The 5 Things Every Mom should know

Okay a new parent must (in my humble opinion) is to be a part of a group with other parents.  Community is so important- especially for cooped up stay at home moms.  My group is MOPS (mothers of preschoolers).  When I first heard of MOPS, I thought it did NOT sound like something for me... they are people obsessed with their families that like crafts right?  Well as it turns out they DO love their families (but learn not to make it an identity) and yeah, there is craft time.... but I never craft; I sit with the other moms who "forgot" to bring their craft materials and just talk for that time.

But one great part of MOPS is the special speakers.  I don't know if its because I live in a big city and our MOPS group has like 300 people in it, but we have some awesome speakers!  A couple weeks ago there was a special speaker named Vicki Courtney who is the author of many books including 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter.  Her talk was titled "The 5 Things Every Mom Needs To Know."  I just want to share my notes because her talk really helped me get a little perspective and relax in my new role as Mom.

1.  No one has this parenting thing down.

• Cut yourself some slack and don't get PMS (Perfect Mom Syndrome)
• Do what you've got to do... you're probably not going to mess up your child

Philippians 1:6 New International Version (NIV) 
⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

2.  If you play the Comparison game, you're guaranteed to loose fast

• So what if your baby isn't doing this as soon as your friend's baby 
• If you make a mistake just fix it! You can't really just figure things out perfectly.
• So be willing to readjust as you go- thought cloth diapers were perfect and now you don't?  No biggie!  Bring on the disposables!  

1 Peter 2 New International Version (NIV)

 ¹ Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

3. Avoid parenting extremes.  (3 days a week 3 hours a day piano practice at age 3 kinda stuff)

• Let the kid have fun being a kid... not just what you want them to pursue in life.

4.  Parent from the inside out.

• "Change the heart not the behavior"
• They have to examine their own hearts- you can't just ground them for bad behavior or they will go to their friends house and do that same thing.  Help them connect the dots to why the bad behavior is bad.

5. Remember your place.  Motherhood is not your primary calling.

• Focus on being a child of the Father more than the mother of your child.

1 Corinthians 3:7 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

Anyway, just wanted to pass Vicki's wisdom on to y'all!