March Meeting Recap: Notice Goodness

We had a great meeting last month!  Noticing Goodness is one tenet of this year's theme, A Fierce Flourishing, and in March we focused on noticing goodness in the unique personalities that God has given our family members!

Devotion

Megan shared some great thoughts with us based on the Scripture passage of Luke 10:38-42 where we learn about Jesus' visit with Mary and Martha.  Too many of us moms tend to be like Martha... busy, hurried, serving and a little angry.  Megan gave us 3 practical steps to help alleviate the
"Martha syndrome"and you can click here to read her full devotional.  Thanks for sharing, Megan!

Craft

Our craft was simple and perfect for the Easter season.  We made these beautiful pallet board crosses, and as you can see there are endless style possibilities for these crosses.


Here's the how-to:

Start with a rectangle of wood prepared however you would like.  We used boards from old pallets that had been cut down, lightly sanded and then stained.  Painted wood would look cute too!

Take two strips of fabric or burlap, cut about 4 inches longer than the length of your board, and center the first strip lengthwise on top of your board.  Holding the fabric in place, turn the board over and wrap one end of the fabric over the top edge of the board.  Staple the end of the fabric strip securely to the back of the board, then wrap the other end of the fabric strip over the bottom edge of the board and staple that end securely as well.

Turn the board over so you're looking at the front.  Using a 5-6 inch piece of clear fishing line, gather and tie the fabric where you'll want the intersection of your cross to be (about 3/4 way to the top).  Cut off excess fishing line.

Position your second strip of fabric across the front of the board, crossing over top of the first strip where you want the intersection of the fabric to be (where you've gathered & tied the first fabric strip).  Again, holding fabric in place, turn board over and secure both ends of the fabric strip with staples.

Turn the board back over to the front and repeat the gathering/tying process with the second fabric strip, taking care to position the second tie over the top of the first tie.  Hot glue a decorative detail (button, fabric flower, etc.) over the intersection of the fabric strips to hide the ties.

Speaker

Lisa Fields, the founder and director of Heath's Haven was back to speak to us and we just LOVE HER!  Heath's Haven exists to provide tools for healthy relationships and you can click here to find out more about the resources this organization provides.

Lisa started off by asking if any of us feel like we are living in a zoo?  (um... YEAH!)  That's because we are!  She explained that there are 4 different personality types (all made by God) that can be characterized by different animals (lion, otter, golden retriever & beaver).  Most homes have a combination of several different "animals" living in them so it makes perfect sense that your home might just feel like a zoo! 

The key to NOTICING GOODNESS in these different "animals" (your children) is to realize that each personality type is God-given.  Don't try to turn them into anything else (no matter the gender).  You may need to work on some hard edges and refine personality traits, but your goal as a parent is to help them to be the best, well-balanced type that they are created to be.  In other words, we are trying to appreciate the personalities our children have been given, and then help them become the best version of themselves that God intended. 

Lisa mentioned 3 elements needed to parent the family zoo:  Self-awareness, Observation, & Flexible Response.  She also explained that one of the greatest benefits of learning about personalities is the relief you feel when you can understand why another person acts and reacts as they do.  If you'd like to take the animal personality quiz click here to be directed to Gary Smalley's website.  He's got lots of great info on personality types as well as resources for strengthening marriages and families. 

We appreciate Lisa coming and always look forward to the the wisdom she shares with our group!  May we all notice the goodness in our children's personalities and have a little better appreciation for our family zoos!!!