We continue to have an unusually warm winter here in the Shenandoah Valley.  I actually ran in shorts and a tank top on Tuesday.  By yesterday, it wasn’t as warm, but still ran in shorts on a gray day that eventually turned to rain.  It kept doing that overnight and we awoke to grey clouds and fog.  It looks like we will continue to have some above average temps this week, but by the weekend normal temps.

Pressing On

Yesterday was one of those days when I did something completely new.  I have been building up to it and it was finally time to attempt 13.1 miles or a half-marathon distance.  My goal was to run that distance in less than 2:10 (two-hours ten-minutes.)  I am happy to report that I completed 13.29 miles in 2:09:40.  Which means that was my longest run ever and I completed it in my set goal time.  My pace was a 9:45/mile, while not my fastest pace for a long run, it certainly wasn’t slow.  This makes me very excited and the plan for next week is to repeat the run and see if we can shave some time off.  I’d like to be between a 9:45/mile and a 9:30/mile.

195 Pounds

This is some exciting news.  This morning I got on the scale and for the first time in many, many years weighed in at 195 pounds.  Now the afternoon and evening snacking probably put me back up again.  But I was there and will soon be again.  The 195 mark puts me at 70 pounds lost total.

An Amazing Worship Service

This has been an incredible weekend at church.  Last night, we showed the movie Courageous.  If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to check it out.  Hearts were touched as we viewed the movie together at church.

It was also great to be with friends from church tonight at their house to watch the Super Bowl.  We had a great time snacking on food and enjoying each other’s company.

As I said when I opened this post, I have simply been overwhelmed in God’s love this weekend.  Several times it happened while singing songs of praise (once during worship this morning and another while praying before the service.)  The Holy Spirit came and visited us this morning once again.  One of these days our congregation is going to sing the roof off.  I love when the Holy Spirit puts a service together like today — there are no words to express…My favorite part of the service was when our praise team sang “Life’s Railway to Heaven.”  We did it in some old-fashioned three part harmony and country style.  If you’ve heard the Russ Taff version, you know what I mean.  That was fun and many in the congregation were tapping their toes and singing along.  Like I said, it was just an amazing morning.

Well, it’s even later than when I started this post, so it’s time to sign off, because tomorrow is another big day.

Seize the Day!

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship and Invocation

Isaiah 40:28-31

Songs of Worship

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Everlasting God

God of the Ages

Worship Through Prayer

Songs of Worship

Mighty To Save

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Worship Through Giving

Life’s Railway to Heaven

Worship Through God’s Word

When God Asks Questions

Where Are You

Genesis 3:1-13

Song of Commitment

You Are My All in All

Benediction

On February 5, 2012, over 100 million people will watch Super Bowl XLVI.

The Super Bowl is the most-watched program on TV every year. But many people don’t know about its dark underside: the Super Bowl, like other large sporting events, is a magnet for sex trafficking and child prostitution. It is possibly the largest sex trafficking event in the US. As more than 100,000 football fans descend on Indianapolis, sex traffickers and pimps will also arrive in droves to take advantage of the demand….Large sporting events like the Super Bowl are prime targets for sex traffickers because of the high demand generated by thousands of men pouring into an area for a weekend of fun. The 2010 Super Bowl saw an estimated 10,000 sex workers brought into Miami. Despite efforts to crack down on sex trafficking at the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, there was still a tremendous number of women and children sexually exploited. In the past, attempted crackdowns by law enforcement have misfired by treating prostitutes as criminals to be locked up rather than victims to be rescued, but new efforts are gaining traction: a bill moving through the Indiana legislature aims to toughen the state’s sex-trafficking law before the Super Bowl.  This year the event is actually near the Detroit-Toledo corridor, which has one of the highest incidences of trafficking in the country.

To read the whole article [Click Here]

Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39

²¹ Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? 
      Are you deaf to the words of God— 
   the words he gave before the world began? 
      Are you so ignorant? 
 ²² God sits above the circle of the earth. 
      The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! 
   He spreads out the heavens like a curtain 
      and makes his tent from them. 
 ²³ He judges the great people of the world 
      and brings them all to nothing. 
 ²⁴ They hardly get started, barely taking root, 
      when he blows on them and they wither. 
      The wind carries them off like chaff.

