Mom2Mom

We're Back!

2011-04-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hi lovely ladies! We're back in session and BOY did all of us on leadership miss all of you! Last Wednesday, we had a chance to meet the ladies at our new tables, and hopefully you spent some time chatting and getting to know one another. I know that the Lord has great things planned for each of us this session. As a reminder, please be sure to keep the things that are shared at your table confidential. Also, your small group leaders and the leadership team are all here to serve you. Please let any of us know if we can be in prayer for you.

On Wednesday, we heard from a handful of moms about the different "seasons" that they're in. Even in that small group of women, the struggles were varied, and I'm sure that we can all relate to a few of them. Whether you're having trouble letting go or you're just too exhausted to wash one more set of dishes, always remember that our God is faithful, and He never lets us down. When we've run out of grace, He has grace for us. When we've lost our patience, He is patient with us. When he feel helpless or alone, He is by our side.

This Wednesday we'll be hearing from our very own Mentor Mom, Ruthie Thune. You won't want to miss it! See you all soon :)

Blessings,

Katie (M2M Publicity)

Discipline of the Heart of the Family

2011-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies! Please forgive my lack of posting lately....my family and business responsibilities have just about swallowed me up :)

A few weeks ago Pastor and Mrs H came to share with us about Discipline in the Heart of the Family. It's always such a pleasure to have them at Mom2Mom! Their love for one another and for their children is contagious.

Pastor and Mrs H had some great advice for us Moms...

Always remember that there is a difference between discipline and punishment. We should be disciplining our children out of love. Discipline is training, guiding and loving.

Here are a few keys to disciplining your children....

*be realistic, and don't throw out empty threats

*be immediate, don't count

*be consistent, remember that discipline takes time

*be adjustable, the ages and phases of your children will constantly change, and so should your form of discipline

*Husband and Wife always need to be on the same team. The kids will feel the safest when they know that Mom and Dad and OK, so always put effort into your relationship with your spouse.

Keep in mind that discipline is an ongoing challenge, and it's OK if you're not perfect. Be creative, and try to see what works for you and your children. Always remember to discipline your kids out of love, and to train them in a Godly way.

Thanks Pastor and Mrs H!!

Discipline of Kids' Stuff

2011-01-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hello Ladies! I hope you all had a wonderful week. Here are a few notes from Cynthia Moses' talk last Wednesday about our kids' stuff....

Teach your children that helping is fun, and that helping is part of growing up. More things don't necessarily mean more fun. Cynthia suggests that you utilize their age as a guideline for how many toys should be in their room. If your child is two years old, he/she should be able to clean up toys for two minutes. She also suggests that we organize our homes in zones, and urges de-cluttering, and "eBaying" our old toys. Keep our "things" to a minimum, and always remember that Jesus should be our focus.

Here is the homework for tomorrow, in case you were gone last week.

Many thanks to Becca for taking notes while I was absent last week! As always, the Leadership Team is here for prayer and support at any time!

Blessings,

Katie

M2M Publicity

Newsletter and Homework

2011-01-18T12:26:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies,

Here are the newsletter and homework for those of you that missed M2M last week. You can right click on them to download. See you all soon!

Discipline of Expectations

2011-01-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

What a great way to kick off the winter session of M2M!

Our very own Tiffany Holcomb spoke to us about Discipline of Expectations. Do we expect our husbands and children to be perfect? To be something they're not? Are the expectations that you set for yourself unrealistic? All to often, we show up at church with our "mask" on. We hide what we're going through, how we're feeling, and we expect that everyone else has it together. The truth is that no one has it all together. We don't get to know Jesus when everything is perfect, but in our mistakes. Tiffany used the story of Mary and Martha as an example. Mary was content to sit and Jesus' feet, to learn from Him, and to love Him. Martha was busy in the kitchen, working, cooking, and expecting Mary to be doing the same. What a shock it must have been to Martha when she learned that Jesus didn't expect her to be the perfect hostess, that all He wanted was for her to join Mary, and sit at His feet.

I hope that this week, you'll be able to sit at the feet of Jesus, and let go of your expectations. Love your God, husband, children and friends for who they are. If you want to dig deeper, read through Psalm 107. As always, the Leadership Team is here for all of you!

Blessings,

Katie

M2M Publicity

Are You Ready?!

2011-01-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

The winter Session of Mom2Mom is just days away! We hope to see all of your bright and shining faces on Wednesday, January 12th. We strongly recommend that everyone register online BEFORE Wednesday to avoid a long registration line, and to ensure that your kiddos have a space reserved in their respective classes. You can register here.....

http://www.sccwomen.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1507

Let us know if you have any questions!

Blessings,

Katie

M2M Publicity

Joy

2010-11-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

Can joy be present during difficult times?

This past Wednesday morning we were blessed with guest speaker, Kristin Tanner. Kristin, a 10-year resident of the Desert, a Registered Nurse, wife and mother of two recounted her first-hand experience in finding joy while accepting a very difficult medical diagnosis of her three-month-old daughter Natalie.

Natalie was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer; merely three-months old, her head was increasing in size due to the fluid surrounding her brain and a tumor that had wrapped itself around her brain stem. The diagnosis was the beginning of a journey that Kristin later described as, “an experience that most people do not get.”

Kristin gave a phenomenal recount of her emotions as a mother during this time in her life; making decisions that didn’t always feel right, smiling when she didn’t always feel happy and finding hope when medical history dictated otherwise. Her thoughts were raw at times when she described how confusing it was, when bonding moments with her daughter left her wondering whether she should, “enjoy her (daughter’s) spirit” or “prepare for her (daughter’s) loss”. During these difficult times Kristin explained to us that her strength came from the, “peace and joy of being fully engaged as a family, experiencing their new normal and embracing Natalie’s progression and growth.”

Kristin’s final words to us Wednesday morning answered the question we ponder when faced with difficult situations, “Joy needs to be found during times when it’s not there and then remembered.”

Today Natalie has been cancer free for three years and has an 85% chance of survival; Praise God for their miracle and for the hope and the joy they experienced during their most difficult days.

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10

Rhonda Coombs

M2M Guest blogger

Gentleness

2010-11-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Donna Rowell spoke to us about gentleness on Wednesday. Donna basically oozes gentleness :) As soon as she started speaking, we could all tell that she was meant to teach on this topic. She encouraged us to be quick to forgive, not to scold our husbands, and to remember that we cannot take our words back. She asked us to consider these questions, "When you're not speaking, what are you reflecting to your children/husband? What do they see and sense when their eyes find you?" She also encouraged us to ask God in every situation, "What do you want me to learn from this?" Remember that when our children are challenging us, God is giving us the perfect opportunity to exercise gentleness. I was given PLENTY of opportunities to be gentle this week....were you?! Thank you Donna, for sharing your heart with us!

As always, Leadership is here for anyone, we love you!

Blessings,

Katie

Kindness

2010-10-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Wow. Wednesday was a very moving morning at Mom2Mom. Shelene Bryan was our speaker, and she certainly had us all laughing in one moment, and then crying in the next. Her energy was intense, and we loved every minute of it! Shelene is a producer from LA, who decided that she was going to fly to Africa and meet the children that she and her family sponsored. That experience changed her life, and she has since started the non-profit organization called Skip1. Shelene encouraged us to "Skip 1", one latte, one manicure, one dinner out, one new purse, and donate that money to help feed children who are in need, children who are starving. Below is the PSA for Skip1. Please take a moment to watch it, and consider skipping.

www.Skip1.org

Faithfulness/Worship Day

2010-10-22T12:54:00.001-07:00

What a moving morning! On Wednesday, one of our amazing Mentor Moms, Misty Moss, shared about faithfulness. Misty shared her testimony, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. She told us of the struggles she faced in her marriage, specifically her unfaithfulness, and how her husband showed her love throughout it all. Misty is a perfect example of the Lord at work, He can do GREAT things if we let Him in, if we trust Him, if we are faithful to Him. Thank you, Misty, for being so willing to share your heart!

We also had worship on Wednesday, and it was so moving! The image below is of Jason and myself singing, but it should be of all of YOU worshiping. I always feel so blessed to lead worship at SCC, and it's because when I look out, I get to see all of you amazing moms, worshiping our King, praising His name. It's truly a sight to behold.

Here is a list of the songs Jason and I sang, just incase any of you would like to know :)

1. Cannons

2. Hosanna

3. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

4. Our God

As always, the entire Leadership Team is here for anyone who may need prayer or support!

Blessings,

Katie

Self Control

2010-10-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

What a great morning! This week, we learned about self control. After Rhonda's devotion and Ruthie's teaching, we had some AMAZING table conversation, and I know my table wasn't the only one. Rhonda encouraged us to approach self control as a game: when we exercise self control, everybody wins, and the reward is personal growth. Great idea!

It's always a joy to hear Ruthie speak. She is so sweet, wise, and quite entertaining! She encouraged us to E.A.A.T.......................................................................................

E-Engage with our "Trainer" (the Holy Spirit). Instead of venting to our girlfriends about our kids, husbands, jobs ECT, process our emotions through our Trainer. Go to Him when we need to let it all out.

A-Asses where you lack self control. Is there a specific time of day that is difficult for you? (EG: after nap, before church, before bedtime) Are you very emotional, or quick to react? Try to figure out what areas you struggle with.

A-Aim for a goal, a realistic and achievable one. We all have things that we struggle with and that we'd like to change. Overloading ourselves with expectations only leads to disaster. Start out with one, simple goal. Ask yourself these questions, "What am I becoming? What things are important to me? What do I need to cut out in order to become who the Lord wants me to be?"

T-Train yourself. Work the changes into your life! Remember that the Trainer will push you beyond your comfort level, and that's OK, you MUST obey. Recognize that your Trainer is there to guide you, but YOU have to do the work.

Do you struggle with self control? I do, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Hopefully this week's teaching has been beneficial to all of us, and hopefully we're all in prayer, asking our Trainer to help us along the way! Moms, please let ANY of the leadership team know if you need prayer, perhaps an extra prayer for self control :) We're here for all of you!

Blessings,

Katie

Patience

2010-10-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

Patience: Good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence.

Another great morning at M2M! This week, our topic was "Patience". I'm sure that our devotion and speaker sparked plenty of great conversations at your tables. As Moms, patience is something that we all need a good dose of :)

Our speaker, Marcey Hawkins, spoke of her struggles while she and her family lived in a travel trailer for a year. Although that time in her life was very challenging, she eventually gave it all to God, and found joy in waiting for HIS timing. It's not up to us to make things happen. Our job is to be faithful, continually praising the Lord in every circumstance. Marcey likened patience to endurance. Amen! The Lord already has a plan for us, all we need to do it slow down and trust in Him.

Have any of you struggled with patience this week? I know that I have. Please don't hesitate to contact your Small Group Leaders, or any of the leadership team if you're in need of a little extra prayer for patience or anything else!

(PS: Blogger is being silly right now.....I don't know why the bottom of this post is underlined and I can't make it stop!)

Many Blessings,

Katie

Fall Session: Day 1!

2010-09-30T19:46:00.001-07:00

What an amazing 1st day of Mom2Mom! We have well over 100 registered women, and more to come! If you weren't able to make it on Wednesday, we are looking forward to welcoming you next week! M2M has seen some great changes this year. Lots of new leadership, ideas and a HUGE desire to serve YOU. Debbi has done an amazing job all summer, planning, brain storming and preparing.

M2M's new look....don't you love the new colors?

