MOMcon (31 Days)

Go here to catch up on the 31 day series...

If you are following along then you know I have stepped out in faith to start a MOMSnext group. If this is your first visit then go here to understand the full picture. Part of the MOPS organization is a wonderful conference called MOMcon. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear speakers, attend classes, receive encouragement, exchange ideas and see vendors of course. The support alone in this safe place is AH-mazing. I was honored to be asked by our coordinator from our Mops group to go with her to MOMcon. This year the MOMcon was in Louisville, Kentucky. Such a fun city by the way. Of course this year's topics were all around Be You, Bravely. Plus, you include moms from all over the world just for this event it makes it that much sweeter! The weekend was jammed packed full of mastery classes for those of us in leadership and key note speakers.

Our speakers for the weekend were:

Sherry Surrat-President & CEO of Mops 
Jennie Allen-Author, Speaker & Founder of IF:Gathering 
Melissa D'Arabian -Food Network Star, & Host of Ten Dollar Dinners & former Mops moms
Lisa Chan-Author & Co-founder of Cornerstone Community Church
Shauna Niequist- Author & Speaker  (highly recommend Cold Tangerines)
Angie Smith- Author & Speaker(married to Todd lead singer of group Selah)

For worship we had Meredith Andrews
For inspiration & poetry Amena Brown 
Of course Kendall Parkhurst for introducing speakers & inspirational videos-Mops coordinator

From the list above if you know any of them or have heard of them then you know it was a BIG event. That is just the keynote speakers. Then we had a list of women speaking on different topics in the split off time. Some of them have written for (in)courage and one particular writer Lisa-Jo Baker was there with her book Surprised By Motherhood. Which I am in the middle of reading. 

It was an amazing time and it gave me connections for building the MOMSnext ministry that I have started in our MOPS group. I felt encouraged and inspired. It was also an opportunity for me as a wife, mom, friend, sister and leader to grow. They definitely challenge you while you are there for the weekend.

So, where is the BRAVE in all of this for me? Many places! First, going to a place I have never been with someone I barely know and second the willingness to say "yes" I will commit! I love going to new places. I do! I prefer to experience them with people whom I am already familiar with and well, know my quirks. Don't you? You know the saying "if you really want to know a person then travel together!" I know my coordinator and love her but close friends we have not arrived there yet. That is okay. I knew every meal would probably be eaten together and all those questions that typically get asked were going to emerge and they did plus some. Where did you meet your husband? Where did you go to college? What career did you do before becoming a mom? and beyond that!  I don't mind answering questions. For me, it was being transparent and adding another person to my circle. Then add in rooming together. This is where my quirks appear. I like the fan on for noise and the temp to be cold(that is just two quirks!). I like snuggling under the covers but mostly my body temperature after having children is not the same! It is easier to room with someone who already knows this about you or is just like you in that sense. I know it probably sounds a little silly. For me, it is/was a stretch. Not wanting to be the only one who likes it that way or better yet freeze out my roomie! I did enjoy my time with her. She too loved it cold and the fan on. So no big deal! More importantly it was just fun getting to know her and experiencing the city together along with MOMScon! Second, committing to going to MOMScon made it real for me that I am stepping out in leadership! I was representing our group and the church associated with it. That is BIG! I wanted to use my time wisely since they could have sent anyone to go. I was able to connect with ladies who work for Mops International and talk about how to make MOMSnext better in our community and widespread. I believe this experience alone will continue to have an impact on me personally plus growing with our MOMSnext group. MOMScon was a great opportunity to tap into resources and grab all the knowledge that I could to bring back with me! I am so very grateful that I was able to go and was asked to go! Such a blessing!!!! 


I pray that I honor God during this MOmsnext adventure and that I will be used to the fullest. That is BRAVE! 





       
                       

ROC Race (31 Days)

Go here for intro of 31 days & other posts in this series...

