MOPS and MOMSnext

This Year is the Year to SAY YES

Have you ever gotten to the end of a week, month or year and thought, “How did I get here? Where has the time gone?” It happens in our parenting, friendships, marriage and work- we get caught up in the urgent demands of the day-to-day, and then years go by, and we realize we haven’t been making the small choices that will get us where we actually wanted to be. So this is the year to make some moves.

SAY “YES.”

It’s amazing how one little word can change your life. But too often, our ‘yeses’ are reserved for default decisions we aren’t even intentionally making or the stuff we feel obligated to do. What if we started saying ‘yes’ to the important things? Yes, to parenting on purpose. Yes, to significant challenges and out-of-your-comfort-zone opportunities. Yes, to your marriage. Invitations to connect with others? Yes, please. Saying yes opens us up to new ways of thinking and helps cultivate a growth mindset. To clarify, we’re not talking about people-pleasing or over-extending yourself. In fact, it’s the opposite. Developing a ‘yes’ mindset is living intentionally, focused on your goals for yourself and your family. It’s about listening to God’s still, small voice and doing the brave things rather than the easy things. 

Now is your opportunity to develop a spirit of adventure and make new memories. Now is your chance to invite your kids along for the thrill that comes with doing hard things. You are wildly capable. Get uncomfortable. Persevere and say yes to the next small brave step God asks you to take.

SAYING YES MEANS WE WILL...

01 - BEFRIEND DISCOMFORT

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. — James 1:2-4

You have this one life. How do you want to spend it? Regretting the things you didn’t do? Avoiding potentially awkward situations? Hating your body? What if the way forward is to befriend discomfort? Discomfort is a life hack that can improve every area of our lives. Tackling challenging things helps us become more rooted- we start to feel less fragile and less stressed. Don’t wait until you feel ‘ready’ or qualified or when all the details come together perfectly. Now is your opportunity to develop a spirit of adventure and make new memories. Open your hands to release old dreams and receive new ones, or take the brave first step to get help. Now is your chance to invite your kids along for the thrill that comes with doing hard things. You are wildly capable. Grow your capacity to endure. Show absurd courage. Get uncomfortable. Persevere and say yes to the next small brave step God asks you to take.

02 - BE EASILY DELIGHTED

He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because He delighted in me. — Psalm 18:19

It’s been said that if you just went to the supermarket and experienced it fully without the goggles of habit and categories, you would go crazy with pure joy and astonishment. We are declaring this our year of delight. Can you believe how beautiful the world is and how delicious food can taste? How kind people are? It’s all so good. Yet sometimes, fun is the first thing to go between parenting, paying bills, and worrying about doing things right. All of that changes this year. Because God delights in us, we will delight in the life we’ve been given. We’ll exude passion. We’ll learn to love what must be done and be captivated by the smell of our kids’ hair and our husband’s glances across the room. It’s all decadent when we stop and really notice. God, help us be easily delighted with the small things because the small things are the big things.

03 - BE HERE NOW

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? — Matthew 6:26-27

This is the year to uproot our anxiety, worry and hurry. Hustle culture tells us that it’s all up to us. But spacious living reminds us that God’s got us, and a deeply formed life starts with courageous faith. This year we will remember that our direction is more important than our speed. We will stay inside our commitments and thrive within our constraints. Our longing for control will be replaced with a humble surrender to the fact we don’t have to death-grip every possible outcome. We will choose integrity over image and people over pressure. We won’t let worry rob us of time. Instead, this is the season of trusting that God is providing for our every need, and that means we can tend to the home, kids, marriage, friendships, neighborhood, and work that God has given us and have the time of our lives doing it.

What to Expect

Together, we meet to encourage community and support. To shape you, ground you, and teach you. MOPS and MOMSnext rally women to be more honest, to feel more equipped, find their identity and grow their faith by journeying alongside one another. We believe moms make the world a better place and we are committed to making sure every mother knows she’s not alone. MOPS @ SPLC meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 9am.

CURRICULUM & FELLOWSHIP — Each meeting will have a topic to discuss through a live speaker or video provided by MOPS International. Afterwards, discussions help go deeper into topics where we talk with, laugh with, cry with, share advice with and relate to each other.

FOOD — A rotating brunch and refreshments.

CHILDCARE — Qualified and loving care for the littles.

CRAFTS — Fun, easy, artsy crafts and activities for the least crafty of all of us.

We also have a Book Club, Play Dates, Special Events and More!

Membership 

The MOPS membership community unites mamas all around the world and helps you become more confident in your mothering, relationships and identity. It will provide you with the tools you need to make this mothering season the most invigorating, redemptive and fun for you and your family. 

Join MOPS at St. Paul Lutheran Church for an annual fee of $80 (full upfront payment), or $90 (two payments of $45 due in October and January). This fee covers the MOPS International fee of $32. The remainder of the fee goes towards art and craft supplies, outside speakers and instructors, and curriculum materials.