At our Christmas brunch today, we focused on the joy of this season and an amazing, biblical Woman of Influence, Mary (mother of Jesus). We met up in the sanctuary and enjoyed the beautiful winter wonderland "set" on the stage and a Christmas Carol sing-a-long. Then, Beth offered a special reading of the Christmas story through Mary's eyes, which was followed by a powerful and moving video (featuring the song "Born in Me", sung by Francesca Battistelli).
Connie Boerner spoke and her message centered on the invitations we receive and the rsvps we make during the holiday season. Drawing comparisons, she explained Jesus does not send invitations, but instead works in mysterious ways. He speaks to us through the manager scene and is asking our hearts to be a Bethlehem for him. As we celebrate Jesus' birth, who He is and why he came, He is inviting us to walk with Him.
What are we going to do with His invitation?
Will we rsvp and trust Him with our lives?
Because Mary said yes to God's invitation, we are here today. As we celebrate this Christmas season, let's remember why we are celebrating!
If you'd like to watch the video shared during the meeting, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ3BIFFLCKQ
Our next meeting will be on January 17th. Lisa Sinclair will speak on Attentiveness: Women's Self Care. We hope to see you there!
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
This blog is dedicated to the Moms of Influence group at Northbrook Church in Richfield, WI.
Nov. 15: Resourcefulness: Saving
Today's meeting looked a little different; instead of a "live" speaker, we watched a speaker/presentation on DVD. The speaker was Dave Ramsey, who is known as a financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker. The DVD we watched is part of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace series and the session we covered was titled "Buyer Beware".
Dave started out talking about "the enemy of your Financial Peace" (companies/marketing) and the 4 Major Ways companies market to you. He shared that we live in the most marketed to culture in the history of the world and that companies use every angle to aggressively compete for your money. Some interesting statistics include: adults see 3,000-4,000 advertisements/day, kids born today will see over 1 million ads in their lifetime, companies will spend $15 billion this year alone on ads geared towards children, and that watching 1 hour of TV/week will equal an extra $200/year spent on products.
The Four Major Ways companies market to us:
1. Personal Selling
2. Financing as a marketing tool (no interest until 2012, 0% interest loans, no money down, etc)
3. TV, Radio, Internet, and other media
4. Product Positioning (brand recognition, color, shelf position, and packaging)
Dave then shared some tips about significant purchases and what to do before making them. A "significant purchase" is normally anything over $300. Our bodies actually go through physiological changes when making a significant purchase.
He also shared that we all have a spoiled, red-faced, tantrum-throwing kid living inside of us.....and his name is "immaturity". If this kid runs your buying decisions all of your life, you will be broke. Children do what feels good, but adults devise a plan and follow it.
What To Do When Making a Significant Purchase:
Because you can always spend more than you make, you must develop a power over purchase by:
1. Waiting Overnight before making a purchase.
2. Carefully considering your buying motives. NO amount of STUFF equals contentment or fulfillment.
3. Never buying anything you do not understand (such as certain types of insurance coverage or investments)
4. Considering the "opportunity cost" of your money.
5. Seeking the counsel of your spouse or accountability partner.
"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her ; so he will have no lack of gain." Proverbs 31:10-11 (NKJV)
Some good tips to follow especially as we hit the stores for our Black Friday/Christmas shopping :)
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and please join us for our Christmas Brunch on Tuesday, December 6th!!
Dave started out talking about "the enemy of your Financial Peace" (companies/marketing) and the 4 Major Ways companies market to you. He shared that we live in the most marketed to culture in the history of the world and that companies use every angle to aggressively compete for your money. Some interesting statistics include: adults see 3,000-4,000 advertisements/day, kids born today will see over 1 million ads in their lifetime, companies will spend $15 billion this year alone on ads geared towards children, and that watching 1 hour of TV/week will equal an extra $200/year spent on products.
The Four Major Ways companies market to us:
1. Personal Selling
2. Financing as a marketing tool (no interest until 2012, 0% interest loans, no money down, etc)
3. TV, Radio, Internet, and other media
4. Product Positioning (brand recognition, color, shelf position, and packaging)
Dave then shared some tips about significant purchases and what to do before making them. A "significant purchase" is normally anything over $300. Our bodies actually go through physiological changes when making a significant purchase.
He also shared that we all have a spoiled, red-faced, tantrum-throwing kid living inside of us.....and his name is "immaturity". If this kid runs your buying decisions all of your life, you will be broke. Children do what feels good, but adults devise a plan and follow it.
What To Do When Making a Significant Purchase:
Because you can always spend more than you make, you must develop a power over purchase by:
1. Waiting Overnight before making a purchase.
2. Carefully considering your buying motives. NO amount of STUFF equals contentment or fulfillment.
3. Never buying anything you do not understand (such as certain types of insurance coverage or investments)
4. Considering the "opportunity cost" of your money.
5. Seeking the counsel of your spouse or accountability partner.
"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her ; so he will have no lack of gain." Proverbs 31:10-11 (NKJV)
Some good tips to follow especially as we hit the stores for our Black Friday/Christmas shopping :)
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and please join us for our Christmas Brunch on Tuesday, December 6th!!
Nov. 1: Faith: Hope in Marriage
Pat and Pam Quinn shared with us their experiences and insights regarding strategies for working through the ups and downs of married life. Their message focused on how to go about working through tough times when: 1. Our husband is hurting. 2. We are hurting. 3. We both are hurting.
