What is MOPS?

I talk about MOPS a lot.   As a result, I get a lot of confused looks.   MOPS, what is that, a cleaning club?   Ha, I guess that would describe one facet of what we do.  As a mother of a preschooler and grader schooler, I do clean a lot.  MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers.  I joined my first MOPS group in Orlando when my daughter was a little more than a year old.   Since my family had recently moved to Orlando, it gave me an outlet and a chance to meet Moms.  I had not joined a mothering group since having my daughter, because I was still working full time.   I liked that MOPS was Christ centered, but not a Bible study.   I was coming out of a survival mode period of my life and had put intense Bible study on the shelf for a while.   At MOPS, we met twice a month for encouragement, fellowship,  and crafts.   Once a month, we had a play date at a local park.   My MOPS days were like a breath of fresh air.  

Today, I am on the leadership team of the MOPS group at my local church.   As soon as I moved back to Houston, I was ready to find a MOPS group.   I met some wonderful ladies who I am privileged to call my friends.   Many of these ladies do ministry with me as we minister to a wonderful group of ladies in MOPS.   Today was our first meeting of the semester.  Instead of our typical eat, speaker, craft format we changed it up.   We rotated tables and chatted.   The name (I love this, but it was not my idea) chat-a-latte.   Cute huh?  Since I am in leadership, I stayed at one table and facilitated discussion questions.   I got to talk to some ladies that I had only spoken with in passing.  I also got to chat with old friends and meet new people.   I left the meeting with a smile on my face having enjoyed the company of so many sweet ladies.

Whatever stage of life you are in I think it is important to have some type of outlet where you gather with like minded people.   It is encouragement and fellowship.   If you are a Mom of a preschooler, find a local MOPS group.   Every group has a different flavor and does things slightly differently.   If you try one and don't like it, try another.   You can go to MOPS Group Finder to find a group near you.