This blog is dedicated to the Moms of Influence group at Northbrook Church in Richfield, WI.
MOI Kickoff!
The Moms of Influence kickoff will be this Tuesday, October 2nd at 9:15am! You can drop your children off at 9:00am and then sit back and relax as you enjoy a morning of fun, fellowship, and food! If you have not registered yet, please click here or feel free to just come and register on Tuesday. We would love to have you!
April 17
Healthy Life Patterns: Inspire U
Our speaker, Rachel Inouye, gave us a healthy dose of inspiration as she discussed healthy life patterns we should all strive to incorporate into our daily lives. She described five healthy life patterns and their spiritual parallels.
Healthy Life Patterns: Inspire U
Our speaker, Rachel Inouye, gave us a healthy dose of inspiration as she discussed healthy life patterns we should all strive to incorporate into our daily lives. She described five healthy life patterns and their spiritual parallels.
- Eating healthy food - In order to take care of our bodies and have the energy we need, we need to focus on eating healthy food. When we eat food that is unhealthy, we have a false sense of satisfaction. Likewise, we must remember that Jesus is the bread of life. We must intentionally meet with him everyday and feast on the Bread of Life!
- Drinking water - Our bodies are made primarily of water and we must drink water in order to replenish it. We can find eternal replenishment and truly satisfy our thirst if we drink of the Living Water that Jesus provides. As long as we rely on Jesus to quench our thirst and not our own "broken cisterns" we will not be thirsty again.
- Exercising - Exercise is not only good for the body, it is good for the mind as well. But our hearts need exercise as well...through service. Jesus' life is an example of heartfelt service to others as exemplified when he washed his disciples' feet.
- Bathing - During this season of life, moms of young children may not achieve that daily shower, but we are reminded to stay clean spiritually through confession.
- Staying connected - It is easy to become isolated on Planet Mom, but God wants us to be in community with one another. Most importantly, God tells us to stay connected to him: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
April 3: Joyfulness: Easter Brunch
What a wonderful and inspiring morning at Moms of Influence! Today, we were able to take some time to reflect upon and celebrate this joyous season of Easter!
We started our morning with a short, funny video, welcome, and announcements. Check out all the details for upcoming events on the right side of this blog. There are some great opportunities coming up, including a play date, mom's night out at Starbucks, and a G.I.R.L.S. Night Out with Elizabeth Murphy on May 2nd.
Following announcements, one of our steering team members read a poem titled, "Twas The Night Before Easter".......only to be interrupted by a dance Flash Mob!! What a fun and joyful surprise! Thanks to our fearless steering team for sharing their dancing talents and making the morning truly memorable!
Our speaker, who was very uplifting and inspiring, spoke about finding joy on our "journey". She started out by sharing 1 Peter 1:8-9 with us and pointed out that the joy we have in our life is tied to our relationship with Christ. We will have trials and suffering in this life, but we can still have joy in knowing that this world is not all there is for us. She encouraged us to keep our eyes on the finish line, because an incredible, indescribable "prize" awaits us on the other side. She also talked about how easy it is to "camp out" in one spot because we feel comfortable with the way things are. But we can become too comfortable and start to lose our joy. If, however, we keep running the race and pressing on towards the finish line, we will have inexpressible joy!! Since we know that what awaits is no more pain, no suffering, no sadness, no death, and unconditional love, we can joyfully run towards the finish line!
To conclude our morning, we invited the moms to share examples of how/when God brought joy to their life. It was great to hear about what God has done and is doing in the lives of so many of the women in our group. And also how Moms of Influence has touched and blessed so many women!
Finally, I just wanted to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU for the items you donated to the Joy House this morning. That donation bin looked pretty full! What a blessing these items will be to the women and children of the Joy House. Thank you for your generous donations!
Have a very Blessed Easter!
We started our morning with a short, funny video, welcome, and announcements. Check out all the details for upcoming events on the right side of this blog. There are some great opportunities coming up, including a play date, mom's night out at Starbucks, and a G.I.R.L.S. Night Out with Elizabeth Murphy on May 2nd.
