Divas’ Day Out – Ladies’ Retreat

February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

divasmallOnce again we’re bringing you our annual spring retreat on March 23rd. We’re especially excited about it this year, because we teamed up with the Women’s Ministry Team at First Baptist Church Otsego. Our retreat isn’t just for moms anymore!  We’re creating a fabulous day for all women of all ages in all seasons of life, and we would love for you to join us and bring your friends.

Casie Dussia is our main speaker this year. She’s talking to us about “Losing our Labels”, and recognizing that we are each uniquely designed by God for his purpose. Local band Kleen Sl8 is leading us in praise and worship. You’ll also enjoy fellowship with other ladies during our 9 am coffee hour and during lunch. Finally, you’ll have a chance to go deeper in small group settings during our Break Out Sessions. Topics include:

  • Teaching Scriptures to Children
  • When Your Prayers Don’t Seem to Make it Past Plainwell
  • Counsel From the Cross
  •  Income and Time are Like Silly Putty…Make Them Stretch!
  •  Christianity and Social Media
  •  Beautiful You
  •  The Biblical Purpose for Your Marriage
  •  How to Live Titus 2 Mentoring

The retreat begins a 9 am with the coffee hour, and the main session starts at 10 am. We’ll wrap up around 4 o’clock that afternoon. The $20 registration fee includes lunch at the church. To register print a copy of the form from the link below,  and mail it in to or drop it off at:

First Baptist Church of Otsego
247 E. Allegan St.
Otsego, MI 49078

Call (269) 694-4160 for more information.

We hope to see you all at Divas’ Day Out!

Divas’ Day Out Registration Form 

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

Marriage

January 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

On Monday January 14th Pastor Paul and Beth Laborde came and spoke to our mom’s group on biblical marriage. Perhaps one of the most prominent passages of the bible on marriage is Ephesians 5.

In order to better understand the book of Ephesians, Pastor Paul offered some background and explanation.  Paul wrote the letter to the church in Ephesis. The letter is broken down into 2 basic parts. The first part is Gospel Indicative, or the truth of the Gospel. It is found in the first 3 chapters. It tells us who we are in Christ. The 2nd part is Gospel Imperative. Because of who we are in Christ we have responsibilities to live in a certain way. The last three chapters in the letter discuss Christian living.

In the first 3 chapter some of the words that describe believers are:

Holy, blameless, chosen, adopted, a workmanship, a dwelling place, sealed

Because of who we are in Christ we should:

Be humble, gentle, patient kind, compassionate, put off our old selves, have no unwholesome talk come out of our moths, imitators of God.

Our focus was on Ephisians 5:21-33  “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansingher by the washing with water through the word,  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body.  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

To get into the meaning of these verses we need to approach it with three basic understandings.

  1. Men and women are equal, but different. Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Both men and women were created in His image. But God ordained us to be different. We think differently, respond differently, and communicate differently. We are different. So God gives us different commands in the marriage relationship
  2. Submission by the wife is a purposeful and is directly related to a relationship with Christ. We are to submit to our husbands as the church submits to Christ.
  3. Paul is talking to believers!

The first 3 verses are speaking directly to the wife. In our culture the word “submission” has been turned into a dirty word. Women are taught that we are equal (true) and that to submit to our husbands is to lose who we are. The secular definitions of the word submit are “to yield or surrender”. Submit can also defined as “to subject oneself to authority”. As Christians God commands us to submit to our husband just as we submit to Him. Beth offered a great resource to learn more about this in your own marriage: dancing with the one you love by Cindy Easley. In each marriage submission is not just one size fits all. There are some times and some marriages where the husband is not following Christ or his command to love his wife. Cindy’s book looks at different circumstances and offers guidance. 1Peter 3 is a wonderful piece of scripture to turn to in circumstances such as those.

While the wives directives are 3 verses long the husbands are NINE! When we submit to our husband’s authority in our marriage an awful lot of responsibility is put on his shoulders. First he is to love us. Not just love us, but love us as Christ loves the church and as he loves himself. Our English language only has one word for “love”.  In one sentence you can say, “I love God and I love Chili Cheese Fritos”. Not quite the same meaning! In Greek there are 3 words for love. Eros, Philio, and Agape. Eros is the romantic, passionate love. Philio is brotherly love or warm affection. Agape is the love that Paul is referring to in these verses. Agape is to esteem someone, to have strong affection for. It is a self-sacrificing love and it assumes that one takes pleasure in demonstrating the affection. Our husbands are to Agape –love us. They are to protect, preserve, and purify us. Part of a husband’s responsibility is to protect her relationship with the Lord as well as having the responsibility for his family following God.