Have you ever heard of something called a ROC Race? The Ridiculous Obstacle Course! If you haven't then think of that show wipe out. That is exactly what it amounts to! So, this year back in January I decided to join Camp Gladiator. Ever heard of that? It is basically outdoor fitness group or some call it a form of boot camp. Anyway, I fell in love with the people and the trainers. They made it so fun. Plus they really cheer you on to run an extra lap or lift heavier weights or do one more burpee. I have never ever considered myself the athletic type. I mean I am not built to do anything that requires a lot of running like soccer. Though I can kick. I say all that because my definition or what I believed to be an athlete has changed this past year. It has taken awhile to realize I do not have to be the fittest or smallest or thinnest or whatever to be an athlete. In my mind I always associated an athlete with the Olympics or some great sport such as European Soccer! You know people who received awards or medals of some kind for their hard work and were recognized for their talent. This was not me! 

*This is the definition of an athlete: :  a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

Camp Gladiator or CG has given me this confidence to think and believe I can do things that are beyond me. Ya know, busting out 30 burpees or lifting 50-60 lb sand bags while throwing them across the parking lot. I know it probably sounds super crazy and may not even make sense to you. I understand that! It truly is something you have to try once to see. After awhile of doing many hard things you realize maybe I could do an obstacle course race and it kinda sounds fun. Then your battle buddies (that is what we call each other at cg) chime in "let's do it together!" You feel empowered! All of sudden you find yourself on a team! A team that believes in you and will help you when you think you can not do it! Sign me up. I can get on board with folks like that. Right? RIGHT! 

That is exactly what I did 6 months ago. I signed up with a team to test my skills mentally, physically and emotionally! Plus, for your first obstacle course race this ROC is perfect to test out to see if you would like that type of racing. It is fun and people dress up all kinds of crazy. Then add Austin in the mix it becomes super weird! We love that about Austin. Some obstacle courses are more serious and require a lot more training, such as Spartan!  

Race day is approaching and well I am not exactly where I want to be weight wise or physically in strength and agility. I mean they had a rope climb and monkey bars. Adult size monkey bars...eeeeekkkkk!!!!!!! So, I had fear around that. I also had fear and insecurity around being the biggest. I know what your thinking. Oh it doesn't matter!  Yes yes it does. I am here to tell you it does matter!!!!!! When you have to hoist yourself over a 6 foot wall with zero ridges in it for footing, it matters! Or Hold your body up and swing across monkey bars and land perfectly, it matters! I could go on and on. I am not here to argue about size and whether I feel that I fit in with a group of "fit" women. I am talking about extra weight on you is just that extra weight and it can  have an effect on your performance in such situations. It did mine. I am being honest. Okay? 

So, I did it. It was tough in some areas for me. The running for one. A few obstacles I could not accomplish. I could not do some due to being an overweight chick and others were just because I did not practice enough! I have to be really transparent here. It was even tough on how I felt about myself. Really. It played a huge role for me that day. Here were a few scenarios that played out that day for me. 

*I was the slowest in running which meant last to do whatever obstacle there was to do
*I would fall a lot! 
*I was the biggest chick there that day
*I could not hold myself up on the rope to do the Tarzan swing
*The team would often have to wait on me 

I will tell you my team was very supportive. It did not matter to them if I was last or I could not do an obstacle or if I failed the obstacle. Yes, they loved me right where I was and met me there. That is a beautiful lesson in itself. However, still I so wanted to do soooooo much better. I really wanted to feel that I have come far in my physical fitness. I have but not as far as I had hoped. That is okay for now. 

So, where is the Brave in all of this you ask? I am sure I could point it out in many places throughout this post. I believe there to be a myriad of them. For me the greatest was honestly doing the race and being at the race. I have never run a 5k before less alone an obstacle course one. Putting myself out there was a BIG step for me. It was a risk. People watching you do the course, people taking your pictures and well, you felt like every obstacle threw off your balance. That is a true statement. You are on big inflatable pieces of equipment and you are suppose to run across without getting hit! What?! At least it is in the books. It has also given me an opportunity to reevaluate some things in my life. That subject is another day or post. 

For now, Brave means embracing the athlete in you or maybe awaken her in my case and realizing you can go beyond what you believed about yourself. It also means dropping the perfection mask, allowing yourself to be transparent and yes sometimes uncomfortable. You will grow from it. It could change you. 