Following announcements, one of our steering team members read a poem titled, "Twas The Night Before Easter".......only to be interrupted by a dance Flash Mob!! What a fun and joyful surprise! Thanks to our fearless steering team for sharing their dancing talents and making the morning truly memorable!
Our speaker, who was very uplifting and inspiring, spoke about finding joy on our "journey". She started out by sharing 1 Peter 1:8-9 with us and pointed out that the joy we have in our life is tied to our relationship with Christ. We will have trials and suffering in this life, but we can still have joy in knowing that this world is not all there is for us. She encouraged us to keep our eyes on the finish line, because an incredible, indescribable "prize" awaits us on the other side. She also talked about how easy it is to "camp out" in one spot because we feel comfortable with the way things are. But we can become too comfortable and start to lose our joy. If, however, we keep running the race and pressing on towards the finish line, we will have inexpressible joy!! Since we know that what awaits is no more pain, no suffering, no sadness, no death, and unconditional love, we can joyfully run towards the finish line!
To conclude our morning, we invited the moms to share examples of how/when God brought joy to their life. It was great to hear about what God has done and is doing in the lives of so many of the women in our group. And also how Moms of Influence has touched and blessed so many women!
Finally, I just wanted to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU for the items you donated to the Joy House this morning. That donation bin looked pretty full! What a blessing these items will be to the women and children of the Joy House. Thank you for your generous donations!
Have a very Blessed Easter!
March 20: Security: The Confident Woman
Today, our speaker talked to us about the issue of Confidence. The word "confident" can be defined as the "quality or state of being certain." An antonym of "confidence" is "fear"!
Misconceptions about Confidence:
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us....." Ephesians 3:20
Misconceptions about Confidence:
- Confident women are not necessarily talkative women
- Confidence is not defined by "external" things, such as your looks, house, material goods, career, kids, etc. In Matthew 6:31, we learn that we need to be intentional about seeking "kingdom"/eternal things!
- Confidence is not the same as pride or arrogance. Some of the greatest, most confident leaders show humility!
- Confidence is NOT only about important/grandiose things; it can be shown/used in everyday situations.
- Quit focusing your attention on what you perceive to be your shortcomings. Don't focus on what YOU CAN'T do; focus on what GOD CAN do!!
- Take Some Risks (Ephesians 2:10)
- Identify Your Passions: your passions will most likely look different at different seasons in your life. Right now, your passion may be your family/raising your children.
Find confidence in God and what he has done for you and can do through you!!
March 6: Orderliness: Organization/Time Management
Today, our speaker shared some great, practical tips on how to organize our homes and our time.
"Order is individual. Some minds are built to create pristine stacks and others have a natural urge to sprawl and display."
"One person's mess is merely another person's filing system."
First, we learned some ways to organize our home:
"Order is individual. Some minds are built to create pristine stacks and others have a natural urge to sprawl and display."
"One person's mess is merely another person's filing system."
First, we learned some ways to organize our home:
- Everything has a home: make sure there is a place (a "home") for everything
- Evaluate your attitude towards "stuff" (book recommendation: "Throw Away 50 Things")
- Make organizing a priority
Where to start?
- Control the Incoming - create a system/files for incoming papers, forms, mail, bills, etc
- Categories for Sorting Papers are: toss, to pay, to do, to read, to file, unsure
- Room by Room - go through the house room by room and evaluate your organizational needs. First, assess what you have and need to organize and then go out to buy bins/baskets/racks.
- Categories for Sorting Things: Give away/sell, Toss, Save, Unsure (save for 1-2 months and then sort again).
Some practical ideas to use with our kids include having a "gem jar" (get 30 gems/rocks/pennies and a jar, pick a chore you want your child to work on, they put a gem in each time/day they complete that chore, and get to pick a reward once jar is full), chore charts, the "one thing in, one thing out" rule (getting rid of one old toy for each new toy your child gets for birthday/Christmas/other gifts), bulletin boards/pegs for backpacks, school papers, etc, and keeping an open bin in your child's closet where you put their clothes as they outgrow them.
