MOPS Reminder

This Thursday, January 26 is our next MOPS meeting!

Dr Keith Martin, OB-GYN, will be joining us and answering any questions you have on "womanhood," pregnancy and post-partum.   He is an experienced OB-GYN, a husband and father to SIX!  He will take any question you have and will not be afraid!  :)  He has a heart for educating and is very compassionate!

Food provided by Jenga, Life and Hungry Hungry Hippos!

See you there!!

Bible Study

Just wanted to send out the information for our bible study, that will be starting 
February 16.

The book is called Creative Counterpart: Becoming the Woman, Wife and Mother You've Longed to Be, by Linda Dillow. The book cost is around $10. Childcare costs will be determined after we know how many children we will have and how many workers we will need. 

If you are interested, please respond by Jan. 26th to Julie Pio at juliepio@yahoo.com or 815.990.3698. We will have a also have a sign up sheet at the next MOPS meeting.

MOPS Reminder

WOW, time flies! The Christmas season is in full gear and I am so excited. This year I feel so blessed and grateful for what God has provided me with. And I am so happy to share my blessings with others by blessing them. there is just something that makes the heart smile when you give!

And with the Christmas season busyness comes stress. Like it's little sidekick. We are already trying to fit shopping, wrapping, baking, programs, family gatherings and everyday life into a small amount of time! We begin to lose that feeling of gratitude and full heart. Because, quite frankly....we are TOO TIRED and stressed to sit and reflect on what we have.

Many of you were with us last year when Dawn Zuberbehler spoke to us. Well, she is back! And she is going to enlighten us with her wit, Godly heart and real life struggles. She will help us stay afloat and positive during this crazy season. Remember, JESUS is the reason for the season. What better way to celebrate his birth than doing what HE wants. Thanking God for what he has given us and share his love with others!

This week, we will be having a brunch. So bring your favorite brunch goodie and be ready to get your tank filled up! What a great way to continue on with this busy season than with fun, fellowship, laughter and food!? See you Thursday at 9:30!

Thank You!

We live in a society where Christmas begins after Halloween and it is FAR from being about the birth of the Savior!  As a society, we have too much, yet never enough. Never have enough time but are filling our time with SO much, yet we are SO unhappy and ungrateful! 

I wanted to say thank you!  Thank you for putting complete strangers ahead of yourself and on your  to-do list.  Thank you for spending some money (when money is tight) to bless someone with something they could not even IMAGINE!!  Thank you for being the vehicle for helping a child learn about GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!  For being a part of sharing the gospel with a child you may never meet, but who needs it so badly!

MOPS packed 25 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child!  How awesome!  Now, I know we won't and can't all impact lives the same way.  So if you didn't do a shoe box (and let me be transparent and vulnerable here and tell you, I did not) you are not done! 

You can impact lives here and now.  Maybe it is someone in your own family, your own church, your own town or a stranger you happen across on your holiday travels.  It only takes ONE thing...ONE person, ONE kind word or gesture.  It is never too small or insignificant!  So, make the most out this holiday busyness that is upon us.  Enjoy your family, impact someone and LOVE your GOD!  And THANK him for the precious gift of life!  Not just yours but Jesus's!! 

MOPS Reminder

Happy 1st Monday of November!

Really...already November? WOW! That seems impossible, and yet, here we are! And the sun has decided to join us today, so that is AWESOME!!

And I am sure you are all caught up on sleep since you got an extra hour this weekend?! No? Me neither! But, can't imagine a life that is not filled with a wonderful family and sleep deprivation! Thank you GOD for the 

opportunity to be awakended in the night by some beautiful children!

If you are like me, you are already mentally and emotinally planning for the next two months of holidays. But, how about we try something new? Let's just focus on one at a time!

This Thursday (Nov. 10) at MOPS we will be hearing from Mentor and MOPS moms and mums. They will be sharing about the ups and downs of their lives and how to remain THANKFUL for them all! It will be an encouraging meeting. And I know I need to remember this when I am running around in the madness of Thanksgiving. That's what it is all about...being thankful for the harvest we have within our lives!

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for ~author unknown

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Food for this meeting provided by Apples to Apples, Taboo and Scattegories.

***Also- If you have completed a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, you can bring it Thursday and we will drop it off for you. Hand it to Sarah Schleich (me ) at the beginning of the meeting.

Lena Playgroup

Family T.I.E.S. Playgroup at Lena Evangelical Free Church, in Lena

On Fridays from 9:30-11:00am
Children birth-5 y/o, with a parent are welcome.


Dates are...
* November 18
* December 16
* January 20
* February 24
* March 16
* April 20
* May TBA- Grand Harbor


Any questions contact Lois Shelton, Parent educator at 369-4848 or 291-5641

MOPS Reminder

This Thursday...T-Minus TWO days!

MOPS this week is complete with lovely moms, beautiful children, wonderful wives and DeLiCiOuS food!  We will be sampling crock-pot goodies, learning how to make our lives easier with meal planning and getting a TON of yummy recipes.  It is a meeting sure to make the hours of 3:30-6:00 happier in your home!  Dinner made easy....MOPS style!

See you all there!