MOPS Be You Bravely . . .

MOPS International announced their theme for 2014/15 not too long ago, and everyone is buzzing with excitement. It's a great follow up to A Beautiful Mess. We have wrote out our stories, we have dug down deep to find our callings and what we are good at; now, we get to live it BRAVELY!

Here are just a few graphics we created (with the help of the leaders idea board on mops.org).

Our leadership team is getting ready to start planning our retreat to get away this summer. We are excited about the future, and ready to live Bravely.

Download the PSD (photoshop) files for the images above here from Dropbox:
1. Facebook Cover: https://db.tt/8yRyNSOM
2. 5x7 Postcard Front Image: https://db.tt/ewOfXy4L
3. 5x7 Postcard Back Image: https://db.tt/pirDSx9q

uniquely prepared for someTHING . . .

Ever have those moments where you look back at the past few months and can see God's incredible touches of grace and preparedness for what's to come? I don't know if it's because I'm 30, because I have two ridiculously amazing kids and a husband who lets me live out my dreams, because of the way I was raised, because of the way I'm choosing to do life, etc. but the only way I can get through day-to-day stuff is by recognizing this world is way bigger than just ME and only God's grace is amazing enough to carry me through each moment.

I'll catch you up to speed here since it's been a minute since we've last chatted. Once MOPS started (last blog post) and my work load piled up, it's been a wild ride with not much space in between. (I can't believe I never posted about MomCon either it was an AMAZING part of this "THING" I want to share with you.

If you aren't a detail person you can skip all of my jargon for the reveal of the THING down below. If you don't mind reading all the how to's this THING came into existence...I'll take you on a little journey.

A huge challenge I've been faced with lately (strongly in 2013) was trying to surround myself with people who don't think like, act like, or believe like me. You see, I grew up in the church. I went to private christian schools the majority of my education experience. I now work in a church. My friends all believe in God and we talk about Him often. But, what good am I doing, living in these safe environments? Don't get me wrong, I'm highly appreciative for all that I've been given, blessed with, even protected by growing up the way I did. But, I'm pretty sure "my story" (past and present) has uniquely prepared me for what's ahead.

The theme this year for MOPS is "embracing your story." I was super excited about it and a little nervous all at the same time because I don't really feel that I have a very interesting "story" (my friends would say otherwise) but I just felt it was really "safe" and kind of non-impressive. Another challenge to myself from last year was to figure out how to SHARE my story. To talk about what makes me who I am and believe the way I believe. So, I've been writing it out. I even went as far as sharing it at a MOPS meeting last semester (I guess I'm due to blog about that now too, huh?) Anyways, it's all led me to a place where I just feel extremely "called" (there's a churchy word for you) to reach moms. Like seriously passionate about it. Like it can keep me awake at night sometimes, and it can keep me loving my kids too when they are driving me crazy- ha! I guess you can kind of see it's impact on my choices too from the launch of Capital Moms and Capital MOPS. But, it doesn't stop there. If you notice before each of those words (moms and mops) came the word Capital. That's not a bad thing. But it's all a church THING. I now want to help our church moms reach our community moms in this new THING. Moms that have no clue what hope looks like. Moms that have addictions. Moms that need to be loved right along their life journey. Because, regardless of where we are all at along the path; we can all relate and find a common ground on the defining word "MOM."

So, (fast forward) we are in a fasting small group study (going to admit here I didn't take it as seriously as I probably should have) but God is way cooler than me - so He drops in a new couple to our group on 11/6/13 which has spurred a unique bond between us. Jen and I head to brunch to catch up on life and share where we are at. Low and behold, God connected me the "church mom" with an advocate for the "community mom." You see, Jen works in a program where she heads to a moms home before CPS comes in to take her kids away and rescues the mom as a last resort into various programs (detox, residential, etc). She works alongside the courts, the social workers and the moms to figure out a better way of life because they don't know any better. They have never seen anything different. Most are repeating life cycles from previous generations. So, we get a brilliant plan together to pair the "church mom" with the "community mom" in a partnership as a "mentor mom." (our THING)

What is a mentor mom? Glad you asked! We are kind of making it up as we go along, because each situation will be organic. But the gist of it is the "church mom" would be meeting up with the "community mom" for playdates, being available by phone to help give advice in times of need, a model if you will, an example for what life "could" look like. Being a friend. Most of these moms don't have a support system. They don't have family members to turn to for help. Most have never seen what a healthy lifestyle looks like, not even a glimpse. The mentor mom would also share her struggles and advice on how to deal with crazy kids in a healthy manner (not perfect, but healthy). We give a mom someone to stand next to her and hear the words "I believe in you, you can do this!"