Next, we learned about organizing our time:
The key is that time, like money, needs to be budgeted. Look at your day or week and try to determine what things in your life really distract or draw from your time (is it TV, computer/email/Facebook, something else?).
Some practical tips for saving time:
- Meal Planning
- Keep cleaning supplies in bathroom and clean it while kids are in the tub
- Clutter Collector: grab a box/basket/bin, start in one room, gather things that don't belong and should go in other rooms, move to next room, empty what goes in that room, repeat to all rooms, find a home for remaining items
- Schedule your Time: for example, if you want to go to the gym 2x a week, pick out those two days, let your spouse and kids know you will be going to the gym on those two days so everyone is prepared, and then go.
Hope you have learned some new ways to organize your home and your time. Join us for our next meeting (March 20th), when we will learn how to be "Confident Women".
Feb 21st: Sensitivity: Dealing with Depression
Today, we looked at the topic of depression. Our speaker presented this topic in a very interesting way by weaving the biblical story of Hagar into her talk.
She started by sharing Hagar's story from Genesis 16. When Hagar was pregnant with Abraham's child and Sarah was abusing her, she decided to flee and ran off to the desert. After dealing with issues of grief, loss, abuse, and abandonment, Hagar had completely lost all hope. Our speaker asked us what/who are our triggers? Where are the places that cause us to feel angry and sad and abandoned?
While Hagar was in the desert, the Lord spoke to her and asked her two very powerful questions: "Where have you come from?" and "Where are you going?" When we face times of darkness and depression, we need to ask ourselves "Why are you here?". Then look at where you have come from/things in your past that may be contributing to your current state of sadness. Past issues that may amplify your triggers include abuse, medications, conflict, grief, death/loss, family history/genetics, major events in your life, and guilt.
Then we need to ask "where are you going?" The speaker urged us to find the "wilderness" that we may be in as a place of learning. There are several things we can learn while going through a period of sadness/depression:
First, we need to put things into perspective. Ask yourself, "What am I not seeing?" Sometimes, we can change our moods/feelings just by changing our thoughts or looking at things from a different perspective. When we are going through a difficult time, it may be hard to see God working in our lives and His plan for us. We can try to change our thoughts by choosing to trust God in these times and "look up" to Him and His plan for our lives. Hagar named God, "El Roi", or the God who sees, because he saw her misery and cared about her/her pain. There are 7,000 promises in the Bible so look to those to remind yourself that God loves you and has a plan for you!!
Then, we should ask ourselves, "What truth do I need to hold on to?" The speaker shared Romans 8 with us and pointed out that NOTHING (not even depression) can separate us from the love of God. She suggested an exercise to try as well: list out the truths you believe about God and hold fast to those when you are going through a difficult time or feel like God has abandoned you.
Finally, we can learn what the purpose of our depression/sadness may be ("What is the meaning in this?"). Often times, we try to find purpose/meaning in what we are going through or have gone through. The speaker shared that the purpose for many of our trials is just discovering who God is, bringing us closer to Him and helping us to become more like Him.
If you are interested in reading the end of Hagar's story, it can be found in Genesis 21:8-20
Please join us at our next MOI meeting on March 6th. We have lots of great things planned including a "how-to" demo, a craft, a talk about organization/time management, and a picnic lunch!!
She started by sharing Hagar's story from Genesis 16. When Hagar was pregnant with Abraham's child and Sarah was abusing her, she decided to flee and ran off to the desert. After dealing with issues of grief, loss, abuse, and abandonment, Hagar had completely lost all hope. Our speaker asked us what/who are our triggers? Where are the places that cause us to feel angry and sad and abandoned?
