MOPSTalk Zone 22 ~ Eastern PA and NJ: Optimism: Where can I get some??

CONVENTION UPDATE

Ta da! A Convention announcement!
We just signed the papers and we thank you for your prayers as we worked on moving, well, a whole lotta details in just a few days.

Drum roll #1: The Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL (Orlando area) was able to welcome us (in the midst of many conventions needing to move).

Drum roll #2: We're able to keep the registration fees the same, so some of you might decide to come early or stay late, and enjoy the Orlando amenities with your friends (or family).

And thanks for all the great ideas of cities! You helped our future dreaming. 'Twould be fun!
And again, it will be great because of Who we'll be with: "Where(ver) two or three (thousand) are gathered in my name, there am I with them." (Mt. 18:20, our year's theme verse with my additions).

Naomi Cramer Overton

Convention Details:
The MOPS International Convention will be at the Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, FL (Orlando area). Dates will be the same, August 5-7, 2010. Speakers and artists will be the same great lineup — Julie Barnhill, Margaret Feinberg, Donald Miller, Naomi Cramer Overton, Shelly Radic, Go Fish, Mandisa, The Katinas and Richie McDonald.

Convention registration will re-open on Monday, May 17.
The early bird registration deadline will be extended to June 7.
We are working with the Gaylord Opryland for an official letter we can provide to anyone who has already purchased airline tickets to use with airlines to avoid rebooking fees. This letter should assist you in rebooking airline tickets — it will be posted online at www.MOPS.org/convention.
We continue to pray for families and businesses affected by the flooding and we have sent MOPS materials to local MOPS leaders who are distributing supplies in the Nashville area.

MOPS International Convention 2010

August 5-7, 2010
Gaylord Palms, Orlando FL

Check back often for more information!

Your MOPS International Convention Checklist:

Register for Convention (re-opens May 17)
Reserve a room at the hotel (register first!)
Schedule shuttle transportation

Monday, February 02, 2009

Optimism: Where can I get some??

OPTIMISM. Bath and Body Works is selling it all bottled up as an aromatherapy. I admit that I shop there, but this discussion isn't about where I shop. Perhaps we can discuss that at another time. No, this discussion is about what I want. I got the coolest flyer in the mail with a picture similar to the one here and inside there was a coupon for "a free aromatherapy body care or home fragrance item of your choice with any purchase of $15 or more". I couldn't stop my mind from wandering and I thought "Wow, I could really use some optimism right about now."

Within the flyer, it says "Optimism: jump-start your day with confidence and a smile! Our newest Aromatherapy Collection for body and home is a bright blend of jasmine, tuberose and mate(accent over the e)absolutes to help lift your mood and instill a sense of optimism."
Ok, so I don't really know what tuberose and mate(accent over the e) absolutes are but they must be some pretty powerful scents mixed in with jasmine to help lift that mood that I'm in. I want some. Give me, give me, give me.

Before I go out and get my free bottle of optimism (after a $15 purchase), I was inspired to check on the definition. My The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary has this definition:
op.ti.mism:an inclination to anticipate the best possible outcome of actions or events

Super, that is what I really want right now to anticipate the best possible outcome of actions or events. WOW! I really want some optimism when I see people's homes going to foreclosure, so many job cuts every time I open the paper and read the news, and friends and their families falling ill and struggling. Being bombarded with the recession and how it is affecting everyone has really made it difficult not to worry. (sigh) I start to worry, then I get myself a little worked up, and then I become a downer. It is all I can think about and all I can talk about and it consumes me and my life. So, ok, give me that bottle of optimism, I am ready.

Wait a second. Slow down sister. Let me think. There is a way for me to get some optimism and I don't think I need a coupon. It doesn't come in a bottle either. I think I can find it in the Bible. If I truly want to "jump-start my day with confidence and a smile" I can turn to God. It sounds almost too good to be true in advertising "jump-start my day with confidence and a smile", but isn't that (and, oh, so much more) what God offers us through a relationship with him.

Looking at the MOPS International theme verse for this year helps me to understand that through my relationship with God and through the Holy Spirit (verse 16), Christ is a part of me and I can know God's love.
“…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:17-18

We also have the much-loved and well-known verse:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
Knowing that I have eternal life should help me start my day with confidence and a smile.

Maybe I will use that coupon or perhaps I will let it expire, but it doesn't really matter because I know that when I am down, I can turn to God. I can start my day with confidence and a smile by renewing my relationship with him and refreshing my attitudes with his Word. I am "optimistic" that no matter what happens, God is with me.

Thanks,
Christy