What your mission trip is missing & The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle ($640 Value for $29.97)

May 1, 2013 By Julie Sanders

This time of year many women prepare for short term missions trips. They get shots, plan testimonies, pray together, pack suitcases, and learn about culture. But one of the greatest potential impacts of a missions team experience often gets overlooked: mentoring on mission.

In addition to trying unfamiliar food and bathroom facilities, members of cross-cultural teams are stretched physically and spiritually. Whether it happens on village paths or city pavement, mission trips are good ground for growth.

Last year I led a team of four women and four teenage girls to Northern Thailand for a ministry trip. Preparing the team for the culture, pace, climate, and purpose of our trip was crucial, but just that was a limited focus. Especially when teams combine varied ages, part of ministry is mentoring. Each woman was assigned a teen girl as a mentee; they met monthly for preparation, accountability, prayer, and bonding. Even though some moms & daughters were on the team, the mentoring relationships built into our teens and strengthened our team. Once on the field, the relationships set us up for more effective ministry cross-culturally.

Instead of limiting our focus to national co-workers and their target groups, use a wider angle lens to include the younger members of the team. By serving with youth, we plant global understanding in the hearts of the next generation, and we pave the way for future leaders. God may use our influence in cross-cultural settings to steer the life of a younger woman.

Be passionate about the culture to go to reach, but also be passionate about reaching younger members of your team. “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1) How can you mentor younger women on mission teams?

Mentoring happens on mission when:

You invite her participation
You get to know younger team members
You look for and nurture her gifts
You speak words of encouragement
You pray with her on the go, as you serve
Before the trip – You ask good questions, listen to her thoughts, affirm her contributions
After the trip – You ask good questions, listen to her thoughts, affirm her contributions

A new culture, fast pace, different language, and changes in plans may leave them feeling overwhelmed. Teens may be insecure and unsure of how they can help. The opportunity to serve cross-culturally will stir their hearts and, perhaps, their dreams about their future.

Your greatest ministry may be in the life of a younger team member from your own hometown.

And if you aren’t on a team yourself, how about sending a card, chatting over coffee, or texting to encourage that teen who’s widening her world and stepping out in faith? You can have a mission mentoring ministry right from your home.

Missions and mentoring cross over at a beautiful intersection when women look for ways to build into younger team members. Your heart to “mother others” has the potential to bear fruit in far away places and right at home.

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The M.O.M. Initiative is a ministry devoted to taking Titus 2 to the streets and making mentoring intentionally missional…and as a way of help to support this ministry, The M.O.M. Initiative is offering an affiliate link that provides you with a great group of resources at a very low cost. SEE THE LIST BELOW to check out what you get for only $29.97! (A $640 Value)

*A portion of all proceeds earned from any sales will go to helping sex trafficking victims through Courage Worldwide and to helping young moms through local women’s shelters.

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The fine print:

Bonus Offers

Each bonus offer can be redeemed once only per eBook Bundle purchase.
For each bonus offer, transaction numbers or proof of purchase may be required at the time of redemption.
All bonus offers are free gifts from the bonus sponsors, are their sole responsibility to provide, and are subject to availability.
All bonus offers expire at midnight on May 25th, 2013 (3 weeks from the last day of this sale).

General

It is your responsibility to download and back-up your purchase within the 1-month download time-frame. With proof of purchase, we can renew download links up until August 1st, 2013. After this date we will no longer have access to the books and will not be able to provide any new links to download.
Due to the nature of this sale, there will be no refunds available.However, we would invite you to read our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more about the file types, the download process, how the bonus offers work, etc.

This post includes affiliate links, and I make a small portion of each sale. Thank you for investing in this ministry by purchasing The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle through The M.O.M. Initiative!

Filed Under: Adoption & Fostering, Blended Families, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

How In the World?

August 20, 2012 By themomin

Whenever I meet someone new and they discover I have seven children, often there is a gasp and “How in the world do you do that?” And then when they further discover, if time permits, that one of my children has a life-threatening illness, the question comes: “How do you cope with that?”

I suppose I should first make the disclaimer that this was, and is, a growing process for me. (Oh, and the photo above was on a very busy day serving at church. ) I didn’t have seven children all at once (Whew! Go septuplet Moms!) My oldest daughter, now 21, became mine through marriage and was 8 years old when I became her stepmom. And though Taylor, my special needs daughter, was my first child by birth, we didn’t receive her terminal diagnosis until age 4. While the average life span for MPS, her disease, is 10-15 years, I’m very blessed to tell you that while she has many problems, they could be much worse. We are privileged to be celebrating her sweet sixteenth birthday in a few weeks, as God would have it. He is so gracious. My “younger” children are ages 10, 8, 7, 3, and 16 months. Needless to say, we have a hoppin’ house.