I know it's a lot to swallow. It's been building and progressing quickly. We feel it's far bigger than anything we can do on our own, but we also know that God is walking before us. If your heart was stirred at all while reading this, I would love to connect with you! as Jen would say, "The suffering never stops. The need will always be there." That only means one thing, we need more mentor moms to jump on the journey with us. It's something that requires a little training. We will help provide the how to's and a life-line along the way. I'd be more than happy to share more details if this peeked your interest. Pray about it. God could be telling you to try it out. On my book list this year is "She Did What She Could" by Elisa Morgan (spoke at Mom Con and I just bought the book- you can read the first chapter by clicking the link)...Being a "mentor mom" is nothing more than offering friendship at this point. Saying you are available to meet the need of a hurting mom. Is that something you could do?

So, for those who didn't want to read all my other ramblings- here's the short version of my life since October:

SHORT BREAKDOWN & MORE HERE
1. Mom Con - Jen Hatmaker - this quote has haunted me since: "I'm sick of serving saved people and blessing blessed people. Are we obsessed with our neighbors? Are the hurt, lost, broken people around us welcome into our home?"
2. Small Group - Wednesday, November 6 Jennifer Turney and her husband stumbled into our group (only a God thing) which led to the two of us catching brunch together.
3. Brunch with Jen - we each share our stories (which are vastly different in a good way) and we share what we are passionate about.
4. Share my story at MOPS- and I believe "my story" has uniquely prepared me for things only God can get all the credit for leading to this "mentor mom" THING
5. Jen and I meet an amazing mom and daughter who've come out of addictions and much more for a playdate with our kids.
6. Jen, the director of a VOA residential program, and myself meet at Chipolte to talk about how we could potentially all work together.
7. I head on a tour of a residential and transitional home to get a feel for the moms I could be getting connected with.
8. A Mentor Mom program is birthed!
9. Maybe you are part of the rest of this story?
10. If you say you don't have enough time, read this blog over here, by Shauna Niequist (daughter of Bill Hybels, Willow Creek), my new favorite: What My Mother Taught Me

There you have it. (It's hard to put four months in one blog.) I hope it's not another 4 months till we chat next. Email me at laine.alves@capitalonline.cc if you want to get connected on this THING!

hey mom, what's your story?

i can't even begin to let you all know how excited i am about MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) this year! with one year under our belt, we are feeling like things are all flowing in the right direction! our leadership team is amazing and unique, comprised of so many incredible woman with unique opinions but a couple things in common: 1. we all love jesus 2. we are all moms and have a passion to encourage, support, and live life with others, not going through motherhood alone!

so, here's my shameless plug, because it's what keeps me up and night and excited in my "spare time" that doesn't really exist.

each year MOPS international comes up with a theme. this year it's "A Beautiful Mess . . . Embrace your Story." Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Everyone has a story right? You probably know a little of mine if you follow my blog, and if  you join MOPS this year, you'll learn more than you ever really cared to know. Regardless, I want to know your story and there are several other moms waiting at your table to hear your's as well! 

our meetings are fun, refreshing, time to fill your bellies with an uninterrupted brunch, talk with other moms, and most importantly some time for yourself (which we know doesn't really happen anymore). we cover various topics from parenting, marriage, health, decor, etc and always leave time to create deeper relationships with those in the room.

check out our invite card

you can read more about the details and dates by clicking on the image or visiting our registration page, click here!

i could go on-and-on, but i'll spare you some curiosity. if you have any questions or want to get connected, comment here or email me at laine.alves@capitalonline.cc.

the first monday is coming up fast! save the date for september 9. i promise you won't leave the same way you came and you'll have lifetime friendships that will help you get through these early stages of parenting.

thanks for reading a little of my everyday life.

you can catch a previous post from last year with some photos of a MOPS meeting here.

Page 23 Vision

I can tend to ramble and give more info than needed, so if you want to get to the good stuff, skip down to "I stood at the Capital MOPS table" . . .

Our church just recently started a small group series called "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick. Joe and I agreed to lead a group this time around after hiding out as newlyweds and then wiped out parents. We both felt like we should at least attempt to make it work in our schedule and we found a group of other amazing people to join us!

So, why did I title this Page 23 Vision? Well, one of the chapters in the book talks about figuring out what your gifts, talents, skill sets, passions are in life and letting God lead you into the impossible with that vision. The author was moved to step up in life after reading a quote from a Jim Cymbala book. The quote was written on page 23. So it just stuck. See it here:

I guess you could say, I was moved and wanted to see God move mightily on my behalf too! I started thinking . . .