When the wife is submitting to her husband and the husband is loving his wife, what a glorious picture we present to the world! Our marital relationship is the closest thing this side of Heaven that we are able to see that shows us what our relationship with God will be like one day! We have an opportunity to share with the world, through our marriage, what Christ is like.

Ephesians 5:21-33 gives us instructions on our marriage. What is stopping you? God has a good plan for your marriage, all you have to do is read the instruction manual!

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

SOM December ’12 Newsletter

December 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Check out our latest newsletter! Click the link below.

som newsletterDec12

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized

The War of Motherhood

September 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Stacey Davis

Marlene Lawson spoke to our group on Monday September 9th and she was amazing! “Major Mom” likened motherhood to war and moms to soldiers.  It really is a war, isn’t it?  We are in a spiritual, cultural, and sometimes literal war with our children on a daily basis.

Throughout our lives we have different basic trainings; as young women it is puberty, our families train us how to be married, and pregnancy gets us ready to become mothers.  Basic training in the military is all about training.  Training men and women to become soldiers and preparing them for war. Our history prepares us to be women of God and moms.

Just like soldiers are given orders so are women of God.  These orders give a directive; they tell you what you need to know to get the mission accomplished.  God knew all about us before we were even conceived. Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. He knew the war we would be in and so He gave us our orders: Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

In the military there are individual orders and then there are unit orders.  Individual orders let the individual soldier know what he/she needs to do in order to accomplish the mission.  But an individual is a part or a larger unit, a bigger picture.  Unit orders are about the mission as a whole.  God gave us our unit orders: Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Our mission is to raise healthy, well adjusted, God honoring children.

Marlene put an emphasis on the works “they way he should go” in the verse.  She reminded us that it is our job to point our children toward their purpose and their mission.  Each one of us has been created for a purpose; we need to help our children figure out theirs. But there are some things we need to remember in order to foster that growth.

  • Complete the mission for TODAY.  Don’t loose sight of the mission out of exhaustion!
  • Know your mission and set clear boundaries and consequences.
  • Foster TEAM SPIRIT in your home.
  • Remember that rules without relationship = rebellion.

So if motherhood and raising kids is a war how do we win it? We got our orders, but how do we go about getting the job done?!?!?

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

YOU are Israel! Verse 3 “Hear oh Mom”.  The land of Milk and Honey, the promise land….that is mission success!  Do you see your individual orders in the verses? God gives us the answers; He gives us our orders and even tells us how to accomplish them!!  Write them down, impress them upon your children, talk about them, write them on the doorframes!

The result of a successful mission? 3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth

Thanks, Marlene, for helping us to KNOW OUR MISSION!  So put on your boots and let’s win this WAR!

Wanna hear more from Marlene?  Check out her blog at http://nowwheresmypenny.wordpress.com/

Filed Under: News, Speakers

Updated Seller Guidelines for SOM 2012 Yard Sale

April 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

SOM Yard Sale Guidelines June 14,15,16, 2012

Held at 294 21st Street, Otsego Township

With many very successful yard sales under our belt, we have learned a few things about what works to make the sale run smoothly and what we can do to try to improve it and make it easier. They are written here to help you and to standardize our process.

 

The “cost” to each participant is donation of 20% of her proceeds to SOM Moms. So if the sale of all of your items totals $100, you would receive a check for $80 and SOM would keep $20. This is used to supplement our budget. (So everyone is aware, as Lydia is hosting the event in her garage and supplying electricity for lighting and sometimes heaters or fans, she does not contribute 20% of her proceeds.)

 

Wal-Mart and Meijer bags are needed by the gross as well as the larger bags or even boxes for our “mega-shoppers”. Bring these anytime beginning the week before the sale and drop them in the barn on the north end (the side we use as work space not sale space).

 

Any boxes you bring over that you want back should be labeled with your name. Don’t forget to mark lids as well. That way we can get everyone’s containers back to them. If you bring cardboard ones and don’t mind losing them, we may use them for packing people’s purchases.

