Holy Cross MOPS

Don’t miss out on this great Back-to-School Sale Event!

Friday, August 20th, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.*
Saturday, August 21st, 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. ‘Half Price Sale’ ALL DAY!

We’re located at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1481 Baldwin Street, Jenison, MI. Items for sale are children’s clothing, maternity clothing, baby gear, kid’s sports equipment, children’s furniture, toys, & books. Cash & checks accepted only.

To find out how to consign your own items at the sale you can download our Seller Instruction Packet & Seller Registration Form & Agreement. If you’d like to become a seller, please follow the instruction packet, fill out the registration form, and mail or drop it off to Stephanie Tuinman, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1481 Baldwin Street, Jenison, MI 49428. Once your form is received, you will be contacted with your Seller number. Call Emilie at (616) 238-2424 if you have any questions. For ease of shopping, please bring your own bag(s) to carry your items while you shop. Proceeds benefit Holy Cross MOPS, made up of 70+ local moms.

*Note: This is a time change from previous sales.

Our final meeting of the 2009–2010 Holy Cross MOPS season was awesome! Thank you to the Hospitality Team for once again outdoing yourselves. The fondue was extraordinary and a very special breakfast treat! Also, thank you for the time & talent you put into the wonderful star Rice Krispie Treats and take-away star cookie cutter gift. The new cutter will come in handy for a great rainy day boredom buster!

Erika opened the meeting for one last time. She gave kudos to the 2009–2010 MOPS Steering Team and introduced the upcoming team that will begin planning the 2010–2011 MOPS season in less than 2 weeks. Erika also shared the Announcements and read the poem, One Flaw in Women. If you missed the meeting, you can download the May 2010 issue of our MOPS newsletter, ComeTogether.

Next, Wendy Schuurman, our Table Leader & Speaker Coordinator, dove into her upcoming role of MOPS Mentor by sharing her first devotional/discussion. She opened by introducing herself and sharing that she’s been with Holy Cross MOPS for almost 9 years. She has been married to her husband Chris for 12 years. They have 3 girls—Janna is 9, Ellie is 7, and Korrie is 3. Wendy has blessed our group by serving in several MOPS leadership roles: MOPPETS coordinator, crafts, table leader, and speaker coordinator/table leader. Lord has now called her to sharing mentor moments and her hope is that we will be inspired and have valuable information to take home with us. 

Wendy shared the importance of making memories with our family. She grew up on a boat with her family and she shared wonderful memories of sleeping on the boat, sitting on the back deck having breakfast, and enjoying July birthday parties there. Her transition to married life and life with her own children made her realize that her children’s memories were going to be different than her own. Wendy reminded us that time goes fast and to try to capture the important things. 

Wendy’s Ideas:
1. Take a vacation. It’s your time to unplug!
2. Make a mundane chore a fun adventure. Cut out pictures of your grocery list items and have your kids help you find them.
3. Have desserts for dinner. Of course, don’t make it a habit, but once a month won’t hurt them. 
4. Create a summer cereal. Mix two kinds or let them have a less healthy cereal on the weekend.
5. Visit a museum or the zoo. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo are some great get-aways.
6. Visit local libraries & parks. 
7. Create a list of boredom busters (here’s a thought-starter list). Keep them in a jar and have your kids pick one out. 

Wendy shared a passage from Ecclesiastes 3: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Challenge yourself to come up with creative ideas to help make memories for you and your entire family!

We were blessed to have Sandy Ralya, a local author & speaker, as our final speaker of the season. Not long ago, Sandy had an awakening. She got a nudge from God that she was not being REAL. Sandy realized that, like many of us, she had a fear of revealing herself. She was keeping her distance from God and hiding under a so-called ‘mask’. It felt safer for her to hide, but it was dangerous. It was not honest and she was loosing intimacy with God and others. Sandy was exhausted by keeping her mask in place and it was stemmed from three things, fear, not being able to forgive, and anger towards others. Exposing these things to the Lord is important; He will not reject you and you can turn to Him with the broken pieces. 

