Dating God!!!

Happy Valentines day!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we welcome some thoughts and
ponderings from our own Erin Ramsey!!

Try to recall a time when you've been in a dating relationship (maybe you're in one now, bless your heart) ... if you're married..then think about your relationship pre-wedding day.

If you had a typical dating relationship it's safe to say that you did at least 1 of the following: Daydream about each other, write each other sickening sweet notes, exchange thoughtful gifts, stay up late talking on the phone until you fell asleep (and fight over who was going to hang up first).

And if you had a typical dating relationship it's also safe to say that all those feelings and actions didn't last forever. That is just typically how relationships cycle. You make a great connection with another person, you try to see them as much as possible or you even go out of your way to be with them. Then someone gets selfish. Someone starts to think of their own needs instead of the other person's. Maybe your eyes start to drift away to someone else.

I fell in love with my husband almost instantly after meeting him. My feelings for him were so strong that I thought it'd be a good idea if we broke up. So I called him up and told him I wanted to "just be friends". Sounds logical right? No, it wasn't logical, it was called "I was scared." I was scared of the commitment of a relationship. I had known all of the fun and good feelings of dating, but I didn't want to actually work in my relationship.

Have you dated God? Have you made an Awesome, life changing connection with Him and lost it? Did you start to think of your own needs more than him? Have you turned your attention to someone else or other activities to fill your life?

Thank goodness, my husband loved me enough to stick around and wait for me to come to my senses. I called him back a few weeks later to tell him I missed him too much to break up.

My husband isn't the only one I've broken up with.

And my husband isn't the only one who accepted me back.

If you've broken up with God, He wants you back.

It may not have been a dramatic break-up, you may even still be dating..but you're starting to lose those "lovin' feelings"... He's still as in love with you as the day he Made you!!! All you have to do is tell Him you'd like another chance.

"... Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord.

Malachi 3:7

Have a great Valentine weekend!! Can't wait to see you all on Tuesday, February 16th.... You DO NOT want to miss this one. The topic... "LOVE ON MOM"!!! You will be so happy you came!

Thanksgiving thoughts !!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

As we meet with our families, eat our turkey, and enjoy our pumpkin pie this thanksgiving... lets focus on

What is abundantly flowing from your heart--  Along with some practical ways you can help your child show thankfulness!!

So often parents think their children are too young to understand what they are taught. If the most formidable years are the first few years of life, why do parents think this way? You are your child’s first and most-effective teacher in life. Play that to your advantage! If you want your children to be thankful outside of your home, you must teach them to be thankful within your four walls.

Here are just a few of the ways I try to teach my daughter, almost 3 ½, to be thankful:

1. We thank Jesus for the day.
It doesn’t have to be daily, but here are two examples of how to make this part of your normal conversation: When the temperature cools down I’ll tell her, “Cadence, the Lord blessed us with a beautiful day, didn’t he?” Or when rain comes after a much-needed dry spell I’ll say to her, “We need to thank Jesus for sending the rain – our plants sure needed it!”

2. We talk about how the Lord has blessed Daddy with a great job & one that allows me to stay at home with her.
I cannot stress enough the importance of teaching your children that your husband’s job is a blessing – not a curse, even if he works more than you’d like him to. Your children pick up so quickly on your attitude about your husband’s job, and they will follow your lead of being thankful for it or despising it. Remember, your view & attitude about your husband’s job is also teaching your child about how she should view her job (or her husband’s job) when she becomes an adult. It also teaches her about work ethic & responsibility. So stress the positive things about your husband’s job; after all, nowadays we should all be thankful if our husband does have a job, especially one that allows us to stay at home with our children.

3. Teach your child to say “Please” and “Thank you”, even if you have to solicit it.
Sure, it’s uncomfortable to take your child to Chick-fil-A and at the end of the meal ask, “Now what do you say to Mommy for taking you out to lunch?” But if you want your child to learn to say it at all, especially when you aren’t around, you have to start with expecting your child to say it to you. Trust me, your heart will completely melt when your child starts saying it to you without being prompted! And when you hear your child say it to someone else without being prompted, your heart will soar!

