WOULD YOU RATHER? COURAGE TO RISK - MOPS

Experience 11

WOULD YOU RATHER?

Ask either-or questions and require moms to move to opposite sides of the room based on their choice. They must pick one! Here are a few to get you started: Would you rather ...

breathe like Darth Vader or talk like Yoda? bungee jump or deep-sea dive? be super strong or super fast? go without the internet or without a car for a month? be in your pajamas all day or be in a suit all day?

Experience 11

COURAGE TO RISK

Dr. Raleigh Washington has lived a lifetime of adventures involving risk, difficult choices and even some regret. He was better able to tackle risk when he had people beside him believing he could succeed. From military life to marriage, Dr. Washington has a story to inspire us and spur us on to encourage others.

Experience 11

When has someone told you "I believe in you"? How did that impact you?

When have you had the courage to take a risk?

Is there a risk you wish you had taken that makes you say, "I wonder what would have happened if ..."?

What do you want to teach your kids about risk? How will you do that?

Experience 11

TILE MESSAGE BOARD

Create a message board by using a tile and rub-on decals. Use this for notes to the family or inspirational messages to yourself.

Visit groupexperiencekitonline to learn more about this activity and for downloadable instructions.

Experience 12

ONE MINUTE, PLEASE

Ask for volunteers who are willing to talk for one minute on any topic you select. Time each and see how long she can go before running out of thoughts. Have a good prize ready for the one who can talk the longest on her given topic. Some topic suggestions: my earliest memories, my favorite computer game, why beans are good for you, 10 things you can do with potatoes, fun things to do on a rainy day.

Experience 12

COURAGE TO BE TOO MUCH

Jayne Spear's own mother lived big. From big emotions to big meals she wanted everything in life to be fully experienced. Yet Jayne has struggled with living an edited life, one that is reigned in and less risky. She shares how she gives herself permission to be messy in order to live courageously as her true self.

Experience 12

Share about a time when you've replayed a conversation in your head and scrutinized what was said. Describe how that played out.

Is there a part of motherhood where you want to color outside the lines -- go against the grain?

What do you think your approach to life, how "big" you are willing to be, models to your kids?

What is one thing you can do this week to encourage someone to be "too much"?

Experience 12

CLAY MAGNET

Use modeling clay and pressed flowers, leaves or other foliage, to create unique magnets.

Visit groupexperiencekitonline to learn more about this activity and for downloadable instructions.

Experience 13

REACT AND ACT

Have moms select a sheet of paper with a situation on it then react using animated expressions, gestures and words. After a set amount of time, other players try to guess what happened. Some actions could be:

you were surprised by a bear in the woods. you just won the lottery. you have just received a marriage proposal. make the game-winning pass to win the Super Bowl.

Experience 13

COURAGE TO BE A STICKY FAITH MOM

Mother and seminary professor Kara Powell offers practical tactics moms can take to pass on their faith to their kids. From simply talking about one's own faith to connecting with other adults who invest in and have relationships with their kids, moms will see that though they can't control their kids' faith, they can set up structures that encourage a healthy and honest development for a faith that sticks.

Experience 13

Do you talk to your kids about your faith? If so, what does that look like?

What would you consider when choosing five other adults to surround your child?

How can you create a safe place for your child to express doubt about his/her faith?

How can you move from focusing on behavior to focusing on the heart when disciplining?

Experience 13

DIY CALENDAR

A picture frame and colored sticky notes quickly becomes a dry erase calendar.

Visit groupexperiencekitonline to learn more about this activity and for downloadable instructions.

Experience 14

IF

Write `IF' questions on cards and place them face down. Take turns answering questions and giving explanations. Here are a few to get you started:

if I gave you $10,000, what would you spend it on? if you could talk to anyone, who would it be? if you could wish one thing to come true this year, what would it be?

Experience 14

COURAGE TO BE BROKEN

Author and mom Bonnie Gray struggled with reconciling a high-achieving track record with a broken past. In the midst of bouts of depression and PTSD, she created space in her life, freeing her from the constant need to achieve. This vulnerable journey of brokenness leads her to a place of finding God in the midst of pain.

Experience 14

Has mothering made you more aware of your brokenness? If so, share an example.

Have you ever tried to make up for your downfalls through your accomplishments?

Have you heard from God in painful periods? What did that sound or look like?

Experience 14

WIRE-WRAPPED PENDANTS

Three beads and flexible wire become a beautiful pendent.

Visit groupexperiencekitonline to learn more about this activity and for downloadable instructions.

Experience 15

DESERT ISLAND

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island, what three things would you take with you? (You can't take people -- so just focus on the things you would take.)

Experience 15

COURAGE TO REST

Life is intended to be a pattern of work and rest, and yet the 24-hour demands of motherhood can derail any hopes of refueling. Deidra Riggs reminds us to reset our priorities to include the things that uniquely rejuvenate us. After all, even God rested on the seventh day!

Experience 15

What in your life "feeds you" and fills you back up, so you feel refreshed to manage your daily responsibilities?

Deidra talks about rest mimicking God's day of rest after he created the world so he could appreciate all he had created. What are you unable to appreciate when you don't get enough rest?

What is one trick you can share about catching some rest during this season of parenting young children?

Experience 15

DECORATIVE TRAY

Put fabric under the glass of an inexpensive picture frame to create a tray -- cute for a bathroom, bedroom or a place to keep your keys!

Visit groupexperiencekitonline to learn more about this activity and for downloadable instructions.

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