A Fierce Flourishing

Resting Snowflakes

All snowflakes begin the same way. High in the sky, a tiny piece of dust collides with a cold droplet of water creating an ice crystal. As the ice crystal descends to earth, it moves through changing atmospheric conditions and responds in the creation of a snowflake. A beautiful and uniquely formed snowflake complete with exquisite patterns and plates. Not one snowflake is the same.

Children are like snowflakes. They start as a miracle, grow and form in the belly of a woman, and then are birthed into this world. Each child enters the world unique and beautifully made. Innocent and new, they do not know who they are or how to navigate the unfamiliar world they have come into.

Children depend on their parents for love and their basic needs. As children grow, parents help guide their children on the path of discovering their gifts, talents, and passions. We want our children to thrive physically, mentally, and spiritually as they grow into the exquisitely designed, healthy adults who they were created to be.

Sometimes, in our zeal to “help” our children discover who they are we often over look important things. Things like our children’s different personalities, priorities, hectic schedules, and most importantly the basic human need of rest. We are an overcommitted society. With good intentions, we end up creating and modeling a hurried, busy lifestyle rather than an atmosphere of rest and value on relationships. If we want our children to flourish in their unique person, we must learn to reevaluate our priorities and work to add rest back into our family’s schedule.

The following are ideas to implement rest back into everyday life. Some might be easier to add into your lifestyle than others. Some might require work, priority, scheduling, and practice. The work will pay off with positive results for all family members. Just as a snowflake is formed by the atmosphere around them, so will your children be formed by the environment you foster around them. Make their ascent into adulthood an atmosphere focused on relationships and with a priority to rest.

Be “interruptible.” Life happens at unpredictable moments. Be mentally prepared to be interrupted when your kids need to talk or want to show you something. Listening to them now will create a habit and desire to talk to you later as young adults.
Schedule downtime on your family’s calendar! Include your children in scheduling activities on the calendar. Schedule “rest” first and then everything else next. This will show your children that your family makes rest an important priority.
Make it a date! Give each of your children the gift of quality time with just you. Find care for your other children so that you can focus on one child at a time. You might be surprise at what you learn during your time together.
Share a family meal together! Research shows that sharing a meal is good for a family’s health and member’s self esteem. Check out the Family Dinner Project for recipes and conversation starters
Get into a good book! Cuddle on the couch and read together. Reading aloud has many benefits including increasing attention span, building vocabulary and creating lifelong readers. Reading aloud also opens the doors for discussion about life and difficult issues.
Go take a hike! Get outside and get moving. You may not think of exercise as rest but the benefits of exercise promotes good health, boost energy levels, improve moods, and helps with sleep. It is a great way to spend time together.

Self-Evaluation

I have difficulty committing to reading one book at a time. There is a stack of dog-eared, bookmarked, highlighted, and half-read books by my bedside. Right now, I am in the middle of four different books BUT only one of those books is impacting me on a very deep and personal level.

This book is causing me to take a good, honest look at myself. It is prompting me to think about who I am as a person and where I stand as a leader. It is good (so healthy) to pause and check ourselves, our intentions, and our goals. When we take that time, we find things that we might not like and things we want to change or improve. Or we might find things that reinforce what we are already doing and encouraged us to continue forward.

The Jesus-Hearted Woman

The book I am referring to is The Jesus-Hearted Woman- 10 Leadership Qualities for Enduring and Endearing Influence. In October, I had an opportunity to hear Jodi Detrick, the author, speak at MOPS Leadership Training at MOMcon. With biblical advice, personal stories and real-life examples, she challenged us to respond to God’s invitation to leadership and strive to lead more like Jesus to make a world-changing difference.

When I got home from training, the book landed in a collection of other books put aside to read when I got some free time. That is where it stayed until a few months ago. A group of other MOPS Coaches wanted to do an online book club with “Jesus-Hearted” book. Each week, we read one chapter and discuss the chapter (and ourselves) in a Facebook group conversation. Real, authentic, honest conversation takes place leaving me wanting more and wanting to go deeper.

This week’s chapter was on humility. I strive to be humble but ugly-pride rears its head more times than I wish to admit. I think with technology and social media, it is easy to build your own podium and puff yourself up. You can make your life look wonderful, great, fun, self-sacrificing, and carefree. But I wonder what it would look like if we could see just over the view of the lens. You probably would see a messy, disorganized, self-centered, disengaged life. I can say that because from time to time I have been there and guilty of the exact thing. This life isn’t about perfection or self, it is a messy life surrounded by others who need love and God’s presence in their lives.

