MOPS: 5 Stars

I just got back from the MOPS leadership retreat yesterday and I thought, "I just have to write a post about MOPS on my new blog!" I first heard about MOPS from my friend Amy when I told her that I was pregnant. "You have to find a MOPS group as soon as you have that little one!" Well, my friend at school invited me last year and because of Amy's advice, I joined. Well I loved all of our meetings last year and now this year I am going to be a small group leader.

According to their website, "MOPS is an international support network of women who share the common bond of preschool age children." It was started by just eight Christian women who met to share the needs and joys of mothering. Now there are groups around the world that function to support and mentor mothers of little ones.

I attended the Central Bearden group last year and we met once a month during the evenings. This year we are expanding our schedule to accommodate more moms and we are meeting twice a month. During meetings childcare is provided at Central Bearden. We usually eat first, have announcements, and then a speaker, craft, or game. After that we break up into our small groups where we can have discussion and take prayer requests. The neat thing about the way it is set up is that you get to network with other moms, but you also have mentor moms available for questions that might need a little more experience behind them. Last year we had a librarian come to speak to us, as well as many speakers that were mentor moms. We also had a great time playing Bunco one night.

Who can join? MOPS is designed for moms from the time they are pregnant until their youngest child completes kindergarten. The yearly membership for our group is $35, but there are scholarships available for moms who can't afford the fee. With membership you will receive the MOPS magazine and access to the online MOPS resources. If you have any questions, or if you want to join, please email me. I hope all the moms out there will consider joining us on September 11th at 6pm for this year's "Adventures in Mothering".