Go on my sisters awaken the athlete & see what she can do! 

If you are interested in trying CG let me know! I do not have to be in your home town to get credit. Yes, we are in a contest. Stamps for buddies that come and try! Seriously, it will help me win! 

Let it Go (31 Days)

Go here for introduction of 31 Days Brave!
Go here for 31 Days to Serve (2011)

Sometimes Brave looks very different in the Christian world of following Jesus. actually, I would say for the most part it is different! Something alarming happened to me last week while I was leaving the grocery store. I had my son with me who is 6 years old. It was not a busy day at the store. It was quiet. Needless to say we enjoyed our little outing and felt very accomplished practicing our math skills at the store! While heading to our car I see a "gentleman" in a nice suit about 3 cars down from ours rushing to get his stuff loaded in his car.  We were walking down the aisle paying close attention to drivers and such. Usually when I get in my car and I see someone in a cart ready to pass my car,  I wait. I wait for them to do just that. It is not worth causing an accident of any kind! This "gentleman" had no desire what-so-ever to wait for us. In fact he rushed so much that he almost ran us over. I have my son on one side of me and the driver on the other side of my cart. He pulled so close to my cart that he almost scratched his car. Rolled down his window to say "excuse me?!" More of a get-out-of-my-way kind of excuse me. I wish I was one of those clever people who knew exactly what to say when faced with verbal conflict. I mean clever in a way that is nice and yet gets them to be quiet. Then my mind races to one of my favorite movies  You've Got Mail. Meg Ryan's character is not good with zingers but Tom Hank's character is a pro. This is sometimes how I look when face to face with such a problem.

Anyway, I was trying really hard to keep my son from having to engage with this person. I looked at him and said "yes, excuse." Yeah, I was dumbfounded so real words were lost on me. Now, maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut. We will argue that another day. I truly believe that this "gentleman" already had a certain mind frame and no matter what I said or didn't say he had an agenda. His agenda was to "prove" something. I kept on walking down the aisle and he was shouting all sorts of ugly words at me. I could hear out of my left ear while I occupied my son with my words. My son had already began the conversation by commenting on how mean the guy was and that he didn't care. My son was correct. I began communicating to my son while that may be true we still need to do what is right. Sometimes that means walking away from a verbal fight.  I will tell you his words stung. I may be christian but I am not immune to hurt. I even told my husband how much it hurt. Of course hubby wants to know make of car, description of man and anything else I can remember. He wouldn't do anything but it is in their nature to want to protect and fight for us. Such a gentleman!

So, today's BRAVE for me was "just let it go"(is that song in your head?)! Not easy to do when my instincts are to at least fight back for myself. I have to remember this guy was wanting a fight so it would have been easy to get tangled in his trap. That is exactly what it was, a trap! I do think it takes a level of Bravery to walk away but more so to not let those words penetrate you. It did hurt but it did not make me think less of myself. That is really the BRAVE part. Believing in yourself even when others want to convince you otherwise. 

I will tell you this...he did not use cuss words but attacked my appearance. So, there were some words of truth. I do need to lose weight(working on it) but it was how he was using it to verbally attack me. Yes, along with what he said made it worst. Just grateful my son did not hear those words or how he using them to attack me. My son thinks I am beautiful so no need to let his vision be tainted by another. 

31 Days Brave INTRO (or what is left of it)

Other Post in the series 31 days

Day 2 Let it go 

Day 3 ROC Race 

Day 4 MOMScon

Day 5 To be more like...

Day 6 For Inspiration 

Day 7 For the Single Parent 

Day 8 Home Schooling 

Day 9 One Mouth Two Ears

Day 10 Camping 

Day 11 Self Care 

Day 12 Poem 

Day 13 The Movie 

Day 14 Boundaries 

Day 15 Forgiveness 

 31 Days of Serving (2011)

Be YOU, Bravely 

I was suppose to start this topic on Oct 1 but unfortunately my brain completely forgot the 31 day challenge had begun in October. I guess I kept thinking I had more time or maybe I was in denial that October was already in full swing. That is okay. I still start from here and continue to participate until day 31! You can go here for my first 31 Days from 2011. The experience was life changing for me. Here are the AH-mazing 31 Dayers! I encourage you to check them out. Plus you never know you might find another blog you love to read. 