Kameron, our Special Events Coordinator, will always liven things up. Stay tuned for future Mom's Night Out events!

Shannon, our Kid2Kid coordinator, had many things to remind us of...."No green boogies or fevers allowed!" Rest assured that your children are downstairs, being loved and enjoying their morning just as much as you are enjoying yours :)

We filled the room!! "Getting To Know You" has never been so much fun!

In case you did not receive a newsletter, here it is.

I'd like to encourage each of you Moms to take a peek at the study we passed out for the week. The theme for this week is "Love". Doing it isn't required, but we can all benefit from it!

At the end of the morning, M2M Leadership Team, Small Group Leaders and the Mentor Moms shared our "cardboard testimonies". It's our hope that through that, you will all see that we are human, we've made mistakes, we've lived through trials, and that we are just like you. Feel free to contact M2M leadership should you have any needs, questions, concerns or feedback. We're here to serve you, and will be praying for you all week!

Many Blessings,

Katie

M2M Publicity

M2M Leadership Retreat

2010-09-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Last month, the leadership ladies spent a couple of days at the Walker Ranch for the annual leadership retreat. It was so nice to be able to get to know one another on a deeper level. The rest and relaxation was great too ;) We played and laughed until we cried! We also discussed many business items, and changes for the year ahead. We are all so excited about what the Lord is doing in this ministry, and are looking forward to an amazing year!

Summer Playdate

2010-06-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

A few of us showed up for the Mom2Mom playdate at the park behind Applebees in LQ yesterday. It was a warm morning out but the breeze every so often felt good made it manageable. I love this park as it's about 95% fenced in and the kids can just run around, play and roll down the grass hills while the moms are able to chat and sit with the babies.

So Long... Farewell...

2010-05-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Another year of Mom2Mom has come to an end. I know I say it at the end of each session that I can't believe the session is already over, it goes by so fast, etc. etc. but this year really did absolutely FLY by!! It feels like just yesterday I was sitting down to type out this!! Wednesday was a busy, busy morning that went by a little too fast for my liking. The mentor moms blessed us with a wonderful taco salad and a beautiful cake that Nancy Walker made. We had a morning of extra long talk at our tables, followed up with sharing by some of YOU and just praising God for all He has done this year in the lives of each one of us through this ministry. We concluded with a slideshow and a very emotional farewell to Kerri, who shared that she isn't returning as the Mom2Mom coordinator next year. Kerri, YOU WILL BE MISSED more than any of us can even begin to express. We prayed for Debbi Garcia as it was announced that she will be stepping into Kerri's shoes next year as coordinator... I'm eagerly looking forward to next year (or September I guess... it'll be here before we know it!) and all that God has in store for this ministry and each one of us!

It has been a pleasure serving you this year at Mom2Mom.
We love you,
The Leadership Team

Worship Day & Mrs. Shafer

2010-05-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

This past week we had the wonderful opportunity of Jason Shafer & Katie McGihon leading worship!! Worship Day is one of my favorites of the session, if not the entire year, at Mom2Mom and this last worship day of the this year proved to be no different. Jason and Katie sang Cannons, Desert Song, Living for your Glory and From the Inside Out, and they rocked each and every one of them!

We also had the pleasure of having Elizabeth Shafer (Jason's lovely wife) come and share all about her amazing mom, Kim, with us! The title: It's not what happen to you, It's what happens in you. Although Elizabeth isn't a mom, yet, she shared with us some wonderful things that her mom did in raising her and ideas for each of us to use with our kids. One of the main things I took away from her talk was wanting my kids to be able to come and talk to me about anything, in the years to come. Elizabeth was able to do that because she and her mom had such an open and honest relationship and Kim would shower her with grace anytime Elizabeth had something she needed to come and talk to her about.

Thank you to Jason, Katie & Elizabeth for blessing us on Wednesday!

Nutrition

2010-05-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

April Johnson and Diane DeVall came to speak with us about KIDS and NUTRITION last week. They've both become certified in Dr. Sears Lean Kids programs and offered a TON of helpful information, most of it being pretty common sense stuff, but the way they presented it and gave ideas on how to help remember them was very helpful.
A few things that I took away from the morning:

Traffic Light Eating - easy for kids to remember too!!
GREEN: Green means "go" - Green light foods are "grow" foods. You want to help your child learn to eat as mucha s they want of these foods, which include all fruits and vegetables. Green light foods are: grown and not manufactured, low in calories, high in nutrients, colorful and usually can be eaten raw.
YELLOW: Yellow tells us to "slow down" - Yellow light foods are okay to eat everyday, in moderation. Yellow light foods include: pasta, rice, bread, tortillas, noodles, eggs, lean meat, chicken, low fat yogurt, nuts and seeds, olive oil, soy foods, whole grains, fish, low fat cheese and vegetable oil.
RED: Red means "stop" and think - When we come across a red light food, we should make a different choice or eat a smaller portion. Red light foods are low in nutrients; high in calories, fat or sugar; or contain artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils or trans-fats. They include: butter, cookies, candy, frozen yogurt, fatty meats, pastries, chips and white bread.

April's Cereal Rule:
Over 4 grams of fiber
Less than 6 grams of sugar

Nibble Tray: Fill a muffin tray in the morning with an assortment of different snack and goodies for your kids to nibble on during the day. Fill it with mostly green items, some yellow and a couple of dips (peanut butter/ranch dressing). Great idea. Uses the colors of the rainbow and gets kids intrigued and excited about all the options they have.

If you missed last Wednesday come and see me for extra handouts with lots of helpful information that April and Diane had out on the tables!!

A few books that were mentioned during their talk and were up at their table:
Dr. Sears' L.E.A.N. Kids: A Total Health Program for Children Ages 6-11

The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood: Ten Ways to Get Your Family on the Right Nutritional Track

The N.D.D. Book: How Nutrition Deficit Disorder Affects Your Child's Learning, Behavior, and Health, and What You Can Do About It--Without Drugs

Fit For Christ

2010-05-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

As Rhonda Coombs shared with us last week, she is starting a women's fitness small group. Her marathon-spiritual-journey was life changing to say the least and I'm so excited that she's passionate about sharing her journey and helping those of us who may need a little push or accountability.

Small group information
Start Date: Monday, 5/17/10
Days of the week: Mon./Thurs./Sat. mornings
Time: 5:30 AM – 6:30 AM
Location: SWCC church parking lot

5:30AM: Prayer/morning devotion
Distance: 2.2 mi course – walk/run

*once you make it back to your car, you are free to leave. I am committed to staying until 0630 for the support and safety of all women.
*I also encourage multiple laps (2.2 mi) if you desire.
*Monthly: Once a month I would like to schedule a “late” Saturday morning so that we have time to fellowship and connect as a group (snack/water break).

Rhonda will have a sign up/small group sheet at the tables tomorrow, 5/12 in order to get emails/phone etc.

"The Gift of an Ordinary Day" by Katrina Kenison

2010-05-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!!

Hope you all have a fabulous, relaxing day!!
Love & Blessings,
Holly

Cupcakes Galore!

2010-05-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

It was a fun, festive Cinco de Mayo celebration at M2M this week! We started out our morning with a conga line to breakfast, followed by a devotion by Karen Blodgett and finished up with decorating delicious treats!

Carol Pawlak, Bridgette Ridenour's very talented aunt, came to teach us all about the art of cupcake decorating this week! We all had the opportunity to try out our own decorating skills and make roses out of fondant. It was fun to be able to start with something small that doesn't seem to intimidating for those of us who have never worked with the stuff before. It was a fun, messy morning and I know that the childcare volunteers and our loved ones enjoyed our creations immensely! Thank you Carol for blessing us and for bringing just about everything we needed for the fun morning!

Here's the website for the Cupcake Cuddlers that Carol created to put cupcakes in for pretty much any event/occasion you can think of. Check it out!!

All of the Milton fondant products can be found at Michaels or Joann's if you want to practice with it more at home!!

***

Also, just wanted to let you know that pre-registration starts this week! Bring your checkbooks/cash to reserve your childs spot downstairs for Fall 2010 session.

Jackie Moothart

2010-04-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

Jackie Moothart, one of our wonderful mentor moms, shared her testimony with us this week and what a joy it was to hear all about her journey with our Lord. This was her first time sharing but you would have NEVER known!

Jackie was raised Catholic but started attending a Christian Sunday school when she was 11 and loved it! However, during the women's movement in the 60's, she was just sooo busy raising her family and doing other things that there was no time for church as she was very much in the world. In the late 80's her son, Craig, started dating a good Christian girl and was on fire for the Lord. He was very persistent in wanting his parents to attend church with him so they finally gave in but mostly just so that he would be quiet about the whole thing. Hah!! Boy did God have something else in store! From the moment Jackie entered the church, she knew she was home. She began to realize was she had been missing all of these years... not a religion but a relationship! God knew there were going to be trials coming Jackie's way and put Craig and the church in her path in His perfect timing so that He would be able to carry those burdens. They knew that God had the perfect plan and that even through the rebellious and disobedient times, He continued to love and protect them. Jackie and "Mr. Moot" just celebrated their 50 year anniversary and it's all about Him!

Still to come...

2010-04-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we're half way through the Spring session?!?! I SURE CAN'T! Before we know it we'll be taking our summer break and I'm soooo not looking forward to that! But enough of that... just getting ahead of myself...

Here's the lineup for our second half of the session - It looks great!!!

April 28th: Jackie Moothart - Testimony
May 5th: Carol Pawlak - Cupcake Decorating

May 12th: April Johnson & Diane DeVall - Nutrition for Kids
May 19th: Jason Shafer - Worship & Elizabeth Shafer - A Godly Mom
May 26th: End of the Year Celebration!!

Spoons!!

2010-04-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

What a fun day we had at Mom2Mom this last week!! It's fun to deviate from the normal schedule, speaker and whatnot occasionally to sit back and just have a fun time with our girlfriends! We had a wonderful devotion by Nancy Walker (thank you Nancy for sharing your heart - I know you spoke directly to many of us!) and then got into a super fun game of SPOONS! I've never played before but had a blast watching all of you get into it!! Catherine Gough was our Spoons champion - way to go Catherine!!

Our Switch, Swap and Save time turned out to be a big hit! THANK YOU to all of you who contributed - MANY MANY MANY of us were so blessed, as was the Crisis Pregnancy Center who took all of the leftover items over to Sweet Peas Boutique.

I hope everyone's had a great weekend!! Our weather has been incredible and I'm praying we have another few weeks of the same! See you Wednesday!!!

Love & Blessings,
Holly

Honor, Order & Peace

2010-04-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

One of our very own table leaders, Debbi Garcia, spoke to us about Honor, Order and Peace in our households last week. I don't know about you but I sure got A LOT out of her whole talk. I walked away feeling empowered with some great ideas to put into action when I got home. She emphasized to get take a couple of ideas she mentioned, not all of them, and try them out. The key is to SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY so that you have more time to spend with you family and the important things in life.

HONOR

1. God
Make time for Him. Try and figure out a way to have a quiet time. Be creative with it if you have to. Put scripture on your iPod and listen to the Word during feedings with your baby or in the car. Pray throughout the day - Associate the task you're doing or the room your in with a prayer. Put a devotional/journal in the bathroom and make the most out of your time in there :) The opportunities are endless... it just takes a little creativity.
2. Husband
Find things to praise your husband for - when he IS and ISN'T listening. Take the kids pictures out of your bedroom and fill the space with pictures of the two of you throughout different parts of your relationship. Take time to prep the house before daddy gets home and prepare for his arrival. Let him know you're happy he's home and he'll want to come home.
3. Kids
Give them your heart for God. You are their example and they will pick up so much from you.