I want to be an authentic, humble leader and more like Jesus. It is a humbling thought that God has allowed me to have a part in His kingdom work. This book, and especially this chapter, is helping me to sharpen the image of people around me. Elevating others, serving those who are hurt and looked down upon, restoring and building relationships, encouraging others and asking for help all as practices in humility and in becoming a better leader.

“Humility helps us encounter greatness in unexpected places.”

Jodi Detrick, The Jesus Hearted-Woman

The Empty Bucket

Drop, drop….drop! On December 31st at 11:59 pm, one last drop filled your bucket to the brim. Not one more drop could fit. No time was left. Nothing could be drained out, replaced, changed, or fixed. As the clock struck 12:00 am, your year was done and you were left with a completely filled bucket. A finished year.

Reflecting into the full vastness of the bucket, the combined swirling drops of different experiences, interactions, and relationships. What do you see? Are you pleased with how your bucket was filled? Do you see drops of happiness, sadness, love, challenges, blessings, or drops of faith? Do you see stressed and broken relationships or healed and restored ones? Drops of wise choices or misguided actions and judgments?

Maybe you had a great year. You accomplished personal goals, learned some new things, and you were a good, decent person. Store and treasure those things in your heart. Build on the good work that has been started in you.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Maybe your year was anything but great! Maybe it was a year full of disappointments, regrets, hard decisions, instability, loss, too many shattered dreams and lost hope. Maybe it was a year you wish not to repeat.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

Out with the old and in with the new.

It’s a new year. You have a new bucket. A shiny new bucket. A bucket waiting to be filled up one drop at a time by future experiences, interactions, and reactions.

What are you going to start to fill your bucket with? Will it be a bunch of resolutions? Most of which end up being things that we have to do and do not accomplish. Or should we fill our bucket up with revelations? Revelations that include pleasant, enlightening surprises, and noticing the divine interventions in our every day life.

When January 1, 2017 comes along and you are looking into the full, deep bucket of 2016, I hope that you will see more revelations than half-completed resolutions. I hope that they are the types of revelations that have caused you to shift your perspective, stretch and grow you. I hope that you will find strong currents among the filling drops which will include good relationships, hope, joy, peace, and love.

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

Do you have a spiritual focus for the new year? A focus word for 2016? I would love to hear from you.

On Sickness

We had made it three steps into the store, when my son began making an unpleasant but familiar retching sound. I didn’t even get a chance to think. He had already thrown up all over me and the floor of Rite Aid Pharmacy. Helpless and stuck in a puddle of sickness, I was not sure what to do next.

Almost eight years as a mom and this was a first for me. I had been ignorantly hopeful that I could escape a public display of sickness by one of my own.

My thoughts were interrupted by my crying son who was vomiting a second time, this time all over the store’s New England Patriot’s holiday merchandise display. Standing behind me, my daughter looked on in both horror and shock. I could relate! My composure and confidence were gone. I wholeheartedly yelled for help.

Out of the aisles, from every direction, a team of people came. The first responder was a friendly, emphatic cashier. She spoke to my son in a soothing and comforting voice, “It’s okay, honey. Everyone gets sick sometimes.” A stout, unemotional, authoritative manager came next. With her she carried an empty, plastic candy container which she tossed at me with skill and the authority as to say, you are a mom, you know what to do, now do it. The third team member was a pleasant young man rolling a mop and bucket towards us with a smile. Cheerfully and dutifully, he cleaned up the mess with no judgments or a bad attitude, making small talk as he mopped. When the cleanup was complete, our $300 + damaged merchandise bill was forgiven, and we were sent on our way with our souvenir plastic candy container. What had just happened???

Unfortunately, this was not the only sickness that I have been dealing with. From the outside I seemed a little tired but otherwise healthy. But in the weeks leading up to the pharmacy fiasco, I have been struggling with sickness of my own. I had let my guard down and allowed lies, self-doubt, discouragement, lack of faith, joy, and hope a place to take hold and grow in my heart and mind. I was tired, some days in a very bad mood, and everything seemed just plain difficult. I tried to pull myself out of it by halfhearted prayers, routine Bible readings, and depending on the prayers of others on my behalf.

