Kindness is one of our MOPS 2016-2017 theme words for this coming year. Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate.  Synonyms include warm-heartedness, affection, gentleness, concern and care.  Our Word of God defines kindness as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. The Greek word Kindness translates to “the divine kindness out of which God acts toward humankind”. God wants us to be like Him.  He equips us as believers with the Fruits of the Spirit, one of those being Kindness. God desires us to reflect the fruits as Christians and with the Holy Spirit’s help it is possible. As a sinner I am reminded all too often that I desperately need His help!

I bought a shirt at a one of my weekend Junkin/craft show adventures.  On the front it has in big, beautiful font “BE KIND”, on the back it quotes Luke 6:36 “Our Father is kind, you be kind”.  I’m a sucker for t-shirts with one liners and bonus points for scripture I can wear.  The message sounds simple enough:  be kind. The irony of this t-shirt is that God used it to convict me during one of my “sinner, in the flesh” moments and for that I feel the money on it was well spent.

I have been happily married to Michael for 13yrs this coming October.  In those 13yrs we have had some “hum dinger” arguments.  Looking back however I rarely remember the issues and “whys” of our fights.  They usually end with us both realizing they were over silly, selfish things and that making up is much more fun.  We were in the middle of one of these arguments recently, and in our typical argument style I was spewing out hatefulness (at a loud volume) and he was quietly not responding back to me (annoying), thus provoking me to keep on until I got some sort of reaction or response.  Well, I got one. In the middle of our argument he glanced down at my “Be Kind” shirt and his eyes met mine and he simply reminded me out loud “be kind”.  Ouch.  Convicted.  Here I was wearing a Be Kind shirt for the message to the world and inside the doors of our very home I was being far opposite of that.  God used my husband’s simple response to convict my heart and caused me to consider how many times I portray kindness to the world, advocate for kindness, and ask strangers reading my shirt to be kind, however I often poorly represent it in my home to the ones I love the most.

As wives and mothers we have a mighty job.  A friend of mine once described motherhood as our ministry.  Inside the walls of our home we have a ministry field to represent Christ.  That starts with modeling Christ’s behavior with the help of the Holy Spirit to the ones God has placed in our homes.  So many times we put on smiles for the world and come home tired and tapped out and are unkind to our very own.  Thankfully in God’s good grace and mercy He gives us family who love us through our not so finest moments.  To me this is so representative of how Our Father loves us.  He sees us in our ugly, selfish, unkind selves and loves us still.  He allows us to make up with Him. HE FORGIVES US.  He reminds us to Be Kind in a gentle way and He even gives us His Holy Spirit to help us. 

I always love to hear practical ways we can implement what the Word tells us.  Let me suggest to you fellow mommas and wives some ways we can show kindness in our very home with the ones who could use our best the most.  First I feel that we need to start with prayer.  This is our cry out call to the One who can give us what we need the most.  If you feel like you’re about to lose it with your spouse, cry out to Him in prayer to give you a gentle and humble response and to hold your tongue so you do not sin in anger.  When not in heated arguments, and when life is going smooth, ask God in prayer how you can demonstrate kindness to your family this day.  What can you do that will show warm-heartedness, gentleness, care and concern to your spouse and children.  God will help show you what makes their hearts light up best.  Do something each day that will serve them in love. Make them a favorite meal, leave a note, look deeply into their eyes and tell them something you love about them.  Selflessly and unexpected acts of kindness are the best.  We know how good it feels when someone shows us kindness.  Just consider what those intentional acts of kindness can do within the walls of your home for the Kingdom of God. 

Sometimes when my plate gets too full, Michael will remind me to save my best for our family and not offer them the leftovers.  He is so wise to know me well enough to tell me this.  While we certainly need to show and give kindness to the world it needs to be an overflow of what it going on in our family.  Get your cup filled from your relationship with Our God.  Be kind to yourself, remember you are His and if you are a believer in Christ you are equipped with the power of His Spirit.  Pray to Him for His Holy Spirit to fill your heart with the Fruits and wait for Him to give you sweet opportunities to bless your family with the gifts of kindness.  Then go out and wear that “Be Kind” shirt humbly!

We are the Starry-Eyed: CBC MOPS 2016-2017

We are the Starry-eyed: Wonder. Hope. Kindness.  The MOPS theme for 2016-17 evokes images of a twinkling, starry night sky. It reminds me of the surprise of a shooting star and the warm glow of the setting sun as the first stars come out.  As I reflected on the theme this summer, I thought of what connects us as mothers of preschoolers.  When was your first moment of mom wonder?  It might have been the first moment you saw a little blue line on a pregnancy test or maybe at the first flutter of movement you felt, realizing it was a life inside you.  For some, it is the moment when your baby is first placed in our arms.  Maybe your pregnancy was filled with anxiety due to previous loss. Maybe you didn’t hear angels sing as that baby was placed in your arms but it was the slow growing burn like that setting sun.  Somehow, this journey is wonderful despite the heartaches and because of the joys that unite us.  Wonder is the root of wonderful and to be filled with wonder on this journey, we have to pause long enough to notice the little things.  This year, my hope is that MOPS at CBC helps you pause and absorb the wonderful.  We will feed you, watch your children in a safe environment and invite speakers that teach and encourage us in our walk as mothers.  My hope is that you will take the practice of pausing home with you and utilize it when life gets wild.  It may take lighting a candle, playing some encouraging music, going for a drive or even locking yourself in the bathroom for a minute to take a deep breath.   Those stolen moments of quiet time are needed to help the wonder win in the battle for balance in the preschool years.

Maybe you don’t feel very full of wonder most days.  Maybe you would not title your life “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Maybe you have days like me that fit better into “My No-Good, Very Bad Day” story.  A month ago, I had a day that started out with my two toddlers crying outside the shower and ended with my being late to the MOPS steering team meeting.  In the middle was a handoff to my husband at the soccer field in which I explained there was spilled food on the baby in the carseat, one child didn’t have shoes on, another child was late to a practice and I didn’t even know which field it was at, and the other was at his game but didn’t have a water bottle with him.

The truth is, I wasn’t going to share the chaos of that day, until a friend reminded me that MOPS is a place where we are real.  We may not have the same birth story, family structure and child feeding adventures. We may have different opinions on babywearing, child discipline and schooling.  But in the end, we all have little children and can unify around the things that all moms of preschoolers understand….like messes and lost items and poop.  From the first moment you attempt to decipher the colors and consistencies of newborn poop while comparing to a chart, we “get” you (more than understanding how a poop can be fluorescent yellow and look like rice when all the baby has eaten is milk).  We know that when your toddler wants to show you he pooped on his own, he will lead you to the kitchen floor instead of the bathroom and that there has likely been poop in many places you never dreamed it could go (the walls, your hair, baby’s socks).  We  know the hope your new kindergartner will refrain from demonstrating to the teacher he can turn any answer or conversation into one with the words “poop” and “underwear” will not save you from discussing just that at parent-teacher night.

Basically, at MOPS we believe we are better when we mom together.  This is your tribe.  You belong here and I pray it gives you hope to know you are not alone on this journey. There is a mentor mom at your table that can assure you these years can be survived.  Make the effort to connect with your group and you will be blessed with shared wonder, hope and extended kindness.