ORDER

1. Pick an area and do 1 shelf a day. Be ruthless! If you have an entire room have a friend help!
2. If you're an avoider, have something positive at the end of it and reward yourself.
3. Organize your purse into compartments - it not only keeps things orderly but makes changing purses beyond easy!
4. Your kids can help sort laundry!! Tie colored ribbon to the laundry baskets and they'll know which color clothing goes in which basket.
5. Get rid of towels and use terry cloth robes instead. Wash the robes once a week when you wash the sheets.
6. Keep toys out of the Living Room, Family Room & Dining Room. If they are out then keep them put away in bins and boxes.
7. Get things off the floor.
8. Have different bins in the house according to the different zones they're in: A "getting ready" bin under your bathroom counter, a "baking" bin in your pantry, etc.
9. Use paper plates 1 night a week and spend the time you would've used cleaning the kitchen to play a game with the family instead.
10. Get a Sunday Box and anything that gets left out during the week gets put into the "Sunday Box" and stays there until Sunday - why Sunday? Because God is full of GRACE! Loved this one!
11. Put a hook on the back of your medicine cabinet to hang jewelry.
12. Create a chore list for yourself to do 1 task a day.
13. Scan your children's artwork and toss the originals.
14. Get rid of all your cleaning products and use vinegar water with a microfiber towel (you can find them in the auto department at stores too!)
15. Let your kids do the chores they're good at - there doesn't need to be a rotation... Teach them that a family works together and helps with others weaknesses.

PEACE

1. You will have peace with your husband if you respect him.
2. Minister to him sexually - resist the urge to neglect this.
3. Don't scream across the house to your kids - go to them and get down on their level.
4. Have them pray with each other if they're fighting.
Have a quiet time candle - use the same candle everytime and your kids will know when that candle is lit they may not talk, make noise or interrupt mom. They may snuggle and/or sit quietly with you...

Thank you so much Debbi for sharing so many wonderful ideas with all of us. I've loved reading all of the posts on Facebook the last few days and how you have really inspired all of us to make changes in all our of lives!!

Reminder!!

2010-04-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies,
Just a reminder that there is no Mom2Mom this Wednesday, April 7th, due to spring break on the DSUSD schedule. We'll meet up again next Wednesday, April 14th!! See ya'll then!!
Blessings,
Holly

Welcome Back!!

2010-04-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

What a great first morning back we had!!!! The start of Spring session was amazing and it was so awesome to see so many new faces!! Welcome to those of you who are joining us for the first time! I hope you enjoyed the morning just as much as I did! The tables were packed, childcare downstairs was full in some rooms and we had a wonderful, Godly, spirit-filled woman for our first speaker of the session - Candace Cameron Bure! It was a blessing to me just to see her begin by being so vulnerable and real in front of all of us in the way that she was blessed to hear Catherine's devotion just before she got up to speak. Candace shared her testimony and the journey she has been on with her walk with the Lord. Although she accepted Christ as her savior when she was 12, it wasn't for a few years later until she understood that "Being Good Isn't Good Enough" after receiving the book, The Way of the Master from her brother Kirk. The lightbulb went off and Candace realized the grace that she had been given and she truly understood everything the Lord had done for her. You can listen to her full testimony again on her website and check out more information on the phenomenal girl.

Thank you Bridgette for bringing and sharing your sister with us for the morning!! It was a real treat to hear and get to know her in a more personal way, other than DJ Tanner!!

Spring Session Coming SOON!

2010-03-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies!!!

The spring session of Mom2Mom starts back up again on Wednesday, March 31st!! This break has gone by quickly for me but I'm excited to get back into the Wednesday morning routine and see all of you again!

I just wanted to remind those of you who haven't already, be sure to register and save your spot! You can print the Mom2Mom brochure here and either mail it into the church or drop it off at the church reception desk or purpose center this weekend.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again!!

Love & Blessings,
Holly

So Long, Farewell...

2010-03-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

...for three weeks anyway. This week was the last of this Mom 2 Mom session. The morning started with Jane Jeffers, one of our mentor moms, sharing a devotion on speaking sweetly. She reminded us that we as women set the tone in our homes. Are we helping our family blossom or are we choking them our with our words, tone, and facial expressions. We then had the opportunity to watch the Nooma video 'Flame' which discussed the three meanings behind the Hebrew word love in the Bible. The first is the friendship love. Second is the deep affection and longing for--this type of love is a choice to make a committment to someone. The last is the physical/sexual love which is described in Song of Solomon. All three flames of love need to be burning together to get the most heat-- all of the benefit that God meant for us to experience. When we are missing one of the flames of love, we don't get the full benefit of what God intended for us and our spouse. It was a good reminder to make sure we keep all three flames burning in our marriage!

The next session of M2M will start March 31. Make sure to turn in your registration forms in order to reserve your children's spot in childcare. Space fills up fast!

Thank you to all of the leadership, table leaders, and mentor moms for all of your hard work and time. We appreciate what you do!!

May you have a blessed time away and we look forward to seeing you all again next session.

In His Love~ Shannon

Ask a Pastor

2010-02-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

Our speaker this week was Pastor Bob Thune, the lead pastor here at Southwest. He took the time to answer questions that you submitted earlier in the session. It was an interesting morning as he covered many topics.
-Sex and marriage
-Forgiveness
-the church
- fearing God
-salvation
-raising kids
-in laws
-the Bible~ Recommended resources:
1. "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell
2. Handbooks for the Bible
3. Study Bibles
4. "Talk through the Bible"

Thank you Pastor Bob for taking the time to answer our questions.

May you have a blessed weekend with your family!

In His Love~ Shannon

Worship With Katie and Ryan

2010-02-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

This week our own Katie McGihon shared her testimony with us. She shared about her journey with the Lord through her son's diagnosis and continued treatment of autism--her journey of holding on tight and eventually letting go. She gave voice to the struggles we all face as moms to truly release our children to God. We say it, but do we really mean it? We had great discussion at our table after...how about you?

After she shared, Katie and Ryan Marsden shared with us through worship and song. It was truly an uplifting time.

Thank you , Katie, for sharing your heart with us.

May you be blessed this week in your conversations with your spouse, your children, and with your Heavenly Father.

In His Love ~ Shannon

God & Sex

2010-02-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

Our guest speaker, Michelle Rendino shared on the topic of God and sex this morning. She asked the question, "Do you view sex as a chore?" My guess is that unfortunately, most of us busy and tired moms would say yes to that question, at least sometime in our marriage. Michelle provided plenty of biblical backing that makes it clear: sex is a gift that God gave to married couples. It's not only a physical and emotional experience, it is also a spiritual experience that connects husband and wife together, making us one. Two basic things that stood out this morning:

1. Are we making sex a priority in our marriage? And if not, what is keeping us from doing so? We can pray to God about it and ask for His help.

2. As moms, we sometimes forget the order of submission and priority. In Ephesians, Paul reminds us of our priorities: God, husband, and then children. We must obey God in everything He asks of us and making love with our husbands is one of those things!

Like many of you, I enjoyed the lively conversations at my table afterwards. I appreciated the candor and the honesty that was shared. It was fun to hear from our mentor moms as well. For some, sex in your marriage may come easier than it does for others. One thing I think we can all agree on is the fact that this morning's talk helped us to view sex as an important and integral part of a healthy marriage. And knowing that truth, helps us all to appreciate and love on our husbands a little more. What a perfect little message, just in time for Valentine's Day. :)

God is love and He wants us to experience love to the fullest with our husbands, in the sanctity of marriage. Whatever plans you have or don't have for Valentine's Day, please remember that you are His beloved. You are His Valentine and He adores you. xo

Service Project Day

2010-02-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

This week at M2M Genny Foley gave us a devotion regarding overcoming fear and worry through Christ. She encouraged us with Philippians 4: 6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Our service project this session was for The Narrow Door, a ministry to needy families in the eastern Coachella Valley. We were able to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and put together sack lunches that the ministry will pass out to the people they serve. What a wonderful opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus!

And finally, Kameron Collins shared with us the details of the mission trip her family took to Guatemala. They went down to be a part of the celebration of the completion of the written and translated New Testament to a tribal people there. It has taken over 35 years to complete the translation, but what a joy they had to see the people receive their very own Bible written in their language. Thank you Kameron for sharing with us!

May you be blessed this week as you strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus in your home, your community, and around the world.

In His love~ Shannon

**My computer is acting up so I am not able to post the pictures from the service project yet.... Hopefully soon!

Mom's Night Out Pics

2010-01-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Mom's Night Out at Dream Dinners. It looks like a yummy time was had by all.

'Pastor H'

2010-01-28T15:59:00.000-08:00

Our speaker this week was Pastor Brett Humphry, the Children's pastor here at Southwest. He had many helpful suggestions regarding talking to our children about the Lord while keeping us laughing throughout the morning. And many of you may have finally received the answer to your burning question... "Why does he wear those bright orange shoes?" The answer... Think Orange. It represents the combination of yellow (the light of Christ that the church is to teach) and red (the love and support of the family). He challenged us from Deuteronomy 6:5-9 to use a holistic approach with our children. Talking about God should be a constant thing-- we should take opportunities throughout the day to discuss the things of the Lord with our kids. The many small teachable moments are moments to point them toward Christ.

He also discussed the different learning styles of children. The three common ones are

1. Visual- Need to see it

2. Auditory- Need to hear it

3. Kinesthetic/Manipulative- Need to be moving and doing something

When we discover the learning style of our kids we can better teach the in ways that they will learn the most. He shared a few creative and practical ways that kids learn based on their interests and strengths: music, drawing, and activity (exercising).

If you would like to receive the Family Connection email that Pastor H sends out to give parents helpful tips on teaching your children about God, email him and let him know.

Brett@southwestcc.org

Married Life Ministry (led by Pastor H) will be kicking off on February 12 with Valentine's Date Night. It will include a dinner, a comedian, as well as information regarding this new ministry. The cost is $40 per couple and you can sign up online if you would like to attend. Your Valentines date could be all planned for you, you just have to show up. How easy is that! My hubbie and I have already signed up-- we would love to see many of you and your husbands there as well!

Childcare is NOT provided

May you be blessed this week as you endeavor to teach and train your children in the ways of the Lord.

In His Love~Shannon

Mom's Night Out

2010-01-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Just a quick reminder about Mom's Night Out.

It will be this Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00 pm at Dream Dinners. It is located at Country Club and Washington in Palm Desert. Come enjoy a night out with friends, food, and fellowship. The evening is free. If you would like to prepare a meal to take home while you are there, it will be available at a discount.

Waiting Eagerly on God

2010-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

We started out the morning with Hailey giving us a devotion about resolutions. We all tend to make them this time of year. She shared that her goal for this year was to read the Bible more consistently.

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the Lord in whatever you do and your plans will succeed."

Our speaker for this week was Ann Johnson. She shared with us how she learned to wait eagerly on God through the struggles of her own life. After many years she finally learned to completely release her attitudes and desires for her husband and children to the Lord. She waited and prayed for over 20 years before she saw God work a miracle in her family. Her husband and children have accepted Christ. Her marriage and family have been restored and blessed.

What an encouragement her testimony was for all of us and we were reminded to be faithful in prayer.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to bring you a hope and a future."

