Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 
I Chronicles 16:34

We hear so much around this time of year about being thankful and counting our blessings. But, what about the rest of the year? 

And how do we teach our children to have a heart that is filled with gratitude?

First, and foremost, we moms must model to our children what we want from them. They need to see us regularly acknowledging the things we are thankful for. It needs to become a way of life to us. 

Here are a few things I thought of just off the top of my head that we can do in our daily lives to teach them by example:

-At dinner or bedtime each night have each person tell about one thing they are thankful for. 
-Always thank people when they have done you a service. Whether it’s your server at a restaurant or the clerk in the checkout line, let people know you appreciate what they have done for you, even if it is a job they are getting paid to do.

I figured a Thankful Thursday post each week is a good way to help us all to be thinking about the things we have to be thankful for.

Here are just a few of the things I'm thankful for today:

1. Salvation ~ The fact that Jesus died on the cross for ME is something I am still amazed by. John 3:16
2. My husband ~ He truly is my hero.
3. My children and grandchildren ~ That they live within minutes of me and like to spend time with me.
4. My church ~ I am so thankful for my church for so many reasons I don't even know where to begin. So I'll just go with the two things that have been on my heart this week. First, I am so thankful for the amazing team of leaders in our Children's ministry department. I had the privilege of joining them for a bit on Sunday night during Super Sunday night service and I'm still thinking about it. I so appreciate the heart each of them have for children. They have a gift at not just doing church, but bringing kids into the presence of Jesus. Jeremy and Debbie, Melissa, Jason and so many others, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! And second, I am also thankful that the people that make up this church are some of the most generous, giving people I know. Even in slow economic times. Because of that generosity, we got to put together 250 Thanksgiving food boxes to hand out at church Sunday. 
5. The Internet ~ Without it there would be no blogging.
6. Nate Scott and Flying Rhino ~ Thank you so much for the amazing blog header and everything else you guys do to serve the body of Christ.

Your turn. What are you thankful for today?

Monday, November 17, 2008

Welcome To The Mom2Mom Cafe Blog

Welcome to the Mom2Mom Cafe blog. We're so glad you're here.

What is Mom2Mom Cafe?

Mom2Mom Cafe is a ministry of City Bible Church in Portland, Oregon. The heart of this ministry is to provide opportunity fomoms to come together, build relationships and encourage one another as the bible tells us to in Titus 2:4 - These older women must teach the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to take care of their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. 

On Tuesday mornings during the school year (with the exception of the Holiday season) moms of all ages and backgrounds come together at the cafes on each of our campuses. The little ones play together while moms enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and visit with one another. We provide a relaxed setting where moms who have already 'been there' are available to share biblical truth and life experience with moms who are now raising their children. Mom2Mom Cafe is also an outreach to our community. We encourage moms to bring their friends.

Why the blog?

This blog is an online extension of the Mom2Mom Cafe ministry. Our desire is that this blog would be a source of encouragement for you as we make it a place to share biblical advice as well as practical and fun things we've learned along the way from our own personal experience in the journey of parenting. In addition to parenting, we will have categories for meal planning/recipes, mom recommended kid products, local resources, etc., etc. so check back often.

Who are we?

The ladies that will be contributing are all part of the Women's Ministry team here at CBC. Susan Estes, Robyn Madison, Dyane Davis, Carolyn Wade and Kristi Mears all serve with their husbands as part of the City Bible Church pastoral team.

If you are looking for Pastoral care or are seeking answers to specific questions, please email us at mom2momcafe@citybiblechurch.org or call the church office directly @ 503.255.2224.