While Hagar was in the desert, the Lord spoke to her and asked her two very powerful questions: "Where have you come from?" and "Where are you going?" When we face times of darkness and depression, we need to ask ourselves "Why are you here?". Then look at where you have come from/things in your past that may be contributing to your current state of sadness. Past issues that may amplify your triggers include abuse, medications, conflict, grief, death/loss, family history/genetics, major events in your life, and guilt.
Then we need to ask "where are you going?" The speaker urged us to find the "wilderness" that we may be in as a place of learning. There are several things we can learn while going through a period of sadness/depression:
First, we need to put things into perspective. Ask yourself, "What am I not seeing?" Sometimes, we can change our moods/feelings just by changing our thoughts or looking at things from a different perspective. When we are going through a difficult time, it may be hard to see God working in our lives and His plan for us. We can try to change our thoughts by choosing to trust God in these times and "look up" to Him and His plan for our lives. Hagar named God, "El Roi", or the God who sees, because he saw her misery and cared about her/her pain. There are 7,000 promises in the Bible so look to those to remind yourself that God loves you and has a plan for you!!
Then, we should ask ourselves, "What truth do I need to hold on to?" The speaker shared Romans 8 with us and pointed out that NOTHING (not even depression) can separate us from the love of God. She suggested an exercise to try as well: list out the truths you believe about God and hold fast to those when you are going through a difficult time or feel like God has abandoned you.
Finally, we can learn what the purpose of our depression/sadness may be ("What is the meaning in this?"). Often times, we try to find purpose/meaning in what we are going through or have gone through. The speaker shared that the purpose for many of our trials is just discovering who God is, bringing us closer to Him and helping us to become more like Him.
If you are interested in reading the end of Hagar's story, it can be found in Genesis 21:8-20
Please join us at our next MOI meeting on March 6th. We have lots of great things planned including a "how-to" demo, a craft, a talk about organization/time management, and a picnic lunch!!
Feb 7th: Forgiveness: Mommy Guilt
Today, Elizabeth Murphy shared a GREAT talk about Mom Guilt!! She started out by telling us that guilt is a legal status...We are either guilty or not guilty! Because "guilt" is a legal term, she structured her talk around things found in a trial/court room. She talked about the Facts, the Witnesses, the Jury, and the Judge.
The Facts:
There is "false guilt" and there is "real guilt".
When you think you have done something wrong, ask yourself, "Am I actually guilty (real guilt) or do I just feel guilty (false guilt)?"
Guilt does have a purpose, which is to help us learn something.
We are all gonna screw up at some point......we need to be able to learn from our mistakes and then move on from them. If we don't, we can become paralyzed by guilt.
ACTION STEP: If you feel guilty, examine the situation. Ask yourself, "What is my part in this and what am I going to do about it?" If you ARE guilty, confess and apologize.
The Witnesses:
In a trial, these are the people that comment on the facts.
As mothers, the only true witnesses are our children. They are the only ones who know how much you love them!
ACTION STEP: Interview your kids; let THEM (not other people/strangers) be the witnesses to your mothering!
The Jury:
In the court room, the jury is watching what happens but they only hear the facts that are stated out loud. They are only working with what has been presented to them.
Don't let others make you feel like a bad mom.
ACTION STEP: Make a list of who you allow to form your expectations of motherhood and WHY.
The Judge:
The only true Judge of our mothering is God! Don't give His power to judge to any one else!
He understands us because He made us and knows our past, present, and future.
YOU are the mom that God picked for your children!
ACTION STEP: Feeling guilty? Pray it out and ask for God's help!
God loves me because I am his child, not because I am someone's mother.
"The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts so he understands everything they do." Psalm 33:13-15
Click HERE to watch the "Reflections of Motherhood" video.
The Facts:
There is "false guilt" and there is "real guilt".
When you think you have done something wrong, ask yourself, "Am I actually guilty (real guilt) or do I just feel guilty (false guilt)?"
Guilt does have a purpose, which is to help us learn something.