I kept trying to heal myself with everything I knew how to do. And I wondered why I wasn’t “getting better.” It wasn’t until I was completely helpless, sinking down in my own puddle of sickness, not knowing what else to do, when I called out wholeheartedly to God, “HELP!”

Out of bends and corners of my heart and mind, the TEAM emerged. A peace that I had prevented myself from receiving started soothing the cracks of my weakened heart and mind. I heard the conviction of the Holy Spirit telling me, you know what to do, now do it! Verses and Bible passages that I passively read before, beckoned me to take a second look. I reread passages about joy and thanksgiving through suffering, identity in Christ, faith, hope and love. I let the words linger and impress on my heart.

It was work. Some days were very hard.

I am still working on it. Some days are still hard.

But with God’s help, I am shifting my perspective and working on setting my eyes to see the good things happening around me. That means even in the sickness, sleepless nights, the hard stuff, the humiliating stuff there is always, always good stuff to see and blessings to be found. Blessings like emphatic cashiers and cheerful, throw-up-cleaner-uppers.

I am persevering through doubts and lies by repeating and dwelling on the truths that I read. I am constantly resetting my mind to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8.) I have decided to surround myself with people that are uplifting, loving, and that have my best interests in my mind. And I am working to let go of control- my failing, imperfect, human strength and working on holding on to the perfect, all-powerful, never-failing strength of God.

There really is no I in TEAM. Whatever you are struggling with today, I hope you take a moment to surround yourself with a team of loving people, a God who cares deeply for you, and depend on the Holy Spirit to convict and guide you. Shift your eyes to notice the good things. Find laughter in the difficulties. Come away from life’s situations with souvenirs of peace, joy, and thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Fun

Pumpkins oval, pumpkins round;

Pumpkins tumbling on the ground;

Pumpkins giant, pumpkins small,

Pumpkins lined against the wall;

–Virginia Kroll

Pumpkin books, pumpkin recipes, and pumpkin activities. The last two weeks of school have been centered around learning about one of fall’s favorite, brightly colored fruits as we said goodbye to October and hello to November!

I kicked off our Pumpkin Unit with an introduction and challenge to memorize Virginia Kroll’s “Pumpkins” poem. The poem is full of descriptive words and rhyming couplets.

On the first day, we read the complete poem (see link below.) We created hand and body motions to accompany the rise and fall pattern of the words as we read them. I found some great (and free) reading comprehension activities that went along with the poem and picked the activities that I thought would best be appropriate for the girls to complete.

Each day we worked on the poem, adding two lines at a time. We recited it at lunch, we recited it at dinner, we recited it over Skype, in the car, when we walked, at dance, just about everywhere we went. Even my two year old was reciting the opening line. By the end of the two weeks, the girls and I were able to recite the whole poem from memory. It was an accomplishment for all of us.

PUMPKIN BOOKS:

When I was teaching in the public school system, I bought a lot of my own books. Consequently, I now have a great homeschool library. Some fall and pumpkin books get pulled out every October. Here are a few favorites:

Pick a Circle, Gather Squares- A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felcia Sanzari Chernesky

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer

The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

Too Many Pumpkins is one of my favorite, favorite pumpkin books. It is about a white-haired-lady named Rebecca Estelle and her cat Esmeralda. Rebecca has an unexpected encounter with a splattered pumpkin that causes a bit of a situation. A shift in perspective allows her to notice the goodness of her position and she is able to bless those around her. (Sounds a little like A Fierce Flourishing)

With this story, we worked on characterization, cause and effect, and sequencing events. You can get the same materials I used online at The Mailbox Education Center.

FIELD TRIPS:

Our first pumpkin unit field trip included a trip to Rhode Island to visit my family and the Roger Williams Zoo’s Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular. The Spectacular was founded in 1988 by a former mail carrier who has put a team of professional pumpkin carvers together, called Passion for Pumpkins. The carvers spend 6 – 8 weeks creating 5,000 pumpkins to be displayed on the Zoo’s Wetlands Trail amid special lighting and themed music. 1 Some of the pumpkins were amazing (see below, Mother Goose and the Sound of Music.) The creativity is worth seeing. A word of warning though, the path is very dark, there are a lot of people, and some of the displays are scary. If you have children (or adults, for that matter) who are sensitive to noise and crowds, this might not be the best place to take them. We quickly pushed through the crowds to avoid seeing the more spookier displays.

The second trip we took was to the pumpkin “patch” (aka Garden Center.) We walked around trying to find all the pumpkins described in the pumpkin poem. After much deliberation, the girls each found the perfect pumpkin to take home to carve.

