Play Group

I'll start this post with a cute picture of my peanut. Actually it's probably not the best picture, but I thought her pigtails were just too cute...that was until she fell off the slide and the bow impaled her head. For some reason Alison is head accident prone.

This morning at biblestudy we were discussing Psalm 108. We came to verse 3, "I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples" and one of the women questioned why we don't proclaim God's goodness and share with others what He is doing in our life, even in church. My first thought was because I feel like others don't really care or I'm too concerned about what they think. Well, that's just silly. So in light of what God taught me this morning, I'd like to share a small tidbit of what He's doing in my life.
God has opened up so many doors and changed me since moving to Virginia. A few weeks after moving here Ben and I joined the YMCA and got accounts set up at the library. I started taking classes at the Y and taking Alison to 'Story Time' at the library. The doors of meeting women with young kids were being flown open and all of the sudden I had a boldness that I've never had. I began praying for all of the women I was meeting and my journal pages were filling up with new names. I felt a little stocker-ish, especially when I resulted to parking my car by the clubhouse to watch the woman in our neighborhood pick her child up from the bus stop to see which house she went in. When we took this job I questioned God whether He really had the right people. I'm not outgoing. I'm not the person who seeks people out to invite them to Church. I'm quiet and reserved and felt inadequate for such a big job as working with a church plant. But God gave me a love for these women and a boldness I didn't expect. 6 weeks ago I personally invited each woman and her child that was at story time to my house for a play date. It was definitely God talking that day, as I approached complete strangers and asked them to come to my home for a morning. I knew they must think I'm completely crazy, but God answered my prayers and 4 women showed up (well, technically 5, but one woman didn't come in because she didn't know where to park). That first week, I had been sicker than a dog the day before but couldn't cancel because I didn't have anyone's information, they just had mine...not so helpful. Ben helped me sanitize and I made it through, but I was the worst host ever. But God was still faithful and the women expressed interest in continuing meeting. So I decided we'd meet every other Friday and got everyone's information. Since then we've met 2 more times each with 4 women coming, but not always the same 4. The kids do really well playing and the moms seem to really enjoy having some adult conversation. I did learn last week not to make chocolate chip cookies, because as soon as one woman said she was on a diet no one else would touch them. Thankgoodness for my little garbarge disposal, Alison. Last week I started inviting women from the Y and even a lady I met at the park. My list of moms interested is up to 10. I'm really excited about this huge door God has opened in my life. I pray that some day it could turn into a MOPs group, but since Hope doesn't have a building or the people to watch kiddos right now, it will have to stay a play group for awhile. I'm also praying for these women's families and that Ben and I would eventually be able to get to know them and ultimately share Christ with them.
And speaking of playing, Alison had a blast playing with Ben's hoodies last night. With all 4 of her "eye" teeth coming in, you will often find her like this...with all of her fingers in her mouth, to cover all 4 spots.