We are all gonna screw up at some point......we need to be able to learn from our mistakes and then move on from them. If we don't, we can become paralyzed by guilt.
ACTION STEP: If you feel guilty, examine the situation. Ask yourself, "What is my part in this and what am I going to do about it?" If you ARE guilty, confess and apologize.
The Witnesses:
In a trial, these are the people that comment on the facts.
As mothers, the only true witnesses are our children. They are the only ones who know how much you love them!
ACTION STEP: Interview your kids; let THEM (not other people/strangers) be the witnesses to your mothering!
The Jury:
In the court room, the jury is watching what happens but they only hear the facts that are stated out loud. They are only working with what has been presented to them.
Don't let others make you feel like a bad mom.
ACTION STEP: Make a list of who you allow to form your expectations of motherhood and WHY.
The Judge:
The only true Judge of our mothering is God! Don't give His power to judge to any one else!
He understands us because He made us and knows our past, present, and future.
YOU are the mom that God picked for your children!
ACTION STEP: Feeling guilty? Pray it out and ask for God's help!
God loves me because I am his child, not because I am someone's mother.
"The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts so he understands everything they do." Psalm 33:13-15
Click HERE to watch the "Reflections of Motherhood" video.
January 17: Attentiveness: Women's Self Care
Lisa Sinclair, a family nurse practitioner working in psychiatric urgent care at the VA, spoke on women's health and gave us a step by step way to approach our self care.
1. Adopt a focused living approach by looking at the chapters in our life and asking ourselves the following: what were the greatest highs, what were the greatest lows and using it to trace what God has been doing in our life. This will help identify our life's purpose or our "biblical purpose" statement.
2. Determine the main spheres of influence in our life. Ex: Social interpersonal, emotional, physical, financial, vocational and intellectual. What are our roles within each sphere? Are they in balance?
3. Determine our main life values.
4. Prayerfully construct goals for 2012 that come out of our purpose and values, according to our spheres of influence.
5. Take time to attend to these throughout the year by setting aside 1 hr/wk, 1 day/mo or 1 weekend/year. She also suggested doing an annual review to see where we are at in our life and then make the necessary adjustments.
6. Establish a daily to-do list. www.flylady.net and declutter books by Peter Walsh are great resources.
Lastly, Lisa suggested ways we could eliminate stress in our life by doing the following:
simplify, declutter (turn off tv, computer, deaccumulate), find balance and abide in the Lord.
After Lisa spoke, we learned how to recycle the covers of old Christmas cards to create new ones for upcoming years. We also put together Valentine's Day gift bags for the women at the Joy House.
Elizabeth Murphy will be speaking at our next meeting on February 7th. The topic will be "Forgiveness: Mommy Guilt."
1. Adopt a focused living approach by looking at the chapters in our life and asking ourselves the following: what were the greatest highs, what were the greatest lows and using it to trace what God has been doing in our life. This will help identify our life's purpose or our "biblical purpose" statement.
2. Determine the main spheres of influence in our life. Ex: Social interpersonal, emotional, physical, financial, vocational and intellectual. What are our roles within each sphere? Are they in balance?
3. Determine our main life values.
4. Prayerfully construct goals for 2012 that come out of our purpose and values, according to our spheres of influence.
5. Take time to attend to these throughout the year by setting aside 1 hr/wk, 1 day/mo or 1 weekend/year. She also suggested doing an annual review to see where we are at in our life and then make the necessary adjustments.
6. Establish a daily to-do list. www.flylady.net and declutter books by Peter Walsh are great resources.
Lastly, Lisa suggested ways we could eliminate stress in our life by doing the following:
simplify, declutter (turn off tv, computer, deaccumulate), find balance and abide in the Lord.
After Lisa spoke, we learned how to recycle the covers of old Christmas cards to create new ones for upcoming years. We also put together Valentine's Day gift bags for the women at the Joy House.
Elizabeth Murphy will be speaking at our next meeting on February 7th. The topic will be "Forgiveness: Mommy Guilt."
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