As a reminder... Tickets are still available for the Women's Luncheon on Saturday, February 20 at the Renaissance Esmerelda Resort in Indian Wells. The speaker this year will be Nicole Johnson who is a dramatist with "Women of Faith". Free childcare is available but you must pre-register by February 10.

Wishing you all a refreshing weekend with your families!

Welcome Back

2010-01-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

The new session of Mom 2 Mom is off to a great start. It was so nice to see all of the returning faces as well as a few new ones. From the buzz in the room it sounded like great fellowship was happening throughout the morning. Though we usually don't have a speaker the first week of the session, Kerri graced us with a humerous and heartfelt devotion. We all laughed as she told us to "put a ribbon in your hair". She challenged us with two thoughts from the attitude and actions of Rebecca in Genesis 24. First, when Abraham's servant approached her, she went above and beyond when she drew water not only for Abraham's servant but all of the thirsty camels as well. And second, she was joyful in the tedious work.

Motherhood is full of tedious tasks. Tasks that can be tiring and thankless. But when we choose to have a joy filled attitude we are making our home a place of peace and order. A place that our husband will want to come home to. A place that our children will want to spend time in. A great reminder for us all!

The list of speakers this session is both diverse and interesting. I look forward to what the next seven weeks will bring as new friendships are formed and we are challenged in our ministry of motherhood. And, again, let me say welcome! We are thrilled that you are here.

M2M Leadership Christmas Party

2009-12-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

The M2M Leadership Team celebrated a great session and the Christmas season with our annual Christmas party last week. Thank you to Marcy for hosting! We enjoyed a yummy potluck of appetizers and desserts and a fun ornament exchange! Great to see everyone and give God the glory for everything He is doing through this ministry!

~ Catherine ~ Debbi ~ Melissa ~

~ Rhonda ~ Kameron ~

~ Jackie ~ Jane ~ Kristen ~
~ Marilyn ~ Phyllis ~ Jan ~
~ Holly ~ Crissy ~ Jessica ~
~ Kerri ~ Raylene ~ Marcy ~
~ The maddness of the ornament exchange ~ The picture doesn't do it justice... ~
~ Yay for ornaments!!! ~

Cookies with Santa / M2M Business Fair!

2009-12-13T20:09:00.001-08:00

Our Cookies with Santa event was a success!! We ended up having lots of moms with their kids upstairs to enjoy a morning of coffee, cookies, Santa, stories, pictures, singing and fellowship with our friends that we've missed for the last couple of weeks. Santa did a great job with the kids (thank you Mr. Moot!) having his picture taken over and over, reading them stories and singing a few Christmas songs. Thank you also to Crissy to leading that with Santa!!

We ended up having 7 of our M2M gals showcase their business info at the business fair portion of the morning also and that turned out great! It's fun to see everyone's different talents/interests/hobbies, etc., that we normally don't have a chance to during a regular session of M2M.

It was a great morning and a great way to catch up during the middle of break from M2M. I know we're all missing each other and can't wait for our winter session to start up!! Also, thank you to Michelle and Genny for taking/sharing pictures with me :) I'll remember to bring my camera next time!! Preggo-brain? I think so...

Hope everyone is enjoying this Christmas season and finding a little time to relax in the midst of the busy busy time.

Love & Blessings,
Holly

Cookies with Santa

2009-11-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies!!!

I hope everyone have a nice Thanksgiving weekend with your families!!
The Christmas season has officially begun and what a better way to kick it off with Cookies with Santa on Wednesday!

Here are the details of the morning:

When: Wednesday, December 2nd
Time: 9:00-11:00
Where: Mom2Mom room

We will be having story time with Santa at 9:30am
Please bring your own camera for the Santa pictures - we will have one also if needed.
Bring a plate of cookies/snacks to share
Reminder: Your children are coming upstairs with you - there will be no childcare.

See you on Wednesday!!
Love & Blessings,
Holly

Holiday Crafts & Christmas Traditions

2009-11-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe our session has already come to an end. This one seemed to FLY by for me, and that's even considering we took a week off for Veteran's Day... I can't believe it! We had a great, last morning spending time with the ladies at our tables, hearing praise of what God has done in our lives during this session, and hearing from many of our moms and mentor moms about different way to incorporate some traditions and family time during this Christmas season.

Our very own Shanda Stansberry shared 5 crafts with us that are easy enough to have our kids make (even for us with little ones - with our help) and give as gifts this Christmas season. I love how crafty she is and how easy she makes it all look!! I'm excited to try out a couple of them myself! Here's a glimpse and some short, brief instructions I managed to get during her presentation:

1. Storage Box - Pick up a photo box at Michael's or any other craft store. You can decorate the top of it by making photocopies of pictures or by going to a hardware store and picking up the paint sample papers for your kids to cut out and make pictures/designs. Glue them on and then decoupage "Mod Podge" over the top of it to seal it in. Then put your kid's handprint with a little message or date or whatever else the occasion might be for the recipient to treasure and hold on to for years to come.

2. Greeting Cards - Shanda picked up a pack of 25 white cards with envelopes from Michaels for just a few dollars. She has her kids decorate the cards with their fingerprints and hand prints to make a certain themed design and then puts a few of them together with ribbon to give as a gift. Cute idea and I'm sure the grandparents LOVE this one! She'll put a little thumbprint on the back and write "Thumbprint by ____" or "Made by ___" and also have the kids decorate the flap of the envelope to coordinate with the card. Michael's carries little ink dots that are perfect for doing the little fingerprints too.

3. Bath Salts - Find a jar at Michaels or another craft store and put a vellum stick on the front of it. Fill jar with salt recipe (below) and you can even add a little tag saying something along the lines of "Add 1-2 teaspoons to your bath and relax"
Recipe:
1 C Epson salt
1 C Kosher/Sea salt
Mix together and add food coloring
Spray in perfume or add essential oils
Set out on a paper towel to try overnight.

4. Ouch Box - What a great idea to give to the grandparents to keep at their house! Shanda got her plastic container at the dollar store (or you can even use the storage box listed above) and her kids decorated the front of it with the paint pens and stickers. She then put all kinds of stuff inside that grandparents don't usually have at their house all of the time: bandaids, tylenol, bug spray, benedryl, dum dum suckers, thermometer, etc.

5. Prayer Journal - Get a plain journal (again Shanda picked one up from the dollar store) and decorate the front of it with stickers or markers or whatever. Inside she cut out pictures and put the small picture on the top, right corner of each page for that to be their prayer page. Great family idea too!!

TRADITIONS:

Here are just a few of the traditions that were mentioned as mic was passed around to our wonderful mentor moms and also a few of our fellow moms as well:
Shanda: Adding your kids hand prints to your homemade tree skirt each year. On Christmas morning the kids open up stockings, eat breakfast, read the Christmas story and then, once all of that is done, they open gifts, 1 at a time - it's not a free for all!
Jane: No presents or tree until late Christmas Eve - oh the anticipation!
Marilyn: Christmas ornament each year with the date on it - Great to save the child's collection for when he/she gets married!! Also waiting until the Thanksgiving dinner and dishes were done to play any sort of Christmas music!! I agree with Marilyn that we're so bombarded with the Christmas season before Halloween is even here yet - good to cherish and remember what the real meaning of Thanksgiving is before moving on to the next one.
Nancy - As kids get older and start to open presents and sneak them from under the tree, give each kid a reindeer name so they don't know which ones are there's. Allowing the kids to open 1 gift on Christmas Eve and it's always PJ's. Picking out 1 Christmas card from the basket that they've received so far and praying for that family before dinner.
Jan - I love the way Jan talked about the real meaning of a tradition for those of us who don't think we're great and crafty at coming up with all sorts of creative things. She reminded us that "Whatever you do, keep doing it. Those are the things kids remember." So true!
Ruthie - Making and decorating sugar cookies one day during the Christmas season. Watching "It's a Wonderful Life" at some point during the season also!
Phyllis - Always having her traditional Christmas Eve fondue dinner. Making a birthday cake for Jesus. Playing the same "record" or CD every year.
Jackie - Playing games as a family after dinner. They love to play Charades and make up the cards themselves to pertain to a certain theme and make it age appropriate for the little ones. Also making up questions and putting them in a basket to go over when everyone is stuffed from dinner and sitting around the table (Most embarrasing moment? When did you give your life to Jesus? Favorite movie? Show? etc)
Hailey - Hailey started the Advent tradition in her house last year and it was a hit! You can read the details about how it all works on her blog here.
Bridgette - Having a white elephant gift exchange with the family. Saying a popcorn prayer before the meal. Santa gifts are only in Santa paper, with a Santa tag and bow and everything - there isn't Santa anywhere else under the tree.
Melissa - The adults playing Yhatzee (or any other game) and the kids having to wait until they were a certain age to join in - anticipation!!
Misty - The kids only getting 1 gift from Santa and it always came late at night on Christmas Eve. Sometimes they had to search for the Santa gift (in another room, outside, etc.) Misty also reminded us that sometimes you'll try traditions and they won't work out, and that's fine! - we'll just leave it at that!

And something to remember ladies...
"Tradition lives because young people come along who catch
it's romance and add new glories to it."
- Michael Novak

Be sure to check your emails and be on the lookout for Evites on fun events happening during our winter break!! Hope to see all of you throughout the break!!

Jan Boydstun "The Gadget Gal"

2009-11-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

We had the wonderful opportunity of hearing Jan Boydstun's testimony on Wednesday and how her journey began here in the desert back in 1989. She shared how she was only going to be coming out to the desert, leaving the beautiful beach behind, for 4 months while her parents transitioned in opening their new store in Indian Wells. She ended up meeting her husband Gary at Gold's Gym, which was also a funny thing the way that came about. Jan shared how she knows without a doubt that God orchestrated the entire plan of getting her out here to the desert, saving Gary and the situation he was in, and also saving herself. After the birth of their second child, Gary and Jan both agreed that they wanted to get back in church and check out 3 different churches here in the desert. Southwest Community Church (back when it was at Hovley) was one of them and they instantly felt at home and loved it. 9 years ago Jan was asked to be a part of the "Guess the Gadget" segment on The Discovery Channel's "Home Matters" show. That opportunity has since spiraled into Jan doing gadget demos and seminars for all types of different churches, group, non-profit organizations, the list goes on.

Jan concluded her time with us with our own little gadget demo and little "guess the gadget" game. Some of these gadgets were awesome and I'm sure make things in the kitchen easier and a little more fun! Just a few of them were... the nork, square egg maker, PB&J spatula, banana starter, apple peeler, pineapple corer and the #1 knife!

Kitchen Kitchen has moved locations (same shopping center, just a few doors down) and has a few events coming up that are worth checking out if you're able to make it! Friday, November 13th from 5:30-7:30 is the official ribbon cutting ceremony. Then on Saturday, November 14th, Jan is going to have the 30th Anniversary celebration and Grand Opening of Kitchen Kitchen and the new store/kitchen (God-willing that everything passes inspection). We'll be praying for that Jan!! You can check out kitchenkitchen.com for more info and be on the lookout for cooking classes starting in January.

Moms Night Out - Halloween Style!