 

Plan to have your items at the sale the Wednesday before the sale for setup. Have them marked and ready before you bring them over. There isn’t sufficient space to work on your items here and it tends to get confusing with both labeled and unlabeled items in the same work area. PLEASE: If possible, have them pre-sorted in separate boxes (like girl clothes, toys, books, etc). We are trying to make setup go ever smoother each sale.

 

Everyone is requested to work two shifts if at all possible. It really helps if you make child care arrangements for your work hours (maybe swapping with another participant) so that you can work free of distraction and so we are less likely to lose items that get played with . There are other jobs to do if you can’t work during the sale: bringing morning snacks or lunch food for the workers, advertising, delivering and picking up tables, etc.

 

If you want to reach me during the days around the sale, please use my cell phone, 217-2171 or I may not get your message until 8 pm of the day you call.

 

Items

Have everything washed and in good repair as much as possible. It will make them easier to sell, easier to get the price you want, and helps our entire stock look better. Pin two-piece clothing items together. Have buttons buttoned and zippers zipped before packing the items up to bring them to the sale. Remember that they hang up facing a certain way on the rack (with the open hook of the hanger on the left and the item hung up so the price label on the upper right side is facing you) and all clothes need to face the same way with the price label showing. Toys with multiple parts should be secured or put in zipper bags. In general, appliances or any electrical items should be pre-tested and marked as to their condition (works like new, needs a new part, etc). I can’t make a statement about your items even though I may think they are in working condition when I don’t know. Help remove doubt by having them marked. We could really use some men’s items, too: clothes, shoes, sporting items, tools, things for the car. Check the basement and garage for some ‘big boy’ toys. Dust and polish wood, metal or plastic things. Vases look better after soaking in ammonia and very hot water. Please do not bring any dirty items.

 

Labels

Please use only white square-ish labels such as the Avery-type shipping label 5160 or 8160, cut in half. You can get 2 tags per label and they are a good visible size on our items and give space to put pertinent info besides just the price. I can print some on the computer with your letter codes on them and all you have to do is cut them in half. I bought 100 sheets of labels and have plenty! They cost 40 cents per sheet. Let me know in advance if you would like to buy some. Labels should be placed in the upper right corner of most items. That way whether on a hanger or stacked in a pile, the price is consistently in the same spot and easy to find. Put your code letter which you are assigned on your label in large black print on one side of the label. Put the price on the other side and add any additional info. This could be size, working condition, how often it has been used, whatever. Print this in black or blue ink. The contrast between the bold letter code and the pen written price makes the label really easy to read (especially when totaling monies). All clothes should be marked with size and who they are for (junior’s, boys, ladies, men’s, etc) as much as possible. Label things as soon as you have decided they are going to the sale. It will make it a faster process for yourself and you will be less likely to take something back once you already have it “sale-ready”.

 

Tags don’t stick well to stuffed animals and some other toys. Be creative to find a way to keep the stickers on.

 

Pricing

Price items in 25 cent increments only. If you have an item not worth that much then combine it with others in a zipper bag and price it a quarter. If you already know you are unwilling to negotiate on price on a particular item, write FIRM by the price. That will save me time and a phone call to ask you when someone wants to offer less.

 

Hope you find this helpful and let me know if you come up with anything else I can add to future editions of these guidelines.

Thanks for participating in this really fun fund-raising, basement-clearing event!

Filed Under: News

Annual Yard Sale Coming June 14th through the 16th

April 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Our Annual Yard Sale is coming June 14th through the 16th!

Are you ready? Now’s the time start cleaning out your closets, digging through the attic and clearing out the garage. It’s your chance to get rid of the clutter, make some money and support SOM.

This sale is such an important event for SOM, because it benefits each and every member of the group. The Yard Sale is a fund raiser for us. Twenty percent of all sales go back to SOM to help cover costs for childcare, speakers and craft supplies throughout the year. This enables us to keep providing great fellowship and fun for you, and keeps our registration fee at just $10.

The sale is also a fund raiser for you! You keep 80 percent of proceeds from the sale of your items. The sale, well-known in the community and promoted by SOM with newspaper advertisements and flyers, gets a lot of visitors each year. Since everyone pitches in to share the work, it’s easier than having a sale on your own. Also it’s fun to come hang out with your friends for a few hours. All registered members of SOM are welcome to put items in the sale.

