Year-end Celebration!

What a fantastic way to end our year! As usual, the mentor moms truly outdid themselves! They made us feel special, honored, and loved this morning. The tea party theme was so fun and I love how they incorporated the many hats that us moms wear throughout the day in their cute skit. Everything was so beautiful- the food, presentation, gifts, prizes, and fellowship. I've heard other women say this before and I have to wholeheartedly agree that M2M is the best thing going in the desert for moms! I think my favorite part of the morning was hearing all of your testimonies and how this ministry has helped to bless so many of you. What an amazing God we serve and the fact that we can come together as moms and have a place to encourage and support one another, while seeking God's will for our lives is a priceless gift! I sincerely hope that each one of you will come back in September. Who knows, maybe you'll even ask a friend to come with you?

Enjoy your summer break, ladies!

Love and blessings to you all!

*Would you please join me in welcoming Holly Priest to the new role of Publicity for next year? It has truly been my privilege to serve in this capacity, here at M2M. Thank you for allowing me to share my heart and to use my spiritual gifts for the Lord's glory. Welcome, Holly! You're gonna be terrific! Make sure to watch for future M2M emails from Holly.

**M2M is now on Facebook! It'll be a great place to find out about upcoming events, participate in discussions and connect with each other, even more! To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below:http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=98669964056&mid=87a96eG3c5a57c8G83ef01G6.

Tiffany Holcomb

Thank you to Tiffany who so gracefully shared her testimony with us this morning. I loved how she started out with what she knew to be the promises of God. For me, each promise was a gentle reminder of all that we are in God's eyes. It was also a great recap of everything that we've learned and touched on throughout our session at Mom2Mom. Some things that stood out for me...

-God often meets us at the most broken moments in our lives, when we can no longer walk on our own.

-He is a true Gentleman and will wait at the door until He is asked to come in.

-The darkest and most confusing time in our lives often leads to the greatest revelation of who God really is.

-God is full of grace, mercy, tenderness and forgiveness. He is not a God who intimidates with guilt, shame and wrath.

-More than anything, God desires a relationship with us over any organized religion.

-When we come to Him in genuine repentance, we will be forgiven and free. He keeps no record of wrongs.

-Grace, what a beautiful and priceless gift!

-Jesus is the only thing that can fill that void in our hearts. We were made to worship Him.

-Lastly, our past does not define who we are, only Jesus does.

I also loved how she took 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and substituted the word God for love...

"God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. God does not dishonor others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered. God keeps no record of wrongs. He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails."

Thank you, Tiffany for sharing your story and your heart with us this morning. Your passion for knowing and claiming God's word is both inspiring and contagious! May the Lord continue to bless you and your family abundantly.

**

Pre-registration begins!

Hi Ladies,

Don't forget to bring your checkbooks (or cash) on Wednesday to pre-register for the Fall Session of M2M! The cost is $35 and kids are free.

*Scholarships are available.

--

Worship Day

Worship day rocks! There's nothing better than worship music to bring our focus back to the Lord and renew our weary spirits. I don't know about you but I've been tired lately. My girls and I have been sick (on and off) for the past two weeks. I'm happy to say that we are finally on the mend now but as we all know, a sick house is no fun! In addition to being housebound, I've desperately missed being able to go to church as well. Needless to say, I was craving today's worship and wished that it could have gone on and on! Thank you, Scotty for blessing us with your gift of music this morning!

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. ~Psalm 28:7

Mom's Night In

Bridgette, Jasmine, and Chelsea

BUNCO!!!

Nancy showing off her Bunco form.

Last Friday was a night of yummy food, fun, and fellowship. Jasmine Garrison hosted a Fiesta night for us. The Carne Asada was amazing and a big thank you to her husband who barbequed for us. He was also a good sport when we made him play Bunco! It was so fun to see the different personalities that come out while playing Bunco. It's some serious competition! Also, a big thank you to the husbands for taking care of our kidlets so we could enjoy an evening out. Enjoy a few pictures that were snapped during the evening.

*A special thanks to Shannon Webb for posting pictures and guest blogging!

Becky White- Legos

Becky White and her boys.

Again, I just love it how God is so good to reinforce our devotion this morning with our guest speaker's message. You couldn't help notice how Becky beams with pride when she speaks about her handsome boys. She gave us such a great visual to draw from as she explained in detail about the treasured "Lego pirate ship" that she and her son, Trevor had so diligently built together years ago. When the pieces came crashing down, the Legos became a metaphor for all the pieces of ourselves that we so desperately try to hang onto in order to maintain that perfect picture. As women, we seem to have a tendency to try and make it look like we have it all together don't we?

I know first hand the disappointment of letting go of some of my dreams. You see, in my perfect world, I would have been married when I was 24 or 25 to a fabulous husband that loved me for me. I would also own a beautiful home and have two bright and gorgeous kids. Well, life didn't exactly go as I had planned. Today, I can honestly say that I am so thankful to God for those unanswered prayers. I didn't end up getting married (to my fabulous husband) until the day before my 31st birthday! We then didn't own our first home together until almost 6 years later. And the two kids? Pregnancy didn't come easy for me. God's plan was to close my womb so that He could open my heart to adoption. The two kids He gave me have been more than a Godsend. They have brought my husband and I more joy and love than we could have ever imagined. And God continues to use my kids daily to show me sweet glimpses of Himself. Looking back, I learned so much through the heartbreak. Most of all, I learned what it truly meant to surrender to the Lord. It's funny. I remember that gloriously broken moment when I finally said, "OK, Lord. I'm ready to do it your way." Whatever you have in store for me, I am ready and willing to see it through." It was only then that I began to experience freedom and peace like I had never before. And after freedom and peace, came blessing after blessing.

Becky shared that God only brings good out of our surrender and that even though it may be difficult to empty our hands to Him, it will all be worth it. God has a vision and a plan that far exceeds what we can even dream up for ourselves. So much of the time, we are still on the floor, adamantly looking for those broken pieces and trying to rebuild our perfect dream- whatever that may be.

I wish I could say that I have learned my lesson and I no longer build dreams without God's guidance but that wouldn't be true. My own desires and self will tends to creep back into my life every now and again and it's times like this morning that remind me that life is all about learning how to surrender. It's only then that we can fulfill our true purpose here- to bring glory and praise to our Heavenly Father.

Let's give ourselves permission to fail sometimes, to be broken, to need help, to cry out to the Lord, and to grow in the beauty of learning what it means to surrender.

Still to come...

Well ladies, we are already into the second half of our spring session. Hasn't it been great so far? I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our Wednesday mornings.
Look what's coming up next...

May 6- Becky White- she is a dynamic international women's speaker and author. Some of you may remember her from last year. Becky is a single mother of four boys, a 17-year-old and triplets who are 12. She is an eight-time All-American volleyball and basketball player from Biola University, where she subsequently coached and taught. White and her boys face unique challenges because of the special needs of 12-year-old Cameron, who is severely retarded and autistic. She shares her heart with honesty and humor. You won't want to miss it!

May 13- Worship Day

May 20- Tiffany Holcomb

May 27- Last Day- a fantastic celebration!

*MNO is coming up this Friday, May 8th. Don't forget the last day to turn in your $10 for Bunco/Fiesta Night is tomorrow! Please see Bridgette or Jasmine Garrison.