At home Dad took over as the art teacher. He helped the girls scoop out the seeds, pick a design, and show them how to carve their pumpkins. The pumpkin carving took a long time to complete but the final products- Mater, Puppy, Panda- came out fantastic.

PUMPKIN MATH:

After the carving, it was time to wash, count, and roast the pumpkin seeds. I read How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara. It is a great book to explore estimation and skip counting.

The girls estimated how many seeds they had and decided the best way to count their seeds were by skip counting by 10s. They got busy creating groups of 10s. I cut out circles, pumpkins, and square mats to help keep the groups separated. When all the counting was said and done, our pumpkins contained- 400, 562, and 466 seeds.

PUMPKIN RECIPE:

We like simple recipes. One day, we made Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups. They were super easy to make and delicious. My kids got a kick out of how real the “dirt” looked. This idea and recipe came from Paintbrushes and Popsicles.

THE GREATEST PUMPKIN LESSON OF ALL

Finally, the best pumpkin lesson came from my husband’s sermon two weeks ago. During the service, he carved a pumpkin as he describe how we are the pumpkin and God is a brain surgeon, a heart surgeon, and an internist. He explained that God needs to do brain surgery on us, scoop out the “junk.” Our junk is then placed on the cross and we are forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice. Next, God performs heart surgery on us. He takes out our dark, broken heart and replaces it with one of love and light. He gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can shine our light bright in a hurting world. The kids were kept in the service and I think that everyone was engaged. It was a great visual with a great message!

MOMcon 2015- Unpacking At Home

Whoa! What a whirlwind this last week has been! Just one week ago, I was sitting among 3,000 MOPS leaders in Indianapolis at MOPS International’s Leadership Convention worshipping with Matt Maher and soaking in life-changing messages and teachings. There is nothing like being with that many like-minded women who are also moms and leaders. A smile and a hug are always waiting for you around each corner.

This was my third time at MOMcon. Preparing to leave was a ton of work (more than I ever remember) -homeschool lessons completed, five different people lined up to watch my kids, laundry and packing to be completed. I had a lot on my mind and heart before I left. I was exhausted before I even arrived, but I held on to the truth that God’s work is powerful when there is little of “me” left. When I am too tired to fight for my own agenda and wants, that is when I start to hear His voice whispering into my tired mind and heart. That’s when I hear Him inviting me to “RISE up” and go forth to do the good works He has called me to do. I was excited and a little anxious to see what was in store for me in the time away.

During MOPS Coach Training and the conference sessions, the speakers and worship leaders kept asking us “How is God speaking to you?” “What will you commit too?” For me, there wasn’t an immediate answer to this question. No clear cut instructions or big directions to take. In every prayer, I asked God to reveal what it was he wanted me to hear. For a few days, I did not hear anything but felt at peace and filled with joy.

Sometimes when you stop expecting to hear from God, that is when you do.

At some point, I stopped straining my ear for His voice and I started to relax, recharge, and take everything in. Themes started to resonated within my heart. Confirmations came in form of words and people of things that I had been thinking about and praying about for weeks prior. My expectation changed from waiting to hear something new to noticing the good work God is currently doing in my life.

Here are the things that spoke to me:

1.) Live in grace. Walk in Love. Love everyone always! I had been looking forward to hear Bob Goff speak as soon as I found out that he was going to be at MOMcon. What an incredible encourager and messenger of love! I think I laughed from the moment he stepped on the stage until the last word he spoke. You can not help but have a huge smile on your face after you have listened to him. This guy is for real! And he is just as gracious and authentic when you meet him. He looks you in the eye when you talk and makes you feel like you are special, an instant friend. But it was what Bob said that left the impression in my heart. He shared from the book of Galatians about living in grace and walking in love from 2 John 6^“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” He spoke about the differences between an invitation and a welcome. It made me think of the invitations I extend to people and what it means to make them feel really welcomed, encouraged, and loved in what I am inviting them to do.

2.) Be Kind and Be a First Clapper- Cheer on another’s undeveloped best!– Jodi Detrick. Jodi Detrick is the author of The Jesus-Hearted Woman. She spoke on “healthy leadership being a journey of influence in a community with others, not a solo trek of independent efforts and self-importance.” I loved the themes of community and teamwork in her talk. Her quote about being a first clapper made me realize how much I love cheering on the under-dog and fostering developing skills in people. It was not so much of something new to learn but a reminder to keep cheering on those around me.