The topic for this time or what is left if it is about Being You, Bravely. It is actually the MOPS theme for the year 2014-2015. I am on the steering committee for our MOPS group so we have known about the theme for awhile now. I say all that because I have been stepping out in a lot of areas of my life to Be Brave. So when the MOPS theme "just happen" to be parallel to my life it made sense to write about it.  No, this is not about climbing Mt. Everest or competing in some crazy around the world boat race or even swimming the Atlantic. Though those are very inspiring it is not the type of Brave that I am referring to. I am talking about Brave in my world. It looks different in everyone's world. 

Brave for me looks like this....

Last year(2013-2014) in MOPS(mother's of preschoolers) I was a DGL or discussion group leader. A DGL helps make connections, prays over one another, arranges outings and of course leads the discussion at the table in regards to the topic spoken that night. I loved it! It was an awesome experience for me. I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. The sad part came to me when I realized I could no longer be a DGL since MOPS only goes through Kindergarten age. My son was already in Kinder at that time. So, now what do I do? I knew GOD was not done with MOPS in my life. I also knew stepping up to be a mentor mom at one of the tables was not the right fit either. I did not believe it was my time to lead in that area. I need more experience or years and of course wisdom. What positions were left for me then? Really, nothing! I prayed about it and spoke to our coordinator concerning that the mentor position did not seem right neither did being a DGL for a MOPS table. We both agreed that it didn't seem it was my time to exit this precious community of women. 2 weeks later I receive a phone call from my coordinator. She was so excited about possibly the idea of starting a MOMS NEXT group for 2015-2016 and felt that the Lord was laying my name before her.  Just an fyi a MOMS NEXT group is for moms who no longer have kids in preschool or most of their children have moved on from that stage and so has she. It can range from moms with children in Elementary all the way to College! Such an awesome extension for MOPS! Anyway, I knew in my heart God had so much more for me to grow and learn. I also knew that MOMS NEXT needed to start now! This year 2014-2015! I immediately told my coordinator "we start now!" My excitement was so overwhelming that I almost cried. 
Scary? Yes. 
Exciting too? Yes. 
Not a freakin' clue what I am doing? 100% YES!!!! 
However, God sent me down this path and I knew without a shadow of doubt he would put me in front of the right people who had the tools I needed to gain the knowledge. 

That is my Brave. I said "YES" & I believed!  I will keep you posted how our year is going with MOMS NEXT. The blessing in all of this is my table has grown from a few to now 10 women. A typical table has 6 moms. Who knows we may have to start a second table! That would be awesome! We meet on Monday nights with the other Mops tables. The bonus is all our speakers/topics pertain to both groups. I am very excited for this journey. 

So, what about you? Have you thought about the Brave in your world? 

First Grade

I realize we are in October and many of you have been in full swing for 2 months now with school. We just past the 1 month mark for first grade. It seems that first grade takes on a very serious role. The task are more, the activities have increased and the interest of a little one seems to expand even further. Plus, the responsibility list has lengthen. We school M, T, W & F. Thursday is our activity day and reading day. Little man is so involved in swimming and gymnastics that we have lumped them in one day. We have other activities that occur 3 times a month with cub scouts and then AWANA on Sundays. Typically, our cub scouts is at night so it still fits in our schedule. Throw in Nature and Science group on Monday afternoons and well, we are busy. The good kind of busy! Not so busy that we feel overwhelmed. The right kind of balance! Anyone else feel that the jump from kinder to first is a big one? One of my bestie's has lunches prepared for 4 days in different bins in the frig. A fruit, sandwich, lunchable(only 1 for the week), dessert and a drink. Chips or pretzels are in a bowl next to the frig. Each child is responsible for packing their own lunch! Brilliant idea! I love it. Even though we home school it is still a great system to build into our routine. Sometimes, it is easy to just fly by the seats of our pants since we do home school. However, I find it more productive and a timesaver when we prepare ahead of time such as packing our lunch everyday. How about you? What do you do to make life easier or what system do you have during the day to help your family be successful? 

