Rock'in at the Mall

This past Saturday Mom's Connection was at Children's Day at the Mall! Located right beside Sears, Fye, and a bouncy house, it was the perfect set up for us to give out over 400 flyer's to moms. With our table full of children, we helped them make their own space universe using stencils and stickers! Then we let them choose a prize from our amazing treasure box filled with chinese finger traps, plastic lizards, bouncy balls, and much more. It didn't take much to make these children smile or for us to have a great time reaching out to them. As we handed out flyer's about our group to moms, we also gave them a purple bags to carry their children's artwork! We had a great day!

None of this would have been possible without the moms who helped out! Thank you to everyone who came out to handout flyers and help the children with the crafts~ Yina Wickham, Jenn Allgeier, Missy Beard, Kim Ratcliffe, Jenn Kirsch, Christy Shrom, Katie Trenary, and Sherry White. Our children played a big part in helping as well and sacrificed their playtime at the mall. Thank you to Caitlyn Shrom, Lee and Hannah Fraley, and Heather and Tommy Ratcliffe. A special thanks to Janine DiGiovanni for putting the children's crafts supplies together and for triumphing in reaching out to moms. There wasn't a mom within eyesight that didn't get a bag and flyer! Also a special thanks to Christy and Caitlyn Shrom for designing the posterboard for the event.

It is my prayer we will see many new faces at our meetings coming up and have open hearts to reach out to them.

Blessings,

Lisa

For the remainder of March

Saturday, March 26 Children's Day at the Mall from 10 AM- 3 PM- There will be activities for children and a puppet show. The theme is Space Buddy Blast.

Monday, March 28 Mom's Movie Night- Join us at 7PM at Christy Shrom's house. Bring your favorite movie candy. Popcorn will be provided. For directions or further information, contact Amanda Dagostino at aeasunshine@gmail.com.

A look ahead to April

Friday, April 8 Jus' Moms Coffee Break- For those moms who need a break or want to connect, join us at Tropical Smoothie in Martinsburg, WV at 9:30 AM. This is primarily for those moms whose children are in school however it's open to anyone.

Tuesday, April 12 Baby Shower for Jenn and Yina-In order to give everyone an opportunity to participate, we will be having a baby shower during one of normally scheduled topic meetings. We will play games, enjoy a delicious lunch, and have fun.

Jenn is having a boy and Yina is having a girl however we don’t anyone to feel pressured to purchase a gift. If you can’t please come anyway and celebrate with us!
Childcare will be completely provided so we will ALL be together.

Saturday, April 16 at 7 PM and Sunday, April 17 at 10:30 AM The Living Last Supper-Come and watch as the Leornardo Da Vinci masterpiece, The Last Supper, comes alive in this life size presentation known as The Living Last Supper at Bethel Assembly of God, Martinsburg, WV in the main sanctuary.

It's a recreation of the original artwork that includes vignettes by each Apostle during the course of the evening about his travels with Jesus. Frozen in the moment, each speaker disengages from the picture to provide his dialogue, then melds back into the fabric.

Saturday, April 23 Bethel's Easter Eggstravaganza- For children ages 0-14 are invited to join us for a fun morning from 10 AM- 12 Noon of games, crafts, a snack, story time, and an egg hunt. It's BYOB (Bring your own basket.)

Monday, April 25 Mom's Night Out- Join us as we go Restuarant Hopping in Martinsburg, WV beginning at 6:30 pm for appetizers at Applebee's. Then onto the main course at Outback Steakhouse, and our grand finale at Logan's for dessert!

Tuesday, April 26 Topic Meeting with special guest speakers. Join us at Bethel Assembly of God in Martinsburg, WV in the Mace building, room 109 from 9:45-11:45 AM for a time of brunch, discussion, and prayer. Childcare is provided!

If you have any questions about our special events, please contact Amanda Dagostino at aeasunshine@gmail.com or Lisa Fraley at momsrgreat@comcast.net .

Get to Know You Tuesday

Join us Tuesday, March 22, 2011 for an opportunity to get to know our fellow co-workers in motherhood better! It might look like a normal topic meeting with our yummy snacks, announcments of upcoming events, and prayer but wait for something different.

Same time (9:45am), same place (Bethel Assembly of God in the Mace building, room 109), and the same wonderful, caring, loving moms you will ever meet. Childcare is provided!

As you already know there is a national need in Japan after one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, a tsunami, and the partial meltdown of nuclear reactors.

Woodrow Kroll from Back to the Bible writes:

As you consider how the Lord might have you help, please keep in mind: "Many foreign workers are leaving Japan. But I heard one missionary say she cannot think of leaving. 'The whole world is praying for Japan. God is going to work here in great ways. Why would I go home now? I want to be here to see what God is going to do!'"

You can equip these Christians and many others around Japan, committed to the message of the Gospel despite the risks, to proclaim the goodness and compassion of Christ in the face of devastation.