3.) Be available and authentic- Gina Moran, Director of Leader Care and Church Connection at MOPS International. Gina spoke on MOPS desire to inspire a faith journey in moms all over the world. Her talk included practical implementation of components used by MOPS in inspiring a faith journey. Although, she was mostly talking about MOPS groups, the components laid out can be implemented in one’s life- inviting, hospitable, intentional,authentic, investing. Both Gina and Sherry Surratt (CEO and President of MOPS International) referenced The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door by Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon. Prior to coming to MOMcon, my husband and I had spent hours and hours talking about community, getting to know the people in our church on a more personal level, raising up leaders, and being a light in our neighborhood. When Gina said “be available and authentic,” it went straight to my heart. I know that sometimes the pace of my life is too fast and it inhibits me to being available. Although I am constantly reevaluating my time and priorities, I know that there is always time for what is important for you. Reaching out, developing more genuine and authentic relationships has become what is important to me and realizing this is a step forward towards this goal.

4.) Look at your pace in life.– Bob Goff, Crystal Paine, Sherry Surratt, Amena Brown, ALMOST everyone! A reminder to continue to look at my schedule and commitments, make adjustments, continue to work on protecting time, and saying “no” (oh, that is so hard for me.) I desire to be a model to my children of what it means to keep a healthy schedule and be available for loving people and building relationships. Amena Brown said “you need God to break your rhythms so that your rhythm will be in step with His.” Amen! Lord, break my rhythms!

5.) JOY! “Joy is the sacred jingle of God in you.” -Margaret Feinberg. I had never heard Margaret Feinberg speak before but WOW! What another amazing encourager! She is brave fighter (she is currently battling cancer) and a champion of joy! Joy radiates from her as she speaks and not in some overly-cheerful, sickening sweet way. Joy that is real and inspiring. So often we get caught up in all the things that do not matter, we take life for granted. Margaret’s message was not a promise that bad things will never happen to you but more of when bad things do, “fight back with joy.” “Joy is a weapon!”

So themes of love, grace, joy, community, rhythms, time and relationships. Those are the the things I will holding in my heart and hope to fiercely flourish in this year. Until MOMcon 2016 in Milwaukee, live in grace and walk in love.

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A few other highlights from MOMcon. I got to arm wrestle (long story!) and meet a reader of my blog who also happens to be a MOPS Coach too. I am happy to now call her a friend. She blessed my heart with her smile and encouragement. Love you, Tammy!

Time with my MOPS Coaching team was a HUGE gift to me. These ladies are amazing and I love each one of them. We are all so different but we come together to make a one super, great team. We stayed up late talking (about everything), laughing, and enjoyed each other’s company. They pour prayer, encouragement, and life into me and help make me a better leader and person.

Finally- STARBUCKS! There was only one place to get coffee at the convention hall so the lines were very long! 3,000 moms need their tea and coffee!! I met a ton of great ladies while waiting for my latte and I loved eavesdropping on what others were taking away from the conference. God is good!

How We Came To Homeschool and Why We Do- Part 1

If you asked me a ten years ago about homeschooling, my opinion would have been quite negative. To put it bluntly, I was ignorant to the whole thing. With limited knowledge of homeschooling, my perceptions came from common misconceptions of homeschoolers and the lack of exposure I had with homeschooling families. My training as a public school teacher and my teaching experience only compounded my strong opinions. I thought that the public schools had the best access to curriculum, services, and educational experiences. I thought “socialization” at school had to happen in order to form a well-rounded, well-adjusted child. I was way off.

Then we had kids. A funny thing happens when you have them. The moment you look into the eyes of your newborn, the familiar world you once knew seems to change. Holding life in your arms, you are left to navigate a “new” and unfamiliar, selfless world. Constant time and attention is directed to the needs and growth of another human being . You find yourself questioning why you believe what you believe and you start prioritizing your values and obligations. Things that you once held high in importance are let go and you realize that certain things (like faith, family, friends) matter so much more than you ever thought. And oh the decisions, you spend constant hours thinking about, dwelling over, and making decisions. In momentous decisions and small choices you want to do what is best for your child and set them on a path of faith and a good life.