We still school with bear! Shows his tender side. 

I decided a new tradition on the first day of school is to add a book to our collection.
Thought this to be so appropriate! 

Seriously! & ANSC

Wow, I honestly can not believe that I have let this blog go. I guess you could say we have been busy busy busy little bees here in Austin! I have so much to say but not enough time to do it. I guess it is true what they say about homeschool life, it just gets busier as time moves forward with age. So funny I have a friend who once told me she was busier once her kids hit elementary age than she ever was when they were littles. I now believe her! Ha! It is just a different kind of busy. Do you agree? 


Obviously, I can not catch you up in one post so I will focus on one topic. Our Nature & Science group! This is our 3rd year I believe to participate in the Austin Nature and Science home school program. It has been such a blessing in our schooling. This year the moms decided to take the group outside of just meeting once a month at ANSC! Of course each group changes year to year. It seems this year the group we are with is excited about continuing the studies beyond once a month. It fits our busy schedule so we are joining in on the fun! Little man is very excited. This past Wednesday was out first gathering. We are studying ponds & live things. Plus, it is always fun when one of our friends is already part of the ANSC home school program. I look forward to this year in so many ways! This group is just one of many. Once or twice  a month the group will also focus on art that is applicable to the study and sometimes not! We are a great mix of different temperaments to compliment the dynamic of the group. If I want to head it up one week I can. I love crafts! I see myself creating something fun for our group to do in the near future. 

Little man is in the old school cub scout hat tot he right 

Little man's friend is the one on the left with the yellow bucket!

I pray that your school year whether you home school or have your children in public or private is a great year. I am on my knees for all of us moms! We need it. 

Hebrews 11:6 
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Catch up!

My intentions were to be better at blogging. Well, you can see that has not happened! Where have I been? It has been so busy the last few months. We had a shift in our curriculum in November. I was not pleased with the phonics program we had started in September. We took a long break and I started to search for a better program that would fit our needs. Once I found what I was looking for we began our new phonics program in January. Basically, homeschooling has been in full force with phonics. Which makes me happy! All of us! Plus, all of little man's activities(swimming & gymnastics) have kept us busy this year. 

Along with those changes we took time to visit family, friends and have some good one on one time. It was much needed! We enjoyed the Holidays! Which ones you ask? All of them! ha! Christmas we spent at my husband's family this time. Our little guy thought that was so cool to spend it at Paw's and Memaw's! It makes my heart so happy that my own child enjoys his grandparents. I did when I was young. Spring break we were sick. First time for me in a very very long time. That was tough! However, the benefits of homeschooling is Spring Break is when you want it to happen. While the crowds were piling up here in Austin we were home in bed. I don't like crowds. In a way I was happy to take our sick days during that week! 

This school year I have committed to two passions. First, I became a "team leader" for children's ministry for the kinder zone. I help during third hour worship service. I am responsible for welcoming new families, checking to make sure our teachers have what they need, stepping in where it is needed, gathering snacks, making sure children attend worship and many many other duties. Secondly, I stepped up to help with our local MOPS(mother's of preschoolers-kinder) group. They asked me to become a DGL(discussion group leader) for a table. It has been great year and we have 3 more meetings for this year's topic. 

It has also been a transition time for me. Exercise has become a priority again. Praise God for that! My friend asked me to attend a Camp Gladiator at 5:30 in the morning at 27 degrees with rain! So, I did! I loved it and joined officially in February. It has been good to get up early and take care of myself before I attend to everyone else's needs. Yay, for me I am not last on the list! 

Then I have been having some fun. Yes fun! The friendships I formed last year in MOPS has been a big blessing in my life. I can honestly say I love those ladies. We still get together for a GNO(girls' night out). My favorite so far are the sing a longs at Alamo Draft-house or the tea times with a Jane Austen movie. I highly recommend finding something you love to do and do it with people you enjoy to be around. That is a very important life lesson. 

So, how are you? Hope & pray all is well in your world.