Anne Abernathy on our relationship with our husbands

From our January meeting:

Anne spoke of love and respect. She referred to Titus 2, where the Bible exhorts older women to teach younger women to:

• love their husbands
• love their children
• be sensible
• be pure
• be kind
• be subject to their own husbands

Only God can fulfill us, so we need to stop placing that expectation on our husbands!

She encouraged us to study our man and know him. What are his likes/dislikes? What are his needs and wants? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Men, in general:

• are focused and compartmentalized
• need time alone
• are more sensitive than we realize (especially to criticism)
• want to be our knight in shining armor (Anne advises not telling him what to do, but rather to say, "I really need you...could you please...?")
• need their wives to pray for them
• are not as connected to friends and other people as women are

Good marriages don't just happen; we must PLAN!

• Go to bed at the same time
• Don't put sexual issues on the back burner
• Make time together and be aware of times we can bless our husbands
• Greet him when he comes home. Clean up the kids, straighten up the house, smile when he walks through the door

From Emerson Eckridge's book, "Love and Respect":

Women need love. Men need respect. If women withhold respect from their husbands, husbands in turn withhold love from their wives. Likewise, if men withhold love from their wives, wives in turn withhold respect from their husbands. On the other hand, if wives show respect to their husbands, husbands return with love. If husbands show love to their wives, women respond with respect. Someone has to set the cycle in motion the positive way! Respect your husband and he will show you the love you desire.

Thanks for speaking, Anne!

A Mommy's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's crayons, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room.... between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes: I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, (which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.

Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,
MOM

P.S. One more thing... You can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to always believe in Santa.

Music, Reading and Parents as Teachers

Today, we had three wonderful presenters and wanted to open up the discussion boards for other ideas regarding these three areas. Ebby Straton presented on the program "Parents as Teachers" and emphasized the importance of child brain development from birth to age 3. Did you know that a newborn's brain is 30% of their adult size and by age 3, that percentage has reached 80%? Sarah Mitzel spoke about early childhood music in the home and the importance of integrating music into the lives of our children through deliberate, yet simple, activities and songs on the fly! Anne Abernathy spoke on reading to our children and bonding with them through books and made-up stories.

All three speakers had wonderful, practical ideas to help us as mothers. We believe that you all may have some excellent, helpful ideas as well. Please click on comments to share those with the rest of the group.

Please note: Comments must be approved by the administrator before they will appear. This allows us to be sure that all comments are consistent with our mission of helping mothers be great mommies! We appreciate your patience when posting a comment, as it may be several hours or a day before your comment will appear.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Jessica Cummins, one of our Small Group Leaders, on the birth of baby Staysha today. Jessica had an emergency C-section, but both Mom and baby are doing well!

T-shirt information

At Convention, many people commented on our custom-made t-shirts. They are brown with pink daisies on them. The shirts are $17.00 each plus shipping and handling with a minimum order of 10 shirts (checks made payable to MOPS). If your group is interested in ordering these shirts for your group or for more information, please contact Cristina Craig (enidcraig6@cox.net or 580-234-3251) or mail your order to:
MOPS T-shirts
c/o Cristina Craig
210 Tanglewood Street
Enid, OK 73703

Food Schedule

We LOVE to eat! Please see below for when your small group is scheduled to bring brunch-like items to our meeting for everyone to enjoy. You are never obligated to bring food - just chip in as you are able!

Questions? Contact Amy Stittsworth or Tana Redelsperger!

Sept. 21st – Carrie, Jessica
Oct. 5th – Kenda, Renee
Nov. 2nd – Steering, Carrie
Nov. 16th – Jessica, Kenda
Dec. 7th – Brunch
Jan. 18th – Renee, Steering
Feb. 1st – Carrie, Jessica
Feb. 15th – Kenda, Renee
Mar. 1st – Steering, Carrie
Mar. 15th – Brunch
Apr. 5th – Jessica, Kenda
Apr. 19th – Renee, Steering
May 3rd – Carrie, Jessica
May 17th – Kenda, Renee

Registration

Registration for the 2006-07 MOPS year at Emmanuel Baptist Church is now open! Registration forms for MOPS (for you) and MOPPETS (for your children) are available to print under our links section to the right. Completed forms can be turned into the church office or mailed to:

MOPS Registration
c/o Tammy Anderson
2717 Constitution
Enid, OK 73703

Don't miss your chance to join us - nursery space is limited!