Sandy reminded us of the story of the Samaritan woman whom Jesus encountered while traveling with the disciples. Jesus spoke to her at the well even though he was a Jew and she was a Samaritan and a woman. He loved her. She’d been married and divorced 6 times and residing with a man at that time. Yet, he did not reject her; he removed her mask and loved her. She was put in charge of evangelism where she lived. Sandy wanted to experience that same joy of living ‘mask-free’ by turning to Him to let God’s great love heal and light guide her. 

Sandy and her husband have experienced struggles with one of their grown children. Her husband went to see a Godly mentor and he gave him a booklet called God Guides. Sandy devoured this book as she had been seeking guidance from God. She realized that she needed to listen to Him. She was doing all the talking and asking, but was not listening to God. Sandy began to keep a notebook of the impressions she got from her devotional and bible study time with God. She was shocked when she discovered that God wanted to talk to her about a lack of compassion for others and forgiveness. Here she was, looking for guidance about her grown child. Yet, the Lord really wanted to heal her from her mask. 

Sandy’s husband was emotionally abusive for 11 years of their marriage. She and her husband transformed their marriage and Sandy started a ministry to help other women. Even still, the Lord knew that she needed extra help removing her mask. Sandy was asked to lead a mission trip and speak at a women’s conference in Uganda. She wasn’t sure if she should go; one day, she took some time to pray quietly on a park bench, Sandy heard God’s words inside of her. He clearly told her to take a 30-day fast from spending. At the time she didn’t understand why, but she obeyed and began a sweet journey with God who helped her gain comfort. Her spending sprees gave her a quick feel-good high, but that never lasted. She realized that riches are deceitful and act as false comfort. She began to feel God’s loving arms and His great comfort instead of the comfort of spending money.

As for her decision about the mission trip, a friend had a dream about Sandy and he wrote it down. He was clearly told, “This mission trip is for Sandy!”. There are hurting broken women in Uganda and they needed to hear Sandy’s story. A lot of the women in Uganda had suffered much worse than her. When she removed her mask, again, Sandy was blessed and she experienced a great connection with her audience. In return, the women were blessed because they had the enjoyment of connecting with someone who was so REAL. Now the true challenge for Sandy was to return home and be this REAL with everyone!

God will not reject you. If you’re running your life apart from Him you will become exhausted. Turn to God. Ask, “What is keeping me from you? Do you want to give me guidance? Should I take a different path?” Take time to listen to God and be REAL with Him and those around you. It will make your relationships more intimate and give you great peace, joy, and conviction!

If you’re looking for a guide and encouragement about how to be God’s best in your marriage and have a honest dialogue among Christian women, you should check out Sandy’s book, Beautiful Womanhood: A Biblical, Practical Guide for Wives.

We missed you if you weren’t able to make it to the last meeting. We hope to see you at an upcoming Park Playdate or at our Open House on September 9, 2010. Please let a member of the Steering Team know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for the 2010–2011 year ahead!

This past meeting’s hospitality food line was a dream come true for those with a ’sweet tooth’! There were so many delicious foods prepared by various volunteer MOPS; it was hard to choose. Here is the recipe for those outstanding Cheesecake Phyllo Cups. Thank you to our Hospitality Leaders, Deb & Aimee, for organizing such a wonderful breakfast, right down to the specially wrapped silverware with Happy Mother’s Day wishes!

Our Special Events/Fundraising Leader, Michelle Aitken displayed the donations that were collected throughout the year by all of our generous MOPS moms for The Center for Women in Transition May Basket Campaign. Laundry baskets were purchased and these items will fill them to the brim. What an awesome blessing this will bring so many women in need. THANK YOU!