We ask that everyone with items in the sale work two 3 hour shifts sometime during June 14th-16th. A sign up sheet is available to choose your shifts. Sign up right away so you can get the time you want. Sellers also need to put their own items out for display on set up day, June 13th. This year we’re doing clean up on the following Monday, June 18th. Again sellers are expected to come take care of their unsold items and help tear down. We do ask that on sale days you don’t bring children with you since it’s difficult to watch them, especially when it gets busy.

If you’re not selling items in the sale, we still need your help. Sign up to work a sales shift, come help with clean up and tear down, bring tables to and from the church, provide a snack for the workers on a sale day or offer to baby sit for someone while they’re out at the sale. Remember all members benefit from the funds raised at the Yard Sale.

The Yard Sale really is a fun event. We want you to make some money, and we want to support SOM, so SOM can keep supporting you. Sign up to help today!

Filed Under: News

Four ways the enemy tries to empty our cups, steal our strength, and distract us from God

April 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you weren’t at our last SOM meeting then you missed out on our speaker Casie Dussia!  She was amazing! Casie shared with us the importance of taking care of yourself physically and spiritually.  I loved the way she demonstrated how important it is to fill our own cup before trying to fill someone (or something) else’s.  Here are some of they ways that the enemy tries to hinder us:

Excerpt from “Take care of yourself” SOM 4/9/12

1.) Comparing yourself to others
We all have someone in our life that always seems to have it together, always has a smile on their face, never has a bad hair day; you know what I’m talking about. They might appear to have a life that we would like. Why don’t things seem to come that easy to us?
Why? Because her path is custom made for her and your path is custom made for you! Whether you see why God made you the way He did and why your life is the way it is, there’s a reason! Your path may be a little “bumpier” than someone else’s, but that might be necessary for your purpose.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
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.
Ephesians 2:10
Do not compare yourself to anyone! Be authentic and accept yourself for who you are. That’s how you affirm yourself as God’s creation. This isn’t “settling”. Still continue building endurance and striving for your goals. Just don’t try to strive for someone else’s goals!
2.) Procrastinating
“I really should fold the laundry, I really should start that project, I really should go to the grocery store, I really should start dinner …….”
I use to procrastinate because I wanted everything perfect, so if I didn’t have the time to do it perfectly, I put it off. I finally realized that I can either have something perfect, or I can have it finished!
All procrastination does is add more stress and anxiety to your life. In many cases, in the amount of time it takes you to think about putting off what you need to do, you could have had it done!
The sluggard (lazy person) does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 20:4
Instead of procrastinating, prepare for your tasks and plan ahead. If you do that, at the end of day, what didn’t get done didn’t need to get done.
3.) Making excuses
“I would have done that, but……, I would have been there, but……”
I believe that quite often excuses stem from fear. It isn’t always easy stepping out of your comfort zone and into a new activity or task.
The devil just loves our excuses, even helping us out by giving us a few – we’re not good enough, we’re not equipped, why would God want to use us, on and on.
Think about Moses and his excuses. He was afraid. I love how God didn’t give up on him and kept pursuing him, even sending someone to help him! God will never give up on you either!
So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man (mere people) do to me?” Hebrews 13:6
So go for it! If you’ve wanted to try a new workout class, go for it! If you’ve wanted to try a new bible study, go for it! No More Excuses! Get out there and fill your cup!
4.) Guilt
“I’m feeling guilty because I left the kids home tonight so I could go for a walk with a friend. I’m feeling guilty because I couldn’t work late tonight. I’m feeling guilty because I can’t make it to that church function. I should be a better wife, mom, friend……”
The devil thoroughly enjoys us second guessing ourselves and our actions. But, who says that a choice we have made is wrong anyway? Ourselves, the enemy? For example, if we were stern with our children, maybe they needed it! If we don’t help someone every time they call, maybe we need to step back and let them help themselves.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
If you are questioning something you’ve done, take it to the Lord, learn from it, and move on! It’s not our job to critique our past actions. Our life on Earth is a learning process. No More Guilt!

To learn more about Casie and her ministry Run With Endurance visit http://www.runwithendurance.net/

Filed Under: Devotionals

Who’s Holding on to Your Rug

January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I don’t usually sit around and worry about the future, but lately I’ve felt the fear of “what if” trying to creep into my life.

“What if my husband’s job just goes away?”

“What if we lost our home?”

“What if something happened to one of our kids?”

“What if we’re suddenly slapped with some huge, expensive medical crisis?”