2009-11-01T16:24:00.001-08:00

Last Friday was our first MNO of the year and we had a great time! Bridgette did an awesome job of organizing everything and incorporating a fun Halloween twist to it! We started out the night by going on a scavenger hunt around Dana's neighborhood and I think we all felt like junior highers again! Just some of things we needed to get: a ghord, mini pumpkin, skeleton tattoo, candy corn, broom... the list goes on! Super creative Bridgette! 2 out of the 3 teams ended up in a tie so we had a fun tie breaker digging through our purses to see which team had the winning items - it was a great time! We also played a "guess what food" Halloween game that was absolutely disgusting. I'm glad that Dana and Bridgette got a kick out of how freaked out I was to touch the items and figure out what they were while I was closing my eyes, haha!!! It was fun to listen to everyone's reactions! At the end of the night we voted on Best Costume and our winner was... Miss America Jennifer Cox!

Our teams before the scavenger hunt...

And a few more pictures from the night...

The Gift of Prayer

2009-11-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

We had the awesome privilege of having Tricia Johnson come and speak to us about prayer on Wednesday! It was a great morning and I know that so many of us took so much away from what she had to say through the comments I've heard from you guys and what I've been reading on Facebook - it was great!

It's easy to remember to go to Him during our trials but do we remember to go to Him in the midst of our everyday comings and goings? I know that most of us think we're just too busy to pray, too much going on everyday to stop and go to our Father. Tricia reminded us that "WE ARE TOO BUSY NOT TO PRAY!" Our busyness should be the reason that we come to our Lord. Our craziness, demands, schedules, life, etc. He can be our everything whenever we call to Him in the midst of our day and we should pull from that.

Tricia summed up a day in the life of Jesus and how busy, crazy and hectic it could get. Our days probably aren't like those that Jesus experienced but there is nothing that we go through and experience that Jesus hasn't. He knew he couldn't make it through a day without prayer. Take the time - We can't get through our life without prayer.

Phillipians 4:6 says "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." There is nothing that is too big for our Lord. We should be praying about everything, then, God's peace will come among us. Do you need peace in your life? Your home? Your kids? Extended family? Pray! Take the time to slow down your day and go to your Father.

Prayer is a gift. It is something we get to do. We can come before the throne of God with confidence. We are too busy NOT to pray because God values our prayers. He keeps them forever.

James 5:16 says "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Jesus has cast out demons, healed and provided. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The Spirit of Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Through the power of the Spirit of Christ living in YOU, through prayer you too can cast out, heal and provide. It's there, you just have to take it, receive it and use it!

Here are a few things Tricia mentioned we can do to apply all of this to our everyday lives:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray continually." Our lives can be a prayer. Pray throughout the day and offer our lives up as a prayer.
Be your child's prayer partner. Pray for the decisions they'll make, for their family, their character, future spouse, whatever it is. Be praying for them.
Pray for yourself for your kids.
Pray while you're driving, exercising, sitting at soccer practice or whatever it is your doing. You don't have to close your eyes and bow your head to talk to God!
Try and also find a solitary place to pray (the bathroom, closet, wherever it may be)... Make it your "prayer chamber."

Thank you so much Tricia for coming to share with us and for opening up your heart and your passion of prayer! We all took so much away from it and we are so thankful for you!

Still to come...

2009-10-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we're already halfway through our Fall session?! I can't! It's gone by way too fast but we still have a great lineup of speakers for our second half...

October 28th: Tricia Johnson - Prayer

November 4th: Jan Boydstun - Kitchen Kitchen

November 11th: Veteran's Day - NO M2M

November 18th: Homemade gifts and holiday traditions

REMINDER: Walk for Life

2009-10-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies!!
Just a reminder that the Coachella Valley Walk for Life is this Saturday!! This is an amazing event and one of the main fundraisers to raise money to help support the Crisis Pregnancy Center. You can find out more information here but registration starts at 8:00 and the walk starts at 9:15. Bring your kids for a fun morning out and it's sure to be a great time with the bounce houses and games that will be there too! Even if you don't have the form filled out with sponsors and money they would still love your support of walking with everyone for the event! I hope to see you there!
Love & Blessings,
Holly

Discipline (part 2)

2009-10-21T21:37:00.001-07:00

What another great morning we had! Ruthie concluded her talk on discipline and focused her discussion on "Correcting with Consequences" this morning. I think we would all agree that we could listen to her talk to us week after week with all of the wisdom she provides! I just love it!

A great verse to remember during these preschool years comes from Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained in it." Look it up and mark it in your bible. How appropriate for everything Ruthie talked about today! Discipline is not fun but let's look to the future and it will all be worth it in the end.

What DOES NOT work...
Nagging, Getting angry, Yelling, Giving the silent treatment, Lecturing and Scolding.
All of us tend to resort to these things but none of them are going to achieve lasting results.

What DOES work...
CONSEQUENCES!
They develop responsibility in my child, Are effective in causing my child's behavior to change, Eliminates power struggles, Reduces complaining and arguing and Builds my child's self-esteem and self-control.

There are 2 forms of consequences:

1. NATURAL: This is when parents get out of the way and let nature take it's course.
Here's the sequence of events in a natural consequence:

Child chooses to ignore responsibility or directly defies parents' direction
Child experiences pain
Parent allows child to experience pain
Child complains to parent
Parent gives sympathetic response
Parent asks what child will do next time

A few examples that were shared this morning were the child wanting to go to the park wearing inappropriate clothing (tank top and shorts) and then having to leave after only 10 minutes - and the other about running through the house repeatedly and bumping into something and hurting themselves. I'm sure there are a million others we could have shared that we all experience on a daily basis but the point of natural consequences is that your child is learning to trust your word. It's a life teaching situation. Take them in your arms and empathize with them.

2. LOGICAL: Parent intervenes with a consequence that is logically related to the misbehavior. Logical consequences can be decided ahead of time by the parent, child, or parent and child together. The Key Factor is that they must be painful - not in the sense of harm to your child but in leaving a lasting, unpleasant memory.
Here's the sequence of events in a logical consequence:

Clearly communicate the expectation to child
State consequence
Let child choose - do not intervene!
Apply consequence
Child complains
Parent reminds them it was their choice and empathizes with their feelings
Parent asks what child will do next time

One of the key things I took away from the logical consequences was empathizing with your child during a time that can be so stressful after they've chosen not to obey and listen several times. I finally got it when Ruthie used the example of us and how we like to be talked to and listened to after having a rough day or week or whatever the situation may be. It's so true and the same goes with our children.

The conversation surrounding the situation is very important. EMPATHIZE with them. Your child needs empathy and sympathy from mommy. Use serious speech and tone and let them know you have no intention in giving but all the while you can be empathetic to their situation. You must apply the consequence. It's the certainty, not the severity that has results.

You have a creative mind and a great God that will help you when you're having hard days and aren't sure what to try or where to go next in your discipline journey. Pray about it and God will give you ideas to use and try out.

One last thing to remember: You're the leader and it's your job to guide your child into a disciplined life that will result in righteousness and peace.

Discipline (part 1)

2009-10-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful morning yesterday and got to hear all about the wonderful world of DISCIPLINE from our very own Ruthie Thune!! I love her charismatic style and the way she completely engages us while she's speaking with all of the great information and stories to go along and help us get it!!

The 3 parts of discipline:
1. Instruction: Happens in many different ways - modeling being the most common. Here are a few questions to ask yourself and the way you look as a model in front of your children: "Do I have a relationship with God and do my children see it?" "Do I model the behavior I want my children to have? (loving, patient, kind, etc)" "Am I acting in a loving way toward my spouse, family and friends?" And then there is the formal instruction. The time we spend with our children physically teaching them something. This could be in Sunday School, Summer Spectacular, family devotion time at home, during rides in the car, etc.
2. Training: Guided practice (along the same lines of what Cynthia Moses shared with us last week).... The time you work with your children teaching and training them in different areas. You can't expect your child to know things you haven't taught them.
3. Correction: Taking action to ensure the child follows the training and direction that's been given. Key Question: Have I made myself clear?

Ruthie went on to discuss the aspects of Direct, Assertive Communication, otherwise known as "Leadership Speech." Being a leader is a calling and God has called you to be the parent of your child. Leadership speech is clear, concise and commanding.

55% of our communication is nonverbal! A few things to take notice of while communicating: Eye Contact - your child needs to be looking into your eyes when making leadership speeches, Body Posture - lean towards your child, Bodily Distance - hold/touch your child softly and with a loving touch, Facial Expression - Relaxed, has eye contact but is serious.
38% of our communication is our tone of voice! We need to be firm but not harsh. The tone comes out with much more pronunciation. It should be evident that we expect them to obey us the FIRST time.
Only 7% of our communication are the actual words! Pretty astonishing!! Make a command, don't state wishes or desires. Describe in detail what you want. Don't beg, plead or count. Make statements, don't use rhetorical questions. Make your request once and expect change. State the action you will take if behavior doesn't change and then follow through. Don't make empty threats, take the actions. Don't give choices or consequences you don't really mean - Be realistic. Don't argue or reason when trying to get your child to do something - Good reasons come in the instruction and training phases.

Ruthie ended her talk with a very funny story that had me laughing so hard my eyes were watering like crazy! It came from "Parenting by the Book" by John Rosemond and I think we all related to some extent with what the story was saying, good or bad.

The time flew by as usual but I can't wait for her to talk to us again next week and continue on to "Part 2!"

Intentionality

2009-10-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Moses was back by popular demand this morning and shared with us on the subject of Intentionality. The morning absolutely flew by and before we knew it, it was time to head down to pick up our kids. I think we all could've listened to her ALL day!

Here are 3 things that Cynthia says our children NEED to know:

1. WORK - Every child is part of a family unit and needs to feel important and have something that they're responsible for. Whatever you are doing, give them a job. Whether it be wiping down the refrigerator while you do the dishes, carrying their diaper bag if they're big enough or helping unload the car and bring items in when you get home. Teach work as being a privilege, not something you get allowance for.

2. DELAYED GRATIFICATION - Our children need to learn how to wait. Stimulate their thinking and help them begin to sequence. Let your explanation have a sequence for them to watch for. If your child asks for the crayons on top of the counter while you're doing the dishes, tell them you'll be happy to get them their crayons as soon as you're finished with the dishes. We also need to let them know when we're delaying our own gratification. Let them know what we're thinking. Cynthia used the example of also stimulating our child's thinking by asking them "Should we go to the park now or wait until after the baby takes a nap?"

3. SEXUALITY - Talk to your children about what a privilege it is to be a girl and what an equal privilege it is to be a boy. They need to have it in their head what a privilege it is to be a boy or a girl. Be open about how wonderful it is to be what they are and communicate this to them. Intentionally teach them gender specific roles at home and be thinking about ways to champion them to be a boy or a girl. We're too easy on American children these days. We're going on the third generation of "entitlement" thinking. Do intentionality intensively with a purpose. Have explicit instruction. Cynthia mentioned a book "Do Hard Things" written by 2 teenage boys, Alex and Brett Harris, that she suggests all of us read.

EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION - GUIDED PRACTICE -
IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK - SELF REGULATION

God has given you the authority to teach your child to learn how to live for Him!

Thank you for coming back to share with us again Cynthia! I know I had quite a few "ah-ha" moments this morning and wrote notes like crazy on things to start doing with my 2 year son. We love all of your wisdom and advice that you bring to our group!! Hopefully we'll have you back again in the future!

The Big Picture

2009-09-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

We had the wonderful pleasure and opportunity of having Allie Black come and speak to us this morning. She shared about "The Big Picture" and Advancing God's Kingdom Through Your Ministry of Motherhood.

God has called us into the calling and ministry of motherhood. He chose us to be the mother's of our children and there isn't another mom on the planet cut out and more capable to do so than us! What a blessing and reminder that is!

