Purpose Statement

MOPS Purpose Statement: MOPS International exists to encourage, equip and develop every mother of preschoolers to realize her potential as a woman, mother and leader in the name of Jesus Christ.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Feb 29 - Four Walls: Creating YOUR Home






Topic: Four Walls: Creating YOUR Home
Speaker: Michele Hill
Morning Tea: Country Cottage theme
Craft: Scrapped Memory Box

Michele expanded on some of the themes from the Intro DVD. The 4 walls in the theme refers to a concept from Mary-Beth Lagerborgs book Dwelling. Mary-Beth describes the 4 walls of a home as follows. Home is a physical space, home is the relationships in that place, home is a place to cocoon and home is a place to launch. Michele gave a power point presentation showing images from the book Material World that shows the contents of homes from all over the world.


Michele gave several definitions of home (home is where the heart is, home is not where you live but where they understand you, home is not a place but its people, home is love, home is a mother, home is where you can say whatever you like as no one will listen to you anyway) then stressed that because we are all unique and have unique interests and gifts etc and our families have different needs and interests then our homes will also be unique. She stressed the importance of home as a place of making memories with your children and spoke about the importance of family traditions and rituals - perhaps some you have carried over from your family of origin or some you have created in your current family. She spoke of the importance of maintaining at least two of these family rituals as they are important for child development and family harmony and research shows can actually prevent problem behaviour further down the track. Powerful stuff. These two traditions were Calm Bedtime Routines and Family Mealtimes at the Dinner Table. MOPS Mums were given a hand out with some tips on Talking to Children/Interesting topics to discuss. See below: for a copy of this handout. Michele showed a picture of an old doll's house that her Great-Uncle had made for her Mum when her Mum was a child, then a photo of her playing with it as a toddler, then a photo of her own daughter Ella playing with it and spoke of how a project is underway with Ella, Ella's Grandma and Ella's Great-Gran to do up the dollshouse and refurnish it....bring the family together on this project. Home to her means family/relationships and this dolls house was a symbol of that inter-generational connection that is such a blessing and a privilege.

Tips and Topics for Talking With Your Children

Use these tips and topics as a guide or a starting point for conversations with your children. Once you start you will probably generate many more interesting questions and topics. You may need to adapt some of these to the age and interests of your children. Enjoy!

General Tips

· Favourite songs

· Clothes

· Favourite drinks

· Favourite meals, fruits, sweets or takeaways

· Funniest movies

· Favourite part of a move

· Saddest movies

· Best special effects in movies

· Holidays you have had

· The first ride you would go on at a theme park

· Best sand castles

· Dolphins and whales

· Savings and money

· Hobbies

· Things to collect

· Jobs and careers

· Enthusiasm

· Meanings of sayings e.g., pleased as punch, with flying colours

· Riddles and jokes

· Discrimination

· Courage – what is it, where have you experienced it or notices it?

· Sharing the load – chores and how to be grown up about them

· Fire-walking

· Parachuting

· Football or other favourite sports

· Hang-gliding

· Acting

· Saying sorry

· Saying goodbye – losing friends and pets. How to keep in touch

· Teachers and school

· Doctors and dentists. What do yo think is the hardest/best/yuckiest thing about their job?

· Aliens

· Time machines

· Computers

· The Australian bush

· Suggestions for the Prime Minister – if you were Prime Minister what would you do differently

· Labelling people

· What makes a good friend?

General Topics

· What places in Australia would you most like to visit?

· What place in the world would you most like to explore?

· What is the most exciting thing you can think of that you would like to try? E.g., caving, surfing, bungy-jumping? What would this feel like? How old would you have to be? How scary would it be?

· Talk about a famous person. For example who is Nelson Mandela, Anne Frank, Helen Keller?

· Plan an imaginary party. Who will you invite? What theme will you have? What would you eat? How will you decorate? What will you wear?

· Plan and outing or a holiday

· Weather – Don’t laugh! Talk about hailstorms. What is the hottest month? Weather in other countries, tidal waves, monsoons, willy-willies and tornadoes. Compare temperature and conditions in other countries.

· What would you like to do for others?

· What would you like to invent that would make the world a better place?

Creative Topics

· If you could be an animal, what kind of animal would you be and why?

· If the house was burning down, what three things would you take and why?

· What are your favourite names and what will you call your children

· If you were lost on a desert island, what things would be most useful? (For example, matches, compass, rope, first aid, recipe book, teddy bear, doona, seeds, games, nooks, Time Tams)

· Mimicking famous people – e.g., can you talk like Arnold Schwarzenegger

· Poetry – create short instant rhymes (for example Angela the tarantula)

· Celebrate something, a completion, a success, an anniversary, the dog’s birthday

Personal Topics

· What have you been dreaming about lately?

· What is your best quality? What about your mum’s, brother’s, sisters?

· What is the best news you have heard this week?

· If you could be the best at any sport what would it be and shy? What medals/awards would you like to win?