4. Send thank-you cards.
For the most part, people really do like being thanked for doing something nice for someone. Everyone enjoys a pat on the back and acknowledgment for their good deeds. This may seem like an old-school practice to you, but if you want your children to be thankful, it’s a must. Even a two-year-old can “sign” her name to a hand-written card that you write “from” her. When they’re young, write thank you notes from them, and do it in their presence. You have to tell your child what you’re doing in order for her to learn that “it’s just what we do”. Once your child does start writing, or becoming more interested in it, she will take much pride in signing her name to the card. You can ask her what she’d like to say and write it down. Or have her draw/write something & tell you what it says; then you write the “interpretation” under her art/words. Remember to write thank you cards yourself, as well!

5. “Practice what you preach.”
I don’t know how much I really believe that “actions speak louder than words”…when it comes to being thankful and teaching our children to be thankful, our actions and words are synonymous I think. When you live your life speaking and showing your thankfulness for what you have, what others do for you and how others treat you, and doing so in times of crisis or blessing, you are teaching those principles to your children. When you complain, aren’t quick to say thank you, and don’t acknowledge God or the giver for the things you have and are blessed with, then you are sending a very strong & negative message to your children. Remember that your children will say and do exactly what you say and do… so what exactly do you want that to sound & look like?

I close with two scriptures that come to my mind: (from the NIV version)
The Bible tells us in Luke 12:48, “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” This scripture reminds me that the Lord indeed blesses us, and if we are blessed with much, then more is expected from us. I think gratitude falls into that category. How can you ask God to continue to bless you when you don’t bless him and thank Him for what He’s already given you and done for you?


And Romans 13:7 (NIV) instructs us to “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
I cannot think of any instruction more important to follow than that which comes from the scripture itself. If someone does something nice for you, is generous toward you, says a kind or thoughtful word, etc., then isn’t it appropriate to give him the honor (thankfulness, gratitude…) he is due? My response is most certainly “YES!”

I want to be a thankful person, and I want my children to be likewise for out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:45) … What is truly coming from your heart, and what would you like to come forth from your child’s heart?

We want to thank TRACY LAWLOR for sharing her thanksgiving thoughts with us!!   We wish you all a fabulous Thanksgiving!  We have a lot to be thankful for! Many Blessings,
Your family at

Call to Action!

In light of yesterday's meeting on LOVERS AND GIVERS, here are some ways to put that into action during this holiday season!  Thank you Cindie Butts for this great information!!

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

Here is the link to the info on how to pack an Operations Christmas Child shoe box.

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/

The collection is this week from Nov. 16-23rd and these are our local collection sites:

Woodlands Lutheran Church
15333 C.R. 455
Montverde FL 34756

YMCA Roper Center
100 Windermere Rd
Winter GardenFL 34787

First Baptist Church
1000 E 1st Ave
Mount Dora FL 32757

Trinity Chapel
1951 Dora Ave
TavaresFL 32778

Cindie would be willing to deliver them to one of the locations on Monday if any of the moms can get some boxes together. We would just need to figure out how she can get them from you. Unfortunately there isn't a processing center around here so we can't really go and volunteer.  Renee Tindol has also offered to  do another drop this coming Monday since she will be working in Orlando .She would need to pick up the boxes by this Sunday afternoon.  You can email questions for Cindie or Renee to the MOPS email address!

OTHER SERVICE PROJECTS IN THE AREA:

Some websites to find service project in the area are;
http://www.allforgood.org/
http://www.serve.gov/
http://www.volunteermatch.org/

You can also get involved with Real Help at Real Life Christian Church.  (our charter organization) For   service opportunities available through the church visit their website!  HERE

Happy serving!! 

A good cause!

A local mom from our neighboring MOPS group is embarking on a great journey for a good cause!!  She is our guest today to let us know a bit about what she is doing and how she is helping to "change lives"!!  I love that we can embrace and support our neighboring MOPS groups.  We are all in this MOM thing together!!