Allie talked about how she got "The Big Picture" concept and described it as when you take your eyes off of what's right in front of you and put them on the horizon, you get the big picture. When you keep the horizon (eternity) as your main focus then everything will fall into place.

A few things to help us refocus on "The Big Picture" are:

Rear-View Mirror - Keep our past in perspective. Don't always look in the rear-view mirror. We all have issues but we don't want to focus on that or we'll crash.

Side-View Mirrors - When we're comparing ourselves and looking too much at what other people are doing, we're going to crash. Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." We all need to be freed up from what others think of us and grab on to that freedom!

Dashboard - It's very important that we check out the dashboard for lights that come on (our emotions!). If something comes on we need to investigate it and see where it's coming from and how we're doing.

Running on Empty - Make sure we're not taking on too many things. Stop at a rest stop! Resting is not a suggestion from God - He demands it. If you're going in the wrong direction and taking on too much, stop and back up.

Stuck in a Ditch - Sometime we get stuck in a ditch on our journey. Usually what gets up stuck most of the time is unforgiveness and we miss out on the blessing of prayer.

R.T. Kendall writes a checklist in his book "Total Forgiveness" on how to know if you've completely forgiven someone.

Let's take inventory:

1) If you've truly forgiven someone, you're not going to tell anyone, even the person who hurt who in some circumstances.

2) Don't make them feel afraid, uncomfortable or intimidated by you.

3) You won't let them feel guilty.

4) When someone has wronged you, you will help them save face.

5) You'll protect them from their darkest secrets.

6) You'll bless those who have hurt you.

Pretty powerful stuff... It was an eye opener to me! I know I've done one or more of these things to someone I had thought I had truly forgiven. I am so thankful to have a Heavenly Father who will forgive me, going above and beyond everything listed above, and we must do the same.

Allie did such an amazing job of reminding us that when we stick to the vision of the calling God has for us, we'll see the big picture. We need to be faithful to our calling and we will see the results of our hard work.

When you're in the throws of motherhood and all of the hard, tiring, tedious, exhausting days, God sees EVERYTHING. Every diaper change, every load of laundry, every tear you wipe away and every Candyland game you sit down to play. The Lord will reward you and you will one day see the reward too! This is where God has called you and will bless you.

Courtney (Allie's daughter) and her husband, James, concluded Allie's talk with a few songs of worship and they did amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us this morning and leading us into the Lord's presence with beautiful worship!

M2M Fall Session '09 Begins!

2009-09-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

What a great morning!! Lots of energy, rooms were packed with our kids having fun downstairs, full tables upstairs - it was awesome!! It was great to see many familiar faces we've missed over the summer and quite a few new faces as well!!! Welcome to those of you who joined us for the first time!! We hope it was everything that you thought it was going to be, and more! I hope that everyone enjoyed the time at their tables as much as I did and that you're just as excited to come back next Wednesday!!

Bridgette hosted a fun "Getting to know ya!" game and other than that there was just a lot of catching up, meeting new women and taking care of all of the "housekeeping" items that needed to be addressed on the first day. It was so good to see everyone and I can't wait for next week!

And last but not least, we wanted to add a huge THANK YOU to all of the childcare volunteers who came to help us today!! Last I heard there were 35 - God is so good and we thank you for serving the Mom2Mom ministry! Without you, it wouldn't be possible.

Love & Blessings,

Holly

M2M - Bulletin Correction

2009-09-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies!!

Some of you may have noticed an error in the wording about Mom2Mom in the church bulletin last Sunday... It had mentioned that M2M was only for Moms with children ages 0-5 and as you know, this is not the case!!! We would love to have ALL moms join us on Wednesday mornings. The childcare provided during our session is only for children ages 0-5. Hope that clears it up!!

There is also still some space available in childcare so please invite your friends!! This year is going to be great!!

Can't wait to see you all soon!! 1 more week!

Love & Blessings,
Holly

Registration Reminder

2009-09-13T23:34:00.001-07:00

Hi Ladies!!!

The fall session of Mom2Mom starts up in just less than 2 weeks - September 23rd!! The summer flew by and I'm so excited to get back into the swing of things and see everyone again!

I just wanted to remind those of you who haven't already, be sure to register and save your spot! You can print the Mom2Mom brochure here and either mail it into the church or drop it off at the church reception desk or purpose center on the weekends.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again SOON!!

Love & Blessings,
Holly

Shadow Ridge Pool Day

2009-08-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Bridgette organized a fun M2M pool day at the Marriott Shadow Ridge Villas yesterday.
There was a good turnout and it was so good to see those of you who were there!

Leadership Retreat 2009

2009-08-19T13:41:00.001-07:00

The leadership team spent this past weekend at a gorgeous house in La Quinta for our annual leadership retreat. We had great food, fellowship and fun but most importantly spent the weekend going over details for this coming year of Mom2Mom and let me tell you, IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR! This was the first year that our table leaders joined us and we loved having them and their input as a part of our meetings. I loved hearing everyone's personal verse and goals for the year, the creative ideas and just everyone's energy and excitement for this ministry. A huge thank you to our husbands and helpers that stayed home with our kids and big thanks to Melissa for coordinating everything with the house! Can't wait to see everyone soon! Only another month until M2M Fall starts and we get to put all of our ideas and planning into action!

~ Playing Family Fued ~

~ Lunchtime! ~

~ Hailey & Levi ~
~ Kerri, our fearless leader ~
~ Some of us watched Bill Hybels segment of the Leadership Summit - Good stuff! ~
~ Time for dinner ~
~ Crissy & Carrie ~
~ Rhonda & Shannon ~
~ Kristen, Melissa, Carrie & Danielle ~
~ Our beautiful backyard for the weekend ~

Leadership End-of-the-Year Party

2009-07-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last week the Leadership Team had their end of the year party and boy did we have some good laughs!!! It's hard to believe the year has already come to an end... It seems like just yesterday we were starting the fall 2008 session of M2M and meeting so many new faces for the new year! Melissa Johnson, our hostess with the mostess, graciously opened up her house for us for a night of food, fun, games, laughs and fellowship. We played a game of Catch Phrase first and Team 1 just barely won, barely!! Next it was Fact or Crap - yes that's the name of the game!! It was an absolute blast! I think all of our stomach muscles hurt after playing the 2 games with our group we had going - it was hysterical!! While we're all missing our Wednesday mornings together for the next couple of months but we're anxiously looking forward to September and what our new year of Mom2Mom will bring!!

* Crissy and Raylene *

* Carrie & Danielle *

* Marcy & Jessica *

* Rhonda, Kristin & Shannon *

* Marilyn and Catch Phrase *

* Kerri looks deep in thought... *

* Yes it is a real game!! *

Here's a clip of Fact or Crap in action - Crissy thought I was trying to take a picture and kept posing, LOL. What a load of crap!!

* Be on the lookout for Mom2Mom Evites and emails during our summer break.

Love and Blessings,
Holly

Bridgette Ridenour - COME ON DOWN!!!

2009-07-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, Bridgette Ridenour, our infamous event coordinator for Mom2Mom was a BIG winner on the Price is Right. A group of about 25 moms from our group went to the show a few weeks ago and had an amazing time. Some went up the day before and enjoyed a kid-free overnighter while the others joined them bright and early on Monday morning. Luckily they didn't have to get there too early to stand in the long line but all had to go through an interview process answering questions so they could get to know you and your personality. The show started and Bridgette was among the first group to make it up onto contestants row! She bid on a BBQ and got the closest without going over!!! The game she played was "Ten Chances" and she ended up winning a digital camera...a tea set... and.... A CAR!!!! Way to go Bridgette!!! We're all so excited for you!!! What a blessing!!!!!

Melissa Johnson hosted a viewing party the day the show was scheduled to air and invited everyone over to watch and swim and enjoy each others company that we've been missing on Wednesday mornings. President Obama had other plans that morning and interrupted the first half of the Price is Right for some sort of special announcement... bummer!! Luckily we could all still watch her segment online but it wasn't the same. We had quite a few ladies and lots of kids come and the excitement was in the air! Thank you Kameron for taking pictures for me while I had to work that morning...

Here's a link to Bridgette's segment of the show in case you missed it

Beth Moore study on the book of Esther

2009-06-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies!

Just wanted to remind you about the studies we have going on at the church this summer. We'll be studying the book of Esther by Beth Moore.

Join us in an in-depth and very personal examination of this great story of threat and deliverance. If you’ve ever felt inadequate, threatened or pushed into situations that seemed overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther’s day, it’s tough today. We will peel back the layers of history and see how very contemporary and applicable the story of Esther is to us. This portion of God’s Word contains treasures to aid us in our hurried, harried and pressured lives.

This 10-week, interactive study features personal, daily assignments and weekly small group sessions with video.

Mondays, June 29th thru August 31st ~ 6:30 - 8:30 PM ~ Room 200 (no childcare)

Thursdays, July 2nd thru September 3rd ~ 9 - 11:30 AM ~ Room 202 (children's programming available for ages 0-5)

Registration and materials is $20.

For more information you can contact Women's Ministries at 200-2000 ext. 2269

Year-end Celebration!

2009-05-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-12T07:43:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

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.

What's Your NAME?

2009-04-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

We all compare ourselves to others. We spend so much time wondering what others think and say about us. Some of us even wish we were someone else. We question why we are the way we are and not the way we wish we could be. Some of us have let the expectations of others dictate who we've become. We act a certain way to be accepted but know deep down that we're being untrue. But why are we so concerned with what other people think, say, or look like? What does it say about us if we are unable to accept who we are? Maybe if we really knew our true selves, we wouldn't give so much attention to other peoples' lives and live more in tune with the life God wants for us?

What's your name and who are you? Lately, my girls have been asking everyone they meet these very questions. We all desire to know the answer don't we? This morning, we watched another compelling Nooma video that led to some great discussion time and thought-provoking questions. We've all heard the saying, "We have to love ourselves before we can love others." As Christians, I think the saying should be more like, "We have to know who we are in Christ and accept the love that God has freely graced us with, before we can truly love others in the way that God wants us to love them." The awesome thing about God's love and acceptance is that no matter who you were in the past or what you were called, (much like Jacob, when he finally surrendered), you have the ability to be known by your Creator and live a victorious second life.

Don't we all have a natural tendency to compare ourselves? Perhaps even thinking that maybe the grass is greener on the other side? These thoughts of envy and insufficiency only grow cancerous if we don't nip them in the bud and find peace and contentment from the One who is our El Shaddai (Our All-Sufficient God).These are not the thoughts that God wants us to consume our minds with. However, there is one that thrives on our feelings of inadequacy, our countless distractions throughout the day, and our false sense of security. He is the prince of this world and sadly, he is the unrelenting accomplice to many a destructive end.

From the discussion questions, I loved the first part of the second question. It asked, "Do you have the sense of a unique path in your life? If so, what is it?" As I've shared in the past, I have finally come to understand and accept who I truly am in Christ and what He thinks of me. It has taken me years to get to this point- even as a believing Christian. I was excited that without a doubt, I could say YES to that question. There was a time in my life when I wasn't too sure if that were really so. The ironic thing is that when I started to learn more about who God was, it became easier to accept more of who I was. With that, comes peace and freedom like I've never known. It also helps to build faith and trust. Each one of us has our own unique path in life. Life is so often a lesson about finding our own path and learning to embrace it isn't it?

