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.

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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

Lastly, Rachel encouraged us to be consistant and intentional about living out these healthy patterns but not to berate ourselves if we fall short.  We need to cooperate with God and ask Him to help us.  God will not reject his people!

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!