When my first born was about to start preschool, I knew my husband and I had decisions to make about school. By this time, I had been out of the public schools for about three years. With increased state testing (which I had always disliked), changes in education policy and procedures, news stories of bullying, faith and social issues under fire, my opinion of public school was not as high as it once was. I knew public school WAS NOT the best choice for my family. So what was?

Also, by this time, I had become great friends with a homeschooling mom. She was awesome and her kids were normal, well-adjusted, and socialized! The more I asked her about homeschooling and the more she told me, the more my opinions on homeschooling started to change. My friend choose her curriculum (which I loved), went on a ton of “field trips”, and made her own school schedule. Her children had plenty of opportunities to “socialize” through church activities, baseball, cub scouts, and other unique opportunities. Was this the best choice for our family?

The thought of homeschooling started to weigh on my mind more and more. Even when I declared that I would NEVER homeschool, part of me knew that was untrue. I had seen the positive impact of homeschooling on my friend’s family. I wanted a family like hers. The teaching did not worry me. It was the “other” stuff which I think boiled down to what other people would think. Who? I am not sure. I constantly prayed for help to decide what to do. I did my research too- reading books, articles, blog posts. One day, I do not remember the exact day or moment, I felt that I had been given a answer to my prayers. I strongly felt that “yes” we were suppose to homeschool and that we needed to have enough faith that it would work out. A sense of peace washed over me and the weight was lifted. I became really excited about all the possibilities homeschooling would do for our family.

At that time, we did not have everything figured out. We actually had two options for schooling. We had been offered a full scholarship at a Christian School. But at that time, we had spent so much time researching and praying and I felt so strongly that this was God’s plan, we turned down the scholarship. I was so blessed to have my husband’s support. My youngest daughter went to the Christian preschool while my oldest daughter and I started our first year of homeschooling together. It was a blessed year full of learning experiences for both of us. When my second daughter was about to enter Kindergarten, it was an easy decision what to do-HOMESCHOOL.

September 1st, will start of our third year of homeschooling. It amazes me how the journey began and where we are now. We still do not have everything figured out and are learning as we go. I think homeschooling is definitely a calling and not for everyone. I feel blessed that we live in a country where we are given the freedom to choose which type of education is right for our children. I certainly do not look down or differently on anyone for making a choice of public or private school. I like to believe that we, as parents, are all trying to make the best choices for their children so that together we will raise up an generation that will kind, good leaders, and good stewards of this world. But as for my family, homeschooling is where we will be educating and bringing up our little world changers.

Stay tuned for the next post- Part 2: What We Homeschool

25 Things About Me- An Activity in Noticing The Good and Celebrating Life

1.) I am proud to be a New Englander!

2.) I have attended a MOPS group since 2009 and have served on a MOPS Leadership Team for six years. This will be my fifth year supporting MOPS groups and other local MOPS Ministry Coaches with MOPS International. www.mops.org

3.) My dad was an off-shore fisherman and a quahoger. He named his first boat after me.

4.) I love the snow and skiing.

5.) My pastor husband and I have been married for fourteen years. He is also my best friend.

6.) My first job was at McDonald’s. By the end of my career, I had climbed the ranks to “Birthday Party Coordinator” and Crew Trainer. (I still think McDonald’s fries are the best!)

7.) I had a life-changing experience walking in the Boston Avon 3-Day walk for cancer.

8.) I love the outdoors and insects. One summer, I worked as a counselor at an Environmental Day Camp hiking, catching creatures, birding, teaching nature lessons to elementary aged students. It was a dream job!

9.) The most peaceful place I have ever been is underwater, snorkeling in Hawaii.

10.) My husband’s family owns a dairy farm in California. The milk from their 500+ cows is sold to a local cheese company. They also farm almond trees. The almonds are sold to candy companies.

11.) We celebrate Christmas Eve with Lebanese food. Last year, my girls and I rolled our own grape leaves.

12.) I asked the Lord into my heart when I was ten. With our church watching, my dad baptized me in a pond. He has baptized all his children in the same place.

13.) I have a degree in elementary and special education. My first teaching job was in a K-12 school on Block Island. It is the only school on the island. I had 5 students!

14.) I had big hair and wore shoulder pads in high school.

15.) I have jumped out of a perfectly good plane, strapped to a complete stranger, and loved it!

16.) I ran over the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Marathon.

17.) I come from generations of strong, short Portuguese ladies. I am glad that my daughter “met” her great-great grandmother before Nana passed.

