Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord
who formed it to establish it… Call to me and I will answer you and tell you
great and unsearchable things you do not know. – Jeremiah
33:2-3
Hello Leaders!
Do you remember how you felt the first
time you walked into your MOPS group meeting? How do you feel when you walk into
your group as a Leader?
Two weeks ago I had a conversation with my
husband about how I feel when I am in our church. I told him I did not feel like
I was part of our church family. I wasn’t feeling connected with anyone. There
are people who are friendly and talk to me at church, but we don’t meet outside
of church. I am not being filled. I am not satisfied. (We actually had this conversation
on the way to church.)
Then we arrived.
Our church’s sanctuary has chairs, so
every so often our pastor & worship committee agree to rearrange the
chairs. It shakes things up. It is uncomfortable particularly for the three of
us in our family that are introverts. The two extroverts were too busy
socializing to find a seat. The other introverts refused to try to figure out
where to sit because “our regular seats” were not there. (Anyone else have a
“regular” spot at church?) It was left to me, the not-sure-I want-to-be-there introvert
to find us seats. (If we don’t find seats soon enough then we may end up in the
front row! Yikes!)
I found a row and as I counted in to the fifth
seat, I realized I was going to be sitting right next to a woman I did not know.
She was sitting all by herself, so I asked her if she was expecting anyone and
did she mind if I sat next to her. She said that she was alone. Then I noticed
she had a handwritten nametag, not a church member one. So, I introduced
myself. It was her first time at our church and she was there by herself. I
found out that she had recently moved to our area to be closer to family and
was looking for a church. During our Welcome time, I introduced her to a very
outgoing church member and they were talking until we had to stop and sit down
for the children’s time. After the service, I spoke to an older woman in our
congregation who is always involved with our new members’ classes. I brought
her over and introduced her too. Oh, and did you know what our sermon was
focused on that morning – of course – “Invite In”.
Sigh!
Can’t really ignore that message from God,
can I? I realized as we left church that morning that what I really needed was
an attitude adjustment. It is not up to “the church” to fill me or satisfy me. I
also know that as a member of my church – I AM the church and to have
connections I need to make connections.
How do you feel when you are at your MOPS
meetings? Connected with your Team? Connected with your moms? Have you ever
wondered how the moms feel at your meeting? Are they connecting with other
moms?
“When we reflect back over our lives, this next MOPS year
is going to stand out. It will be the year that we decided to live fully by
both sunlight and moonlight. Because audacity is rising in the deepest and
wildest parts of our souls. And the best part is, we will experience it all
together.
Starry
Eyed is…
Seeing the light in the darkness and
choosing to live courageously in both.
It is opening our eyes to wonder and choosing hope over fear.
Starry Eyed is significant acts of kindness that send ripples of light into the
world.
It is a choice to live fully and wholly and to breathe our way back to life.
If you feel anxious and don’t know why …
If you are busy and distracted from the things you truly care about …
If you are restless for an unexpected encounter with God …
If you long to feel alive, to regain a sense of wonder, to hope a little freer
and to be a powerful force of kindness in the world, then we’d love for you to
join us in becoming Starry Eyed.
This year we will run wildly toward
wonder, hope and kindness because We Are the Starry Eyed and we choose to see
the light.”
MOPS International encourages and
equips moms of young children to realize their potential as mothers, women and
leaders, in relationship with Jesus, and in partnership with the local church.
Better moms make a better world,
Christy Molnar
Area
20 News
You
are invited to attend our Area 20 Come Alive Community Leadership Training
(CLT) Webinar Event. Your Area 20 Coaches are joining together to lead this
2-hour Event on Thursday, June 9th from 8-10 pm EDT/ 7-9 pm CDT. All MOPS
Leaders are invited including your Discussion Group Leaders and your potential
Leaders. Please
register here: https://www.mops.org/evt/?eventId=1101
Louisiana
Leaders, we want to see
you on June 25th for our Come Alive Event! The Event is being held at Broadmoor
Baptist Church in Shreveport and we would love to have a packed house! Make
plans to attend: https://www.mops.org/evt/?eventId=1119
Please check your mail each month for this update. Every
identified MOPS Leader in an Active MOPS group will receive this Area 20
Monthly Update. Please remember to REGISTER all your leaders and identify them
on your MOPS Group Management page. If you need help updating, first go to the
Tour page and read through the information: http://www.mopsvolunteers.org/groupmanagement/tour/
If you need further assistance after walking
through that information, contact your Coach. Aren’t sure who is your Group’s
Coach? She is identified for you on your Group Management page. Your Area 20
MVS Coach looks forward to connecting with your group through this update and will
also be contacting the Coordinator of your Leadership Team each month. All
leaders are encouraged to contact your Coach anytime you have a concern or
question. You are invited to join our Area 20 MOPS Leaders Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/Area20MOPS/
MOPS
International Announcements
It’s
Renewal Time!
Did you
know that as soon as you renew, you get immediate access to some pretty awesome
things online? ALL of the full-length curriculum videos and FTTD cards
available will be yours for immediate download! This means you don’t have to
wait to receive your Group Experience Kit to start planning and dreaming up
your Starry Eyed year. Renew today!
Guess
what?! Membership Kits are officially shipping! Don’t forget to renew your MOPS
group so that your moms will be some of the first to receive their Membership
Kits in the mail very, very soon! Renew your group today at mops.org/renewal.
If you renew your group before June
30th it’s $159!! After July 1st it is $199. If your group
renewed before April 30th, then your group received a free MOPS
Membership. (Please remember that you must use it before June 30th.)
Also, once you renew your group, you can
register your moms.
SPRING: Register 10 moms, get 1
free — plus save $2 per mom.
SUMMER AND FALL: Register 20 moms, get 1
free. Go to mops.org/leader for all the details on this amazing steal. To top
it all off, we have made registration even easier!
Just send one email to every mom in your
group and each mom will be able to register herself for Membership, easy-peasy.
www.mops.org/registermoms (But if you like the
current registration model, you can stick with that too!)
Is your MOPS group so popular that you
might need to start another one? When you renew your MOPS group in May, we’ll give you $25 off the start-up
cost of starting a second group! Make your waitlist disappear, add an evening
group or expand your ministry to include a MOMSnext group!
MOMcon
Are you and your Leadership Team going to MOMcon?? We are
and we hope to see you there! Go to http://www.mops.org/momcon-2016/ for
more details and registration.
MOPS International Leadership Conference –
runs September 29 – October 1, 2016 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin
If you had the stage at MOMcon for 10 minutes, what would
you say to your fellow moms as they prepare to leave a weekend full of
inspiration and head back home to reality, their families and their MOPS
groups? Here’s your chance! Do you dream of sharing a practical or
inspirational message with fellow women leaders? MOMx at MOMcon 2016 is the
opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Learn more at www.mops.org/mom-talks
Prayers
& Praises
Praises for all the MOPS Leaders that participated in our
Area 20 Come Alive Community Leadership Training Events on May 14th
in Georgia & Alabama. We hope that you were encouraged and inspired as a
leader & that you connected with our leaders and came home with fresh
ideas!
Pray for our Area 20 MOPS Leaders as they prepare for the
end of MOPS year, transition their team, and begin the renewal process.
Pray for our Area 20 MVS Team as we continue to lead our
Come Alive Events, welcome our new Coaches, and hope that more MOPS Leaders
will answer God’s call to be a part of our team.
