Saturday, November 12, 2016

Pass The Candy Game

 PASS THE CANDY

We played a fun game to start our moms meeting today. Lots of laughs!

Directions: Facilitator will need to purchase a large bag of candy and make a list of questions prior to event. Have the ladies form a circle in groups of 10 or less. Each lady gets to pick 3 pieces of candy from the bowl. Then, as you ask each question, the ladies who have to answer the question “Yes” will have to pass one of their pieces of candy to the left. The one with the most candy at the end of the game wins. (They win the candy or you can provide a small gift.) Here is a list of questions but you can make up some of your own, as well:

Questions:
1. Do you get up before 6 AM today?
2. Do you make your bed this morning?
3. Do you have to have coffee before you came here?
4. Do you have more than 3 pets in your house?
5. Have you ever hidden your snack foods from the kids?
6. Have you ever eaten those snacks while hiding in the closet?
7. Have you gotten a speeding ticket in the last 4 years?
8. Have you ever taken a mission trip?
9.  Do you prefer cake over pie?
10. Do you prefer beer over wine?
11. Would you rather do laundry than dishes?
14. Have you ever snorted when you laughed?
15. Have you ever left the house without putting on makeup?
16. Have you ever re-gifted a present you received?
17. Have you ever double-dipped at a party?

18. Do you think we should stop now and enjoy a piece of candy? 

Monday, November 7, 2016

Be Advocates For Your Children

Kathy Weppner encourages all moms to be advocates for their children.  Kathy is a wife and mother of 5. She was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, District 26, in 2014.


                                  October Moms Meeting
                                               2016

Friday, October 7, 2016

Online Moms Mercy conference FREE

Join the FREE online conference for moms about MERCY on October 20-23, 2016.  It’s the Faces of Mercy CatholicConference4Moms.com
Each day of the conference you will be invited to watch your choice of featured presentations from popular speakers and authors . . . . at any time. . . . on any device. . . . even to download and listen to as an MP3. 

Comment, discuss, and pray for our families, our friends, our world, and each other, as we learn about and experience God’s mercy in our lives.

Experience More Mercy in Your Life
as the Year of Mercy comes to a close.
women-friends-smiling.jpg
October 20-23, 2016
We will send one reminder email a few days before the conference begins.  Next, on each day of the conference, we will send you an email with links to the online conference page and password.  
Welcome and Thanks for Joining with Us!
Please share with your friends.  Check out some of the prizes we are giving out during the conference.  

It’s free!  
Sign-up today!

Promo video HERE

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

It's not too late to make it a great Advent - 3 ideas for you and your family

So I was feeling a bit STUMPED on how to make these next few weeks really special.  And then I was feeling like DOWN that Advent started this past Sunday and we didn't even pull out our wreath yet.  BUT instead of beating myself up about it or letting myself get goofy and anxious, I decided I would simply go on the hunt for some practical things that we could do this year and DO THEM (even if we are starting late)!  

Here are some of my favorite finds.  I bunched them into three groups:
-Acts of Service
-Crafts/Decorations
-Daily Reflections

Join me in making it a great Advent, Catholic Mama. It's not too late.

------------------------------------------------

ACTS OF SERVICE

Adopt an individual or a family in need.  Many parishes and organizations have programs set up and make it easy to help others.  Also consider adopting a family in need in your parish or school who may not be on any official list, but could really use some extra kindness and love.  

Image result for family in need


Use Kindness Elves (call them Advent Angels?) to encourage daily or weekly acts of kindness.  LOVVVEEEE this! Read more at TheImaginationTree.org.  

Kindness Elves Alternative Elf on the Shelf Tradition

* Don't forget to lead by example.  Start by doing a few acts of kindness for your own kids.  Check out 10-surprises-for-kids-that-wont-cost-you-a-dime.


Prepare a Manger for Baby Jesus
A great activity for kids to do during Advent is have a manger for Baby Jesus. Every time they do a good deed or make a sacrifice, they get to add a piece of straw to the manger. Hopefully by Christmas Baby Jesus has a nice soft bed to lay on! Read more at Catholic Icing.




CRAFTS / DECORATIONS

Set up a manger scene in your home.  When I was young, it was my job to set up the manger scene when the decorations came out.  After my mom passed away, my dad gave me the manger scene and now I think of her every year when we put it up.


Kids can make their own manger scene with tips from CatholicIcing.   



Buy or make an Advent Wreath. This flameless Advent wreath from KarenInMommyLand can be made with items that most of us already have in our homes.    

I found an adorable Advent arrangement on Etsy and bought it as a birthday gift for a few of my favorite peeps.

Rustic Advent Wreaths


DAILY REFLECTIONS

Advent Adventure from Holy Heroes is great for kids.  Subscribe here.





Don't miss Bishop Robert Barron's Reflections.  Subscribe here.




Click here to subscribe to Catholic Mom Danielle Bean's 'Daily Advent Prayer'. 






Sunday, June 14, 2015

Author Dawn Curazzato shares the story of her granddaughter's amazing miracle

If you missed our NFC Moms Meeting yesterday, click the link below to hear Dawn Curazzato, author of Memoir of A Miracle, shares the AMAZING story of her granddaughter's miraculous healing and their family's journey of faith.




Click the link below or listen at www.CatholicMomsConnect.com


To order Dawn's book or to invite her to speak, visit http://www.newdawnii.com/



At the end of our meeting we prayed a decade of the rosary and watched 
the Quiet Waters Rosary Musical DVD

Join us at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Niagara Falls to see the LIVE performance 
on Wed, Oct 14th, 2015. 