I'm in a place in my life right now where reaching young moms, and making sure they don't get isolated and try to live life on their own, is my vision. Having two little kids of my own, I've been on the fine line of going crazy a few times in my life. I'm blessed though, with an amazing family and friends to help me out in those moments of "crazy." Some of my "I'm going crazy and feel alone" moments led me to start Capital Moms. From there, we have ventured into Capital MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) and continue to try to be available for moms in their time of need. Disclaimer- I'm a little extreme in what I tend to pursue. If you are a young mom, even staying a home, that is YOUR calling. There is a line in the book where the author says being a stay-at-home mom is your page 23 vision, because you have been given the "gift of time" to teach, discipline, guide, direct your littles. YOUR calling is going to be different than mine (it could be similar-but you will never be me and I will never be you). God has wired each of us so intrinsically.

Moving on to the good stuff: I've been challenged to see what God could do "impossibly" through me as we have jumped into this study. Well, when you ask, He answers. Here is a little glimpse into God working on the "impossible" in my life:

I stood at our Capital MOPS table at the group life fair on a Sunday at church and was approached by a young new family with an incredible story. They had only come to Capital for about 2 weeks at that point without any church background and walked up to the front for prayer. The husband needed a job, prayed, and 2 days later, he was working as a mechanic at an auto store. They came to church the following week and went up for prayer (with great faith since it worked last time) and prayed to get into permanent/transitional housing from the shelter they were currently staying at. The mother was 9 months pregnant and due in 2 weeks at the time we spoke. They were asking me if I would be able to get them any baby items (as I was standing at the MOPS table) since they literally only had some clothes in their possession. I collected their contact info (cell number and email) and told them I would be in touch!

Fast forward 2 weeks, I posted a couple requests on facebook and slowly started collecting some items in my office at the church. I randomly was messaged on facebook by someone in our church asking if I new anyone that needed a crib. I said YES, and we arranged to get it delivered to my office. In the mean time, I attempted to call the cell number of this family and never got ahold of anyone. I emailed, and got no response. Regardless of not connecting back with them, I felt the need to still get all the baby items. On Saturday, April 13, God starting moving and making the impossible happen and I just kept saying yes. I stuck the crib in my office, grabbed the young families phone number again off my desk, and decided to call them on my way home. The husband answered the phone and with excitement told me his wife was in labor. They were going to have the baby any time now. Plus, he had keys to their new apartment and was willing to take anything! Talk about crazy timing.

From Saturday to Monday, with the help of MANY donors and support, my brother and I met the family at their new place with a truck load and car full of items to bless them with. From a kitchen table, chairs, rocking glider, crib, changing table, bedding, clothing, toys, books, dinner and much more, we stocked their place up. They literally came from the hospital to their place as a new family for the first time. (All of you moms imagine with me for a sec- going from a shelter to the hospital to have your baby and coming home with a new infant to a new apartment basically fully furnished. Only God!) Not only did we help them get settled in their home, but all of my MOPS mommies pitched in and arranged to bring meals to this family for 2 weeks.

This story is God showing up in my life. I've been blessed immensely to just walk through open doors using my skill set (as a mom) and my connections to help watch a young family see God for the first time and become real in practical ways. What's your skill set? Want to see God do some impossible things on your behalf? Just say YES!

To be continued . . . (cause there are more impossibilities happening and some photos too)

MOMcon

So, I've never been one to travel across country for a convention. But, when getting a bunch of friends together, thinking about getting away from the "household" stuff for a few days, laughing, staying up too late, and learning a bunch of stuff that could make me a better wife, mom, friend, and just a better me- I couldn't resist.

The craziest part of the whole thing is, my husband didn't even seem to object. Seriously? Maybe it's because it's several months away, or maybe it's because he's just super supportive, or call it God prepared the way . . . but I'm super excited to jump on an airplane with old and new friends to explore what Mom Con is all about. That's what MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) titles it's convention. The craziest thing too is that this is our first year being introduced to MOPS and we are all in. I guess you can say we all have felt blessed, challenged and encouraged by what it offers.

Regardless, I'm packing my bags and going to start counting down the days (it's in October) for this life-changing experience. They have a great line up scheduled to celebrate 40 years of MOPS this year (Beth Moore, Lysa TerKeurst, Jen Hatmaker, etc). I love living real life out with other young moms. It's awesome to be able to share life's joys and struggles with each other! I know it's going to be life-changing for sure. We are taking "for sure" 5 moms from our leadership team, but the number is slowly going up.

If you want to learn more about what it's all about, check out their registration link here: MOPS.org. If you want to learn more about Capital MOPS and be apart of our amazing team, find us on facebook here: facebook.com/groups/capitalmops!

I've heard lots of excuses why people don't make it to events like this, but spend a day with some of my leaders (stay-at-home-moms & working-moms) and they will inspire you to find a way to get there. I'm using my birthday money this year to register because I know it's going to be a crazy fun experience.

Join us if you want to get away! The investment you make will make it all the more worth-while!