When others ask me “How do I do it?” several topics come to mind. Essentially, I believe this question is generalizing a load of questions.

Today I’m sharing a quick three answers, both practical and spiritual, to caring for large families and meeting individual needs. Please believe me when I say that I have not arrived, by any means. But after 16 years of rearing children and caring for a special needs child, and 12 years of being a stepparent, here are just three highlights that I believe will help you tremendously as a Christian mom.

1. Rely on God’s Word to feed you daily.

I cannot emphasize this point enough. God took me to the point of being on my own completely with my sweet special needs girlie and I learned to rely solely on Him. Not a church, not my parents’ faith, not what someone told me to do. My faith and trust for eternal life was in Him from the time I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was six years of age. But trusting God to meet all of your needs- physical, spiritual, emotional, etc. has to occur on a DAILY basis. Without time in the living Word, I find myself unwilling and too weak to be the mom He has called me to be.

2. Accept help.

This was tough for me! I love being able to do everything myself. I want to be the need-meeter. My tendency is to want that “S” on my shirt to stand for Supermom. No missing library books, no toilets left behind, no dirty couches (that’s the big thing that needs attention right now. ;0) ) The truth is: I can’t do it all. So I have to decide what is important enough for me to do and what can be passed on to others.

3. Focus on the positive.

My husband will vouch for this fact: One negative thought can send my mind into a swirl of negativity. When I allow Satan to get a foothold in my thought life, even with one “little” thought, then my husband and family are affected, not to mention making myself miserable. When facing heavy obstacles of life, weigh the circumstances and then purposely decide to look at the positive points of the situation. Once you see the positive, remain focused on it.

I would love to hear from our readers today!

What is one method you’ve found as a mom to persevere through either handling large family logistics or meeting individual needs?

Rachel- RachelWojo.com

Linked with TheBetterMom today

Filed Under: Blended Families, Parenting, Relationships, Special Needs Tagged With: how to cope, large family, mom to many, special needs 14 Comments

Blended Families & Day 7 Giveaways

August 14, 2012 By themomin

Today’s Great Giveaways!

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With MAGICAL MOUSE SCHOOLHOUSE: Learn While You Play at Walt Disney World Resort, children and their parents can think outside the textbook and stretch the walls of the home classroom with Walt Disney entertainment. Have you ever watched Tinker Bell light the nightly fireworks at Magic Kingdom Park? Learn about her magical glow and measure luminescence using glow-in-the-dark objects. Have you ever ridden Dumbo the Flying Elephant? Build a paper airplane with an elephant’s proportions and learn about aviation.

HOW TO ENTER: SUBSCRIBE TO WEBSITE, COMMENT ON BLOG, SHARE FB POSTS, TWEET, RETWEET & COMMENT ON BLOG (NEW SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE OUR NEW BOOK,FACING OUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M.)

BLENDED FAMILY

I loved watching The Brady Bunch. Somehow it conjured up my idea of a perfect family. A happily married couple with three boys and three girls. For a little girl whose family remained intact until I was seventeen, I didn’t consider how that cute sitcom may have majorly minimized what really happens behind closed doors in a blended family.

I didn’t have a clue how inharmonious a home can be when trying to blend two completely different families into one. Perhaps The Brady Bunch left us thinking that Alice would make everything better with the help of the local butcher and some fresh-baked brownies. Or maybe it shed some light on the American reality of broken and blended homes.

But is that how the blended family life looks in real life? Does the meshing of two families into one happen as easily as writing ‘happily-ever-after’ into a script?

We all know real life isn’t as neatly laid out as a 30 minute television show. Even reality shows lose the ‘real’ in the midst of the story-line.

Occasionally, the blending of two families is like maneuvering a few puzzle pieces around until they slip into place. It may take a little effort, but it’s a fit.

Unfortunately, that’s not normally the case.

Most blended families find themselves entering uncharted territory without knowing what course to follow, what to expect along the way and without a planned destination. It’s not easy when there is no ‘one’ route that works for every family.

And since we can’t paint every family with the same brush, it’s important to consider the variables, the similarities and the goals.