Monday, March 16, 2015

OB/GYN Jaime Obst shares her journey to becoming a Catholic Doctor, Wife and Mother.


 Dr. Jaime Obst shares how she opened her heart over and over again to God's will for her as a Catholic OB/GYN, wife and mother.  

Dr. Obst works in Buffalo, NY, at the  



Click below to listen or visit www.CatholicMomsConnect.com.



To find a NFP only physician near you, visit http://onemoresoul.com/nfp-directory or http://www.priestsforlife.org/doctors/.

For more information about Fransciscan University in Stuebenville, OH, visit http://www.franciscan.edu/.


Monday, March 9, 2015

Sacrificial Love

Susan Brown is a mother of eight children who currently resides in the Philadelphia area. She has moved ten times since she has been married. In this talk Susan speaks about the practices of 'offering it up' and 'sacrificial love', related to her children and her marriage.  She shares wisdom and insight that she has gained from growing in her faith with a great sense of humor and a 'tell it like it is' way.



Click below to hear her inspiring talk: 
(28 min)


 



Having trouble? Listen direct at www.CatholicMomsConnect.com




We would love to hear your feedback! Comment below or email us at CatholicMomsConnect@gmail.com.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Chastity in Marriage

When it comes to talking to our kids about “chastity,” the very word can make us cringe as we imagine ourselves using words for body parts we’re not comfortable using, and even less comfortable hearing come out of the mouths of our children.  But the truth is, our Catholic faith teaches that our sexuality is a gift from God to be enjoyed and reverenced!  

Find out how one mom's quest to answer her teen's questions about sex changed her marriage, her faith, and her life.


Click below to listen to this inspiring 20 min talk:



Having trouble? Listen directly at www.CatholicMomsConnect.com.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Serving Those In Need

Our Moms Group volunteered at Community Missions recently, a soup kitchen in Niagara Falls, NY.  Seven of us (including one of our Mom’s teenage daughters), prepared and served food to the city’s hungry on a frigid winter day.  The Mission’s regular staff was very welcoming and by the end of the morning we were all conversing and laughing together.  The few hours we were there was a gentle reminder of needed prayers for our brothers and sisters that find themselves in need of a meal, and the need for our time to support ministries like this.  We all left Community Missions feeling that it was a special time for us and that we’d like to do it again.




Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me...  

Matthew 25:34,35 

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Moms Meeting w/ local guest speaker Joanne Lorenzo

The NFC Moms Group was very blessed to have Joanne Lorenzo speak at our meeting this past Saturday.  She is the Founder and Director of The Magdalene Project, working tirelessly to help those who are in need. Listen below:


(~20 min)

The Magdalene Project - Our Mission
Every Saturday evening an R.V. travels the streets of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y. searching for people in need. It moves up and down drug infested areas of the inner city seeking men, women, and children whose lives have been abused by drugs, alcohol, domestic abuse, and prostitution.
"This is "The Magdalene Project."
The mission of the "Magdalene Project is to seek out people who have lost hope and share the love of Jesus with them. People whose lives have become hopeless for various reasons.
We distribute roses to women and pray for them. Many have broken down in tears, told us their whole life story and many dream of a better life. We tell them there a better life with Jesus and then pray they give Him a chance. Men are addicted to drugs and alcohol and have given up hope, and children and teens are wandering around the streets looking for some form of attention and self worth. We know they are looking for love and acceptance and can only get that through the love of Jesus.
God has a great plan for all of us if we would just follow and obey Him.

http://www.magdalene-project.org/


Monday, October 20, 2014

Raising Kids Catholic

Mom and Grandma Louise Ziarnowski spoke at our last Moms meeting on raising kids Catholic.  She shared tips on teaching the Catholic Faith and keeping kids balanced.  She explained their family motto, her approach to discipline, how she took care of herself, and more.



Here's another example of a family motto:

J-O-Y
J: Put JESUS first
O: OTHERS second
Y: YOURSELF last


Do you have a family motto? Comment below  or email us at catholicmomsconnect@gmail.com.


Click here if you are not yet subscribed to our blog.





Tuesday, July 29, 2014



Today is the Feast day of St. Martha.  Every mom can relate to the struggle Martha feels.  Check out today's gospel from John 11:19-27. 

JN 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

How do I know this is Martha's Feast Day? I know because I have been trying to be very disciplined in my daily prayer life.  A few weeks ago I committed (I should say re-committed) to spend my first cup of coffee in prayer with Jesus.  I read the daily gospel and readings through my phone app and then start a Rosary (usually the first half and I finish the rest throughout the day).  Today I was so happy to see this gospel message - it's one of my favorites.

I must tell you, moms, that my day is radically different now.  Not radical in earthly terms (no, I don't get super-charged to clean my entire house or my kids cease to fight), but in heavenly terms.  The grace and peace I feel throughout my day is hard to describe, and it is life-changing.   I feel more patient. I feel more loving, more forgiving. I make better choices centered around what God wants me to do, not what I want to do.  God is so good - He gives me all of this grace and peace when I simply and humbly lay my day at his feet first thing each morning and say, "Here I am Lord, help do your will."

Are you reading the gospel daily? If not, start today!



Bookmark the USCCB Daily Readings:



Download an APP for your phone or tablet:



Purchase a daily meditation book:



 


Back to Martha...check out the inspiring reflection for all moms on the Laudate App.  What a great reminder to spend time with our Lord each day.

BTW, want to start a Moms Group? It can be as simple as getting a group of women together each week and reflect on the gospel reading.