· What is embarrassment? When have you been embarrassed? How can you help someone to feel better when they are embarrassed?

· Are you ever taken for granted? What do you do that you would like to be thanked for?

· Are you good at anything that your teacher or school friends don’t know about?

· Play a ‘feelings’ game. Remember a feeling. Say when you felt this way. What colour was the feeling, how big was it, how string was it (out of 10, or as strong as a big truck), what was it like in nature (a storm, a kitten, birds flying on a calm day)?

· Family history – and the stories you have heard about you ancestors (e.g., how did Grandma meet Grandpa? What countries did they come from?

· What do you really believe in? What is worth fighting for (standing your ground on/believing in even when others don’t agree)

· Looking after your body – nutrition, smoking, exercise, junk food, sport, sleep

Reproduced from “Back on Track: Finding a Way through Separation and Re-partnering”

TIP: Can make into a “lucky dip” box. Write questions out on slips of paper and put into a jar or a box that you can take turns to select from


Each MOPS Mum was given a poster "Letter from Your Child". I have not been able to find the original source of this document and many different versions of it are in circulation. If anyone knows of the original source or author please let me know. Thanks

Here it is in just text format (the poster is written and illustrated as if it is from a child to a parent):

A Letter From a Your Child

Dear Mum and Dad,

Please help me to love myself.

Don’t spoil me. I know quite well that I shouldn’t have all that I ask for, I’m only testing you – but please give me the discipline that I need!

I need my sense of dignity, so please don’t belittle me in from of people. I’ll take more notice if you talk to me with as much respect as you give to your best grown up friends.

Don’t ridicule me or imply that my inappropriate behaviour means that I am bad. It erodes my sense of worthiness.

Don’t be too upset when sometimes I say ‘I hate you’. It isn’t you I hate but your power over me.

Please be patient with e, I may be a late bloomer.

If you have a bad day, please don’t take your frustrations out on me.

Please don’t shout or nag. If you do I shall have to protect myself by appearing to be deaf.

Please help me feel good about myself by telling me of the good things about myself more often than you tell me of the things you don’t like.

The more you give me the safety to expose my true feelings, the more of my inner beauty I will risk showing.

Don’t bribe me or make rash promises. Remember that I feel badly let down when promised are broken.

Don’t be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose faith in you.

Don’t tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real and you can do much to reassure me if you try to understand.

Don’t ever think that is it beneath your dignity to apologise to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm towards you.

Please keep reminding me that I am basically good and capable and worthwhile, so I can grow up loving and accepting myself.

Please praise and acknowledge me for who I am and not for the things I do, for then I will grow up without the stress of comparing and competing.

Don’t forget that I can’t thrive without a lot of love and understanding….but I don’t need to tell you that, do I.

P.S I love you, and I don’t expect you to be perfect either!





Posted by Michele @ The Hills are Alive at 4:06 PM Labels: , ,

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Theme Scripture

Psalm 139

1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand — when I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Annual MOPS Participation Fee

The annual MOPS Participation Fee of $10 assists MOPS Australia in covering the cost of training for Regional Coordinators to help other MOPS groups to develop around Australia. It also allows more MOPS group leaders around Australia to access regional training.

This will go a long way to helping MOPS Australia bring MOPS to more Mums around Australia.

When you register for MOPS each year, you will be handed an Annual Participation Fee form, and we ask that if you are able to pay this $10 participation fee, please do so before the end of April 2011.

The payment options are...
1. Direct Debit to MOPS Australia bank account
2. Credit card
3. Cheque payable to MOPS Australia
4. Cash to MOPS@MBC front desk

Thank you, from the MOPS@MBC team.

How did MOPS begin?

It was a Tuesday morning, at about 9.30. They each had faced spilled cereal, tangled hair, and a few had even been forced to change their outfits due to a last-minute baby throw-up on a shoulder or lap. They had driven, or pushed strollers, to the church and had dropped their little ones off in the creche. They had made it!

And now they sat, knees almost touching, in the circle of children's chairs from the Sunday school room. Hands held hot cups of tea and biscuits in utter freedom because this treat did not have to be shared with a child's sticky fingers. Mouths moved in eager, uninterrupted conversation. Eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Hearts stirred with understanding. Needs were met.

That morning in 1973, was the first morning of MOPS, or Mothers of Preschoolers. Little was it known that from this small beginning in a church in Colorado, USA, the seeds of the MOPS concept and format had been planted. The needs of the women were met even then, through the opportunity for friendship, creative outlet and spiritual emphasis. MOPS International now charters approximately 2,500 MOPS groups in churches in the United States and 13 other countries throughout the world.

How did MOPS begin in Australia?

How did MOPS begin in Australia?

Nineteen years later and thousands of kilometres away, the same mutual need for sharing was realised by a group of mums with children under school age in Melbourne. After reading about the MOPS concept in the US, leaders introduced the program to the Clayton Church of Christ Fellowship in early 1990 and MOPS was born in Australia. From this small beginning, the seeds for future growth were planted, resulting in the formation of an affiliated body to support the ever-increasing number of Australian groups and the mums they served.

