Moms of Influence

REGISTER NOW!!!

Registration for our 2015-2016 season is now open.
Moms of Influence is NOW for moms with kids of ALL ages!
Please join us as we explore and learn about God's "Relentless Love".
Hope to see you at our Kick Off on September 15th!!
We will have lots of fun activities, a YUMMY brunch, and plenty of time to chat with other moms!!

Please click HERE to register!

Be Mission Minded

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer. Are your kids already complaining about being bored and looking for things to do? Serving others in your community is a great summer activity!! Need some ideas on who/how to serve? Click HERE to listen to Pam's talk on how to become a mission minded family!

Also, check out the links below for more ideas on how and where to serve as a family:

Speaker Notes

Service Opportunities

And don't forget to check out Northbrook's IGo blog for information on upcoming events and service opportunities.

Be Ready

On May 5th, Laura Sandretti spoke about how to have age-appropriate conversations with your kids about sex.

Click HERE to listen to Laura's talk.

Be Strong

At our last meeting, Pat Quinn spoke to us about helping the strong-willed child.
To hear Pat's talk, click HERE.

Here are some notes from Pat's outline/handout:
The outcome of almost every situation with a strong-willed person will be determined by: FEELINGS of control!
As a parent, you can help your child FEEL like he/she is in control while actually still maintaining the control.
You can provide "limited choices" that give a feeling of control.

The 4 Rules of Power & Control:

Let the child FEEL control
Be the ADULT!
NO winners!
Pick your battles!!!!

When there is no way to put the child "in control" of the situation or choice, you should give them a substitute behavior/activity.
Say: "Here is another AWESOME opportunity where you can be in control."
Make sure that you replace their "fun" behavior with something even MORE fun! Kids are easily distracted, but not by boring activities!

Actions that STOP cooperation include:

Accusations
Sarcasm (DON'T use it)
Giving orders
Blame
Put-downs
Discouraging Prophecy
Threats & Warnings
Lectures
Shame & Name calling

Actions that ENCOURAGE cooperation:

Give information
Describe the problem
Offer a choice
Say it with ONE word
Describe what you feel
Write a note (or draw a picture)
Use another voice or accent

Use If-Then Statements when needed. You want to be a teacher, not a punisher. Once you feel that your child understands the desired behavior and yet he/she continues in the undesired behavior, you can issue an "If-Then Statement".
For example: "IF you hit your brother again, THEN you will lose your phone for 24 hours."
Make sure you follow through with the THEN!

Five Mistakes to Avoid:

NOT giving a substitute behavior
Distance & Audience
Promises: don't make promises you can't keep
Sarcasm
Body positioning and eye level

I hope you are encouraged and inspired by Pat's ideas. I know that I am going to try some of them with my THREE strong willed children!!

Hope to see you at the next MOI meeting on May 5th. Our speaker will be Laura Sandretti.

Be Renewed

Our meeting last week was all about Easter (even though it was really St. Patrick's Day.... ha ha)!!

Rachel Inouye spoke to us about the true message of Easter, which is HOPE! She had us repeat the following phrase throughout the morning:
"I will NOT fear; instead I WILL have hope!!"

She shared that there has never been a bigger problem than a dead Savior/Jesus....
Yet even that was NO problem for our great God!
He can roll away any "stone" in our lives!!

Our world is broken.
God sent Jesus to fix/heal that brokenness.
God's grace is available to ALL....
Jesus died ONCE for ALL!
The open and empty tomb is HOPE!!!

To listen to Rachel's encouraging message of HOPE, click HERE.

Please join us at our next meeting on April 21st to learn tips on parenting challenges and how to handle a strong-willed child.

Have a VERY Happy Easter!