I just loved how God worked out all the details this morning. He knew that we needed to hear Shelley's devotion on Trusting in (and knowing) the Names of God and how that would be a perfect prelude to the NAME video. I sincerely hope that you were encouraged and blessed this morning.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and leave a comment!

Game Day

2009-04-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome back from Spring break! It was so nice to be back and to see all of you again! What a "humdinger" of a day we had?! Thank you to all of our table leaders who graciously participated in the kazoo lesson (for our viewing pleasure). You mean you didn't know that kazoo-humming was a requirement when you signed on to serve?

Here's a picture of our winner in action. The girl had some moves, too! Nice job, Crissy!

And thanks to Bridgette for another fun game!

Spring Break

2009-04-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that Mom2Mom will resume next Wednesday, April 22nd.

We hope that you have a healthy and relaxing break! Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

That's My King!

2009-04-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4

The late S.M. Lockridge once presented an incredible message, describing our Lord and Savior and who He is. Though Jesus can't be described with mere words, this is as close as you can get this side of heaven. Listen carefully to each description as you watch the video.

Happy and Glorious Easter!

***

Faithbooking

2009-04-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

I loved it! It was terrific to welcome back Rhonda Anderson. Her obvious passion for the Lord as well as for capturing those "God moments" (or faithbooking) left me both inspired and moved. Like many of you, my greatest hope and prayer is that my children will grow to have their own personal relationship with the Lord. As parents, we can be godly examples to our kids but what a wonderful concept to combine that with a faithbook. A faithbook is a beautiful way to help recount, re-live, and re-rejoice in our walk with God over the years.

Rhonda shared 3 reasons for faithbooking:

1. So that we can review our stories and by doing so, it actually helps to increase our faith.

2. Talking about our stories often can provide an excellent opportunity to train our children.

3. It can also help us to make better decisions in the future.

For those of you who know that I have a personal blog, sharing lessons on faith and what God is doing in my life is something that I am passionate about documenting. My greatest desire is that one day, my kids will grow up and get a little glimpse of what I was going through and what the Lord was teaching me through different seasons in my life. I also use my blog as a means to give glory and praise to God. During the 3 years that I've had it, I have pleasantly found out that it also serves as a passive tool to evangelize to my family, friends, and even those that I may never get to meet.

I was challenged by Rhonda today to take it a step further and actually convert my blog to a hardcover faithbook. This is something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time but never got around to doing it. I loved how at the end, she spoke of Jesus Christ coming back one day and how the rapture would take us believers home. I couldn't help picture our unsaved and left behind loved ones as they pondered over our faithbooks. I don't know about you but that really cinched it for me. How powerful. How poignant. How important it is to document our stories. I shared at my table today that one of my biggest hesitations in getting started has always been my expectations of how the book should look, the design, etc.- all of which is besides the point and purpose of the faithbook! After this morning, I realized that those were the very things that were hindering me from even beginning the process. The outward look or adornment of the book is obviously not as important as the content, stories and pictures.

I love how the faithbook is a way to leave a lasting legacy that can be passed down and shared with so many of our loved ones. Whether or not you have a blog, a scrapbook, a facebook account, or just a bunch of pictures on your computer, I hope that you were challenged and inspired to start your very own faithbook (or gracebook) this morning.

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Reminder: Bring 2 photos!

2009-04-06T08:44:00.001-07:00

Our speaker this Wednesday, Rhonda Anderson will be sharing on how to create our own faithbook. Can't wait! Don't forget to bring your 2 photos!

Spring has sprung!

2009-04-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another exciting session of Mom2Mom! We are so happy that you are here. The break was nice but it's always wonderful to resume our Wednesday mornings together. We have another GREAT session planned for you! Our hope and prayer is that you will feel inspired, encouraged, challenged and loved here at M2M. I am looking forward to seeing how the Lord will grow each of us this session. I hope you are, too. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you! You are in our prayers.

Freedom Park Playdate

2009-03-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

It was great to see some of you with your kiddos this morning!

Last Day

2009-03-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

Our winners, Dana & Karen and runners-up, Dana & Shannon.

The newest bundles of joy!

Winter is all but gone and Spring is just around the corner. We spent the last day of the session playing the game, "Don't Forget the Lyrics." Congratulations to the winners, Dana Stenzel and Karen Blodgett! What an entertaining group we are! Thanks to Bridgette for coordinating and all your fun ideas!

*Don't forget to Pre-Register for next session if you haven't done so already. We begin again on April 1st. Thanks also to the awesome childcare workers! Without them, we wouldn't be able to have this great ministry. Enjoy your spring break, ladies!

Mom's Night In!

2009-03-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hailey, our gracious hostess and Marcy.

Shannon & Becky.

Patrice, Araceli and Emily.

Amanda, Jasmine, Josette, and Melissa.

Carrie and Catherine.

21 pairs of shoes at the front door!

Bridgette kindly brings Emily a foot bath.

Mom's Night In last Friday was a huge success! I think it was probably the best turnout we've ever had. It was a wonderful time of chit-chatting, playing games, soaking our feet and munching on lots of goodies. Thank you, Hailey for opening up your beautiful home!

NOOMA Video- Kickball

2009-02-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

We always think we know what’s missing from our lives in order to really make us happy, don’t we? If only I had that car, or that job, or if only I could lose those 15 lbs, then I’d be happy. Really? How often do we want something only to find out that it wasn’t that great after all? Sometimes we ask God for things and if he doesn’t deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. Do we really trust God? Do we trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could? It’s easy to want what’s right in front of us, but maybe God knows what’s better for us, and sometimes we just can’t see it.

It all comes down to this...
Do we really trust that God is good and that He is always looking out for our best interests? If so, then we must learn to give everything to Him and wait on His perfect timing.

Rob Bell is the Founding Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church. He graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He and his wife Kristen have two boys and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He is also the speaker for NOOMA, a small non-profit company. NOOMA is a series of short films that explore our world from the perspective of Jesus. The films are made as an invitation to search and question. The 23rd NOOMA film will be released in April.

The name NOOMA is an English phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma, which is commonly translated to “spirit” or “breath". Pneumatology refers to the study of spiritual beings, particularly the interactions between humans and God.

**

Invisible Mother

2009-02-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read- no, devour the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals. We have no record of their names.
2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
  

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Switch, Swap & Save

2009-02-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

Don't forget! This Wed., February 25th is Switch, Swap & Save. This is your opportunity to get rid of any baby items that you don't need and swap it for something that you do need. All items are free! Whatever is remaining will be donated to the Sweet Peas Boutique at the Crisis Pregnancy Center. If you need any help unloading your car in the morning, members of the leadership team will be available to assist you. Happy Shopping Day!

**

Debbi Collins

2009-02-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

I love how sometimes God orchestrates our morning devotion to compliment our guest speaker's topic. I thought today was a good example of that. Through her devotion, Nancy did a great job of reminding us that God has a purpose and plan for each one of us- if only we allow ourselves to be open to it. Debbi then encouraged us to use our trials in life to inspire others by praising God and finding bits of joy, even in the midst of our trials.

Like all young cancer survivors, I'm sure that Debbi never thought that her life would be threatened at such an early age. Sometimes, I think that God allows these trials to happen just so our walk with Him would be refined, restored, or renewed. Not to mention the fact that there are some amazing testimonies that come from such deliverance! Whether she is speaking to a room full of moms like us or simply being overheard by a woman at a garage sale, Debbi is using her past experiences to inspire others toward a deeper relationship with the Lord. Don't we all aspire to make a difference for the Lord? I know I do.

I recently read a quote by Eric Liddell (Olympian and Missionary to China). He said, "We are all missionaries. Wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ or we repel them from Christ." It got me thinking... do I bring all those that I come in contact with nearer to Christ? Sadly, I know that I don't. But it serves me well to remember that if I am in Christ, I am also on the mission field- right here in the Coachella Valley. This mission field requires no prior training or talent. It simply requires me to be willing to share my story. How awesome is it to know that we too, can impact a soul for God's kingdom? In that sense, each of our life's stuggles are just preparing us to learn more about ourselves and how God wants to use us for His glory. We all have a unique testimony that is ours alone and God wants us to share it with others to encourage them in their own walk of faith.

May God continue to bless Debbi (and her mom) with good health and a deep, true joy that only comes from having a personal relationship with the Lord.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faithe develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing." -James 1:2-4

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is being done, the saving of many lives."

-Genesis 50:20

The Ultimate Valentine

2009-02-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

Put your name in place of the world.

For God so loved YOU...

You are God's beloved.

***

Service Project Day

2009-02-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

This session's service project went towards creating cute baby t-shirts and caps for the Sweet Pea's Boutique at the Crisis Pregnancy Center. What a wonderful way to show our support for the CPC!
It was also a fun morning of extra chatting and sweet fellowship with one another. Can you believe that we only have 3 more weeks to go before we're through? It's gone by way too fast!

Here are some of you working your artistic flair.

Awww...

Colleen, Stephanie & Christine.

Leslie, Angie, Shannon, Danielle, and Shanda

Janette & Becca.

Jessi, Jasmine & Misty.

Raylene, Michelle and Jenny.

Becky, Danielle, Dana and Debbi.

God's Wings

2009-02-06T14:13:00.001-08:00

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze arrived and the heat scorched her small body, the mother remained steadfast. She was willing to die, so that those under the cover of her wings would live.

"He will cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you will find refuge." ~Psalm 91:4

Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it.

She Did What She Could- Marilyn Williams

2009-02-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

You gotta love the word of God. Isn't it amazing that God's word is living, powerful, timely and relevant? I appreciated the fact that our speaker today, Marilyn Williams gave us a fresh perspective on an old story. Like many of you, I quickly identified with feeling inadequate. In many ways, I think our feelings of inadequacy come from putting too much pressure on ourselves. For as long as I can remember, I have always tried to over-achieve in all areas of my life. Motherhood has certainly been no exception. I am constantly trying to do more, be more and not disappoint. Oh, and on top of all that, yes, I very much want my life to count for eternal significance. It's no wonder life can be exhausting! Yup, by all accounts, I am a Martha at heart.

It's a good thing though that our mighty God is in the business of changing hearts. The message today gave me permission and freedom to be exactly who I am! God loves and cherishes me in spite of the fact that I am an imperfect mother, wife, daughter, servant and friend. Thankfully, He does not require perfection from me or even a checked-off to-do list. The story of Mary and Martha proves that faithfulness and obedience are more important to God then even our good deeds.

We live in a culture today where "more" is often seen as good isn't it? Yet we all know people who seem like they have it all or do it all but in reality, they are spiritually bankrupt. I am certain that Mary's story is in the bible to show us that ordinary women can do extraordinary things for the Lord. Mary shows us the importance of being still, listening and making the Lord a priority over all things. She also portrays courage and unwavering faith when she boldly anoints her King with precious oil.

It made me think that if the Son of God appeared at my front door, would I have sense enough to stop what I'm doing and sit at His feet or would I be in the kitchen, fretting about what to serve Him and what platter would look best to serve it on?

Dear Sisters in Christ,
Let's do what we can. Let's stop listening to the lies and stop comparing ourselves to what we think we should be. WE ARE ENOUGH. And God delights in our wholehearted presence and adoration.

For more information on Marilyn Williams, visit http://www.marilynwilliams.com/

--

Mentor Mom Panel

2009-01-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

Mentor mom panel day is always a welcomed treat at M2M. I find it just as interesting to hear your questions as I do the mentor moms' answers. I think there is much to be learned and gained from hearing each other's situations and challenges. I also find it reassuring to know that I am not alone. The great thing about parenthood is that even though our children may be of the same age, each child is uniquely, fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Therefore, I'm finding that although there are often standard and practical answers to most of our questions, there are some answers that can only be answered by us, our husbands (if you're married) and the Lord.

