Hello Shore Fellowship!

At MOPS, our motto is, “Better Moms Make A Better World.” Our hope is for MOPS to be a place where every mom feels welcomed, comfortable, celebrated, and empowered by God to be better mothers. Right now, in our community, there are moms looking for a place to be encouraged and uplifted. There are children who have never heard about Jesus and how much He loves each and every one of his children.

You can be a part of all expanding our reach by becoming a MOPPET volunteer. You will hold babies, sing with preschoolers, and give moms confidence that their children are being lovingly cared for while they can be spiritually uplifted at MOPS.

Here’s a first had account of the type of impact you can be a part of:

“I am a mother of four little boys, ages 7, 4, 2, and a newborn. I have been involved in MOPS for close to 7 years, since my first child was just a few months old. My husband works for the government and his job requires our family to relocate often. My family is spread out all over the country, so every new start in a new location is a fairly solitary endeavor. The first order of business when we get orders to move is to locate a MOPS group. Through MOPS, I have made lasting friendships, and learned how to be a better mother, wife and woman. I am able to relax a couple times a month with women in similar family situations, while knowing that my children are lovingly cared for by MOPPETS workers and being taught Bible lessons that teach them virtues that are in line with our family's beliefs. Also, through MOPS, our family has connected with the church in a way that might otherwise be difficult or intimidating. The small group setting of MOPS really helps mothers grow and learn together and provides a way for our children to socialize and learn in a safe, loving environment. “

-Jennifer Shepherd, mother of 4.

“I stumbled into MOPS one Monday morning at Shore Fellowship Church with the idea that this would be just another mommy group. My past mommy group experiences were not so enjoyable mostly because I was looking for something a little deeper and more personally meaningful. Each meeting I was greeted with warmth and sincerity, but I was pretty closed off. No one pushed or pried but somehow they let me know that I wasn’t alone.

It wasn’t until the 2nd year of MOPS that things began to really change for me. I was asked to help out with setting up and/or cleaning up for the meetings. This is when I learned about all kinds of relationships especially one with God. It was through serving that I began to feel a sense of community with these other women. By being a part of MOPS I saw God operating on a daily basis in the lives of these other moms, in the way they related to one another. It’s through MOPS and serving that I was reintroduced to Jesus and began my relationship with him. It was a fellow MOPS mom that reached out to me, prayed with me and led me on my way to a new life in Christ!”

-Melissa Greenwood, mother of 2.

The success and reach of MOPS is strengthened and enhanced by our MOPPET Program. We’re looking for special women who love Jesus, His children, and are willing to serve just a few hours, just two Monday mornings a month. Try it!!! We know you’ll love it!!!

 For more information, please email Lauren.gayeski@mac.com or beccajackson814@comcast.net

Looking forward to connecting more with you!

Lauren Gayeski and Becca Jackson, MOPS Leaders

MOPS@shorefellowship.net

             Motherhood has moments of pure joy.  It also has its challenging moments.  And some moments are somewhere in between.  Dinnertime happens to be one of those events that occurs somewhere in between.  Before becoming a mom, many of us had visions of what family dinners would look like, with lovely children seated, eating happily, and telling mommy and daddy all about their fun day with their sweet little voices.  In reality, it can be utter chaos.  We all know how important it is to spend time together as a family, especially at meals.  Studies have proven that families that eat together have children who are better students, have better eating habits, and stronger relationships with parents than those who never eat together.  Dining together as a family.  It sounds so simple.  So why is it so challenging?

            Feeding a family three meals a day can be exhausting and many times, moms question, “Is it really worth all of the effort?”  Investing time and effort in providing opportunities to share time each day as a family is a wise investment that pays off in the end.   When there is a special event, we go out to dinner or throw a party, which are both fantastic ways to celebrate and fellowship.  Why not celebrate our families every night?  Even if it is just meatloaf or mac-n-cheese, our families should be celebrated each day, giving thanks to God for the blessings of family.

The MOPS MomSense theme for February is Consistency.  Establishing boundaries and routines for meals helps to make family meal times more enjoyable for all members of the family.  Many families have found that the best way to tone down the craziness of family dinnertime is to consistently plan meals.  This week at MOPS, we heard ways to save time and money (and sanity) by planning out meals for each day of the week.   Our guest speaker, Becca Jackson, talked about her own experience with meal planning and shared helpful tips for our MOPS moms.  A tool that can help with meal planning is a message board to write notes, recipes, or keep track of meals.  MOPS moms used creativity to make message boards that can help everyone get on board with meal planning!   So, the next time your child asks you, “What’s for dinner, mommy?” you just might have the answer.

Once again, the Annual MOPS Tea was a great way for moms to celebrate the Christmas holiday.  Moms enjoyed a morning of fellowship and a great message from our guest speaker, Donna Chambers.  Let’s face it, this is a busy (and sometimes stressful) time of year, especially for moms.  But today, MOPS had an opportunity to refresh, take a deep breath, and focus on how God sent Jesus to live on earth as a human, to understand us, love us, and adopt us as His daughters so that we may have eternal life.  We send a special “thank you” to Donna for speaking and spending time with MOPS today. 

Recently, we heard a story about a pastor who asked some members of a small group this question: “What was your most memorable Christmas?”  For some, it was the special memory of a parent or grandparent, a baby’s first Christmas, or the sweet taste of a special family recipe.  Not one person mentioned a gift.  Gifts are great, and the shopping is exciting, but is it really about the gifts at all?  Turns out, our favorite things about Christmas aren’t really things.  They are experiences, wrapped in love, that give us the greatest gifts.  So, from MOPS, we wish you a Merry Christmas filled with all of the things that money can’t buy and doesn’t come in a box. 

Blessings,

Becca and Lauren

                                                Photographer Kim Angelo

          This week, MOPS had the pleasure of hosting one of our own moms, local family photographer Kim Angelo, as a guest speaker.  Kim spoke about simple ways to take better photos.  And we can use all the advice we can get when trying to capture photos of kids who are growing up fast and never stop moving.  Moms are always trying to capture special moments, because we understand how quickly babies grow up and maybe we are trying to hold onto a piece of motherhood that will soon pass by. 

                            MOPS moms experimenting with angles and lighting                                

As Kim mentioned, photography has a lot to do with catching the best angle and good lighting.  We want to be seen in the best light.  This is true in photography as it is in life in general.  But how often is it that our kids see us in our “not-so-good” light?  Babies are so sweet and preschoolers are adorable, but if you have spent more than an hour with them, your patience has probably been tested, at least once.  Mothers of preschoolers have their patience tested every hour (and sometimes every minute) of the day.  As imperfect people, it’s easy to loose our temper or say things we don’t mean.   Moms need patience to (calmly) correct a behavior, have stamina to follow through with consequences, and then have patience and stamina to repeat the process multiple times until your preschooler learns.  There are times that we might wonder, “How am I ever going to get through the pains of parenting?”  The truth is, when you rely on God for guidance, you are never doing it alone.  When we stand in His light, we can’t help but reflect that light on our kids.  The job of a mother will never be easy and will always be challenging.  But remain in Jesus’ light, and the image you reflect will never be unflattering.  We’d like to send a special “thank you” to Kim for sharing with us!

Love,

Becca and Lauren