This Sunday at Bethel Assembly of God a special offering will be taken up that will go directly to local Assembly of God churches to support their relief efforts who are on the ground ministering to the Japanese people. Would you prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you give?

As we meet the physical and emotional needs of the Japanese people-while sharing with them the love of Jesus Christ- can you imagine how this country can be restored?

Blessings,

Lisa

Bethel Yard Sale

Mpact Girls Ministry of Bethel Assembly of God is sponsoring a yard sale this Saturday, March 19th from 8 am – 2 pm in the gym. Come out and browse the many tables of new and gently used items. There will also be baked goods and other food items for sale. Thank you for your support!

He loves me!

The little girl stands in the backyard chanting as she plucks petals one by one from the daisy and drops them to the ground. He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me. At game's end, the last petal tells all: whether or not the person desired returns the affection.

Of course no one takes it seriously, and if children don't get the answer they desire, they take another daisy and start again. It doesn't take long even for children to realize that flowers weren't designed to tell romantic fortunes. Why should they link their hearts' desires to the fickleness of chance?

Why indeed! But it is a lesson far easier learned in romance than in more spiritual pursuits. For long after we've put away our daisies, many of us continue to play the game with God. This time we don't pluck flower petals but probe through our circumstances trying to figure out exactly how God feels about us.

I got a raise, He loves me.

I didn't get the promotion I wanted; I lost my job. He loves me not!

Something in the Bible inspired me today. He loves me!

My child is seriously ill. He loves me not!

Something I prayed for actually happened. He loves me!

I stretched the truth to get myself out of a tight spot. He loves me not!

On and on the game goes until we lose sight of how the Lord feels about us altogether and we either walk away deciding there is nothing we could ever do to please Him or we work ourselves to death trying to earn His affection.

What about you? Have you ever felt tossed back and forth by circumstances, occasionally certain but mostly uncertain about how the Creator of the Universe feels about you? Or perhaps you've never even known how much God loves you.

Well, I want to assure you today that He really does love you with an everlasting love. During all of your difficult circumstances His presence is there to strengthen you and carry you through if only you will choose to call on His name:

I lost my job, but several friends from church prayed for me and even brought my family groceries. He loves me!

My child is seriously ill, but our pastor and congregation have set up a round the clock prayer vigil for us and have sent cards and letters of encouragement. He loves me!

I stretched the truth to get myself out of a tight spot, but I prayed and repented and the Lord forgave me and gave me another chance. He loves me!

You see it is always He loves me! He loves me! He loves me!

In fact God's Word tells us over and over again about His steadfast love for us. My prayer for each of you today is the same prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesians:

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in Heaven and on earth derives its names. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:14-19

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Kim Ratcliffe
Referencing the book He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection by Wayne Jacobsen

Children's Day at the Mall

Children’s Day at the Mall is coming up Saturday, March 26 from 10 am- 3 pm at the Martinsburg Mall. There will be activities for children and a puppet show. The theme is Space Buddy Blast.

We will be setting up a table in order to invite moms to join us! We will be doing a craft with the children and talking to moms just like you. We have flyers, bags to hand out, a bulletin board to show pics of our meetings but something is missing!

We need YOU to come out and support us by volunteering to either help children with a craft or hand out flyers to moms. There are two time slots to choose from 10 am – 12:30 pm or 12:30 – 3pm. If you can help, please call Lisa Fraley at 304-728-4886 or email at momsrgreat@comcast.net. Thanks!

The Childhood Years

We have a legend in our household. It is called "The Apricot Story". I won't go into the telling of the tale, but suffice it to say that the child involved, who is now in her twenties, knows that the story will be told without fail to any boyfriend that makes it past eight or ten dates with her. It will be told on her birthday, it will be retold to friends we haven't seen in years, and it will surely be told to her in-laws on her wedding day.

Each of our children has a history that includes many stories, and we remember them all. The oldest fell asleep on the bus every day on the way home from kindergarten. Every day , the bus driver had to carry her into the house. To this day she needs more sleep than anyone else in the family. When one of the twins was three years old, he cut all his hair off one afternoon. Over the years, as he matured and developed his interests, that haircut so long ago seems to have been an indicator of his passion for religion. The other twin ran through a plate-glass window at age four and came out the other side completely unscathed. Presently his reputation for getting himself in and out of scrapes unharmed continues. These stories are just a start. We have stories for all ages, from the tale of their birth to the Little League years to the teenage scandals, and we love to relive them. At least their dad and I do. I am not sure that they do; I have never asked them. The fact that they smile self-consciously and stare at the table, color rising up into their ears while we regale guests with these stories, has never hindered us from telling them.

The lives of our children continue to enchant us. At age four they filled us with a sense of wonder and delight. Now in their twenties, they continue to do the same. We never get bored with the stories. We never forget.

An excerpt from The Quotable Mom edited by Kate Rowinski