I was feeling insecure, stewing over all this one day, and I summed it up to myself like this, “If just one of those things happened the rug would be completely pulled out from under us.”

I really worked myself into a tizzy. I was convinced that any of those scenarios would just be The End. Unsurvivable. Unrecoverable.

Then I heard a still, small voice say to me, “What are you so worried about? Don’t you know I’m the one holding the rug in place? If it gets pulled out from under you, I’ll catch you.”

That voice wasn’t one of my kids sneaking up on me after nap time. It was Jesus prodding me in that gentle way he so often does.

I’m reminded of the story in Matthew 14 of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine. As soon as he got scared and looked down, Peter began to sink. Verse 14:31 says, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ ”

When fear, doubt or worry start to take over I just have to keep my eyes on Jesus. Even if I forget for a moment and look away, he’ll catch me. He’ll push me back from the edge, because his Father is in control. Mark 22 says this, ” ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.‘ ”

He’s right. What do I have to worry about?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Devotionals

The Station Essay

December 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Jennifer Bellgraph

I was headed to my Rheumatology appointment on November 18, 2011. Scared and nervous, not really knowing what to expect.

They brought me back to the patient room in the usual fashion and to wait for the nurse practionioner. She came in and started my exam.

I was wearing my Sisterhood of Motherhood shirt that said “…finding the joy in the journey….” on the back. The NP noticed it and told me that her father shared an essay with her that my shirt reminded her of. I thought to myself “This shirt is awesome, what a conversation starter!”

The essay is called “The Station”. She described a little of it to me, and I was receptive to taking a look at it. As I read the essay I found it to be very moving. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did, and I hope that you see life differently because of it.

http://www.thestationessay.com/

Filed Under: Devotionals

West Michigan Christmas Activities for the Whole Family

November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
  • International Festival of Lights/Battle Creek Through Dec. 31. Includes a nightly light show at Mill Race Park along with many other activities. This year’s theme is The Polar Express. Visit bcfestivals.com for more information.
  • Holiday Walk at W.K. Kellogg Manor House Friday and Saturday, Nov. 26-Dec. 17 and Monday, Dec. 19 and Wednesday, Dec. 21 Noon to 5 p.m. Tour this 1925 house decorated in Christmas splendor, and shop unique gifts from featured artists and crafters. $7 adults, $5 seniors and students. Visit kbs.msu.edu for more information.
  • Coopersville/Marne Railway Santa Train Saturday and Sundays through Dec. 18th. Visit website for departure times. Ride the train with Santa and his elves. Cost $14.50 for adults. $11.50 Kids 2-12. Under 2 free. Visit coopersvilleandmarne.org for more information.
  • Kalamazoo Art Hop & More Friday, December 2, 2011 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. downtown. Visit kazooart.org for more information.
  • Otsego Christmas Parade Dec. 2nd 7 p.m. Downtown
  • Plainwell Tree Lighting Ceremony Dec.2nd at 6:45 p.m. Main and Bridge St.
  • Plainwell Christmas Parade Dec. 3rd 1 p.m. Downtown
  • Winter Wonderland/Seminole Canyon Farm – Allegan Saturday December 3, 2011, 1-3pm. $5/person $20/family,includes all activities. Get your Picture taken with the “Holiday Horses”, take a pony ride, enjoy Hot cocoa and candy canes, participate in games, crafts and go on a Christmas scavenger hunt. Visit seminolecanyonfarm.com for more info.
  • Walk with Mary and Joseph/Merson Church Dec. 3rd and 4th 6-8:30 p.m. Outdoor Christmas walk. Experience Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. Visit mersonchurch.org for more information.
  • Holidays at the Homestead/Kalamazoo Nature Center DeLano Homestead Dec. 4th and 11th 1-4 p.m. Experience an old fashioned Christmas. Explore the farm house, make Christmas cookies and candles. Enjoy music and take a horse drawn wagon ride. Watch spinners, weavers and blacksmiths at work. Free with admission to the nature center. Wagon rides $1. Visit naturecenter.org for more information.
  • Of Christmas Past/Charlton Park Hastings Dec. 10th & 11th noon to 5. $5 adults, $4 children 3-12. See the historic buildings in the village, try your hand at traditional crafts, take a wagon ride and sample roasted chestnuts. Games for children and shopping are also available. Santa will be there too! Visit charltonpark.org for more info.
Filed Under: News
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