Saturday, November 2, 2013

MomCon 2013


I'm not sure how many of you are mothers of preschoolers, but if you have a MOPS group in your area, I highly recommend you participating! I just returned from MomCon in Kansas City, MO and oh what a blessed time we had! Every year MOPS hosts a convention that lasts about 3 days. They have wonderful authors, amazing speakers, and an anointed worship service! Nothing on earth compares to 4,000 voices singing praises to His name.

What is MOPS you ask? If you haven't guessed yet it stands for Mothers of Preschoolers, but you don't have to have a preschooler to partake. You can participate from conception thru Kinder. Some areas even have a Momsnext group for school age kiddos. It's a great way to get some much needed adult conversation with other moms while someone is watching your babies in Moppets. It's also a great way to create friendships that are life lasting. I have met some of my bestest friends at MOPS. You can find prayer warriors, encouragers, supporters, and so much more within a group of moms.

Now I want to brag about the convention! I went with 3 other ladies from our steering team. Last year I went as a steer team member, but it was so great to go as just a mom. I was able to relax and not feel like I HAD to get all this information to take back with me. I still got a lot of great info though ;). I didn't feel guilty when if I  missed a workshop because they filled up. Last year I felt a little guilty when I skipped a workshop to go shopping in the Marketplace. So glad I didn't need to worry about that this year!

The authors/speakers...gifted women of God who brought us laughter and tears. It's great to know that we are not in this motherhood journey alone. Even those who appear to "have it all" go through the same struggles as the rest of us.

Some pointers that go with this year's theme shared with us:
*There is beauty in the broken
*God uses the and loves the broken
*I need to find God's beauty in my broken

I'm just going to do some name dropping here so you know how awesome MomCon is...


Alexandra Kuykendall
"The Artist's Daughter"
Beth Moore
So many books and bible studies
Elisa Morgan
Many books including "The Beauty of Broken


Jen Hatmaker
Many books including newest book "7"
Kathi Lipp
Author of many books
Lysa Terkeurst
Many books including "Unglued"
They all had amazing things to share with us! Jen Hatmaker was my favorite this year though. She was just so real! She spoke about our kids having spiritual nannies in this day and age. She also spoke about not always taking care of everything for our kids. No, I'm not talking about the necessities for life. "Our kids will never make it as His disciple if we cushion everything for our kids. Our job is not to shield kids from everything hard, but to parent them with love and guidance. We should not pull our kids completely out of the world into our own "Christian" universe.We need to parent diligently not fearfully. If we are so concerned with raising safe and happy kids, then who will raise the disciples?" 

She did throw in some scripture as well about what Jesus' disciples went through back then. There is a process in becoming a disciple of Christ: sacrifice, loss, struggle, courage, danger, failure, risk...is that not when we grow the most? Our kids need to experience these things as well. I don't want to be the reason my children choose safety over courage. "Scared moms raise scared kids and brave moms raise brave kids." The real question is, do I believe and trust that God is caring for my kids?

We need to be imitating Christ as well. "We have to guide with our lives and not just our lips." If we aren't living it then we have no hope in leading it. We must remember that we are not just mothers, but also disciples.

Sorry if my writing seems scattered. I was going through my notes and I'm sure I forgot to write down some things, but the basics are all there. Her talk made an impression on me. I met her, bought a book, and now look forward to making some positive changes within my family unit.


I highly encourage every mother to go to at least one MOPS Convention. It will change your life if you let it.