One of the great privileges I have as the Minister of Childhood Education at my church is getting to plan for our moms. We have a mom's group called Mom's Nurturing Moms. If you have attended a
MOP's group it is a lot like it with a few exceptions.
MnMs is for moms of all aged children, and the activities are free- the crafts, speakers, give aways, etc. are all a part of the church budget. I also think in
MOP's different groups are formed and they each help plan the meetings. I have the awesome privilege of planning the meetings and my incredible staff helps carry this out. Today 48 moms had
RSVP ed which meant childcare for 87 children - requiring 20 childcare workers. It was a busy morning (not to mention
Home school classes were also being held in our little corner of the world). Not everyone was able to come this morning but we had a great time.
The subject today was Family Budgeting and teaching your children about money. Our craft was making a Fall Wreath! I had two very talented ladies come - one that shared on the Money stuff and one who lead the wreath making (and made me a beautiful wreath that is hanging on my front door).
I will try and post some of the forms G.A. shared with the moms. My favorite part is when she shares that at the age of 3 is when her children began getting allowance and began having chores. At age 3 is when the "rite of passage" of getting a GIVING BANK also happened. If you do not know about these banks- they teach your children to give their tithe, save for short term things and save for long term things. G.A. also shared when the child turned 4 the "rite of passage" was getting to go to the bank and open up a bank account with the money they had saved all year long (in their giving bank).
Today it was clear from questions, comments, etc. that money is still a big issue for couples. Well for one there just never seems to be enough- or you differ on how to handle money. I walked away realizing how blessed I am to be on the same page as my hubby on this area.
I also can't even begin to talk about money without stressing how I wished everyone good understand tithing. Tithing should not be a chore but looked as an act of worship, obedience and a joyful thing. I also know how God blesses those who are honoring Him with their giving. I also believe God honors those who are trying to handle their money in a way that pleases Him.
Recently my husband and I set out on a track to get out of debt. Other than our house we do not have a lot of debt but just a lot of little different things. We are on the quest to do the snowball effect in paying down debt. Let me tell you what an awesome feeling it is to pay something off!
Back to the mom's group- I have a passion for this group of ladies. As I looked at a list of our group today- there are 77 different ladies who have attended in the 3 years who represent 16+ churches in our community- including some who do not attend church or are looking for a church. These ladies are in the trenches of raising tomorrow's leaders! I believe they like the fellowship and for 2 hours each month they get to leave their children in great care of our awesome First Care Staff (childcare staff) and enjoy the company of others like them. I love this group- they are a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing them each month. If you live in the
Cleveland or surrounding areas and would like to join us- please feel free to do so. Next month our C0-Pastor's wife will be speaking on "a heart that makes a home". She is a wife, mom to 10 children, teacher to her children, and also a new mother-in-law! Our craft next month will be ceramic plates.
A lot of the principles G.A. taught about today came from Crown Financial Ministries - you can go to their website at
http://www.crown.org/ !