When HE is hurting:
1. Realize you can't solve the problem for him.
2. When he's sitting there watching tv, surfing the Internet and looking like he's doing nothing, realize he actually is using that time to work through his problem.
3. You telling friends and family about his problem, doesn't help him solve the problem and actually makes him hurt and feel emasculated.
What SHE can do while he is hurting:
1. Listen.
2. Give him time to work on things.
3. Be supportive.
4. Show confidence in him that you know he can work the problem out.
When SHE is hurting:
1. Women need to process things by talking through the problem.
2. Women need to be validated.
3. Women need to know that we are normal and we are not alone.
What HE can do while she is hurting:
1. Don't try to solve her problem but, instead, listen to her.
2. Realize men are bad at needs identification (knowing what they can do to help) but do want to be helpful and supportive. Tell them what they can do to help you (dishes, bedtime, laundry) while you work through the problem.
When you BOTH are hurting:
1. Practice fair fighting rules. Examples:
- Realize just because mom did things this way, doesn't mean it's the right/only way to do things.
- Make "I" statements rather than "You" statements.
- Recognize you and your spouse may have different fighting styles.
- Don't use words like "never" and "always".
- Do explain how you are feeling in response to what they are saying.
- Remember, in those moments, that you still love your spouse.
2. Carve out times to talk (both in good times and in bad).
3. Remember the purpose of discussion is not to win, but to solve the problem.
4. If you reach a point when you need to talk to someone about your marriage, be very careful who you choose because that person could ultimately influence the outcome of your marriage.
Our discussion topic for the Nov. 15th mtg. will be "Resourcefulness: Saving". We hope to see you there!
October 18: Diligence: Instilling Values in Your Kids
We heard from Brodie Swanson, Associate Pastor of Children's and Family Ministry at Elmbrook Church, who discussed the whys and hows for instilling values in our children.
Top 3 Values you can Instill in your Preschooler and Why they are Important:
1. Honesty. A child raised with honesty becomes a teenager/adult who never has to cover his tracks, is trusted by kids and their parents, will have better clarity about who they are and what they think, and will teach them to be their own advocate.
2. Respect. (Kids learn this mostly from watching adults. How we talk about people and situations influences how they think and act.) A child raised with respect will learn to value the mutual respect and consideration of others opinions and differences.
3. Forgiveness. A child raised to value forgiveness becomes an adult who can deal with hurts and move forward. Learning to say and accept "I forgive you" is a very powerful tool.
How to do this:
- We want to instill values, not install them. Don't just tell them, but explain why.
- Know your child's development path. Recognize what they can and will grasp and certain ages/stages and adjust accordingly.
- Use the appropriate methods. Use teachable moments, speak their language (role play), discuss things ahead of time rather than reacting in the moment.
- Don't underestimate the value of your example!
For a power point of Brodie's presentation, click here.
After listening to Brodie speak, we decorated vases using simple tools like masking tape, glue and food coloring.
We hope to see you at the next mtg. on Nov. 1st when we will be discussing "Faith: Hope in Marriage."
October 4: Loyalty: The Value of Women's Friendships
Today's meeting focused on the topic of Friendship! Our speakers, who also happen to be close friends, spoke on the "Value of Friendships". They gave valuable advice about why friendships are important, what friendships need, and how to find friends.
Why Invest in Friendships?
- Good for your husband
- Good for YOU!!
- Good for your kids (model friendship to them; get refreshed/renewed by time with friends)
What Friendships Need:
2 cups of Laughter, 1 Handful of Loyalty (gossip will destroy relationships), 1 Heart full of Love, a Dash of Understanding, 3 Cups of Patience (you can respect each other w/out agreeing on everything. Allow friends to make personal choices that might be different from yours; you can learn from each other)
Finding Friends:
- Seek out Mentors
- Pray for godly friends
- Join mommy groups/play groups
- look around you at the people you spend time with every day (neighbors, co-workers, etc)
- continue making friends throughout life, no matter what your age. You may find that you make new/different friends based on the "season of life" you are in.
After our speakers were done, we heard the story of Ruth, whose name means "friendship". Then we dismissed to our discussion group time. We finished the morning with a picnic lunch outside.....so the kids could play and the moms could spend time forming and/or "growing" friendships with their fellow Moms of Influence moms.
See you in two weeks, when we will hear about instilling values in our kids!!
Why Invest in Friendships?
- Good for your husband
- Good for YOU!!
- Good for your kids (model friendship to them; get refreshed/renewed by time with friends)
What Friendships Need:
2 cups of Laughter, 1 Handful of Loyalty (gossip will destroy relationships), 1 Heart full of Love, a Dash of Understanding, 3 Cups of Patience (you can respect each other w/out agreeing on everything. Allow friends to make personal choices that might be different from yours; you can learn from each other)
Finding Friends:
- Seek out Mentors
- Pray for godly friends
- Join mommy groups/play groups
- look around you at the people you spend time with every day (neighbors, co-workers, etc)
- continue making friends throughout life, no matter what your age. You may find that you make new/different friends based on the "season of life" you are in.
After our speakers were done, we heard the story of Ruth, whose name means "friendship". Then we dismissed to our discussion group time. We finished the morning with a picnic lunch outside.....so the kids could play and the moms could spend time forming and/or "growing" friendships with their fellow Moms of Influence moms.
See you in two weeks, when we will hear about instilling values in our kids!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)