18.) The closest I will get to a “Call the Midwife” moment, was in high school when I volunteered as a candy-striper in a local hospital. No babies were delivered but a lot of smiles, cards, and flowers were.

19.) I was on a Deck Tennis team in Elementary School. It is THE only team that I was selected to play on after going through try outs. I wish that this sport would make its come back! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_tennis

20.) I have three beautiful children. Two daughters and a son.

21.) I thought I would never homeschool but we are going on our fourth year of doing so. It has been the greatest blessing for our family.

22.) I love coffee!

23.) I owned a small business and Etsy shop making hair bows. I have made bows for babies, special occasions, pageants, parades, AND dog’s birthday parties.

24.) My favorite memories are those with my sister. I wish she lived closer.

25.) Jesus is my Lord, Savior, and the love of my life. He is the only one that completes me and sustains me. I still am in awe of His grace, mercy and His constant pursuit of me. ❤

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Writing a list is a great activity. It’s a noted celebration of where you have been and a snapshot of some of your accomplishments. It is a great opportunity to reflect on the good things in life and take notice of the events and experiences that have shaped you into the person you are today.

In a MOPS group, writing this type of list could serve as a get-to-know you or an ice breaker activity. Each mom could take 5-7 minutes to write down 25 things (or as many as possible) about themselves. As a whole group or in smaller Discussion Groups, a designated person (Mentor Mom, DGL) collects the lists and reads a few of the 25 items as clues to the mom’s identity. After hearing the clues, the group guesses who the list belongs to. We did this is our small MOPS group and it was a lot of fun. We learned more about each other, similarities were found, and we had more to talk about with each other.

With the lists completed, Discussion Group Leaders and Coordinators could encourage moms to pick one thing off the list that the moms want to “bring back” or to “flourish” in again. Skiing was something I put on hold when I had kids. It was something I still desired to do. With a little work, effort and a babysitter, I revived the “sport” and now am looking forward to enjoying more of something that I thought I lost.

Below is a link to a PDF file that I created. Use the worksheet for personal reflection or in an activity with your group.

25 Things About Me- An Activity in Noticing the Good and Celebrating Life2

Succulents

Recently, I have been enthralled with little plants called succulents. Succulents come in a variety of beautiful shapes and offer very interesting leaf formations. In their natural habitats, succulents adapt, survive, and even thrive in the harshest of environments. These plants embody A FIERCE FLOURISHING.

A succulent might not be the first plant you notice when you walk into a greenhouse. If placed next to a showy, tropical hibiscus it most likely will be overlooked. It might look foreign and out of place compared to the familiar, white blooms of a daisy. However, if we stop for a moment, shift our focus and pay close attention, we might be surprised to find the uniqueness that each succulent has to offer. There is an art to noticing goodness. Sometimes we need to turn our eyes from the flashy, attention grabbing things and stretch our sight to notice the unfamiliar and uncertain things.

Succulents have seasons of growth and rest. During their growing season, they like to be watered and fertilized. During their season of rest, they fall into a dormant state. This is a critical time for the plants. They need this break to stay healthy. Just like succulents, we need rest to stay healthy. Rest may feel unnatural in our busy, fast-paced lives but it is important and needed to not only survive but to also thrive. As women, we must practice and strive to embrace and encourage rest as a natural part of life.

We are like little succulent plants blooming up all around.A lavish celebration is taking place and we should join the celebration. “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace, the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”Isaiah 55:12 All of nature is celebrating our growth, our uniqueness, our surroundings, our ability and work to adapt, our wandering and replanting.

“Forget the former things do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you know perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland!” (Isaiah 48:18)

Last year, was a big growing season for me. I was challenged to be brave and embrace life with courage and grace. God did a lot of work in me and I emerged as a new thing that came up in the wilderness. That work has not stopped, I continue to work at springing up against the fiercest of situations, the fiercest of enemies, the toughest of critics. I am a like a brave little succulent and am blooming in fierce, surprising ways. I am ready to adapt, rest, notice, celebrate, and flourish.

You can experience A FIERCE FLOURSIHING this year too by joining a MOPS group. A MOPS Group is a community of women who meet together to come alongside each other in our journey of motherhood. MOPS International exists to encourage and equip moms of young children to realize their potential as mothers, women and leaders, in relationship with Jesus, and in partnership with the local church. Find out more and find a group near you at mops.org.

The views expressed on this blog are mine alone and they do not necessarily reflect the views of MOPS International. They have not been reviewed or approved by MOPS International

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