege of meeting Ruthie or having her at your table, you are in for a treat. She has become a role model to me and I am privileged and delighted to know her. She is not only a righteous woman of God, she is as warm and genuine as they come. What a blessing it was to hear such words of wisdom and encouragement this morning. Weren't they just the cutest?!
There were so many little gems to take-away.

With their anchor verse being Deuteronomy 6:4-9, they spoke of how we need to be both model and mentor to our children.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

As a model...

* We need to ask ourselves, "Do we really love the LORD ourselves, with our whole being?"

* We must take the time to nourish ourselves by being in His word daily.

* This is our life line and communication line to God. By being in His word, we can learn to love and trust in Him.

* God's word needs to be on our hearts, not just in our head.

* Do I endeavor to obey God and believe Him? Keeping in mind that God does not expect perfection.

* As moms, we need to admit it when we blow it. This includes apologizing to our kids when we do wrong.

* Allow them to hear us confess our sin and pray for forgiveness.

As a mentor...

* I love the idea and practice of the Family Altar. I suppose this is something that I planned to do in the future but hearing Bob and Ruthie gave me the desire and motivation to start right away. This is a sacred family time for prayer, teaching and devotion. It's also an opportunity to ask our kids engaging questions. Be sure and keep this time brief, simple and age appropriate!

* What Bob said was really powerful. We really only have our kids for about 12 years. "Just think how much we can accomplish with just a few minutes a day over 12 years?" The obvious alternative would then lead us to ask, "How much time and opportunity would be lost had we not taken those few minutes a day?

* We cannot solely rest on the church or even schools to teach our children to be spiritually strong. This must all begin in our own homes.

As Christians, we are not called to be part-timers. God is not interested in that. We are called to live a life that fully encompasses God in all that we do, say, think and feel. Putting religion in a section of our week like Sundays or maybe even Wednesday mornings is not how God wants us to live. In doing this, we are just perpetuating the secular advancement of the notion that God should stay in a separate, religious category. I also enjoyed the kind encouragement that Bob & Ruthie gave to those moms whose husbands are not yet believers. Prayer is a powerful thing and I have seen lives transformed over years because of the power of a praying wife. Keep praying and let us pray with you and for you!

Lastly, allow our children to hear us pray for their spiritual character- out loud. That way, they too, will know exactly what we desire and hope for them.

In summary, I think it all boils down to being very intentional in pointing our children towards the Lord. It must first begin with us, moms!

All fantastic stuff from Ruthie and Bob! Thank you for leading our church with such a GREAT moral compass!

Blessings,
Catherine

--