Since its formation in June 2000, MOPS Australia, Inc has grown rapidly and there are currently over 100 groups throughout Australia. In the last year alone, 35 new groups have commenced, with groups starting up regularly throughout different Christian denominations. Groups now meet in every state and territory in Australia, with an estimated ministry to approximately 2500 mums and 3000 children.

How did MOPS begin at MBC?

A Brief History of MOPS at MBC by Karen Askey-Doran (COordinator of MOPS til 2008 and currently Regional Coordinator).

In 1999, the leader of MBC’s women’s ministry caught the vision of MOPS. At that time I was a new Mum with little inclination to help; I was interested but not convicted!

Roughly a year later another meeting was held to generate interest. At this time I had another little baby girl, a 16-month-old toddler and, although I was unaware of it, Post Natal Depression. And once again people were interested but not compelled to lead.

In 2005 Holly, caught the vision of MOPS and began to sow the seeds of interest throughout the young Mums in our church. Robyn Robertson came to our first meeting and inspired us into action…the seeds Holly planted took hold!

People came slowly at first to fill the positions, it seemed there were a lot of blanks for a long time! Holly was going to be our Coordinator and when she filled out the charter she realised that a Mother of Preschoolers should really fill that role…. So she called me! Very graciously, Holly took a side step into a Mentoring role (very appropriate really).

God was moving in our midst, we had been blessed with an inspired team of 15 Mops Leaders and 9 Moppets Leaders, each one having a testimony about how God had lead them to this ministry!

I suspect that God has big plans for our group. I still feel very inadequate sometimes but I do trust God and I want to serve him and to reach out to Mums who are hurting, to support them. I want to encourage, you know, to build up… to make a difference in people’s lives, especially my children’s!

I know I’m not alone… In Romans 8:28 it says “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” He planned for my girls, my twins, my battle with PND. He planned for MOPS - at this time - in our church! The door has literally been flung open!

What happens at a MOPS meeting?

When a mum enters a MOPS meeting, she is greeted by a friendly face and escorted to MOPPETS, where her children enjoy their special part of the MOPS program. In MOPPETS, children from infancy through to school age experience a caring environment while they learn, sing, play and make crafts.

Once her children are settled, the MOPS mum joins a program tailor-made to meet her needs. She can grab something to eat and not have to share it! She can finish a sentence and not have to speak in words of two syllables!

The program typically begins with a brief lesson taught by an older mum who's been through the challenging years of mothering and who can share from her experience and from the truths taught in the Bible. Then the women move into small discussion groups where there are no "wrong answers" and each mum is free to share her joys and struggles with other mums who truly understand her feelings. In these moments, long-lasting friendships are often made on the common ground of finally being understood.

From here, the women participate in a craft or other creative activity. For mums who are often frustrated by the impossibility of completing anything in their unpredictable days, this activity is deeply satisfying. It provides a sense of accomplishment and growth for many mums.

Because mums of preschoolers themselves lead MOPS, the program also offers women a chance to develop their leadership skills and other talents. It takes organisation, creativity, and management skills to run a MOPS program successfully.

By the time they finish the MOPS meeting and pick up their children, the mums feel refreshed and better able to mother. MOPS helps them recognise that mums have needs too! And when they take the time to meet those needs, they find they are more effective in meeting the needs of their families.

Meeting the needs of Mothers of Preschoolers

The MOPS program is dedicated to meeting the needs of mothers of preschoolers. These needs have been identified by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall in their book, What Every Mum Needs:


The need for Identity: Sometimes I'm not sure who I am

The need for Growth: Sometimes I long to develop who I am

The need for Relationship: Sometimes I long to be understood

The need for Help: Sometimes I need to share the load

The need for Perspective: Sometimes I lose my focus

The need for Hope: Sometimes I wonder if there's more to life


Here's How Some Mums Describe MOPS

"MOPS means that I am able to share the joys and frustrations and insecurities of being a mum. Our meetings provide the opportunity to hear someone else say, "I was up all night," or "They're driving me crazy!"

MOPS mum, Perth

"As a single mum, this is the first group I've felt accepted in for who I am."

MOPS mum, Canberra

'On my first day at MOPS, I knew my life had changed forever! The women made me feel so relaxed. I had a peace I hadn't felt for a long time. They were so caring, pleasant, helpful…the list goes on! I just want to say, "Thank you MOPS!" If it weren't for MOPS, I wouldn't be where I am today.'

MOPS mum, Melbourne

'When I first started MOPS, I was very, very lonely. MOPS gave me a chance to get out of the house which I was grateful for. The talks were very informative. I found out a lot through these talks. My problems seemed to become smaller. When I first started at MOPS, I thought I was a Christian. I wasn't. Through MOPS I can now say, 'I am a Christian.' MOPS to me is not only Mothers of Pre Schoolers, but My Own Private Salvation!'

MOPS mum, Canberra