Freedom Park Playdate

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

Last Day

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!

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

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.

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Invisible Mother

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.

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Switch, Swap & Save

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!


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Debbi Collins

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