ReCap of 2010 Fall Semester.

We had our last meeting of the semester only a few short days ago. This year has gone by fast! I hope each of our moms have been blessed.

Just a quick reminder of all of the things we learned at MOPS. Here are some recaps - Finances with Earl Hengen of Edward Jones:

Earl has a heart to for encouraging families that wealth is not always about money. He was able to remind us we can still take control of a downward spiral of debt and come up with a plan to get us financially stable in an unstable world.

We had a cup of 'hot' water with Myra Brandenburg. Along the way we learned the importance of the true meaning of friendship. Friendships not only in our lives, but in our kids' lives. We never know when a meaningful, teachable moment might arise with our girlfriends' children. 

Come one, come all to worship the King with Christy McMurry - we had a day to visit and be gal pals and make a piece of artwork into something functional.  

Lynelle Zandstra joined us for a day in teaching us how to raise our kids so they turn out right. We can smell like pickles or we can smell like warm chocolate chip cookies. We learned it was our decision to teach our children how to make our lives a sweet smelling lifestyle. We also learned the importance of being happy with what we have. When the Dr. Peppers and M&M's come our way, see it as a blessing of want, not a need that needs to be fulfilled everyday. 

Millie Tanner reminded us, even though we are moms, we still need to pay attention to our spouses and learn to respect them as our helpmate. When we commit to something, do it with a cheerful heart.   We should not grumble. We need to learn to just say "no" and not let guilt get in the way of our joy with spending time with our family.  

Chris Legg - What do I have left to say...The man summed it up all in one word GRACE - We must have grace for our children when it comes to discipline. We must be willing to let go and allow their freedoms to take place. We are raising them to live a successful adult life. As moms, we must make sacrifices and allow the "Stogie" love become "Philla" love.                                  

Our last meeting of the year we had some great ideas from our moms in making meaningful Christmas traditions. Here are just a few: 
Make an ornament to go on the Christmas tree; Act out the Christmas story; Find a group like Toys for Tots and begin teaching our children that giving is an important part of Christmas, not merely receiving; Make a birthday cake for Jesus.
I only hope we have as much fun in the next semester as we have had in this one. 
 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
God Bless to All   - Tanna