Hello fellow MOPS moms! My name is Miranda Kelly and I am a member of the FUMC MOPS group. I'm a pretty typical mom of two, a 3 yr old daughter and 5 month old son. I have recently taken on a challenge that I am eager to tell you about!

I have joined The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's TEAM IN TRAINING and I am preparing for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in March 2010. Team in Training (TNT) is a group of participants who have committed not only to train and complete an endurance event but have also committed to raising money and awareness for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).

LLS's mission is to find a cure for blood cancers and to provide programs that improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Leukemia remains the leading cause of cancer related death in children and Leukemia and Lymphoma are the leading fatal cancers in young men under 35. Progress is being made against blood cancers and funds raised from TNT events/participants are helping make that progress possible!

My commitment to Team In Training is to raise a minimum of $2,100 for LLS. I hope that you will take a few moments to check out my personal TNT homepage for additional information and consider making a donation. http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/dipihalf10/mkellycb5q

NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL and donations are tax-deductible. Donations can be made online through my homepage or, if you prefer, you may donate by check. Checks should be made out to: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and should be mailed to me at:

Miranda Kelly

808 Palm Forest Lane

Minneola, FL 34715

If you have any questions about TNT or LLS please feel free to contact me at mlk81499@yahoo.com

Thank you for your time. See you at the finish line!!

Graceful Parenting

Hi Ladies! From time to time, we'll have some guests post a thought for us. This one is from Jodi Vermaas, our friend, mentor, and staff contact. Enjoy!

Romans 14:19- “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

As a Christian, a mother, a counselor and a children’s ministry director, I have had lots of experiences with many adults and children. I am thrilled to be part of a ministry that allows us all to walk through the doors (no matter what our sinful backgrounds may be) and inspires us to change. I am also grateful for the grace we all experience as we continually realize our sin, and how we can change. As a Christian people, we try hard to welcome others and to make everyone feel that they are not only accepted, but loved and valued. I know how grateful I am that people love me, even when I am unlovable!

As a mother, I have been perplexed about how we as mothers can sometimes throw out that same grace we rely on with each other when it comes to dealing with children - other people’s children and our own. I feel called to look at children the way I look at my fellow female - with grace. We all can think this is a “no-brainer,” but haven’t we all been guilty of passing spiritual judgment on a child (or his/her parents), when that child has acted out in some way? I believe we need to walk carefully in these situations.

Consider the myriad of controversial topics when it comes to dealing with children:
If/how/when/and where to discipline?
Home school/Christian school/Public school?
Some TV/no TV/any TV (the same for music, movies, etc.)?
No junk food/organic food/eat what is put in front of you?
Obedience: required the first time/required unless the child is over-tired/required sometimes/only when in front of others?
Church kids are always/sometimes/learning to be (which one is ok to you?) calm, kind, and respectful?

I once had a mother point out to my husband that one of my children - who has a sensory processing disorder and who was having a loud sensory reaction to his surroundings at the time - that if we “spare the rod, we spoil the child.” While we appreciated the scripture knowledge, we did not feel we were being built up in our parenting! We felt so discouraged and misunderstood, not to mention how our child felt.

Sometimes being stuck in our own parenting world with the children we know, we put expectations and judgments on kids that we barely know, not to mention understand. It is subtle, but can hurt our relationships with one another. As mothers, let’s lead the charge in building each other up as we take on the greatest challenge of our lives - raising kids to God’s glory!

They all grow, change, mature, adjust, and fall down. They all have unique needs, challenges, gifts, and sinful natures. Just like us, they need grace. Let’s encourage one another to look at our children and others the way we desire to be looked upon, through the eyes of Christ. When we do this, power and unity is given the ability to spread through our friendships, our ministries, and our lives. And when we live by grace, we are then able to give instruction, discipline and advice in ways that are uplifting and Spirit-led.

(If you are interested in learning more, all of Romans 14 is a good study on this topic.)