Monday, August 31, 2015

New Beginnings

I thrive with routines and now as a stay at home mom, I really thrive with routine. I was so excited for summer because of all the fun things it brings but especially extra sunlight, splash pads, half marathon training, outdoor park play dates and the obvious trip back to Chicago...just to name a few. But next weekend is Labor Day (how did that happen!?) and the temperatures finally starting to cool down this morning so I am so ready to start this fall off with some routine!

Last spring I was attending MOPS at the church we are currently attending. And without going into much detail something happened that really hurt my feelings, I mean really, really hurt my feelings. And while I was finding myself to be extremely insecure about this incident and over-analyzing all the reasons of why this particular thing was happening I felt God start to prompt me to take some other actions this summer to possibly find a new MOPS group. But as much as I had been hurt and tried to convince myself that I should listen to this prompting, it was extremely hard. I have made some awesome friends through MOPS and looked forward to seeing them every other week. I also keep hearing how this church has "the best MOPS program" and I loved all the speakers, service events and crafts that they have done. Seriously last year MOPS was such a very important key of success of my first year as a stay at home mom and I cannot imagine where I'd be as a mom without it. (at least I'd like to think the last year has been successful! ;-)) I'm not talking about just as a mom to Lucas, as that's a BIG piece of MOPS but also socially, introducing me to that group of women and friends that I'd been praying to meet since we'd moved here. MOPS has also been such a fabulous outlet for me, every other week with provided, trusted childcare so I can sit with other women and eat delicious (and I mean delicious!) food while we listen to a speaker who would usually bring me to tears then spend some more time in community with those same women and share whats going on in our lives. Oh and playdates too! It was wonderful!

As the summer days went on I began seeking out other MOPS groups. There were a lot but one that really caught my eye was just down the street and would be starting up their first year of MOPS. Honestly, this was terrifying...going from a big church with some 150ish women involved to some start up program but the more I prayed the more God told me to reach out to the leader then wait on him to see what this new program had for me. I didn't hear back from that leader most of the summer. I kept hearing God tell me to wait but it was so hard. I hate missing out on things! Plus my "old" MOPS was beginning registration and the buzz was all around registering for MOPS and what group you'd be in and who your table leader would be...but God kept telling me to wait. 

Beginning of August I finally heard from the leader. The MOPS group didn't have enough interest so they were not going to have MOPS but instead would have a Mom's group that would meet at the same time every other week with childcare but wouldn't be affiliated with MOPS. I was excited as I'd been praying about being a mom's small group leader in our area for our church and this seemed perfect but I have to admit, I was also crushed. What about my MOPS!? (are you sick of that word yet?!)

So I signed up for this group as I really felt God telling me this is where he wanted me but also felt like there was still a MOPS group out there for me. So I looked into MOPS back at the previous church but again kept hearing God say no. Wouldn't you know...I didn't even get a chance to decide what I wanted to do, Lucas was already registered for swim lessons the first few meetings when MOPS would start. Again, I was disappointed but also super excited to know this was clearly not the option for me this fall.  

So I, again, looked up other MOPS in the area and found one just down the street. I hadn't given this group much thought initially because I had heard that this group was nothing like my previous years group. So obviously I wasn't really interested but also felt God telling me to seek further. When I called the church I was led to a woman who was so incredibly welcoming and excited to have us show an interest. I've decided to give it a shot and registered that next next week. 

Since then, after much fear of the unknown and giving up what I know was a fun group, I've decided I need to clear my head of all expectations of what I want from both of these groups and just trust that God will provide what I need as a stay at home mom seeking other moms to do this journey of motherhood. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have two groups of women who meet every other week within just 4 miles of our house!! Instead of a 30 minute drive each way it's 5-10 minutes!

Lastly, my friend Ashley told me about the app "First 5" from Proverbs 31 Ministries. Its a short (5 minute) devotion to start out your morning and I've loved it! Then they have the option, if you want to go deeper, you can buy the study to go along with it! Since I am not getting the Bible study in either of these groups which I so need, I decided to purchase one and dig a little deeper into the study. The study begins today and I absolutely love it!! Its on the book of Genesis, which I have done one other study one in the past and have shied away other years but am excited to see how God can use this and me!

I'm so very excited about these new beginnings this fall. As excited as I am for routine, I am more excited to meet some new women and share this awesome motherhood journey with them while also keeping the great ones I've met over the past year. Cheers to new beginnings!!

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