"For the LORD gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you." ~Proverbs 2:6-11

So far, the interesting thing about motherhood for me is that it's been more of a personal journey in growing my character. Each day, God uses the gift of my children to help mold and shape me into who He wants me to be. There are some days that I resist the schooling more than others but it is through this process that my children see examples of Christ-like behavior and love. I find that prayer is one of the most important things I can do for my family and teaching my children how to pray is invaluable. They can learn from an early age that mom and dad don't always have all the answers but we serve and love our mighty God who certainly does.

The beauty of our mentor moms is that they have all journeyed ahead of us. Each of them went through different challenges within their own respective families. They speak and share from years of experience, successes and hearthaches. I have enjoyed learning from all of our mentor mom panels throughout my time here on Wednesday mornings.

As conscientious moms who seek the Lord in all we do, I find that God sometimes places people in our paths to help guide us or give us a word of encouragement when we need it most. Other times, He places people in our lives that we may reject at first but it's those very people or situations that prompt the Holy Spirit to convict us of something that only the Holy Spirit can. Let us always remember that because we are in Christ, we are never alone. May we continually seek counsel from the One who desires the best for us and for our family. God loves our precious children more than we can ever comprehend.

*A warm welcome to Peggy Schluchter, our newest mentor mom!

Christopher's Clubhouse

2009-01-21T15:06:00.000-08:00

Heavy stuff. What an eye-opening morning. It broke my heart to hear all those statistics about children being molested and abducted in our country. It is evident that the prince of darkness is very much alive and lurks in even the most unsuspecting little town. As the morning unfolded, I couldn't get my mind off the horror that 10 year-old Christopher must have faced in his final hours. Mika experienced something that no parent would ever allow themselves to think about, let alone, should ever have go through.

It's stories like these though, that remind me that God has a purpose for every life- even those that are cut short in such a horrific manner. God is the only One who can take something that is so awful and despicable, and turn it into something for good. Our Heavenly Father has the power to restore, renew and bring light to even the darkest corner of our lives. Instead of letting her circumstances defeat her, Mika used her grief, pain and passion to start Christopher's Clubhouse, a non-profit organization that provides invaluable safety education to children and families. Thus far, her organization has helped over 150,000 children develop the skills necessary to avoid exploitation and abduction. I was amazed when she told us that 43 of her students have since been preyed upon! Thank God that they all managed to get away. How scary is that? The sad reality is that we do not live in a safe world and for many sick predators, children are their main target. I was certainly left with a heightened awareness and urgency to take a more pro-active approach in teaching my children about safety.

After Mika spoke and we briefly had a chance to share a little at our table, I wondered how many of you moms were once preyed upon as a child? If the statistics are correct, there are many of you within our own M2M group. My prayer for you is that you have come to a place of resortation, peace and most of all, freedom in knowing just who you are and what you mean to our Heavenly Father.

Please let us know how we can be praying for you.

*Christopher's Clubhouse is planning the 2nd Annual Coachella Valley Child Safety Event for May 2, 2009 in conjunction with National Missing Children's Day.

For more information on Christopher's Clubhouse and the programs that are offered, please visit http://www.christophersclubhouse.org or call Mika Moulton at 1-866-546-7464.

Welcome back!

2009-01-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back, ladies! And a warm welcome to all of you new moms that are joining us for the first time! Isn't it GREAT to be back? It was so wonderful to see all of your beautiful faces this morning. I love the energy of our first morning together. It's always fun to see everyone after a long break and find out who's at your new table. Like most of you, I walked into Mom2Mom about a year and a half ago and didn't know a soul. Since then, I can honestly say that I have met some of my dearest friends through this amazing ministry. It is our hope that through Mom2Mom, you would be encouraged to learn more about the kind of woman and mother that God calls us to be. We pray that you would find this to be a safe place of respite, support and inspiration in the weeks to come. And you never know, you may just meet a friend for life here as well. We are praying for each and every one of you.

Let us know if you need anything and how we can better serve you.

Love & Blessings,

Catherine

Leadership Christmas Party

2008-12-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

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!

We have podcasts!

2008-12-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

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

That's a wrap!

2008-11-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

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.

* Crissy's blog: http://www.learningthefrugalropes.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Blessings,

Catherine

Catching Daisies

2008-11-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

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

Don't Forget!

2008-11-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

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

Special Craft Day

2008-10-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

Walk for Life

2008-10-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

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

The Spiritual Life of Your Child

2008-10-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

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

3rd Annual Valley Walk for LIFE!

2008-10-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

We have our first Mom's Day Out scheduled for this Saturday, October 25th! Come out and show your support at the 3rd Annual Walk for LIFE! All the proceeds will go towards helping the Crisis Pregnancy Center. The CPC offers free services and support to women who are faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Some of the services include ultrasounds, information about parenting, adoption resources, and spiritual guidance. We hope that all of the women who are faced with an unplanned pregnancy will choose LIFE for their unborn child. This is something that's near and dear to my heart since I will forever be grateful to my daughters' birth mom for choosing life for them. I cannot imagine what she was going through but having the courage to give birth to twins at such a young age is nothing short of a selfless act of love.

Please join us on Saturday morning for a brisk 2 mile walk around Southwest Community Church. Bring your family, your strollers, and of course, any pledges that you've collected. It's sure to be a fun morning of celebration, games, bounce houses, prizes, and food for everyone!

For those with pledges to donate, registration begins at 8:00 a.m.
If you just want to come out to show your support by walking with your fellow M2M'ers, the walk begins at 9:00 a.m. See you there!

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ~Jeremiah 1:5

Blessings,
Catherine

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Mentor Mom Panel

2008-10-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that we're already mid-way through this session?

We still have lots more to come so I hope that you are feeling encouraged, refreshed, and inspired in some way. I don't know about you but our mornings always seem to fly by way too fast- especially on a day like Mentor Mom Panel day. I'm so glad that the panel will be back next session for two weeks straight. I already have more questions! In fact, I better write them down before I forget.

The thing I love about our mentor moms is that they'd be the first to tell you that didn't do everything right and that they made mistakes. In other words, they are not sitting at our tables because they were perfect or raised perfect kids. In many ways, we are learning from their mistakes and gaining wisdom from the things they did right. The overwhelming theme that resonates with all of them is that motherhood/parenting requires a daily relationship with the Lord. We must learn to take everything to Him. The One who already knows our struggles, our problems, our strengths and our weaknesses. The One who gives us grace, tenderness, wisdom, energy, and the encouragement to carry on another day, for our children and for Him.

I hope that you heard at least one thing yesterday that you connected with. Here are 8 things that stood out for me...

1. Play with your kids more! I am that mom who does too much housekeeping and not enough playing with my girls. I often feel like I'm Martha in the bible and I so want to be her sister, Mary!

2. God delights in ME! He is not keeping score of all the times I screwed up as a mom.

3. We don't need to ask our kids permission. Therefore, when we tell them something, do not end the sentence with, "Okay?" When giving instruction or correction to our kids, our words should be a statement, not a question.

4. Get rid of the mom guilt that is permeating our society. As women, we often compare ourselves to other women and other moms. We are all uniquely and wonderfully made (and so are our kids)!

5. We cannot fix everything in our child's life. We need to accept that. As parents we have the responsibility to teach them how to process life's struggles, fears, disappointments, anger, sadness, etc. Teach them to pray to God about everything and encourage them to communicate with you always. The best way to do this would be by example! Let your kids see you pray out loud about all kinds of things.

6. Loving our husbands well, gives our children a sense of security.

7. A reward system using charts or special privileges can be a fun way to encourage your child's participation and promote taking initiative.

8. Keep your word!

"Pour out your hearts like water before the face of the LORD; lift up your hands toward him for the life of your children."

~Lamentations 2:19

So what about you? What was your main take-away from yesterday?

Blessings,

Catherine

M2M Cookbook!

2008-10-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Get out those yummy recipes for the first ever Mom2Mom cookbook! The holidays are just around the corner and that usually means there's more family in town and more cooking to do. I know that I'm always looking for some new and tasty ideas so this will come at the perfect time! Please email your recipes to Shannon Webb at mailto:mcaliwebbrn@hotmail.com or simply bring your recipe to M2M on Wednesday. The deadline before we go to print is October 29th! Feel free to submit as many recipes as you'd like and any type of dish is welcome!

The cookbook will be available to purchase for a nominal fee under $5.

Taste and see that the LORD is good!
~Psalm 34:8

Blessings,
Catherine

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God's Faith & Grace

2008-10-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Written by Hailey White

We were blessed this week to have our very own Catherine Gough share her testimony with us. I don’t know about you but I was captivated the entire time. I found the Lord speaking directly to me about how truly amazing he is to bring two lives together to serve Him.

Wasn’t their love story wonderful? Catherine shared how she was looking for love in all the wrong places and it wasn’t until she ended an unhealthy relationship that the Lord used that wise decision to change the course of her life. She also shared how Lisa Beamer’s testimony in her book “Let’s Roll” gave her a desire for a purpose driven life, something she had always wanted. I was mesmerized listening to the perfect orchestration of their marriage and how the Lord used Catherine’s new found salvation a year into their marriage to ignite her husbands love for the Lord that he was once so passionate for. Isn’t God amazing?

The best part was that her story didn’t end there. She went on to share how the Lord closed her womb to open up her heart. She shared their path towards adoption and how faith untested is faith unchanged. With pictures of her adopted twin girls Faith and Grace on the overhead screen, I welled up inside, selfishly imagining that if they had never adopted those beautiful girls that I wouldn’t have had the chance to know them. I suppose that’s how the Lord feels about us, wanting us to know that He knows us, and wanting us to be adopted into His family.

“he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure, and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace...” Ephesians 1:5-7

Catherine closed by sharing her calling with us. To raise her children to Love the Lord, and to glorify God in all she does.

What about you? Share with us how Catherine’s story impacted your life?

Detox

2008-10-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Once again, JJ Virgin was energetic, dynamic, and full of knowledge and information. If you felt like you should be changing your entire lifestyle today, I hope you weren't left feeling overwhelmed or discouraged. With so much information thrown at us in such a short period of time, I thought it was helpful to just focus on making one commitment for change. Maybe there are a couple of things that you will incorporate in your life going forward? Perhaps it's more fiber in your diet, eating less sugar, passing on the splenda, or trying to break a sweat everyday? Hopefully, this morning gave you the fuel to get enthusiastic about your health.
And let's face it, if you get healthy, inevitably, so will your family!

Of course, God wants us to take good care of our earthly bodies that He has given us. After all, it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
As moms, I believe it's also important so that we can be an active participant and role model in the lives of our young children.

Much in the same way that JJ encouraged us to detoxify our bodies, God's word says that we need to remain pure and rid ourselves from everything that contaminates our bodies and souls. We live in such a toxic culture today don't we? Even as Christians, we are not safe from all the "junk" in this world.

Let's look at what God's word says...

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
~1 Corinthians 10:31

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
~2 Corinthians 7:1

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is---his good, pleasing and perfect will.
~Romans 12:2

By the way, in keeping with my new commitment, I write this as I skip my caffeine free Diet-Coke for my tall glass of water. Oh, yum! :)

Have a great week, ladies!

Blessings,
Catherine

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