Erika opened the meeting with some Announcements and introduced Pastor Scott Sommerfeld, Senior Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church. He spoke about the amazing fact that it is the 10th Anniversary year of MOPS at Holy Cross. He shared that MOPS is something we should cherish and hold deeply; it is a place where good things come from. Pastor shared that we are most vibrant and alive when we follow these 3 guidelines for living: growing in faith, caring for others, and experiencing community. Part of that strong community was built by Holy Cross MOPS. Deb Cheyne has been an amazing leader who has raised it up. She is loving, gentle, respectable, unrelenting, and continues to be a servant leader. Pastor explained that we must not take the peace that she has built at MOPS for granted because as we know, peace does not just happen. Pastor’s speech was a great tribute to Deb and we rose to our feet to applaud our MOPS Coordinator & Mentor who has served us ALL well for the last decade!

Erika returned to the podium to share a special letter sent in by a past MOPS mom. She also presented Deb with a very special memory book compiled of messages from past MOPS Steering Team leaders to Deb about their memories & thoughts about her, as well as prayers of thanksgiving for her great leadership and service.

Deb graciously accepted the gift and gave thanks. Next, it was Deb’s turn to give her last mentor talk. Initially she said she panicked when she thought about what to speak about at her last talk. What would she say? God assured her that MOPS is NOT ending. God has simply called Deb away from MOPS to do something else. She decided to leave us with her hallmark talk that she has given at the end of every MOPS season for the last nine years.

6 THINGS DEB WANTS MOPS TO KNOW:

1. Marriage—It should be your second priority; first is FAITH. Make your marriage a priority. It can be difficult, be creative, get face to face with each other, have special dates, go for an overnight stay (at least once a year), find common activities you like to do together, and dream about your future together; the kids aren’t there forever.

2. Memories—Make them with your family. Have traditions, go on family trips, and cherish that time together.

3. Discipline—You’re their mom, not their friend! You can be friends when they are adults. Guide and direct, be consistent, & don’t punish yourself when you’re punishing them. Your job is so IMPORTANT. When asked what you do, don’t say, “I’m just a mom.” Proudly state, “I GET TO BE a mom!” Raise children with great character, honesty, and integrity.

4. Ask for help—Husbands and children can’t read your mind. Share your needs and don’t try to do everything all by yourself.

5. Find time for you—Have a hobby, special activity you like to do, exercise, go on friend outings, etc.

6. Faith—Connect with a community in Christ. They can help support and encourage you. Be creative when it comes to drawing closer to God. Buy the Mom’s Devotional Bible (NIV) written by Elisa Morgan, former president of MOPS International. It is a great resource for your journey of spiritual growth.

Lastly, Kelley explained how we would be assembling our Amish Friendship Bread Starter. We were provided with an extra Ziploc to share the bread with a friend or neighbor. What a great touch Kelley added by utilizing the bag label with an invitation to join us at MOPS open house and/or first meeting next year! As we were released one table at a time for the craft, a delicious cupcake was given to each of us in celebration of MOPS 10 Year Anniversary. This special cake was made by our very own finance leader and extraordinary cake decorator, Shawn Smith. This MOPS gathering was as always a fun and relaxing time. The quick and easy craft allowed for plenty of time to reconnect, laugh, and share with our table friends. As a special gift, at the end of the meeting we each got to take home a rose with us in celebration of Mother’s Day.

We are putting together a MOPS Time Capsule to commemorate Holy Cross MOPS 10th Anniversary! It will be opened 10 years from now by MOPS in the 2019–2020 season. Please bring your item to the bin in the Hospitality Line this Thursday, May 6th. Select something that has meaning to you as a mom—a newspaper clipping, photograph, a picture of your child’s favorite toy, your best ‘mom resource’, etc. If you forget to bring your item this week,  you’ll have one last chance to place them on the Resource Table where we’ll be displaying the time capsule contents on May 20th. Note: Your item must fit into a tote of 17″W x 11″H x 7″D.