THE VARIABLES:

Every family is different. The dynamics of each family that comes together to form one is different. Defining some of those differences will help prevent scripted advice to try to solve all blended family woes. Here are some variables to consider when you are entering into a blended family, part of a blended family or trying to encourage a blended family…

The ages of the children when their mom or dad became a single parent
How their mom or dad became a single parent (death or divorce)
What the children went through while both parents were together (was physical, sexual or emotional abuse involved, or was it a long and nasty divorce?)
How long the parent was single
How old the children are when the single parent begins dating
How often the single parent dates and what types of people he/she is dating
How much exposure the children have to the potential future spouse (and step-parent)
How focused the single parent is on getting remarried (does remarriage seem more important than parenting)
How old the children are when the single parent remarries

Each of these are important variables to consider. Each of them explain why, when it comes to “How to Have a Happy Blended Family,” there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. These variables are also helpful for parents entering into the relationship to consider so that they can not only be prepared for some challenges they may face but also to begin undergirding the future relationship of the family with what is necessary for each family member involved.

SIMILARITIES FOR SUCCESSFUL STEP-FAMILIES:

Each family is different and navigating the issues of the past and establishing a solid foundation for the future will look different based on some of the variables mentioned above. We may not be able to paint every family with the same brush, but there are some similarities that can be found in successful blended families. Here are a few:

The foundation of the family is their faith in God and commitment to live according to His Word
Respect for all members of the family, including the children’s biological parents
Their ability to love well (a great help is to use 1 Corinthians 13 as a filter for the way you love)
Unity – That the parents (all parents) make a decision to be united in parenting
Patience – Not only in the moment but for the long haul, patience to understand that change takes time, especially when intense emotions are involved
Reasonable expectations are necessary for the family to begin to mesh well
Give each other space when needed
Fun – Be very intentional about having fun together

There are many other similarities that are characteristic of the development of a successful step-family, but these are some essentials.

FAMILY GOALS:

You’ve heard it said that if you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time. Parenting (whether in a blended family or not) should be approached with goals in mind. When a blended family is seeking to homogenize it is important that they set some family goals in order to fortify the unity of the family. Families who dream and plan together tend to remove their focus from their difference and set their attention on doing things together.

Plan a family vacation together and plan how you all can start earning money for the vacation
Family movie nights (weekly, biweekly or monthly – gives the family something to look forward to together)
Family game nights and family days at the park
Children setting goals to make a specific grade and others in the family helping that child
Saving money for college (both the parents and the kids)
Building an addition on the house like a game room or patio
Remodeling the kids’ rooms
Gardening as a family
Raising a service dog

There are a slew of wonderful goals you can set as a family depending on your own personal family dynamics are. But the goal is to set goals together so as you pursue those goals together, togetherness happens.

Being in a blended family is seldom easy. Sometimes it may seem like there are bumps in the road every step of the way. But it is important to remember that when parents enter into a new relationship, the children are pulled into it, ready or not. Parents have the overwhelming task of planting seeds of love and security in the hearts of their children while maintaining respect for their need to maintain a vital relationship with their non-custodial parents.

Sweet mom, your family may not look like The Brady Bunch, but if you’re in a blended family, you are not alone. There is help. Here are a few resources that can help shed light on your journey:

Focus on the Family

Smart StepFamilies

Winning the Heart of Your Stepchild by Bob Barnes

In Step With Your Stepchildren by Karen O’Connor

Are you a blended family struggling to blend? Have you considered some of the things mentioned above? Have you tried some things that have worked to bring unity in your home?

We’re linked up with Time-warped Wife today!

Filed Under: Blended Families, M.O.M. Devos, Stephanie Shott, Uncategorized Tagged With: Blended Families, Stepchildren, Stepmom 4 Comments

What your mission trip is missing & The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle ($640 Value for $29.97)

Mentoring happens on mission when:

Your greatest ministry may be in the life of a younger team member from your own hometown.

What’s Included in the Sale?

PLUS over $140 of FREE Bonuses

Home & Property {Cleaning, Organizing, Decor}

Educational Children’s Resources

Budgeting {Finance & Time}

In the Kitchen {Recipes and Cooking}

Pregnancy & Baby Care

Holidays & Special Events

Spiritual Growth

Marriage & Romance

Motherhood

Health & Fitness

Beauty

Working from Home & Blogging

Ecourses

PLUS, You will receive FREE Bonuses from these companies…

The fine print:

This post includes affiliate links, and I make a small portion of each sale. Thank you for investing in this ministry by purchasing The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle through The M.O.M. Initiative!

How In the World?

Blended Families & Day 7 Giveaways

Today’s Great Giveaways!

BLENDED FAMILY

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