 ²⁵ “To whom will you compare me? 
      Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

 ²⁶ Look up into the heavens. 
      Who created all the stars? 
   He brings them out like an army, one after another, 
      calling each by its name. 
   Because of his great power and incomparable strength, 
      not a single one is missing. 
 ²⁷ O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? 
      O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 
 ²⁸ Have you never heard? 
      Have you never understood? 
   The LORD is the everlasting God, 
      the Creator of all the earth. 
   He never grows weak or weary. 
      No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 
 ²⁹ He gives power to the weak 
      and strength to the powerless. 
 ³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired, 
      and young men will fall in exhaustion. 
 ³¹ But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. 
      They will soar high on wings like eagles. 
   They will run and not grow weary. 
      They will walk and not faint.

This is probably one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  In fact, in worship on Sunday we are singing “Everlasting God” which quotes part of this passage.  God asks us to look to Him in this passage – when we are strong — when we are weak, because He never grows weak — He never grows weary.  What a great passage of hope.

*Post by Sharon Hodde Miller*

As some of you might know, I am currently a student pursing a PhD in educational studies. I have a great passion for women in our churches and I hope my research will one day serve them, so I love to share what I’m learning from time to time. Especially when I think it can help church leaders.

In recent months I have studied a phenomenon called stereotype threat. This term refers to the pressure individuals feel in the classroom or workplace due to perceived stereotypes about themselves. For instance, women are sometimes stereotyped as being less capable at math, which can influence the way young girls perform in their math classes. If they believe they are worse at math, they are likely to perform worse regardless of natural ability.

Numerous studies have shown that the simple presence of a stereotype can inhibit academic performance, but it creates an additional obstacle. If a student or employee anticipates being stereotyped, some will actively try to undermine the stereotype. For example, a businesswoman may fear being perceived as overly emotional by her male colleagues, so she intentionally minimizes her emotions and conducts herself stoically. Unfortunately, the cognitive energy she puts into combating the stereotype also inhibits her performance. Likewise, students who find themselves resisting a stereotype in a classroom setting are less able to learn and engage the subject matter.

It is remarkable and troubling that a stereotype can be so powerful. Fortunately, researchers have also looked into the best methods for breaking the power of stereotype threat, and they have discovered two primary options:

1. An authority figure publicly debunks the stereotype. In a study at Stanford University, a group of men and women were administered a math test and their performances were recorded (Spencer and Steele, 1999). Then, the same math test was administered to a different group of men and women, but with one small change. This time, before the students began, the test administrator told the group that there was no previous gender discrepancy in performance on this test.  This simple statement debunking the stereotype about women and math made all the difference. The women in the second group tested better.

2. In-group role models. It is also helpful for victims of stereotype threat to see individuals from their own group (ie. women or minorities) functioning competently outside the stereotype (McIntyre, Paulson, Taylor, Morin and Lord, 2011). Having a talented female math teacher, for instance, can help dispel the myth that women are not good at math.

This research is fascinating, and it has led me to wonder about its application to women in the church. There are many stereotypes out there about women that are both sociological and psychological, so the cycle can be tough to break. If women believe they are not capable of thinking theologically, or leading and teaching in the church effectively, then that stereotype perpetuates an unfortunate cycle in which women are hesitant to even try.

That said, there are two applications that evangelicals can take from the above research. The first applies to men. In the same way that authority figures have the power to break stereotypes with a simple word, men in the evangelical church have that power as well. That is not to say that women should not also speak out against unbiblical stereotypes, but research seems to indicate that the power group–the group that is stereotyped as being naturally gifted or authoritative in a certain area–has particular influence in this regard. If men were to tell their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters that women can think theologically, that women should be important voices in the church, and that the church needs the contributions of these women, that message would have a tremendous, positive impact.

I should add that this influence is evident in my own life. I have a strong and brilliant dad who has always been unconditionally supportive. Although both my parents believe in me (sometimes more than they should!) my dad would seriously fight anyone who tried to stand in my way. I am no doubt the woman I am today because my dad wanted a strong daughter.

In short, men, we need you! Challenge your wives and raise strong daughters!

The second application from the above research concerns us ladies. If we want to see younger generations of women pushing themselves and using their gifts for the Kingdom of God, then we need to be doing that ourselves. Change can be slow and discouraging at times, but the more women who are out there studying, growing and leading, the more we can expect younger women to follow our example. Change begins with us.

 ¹ “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

² “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. ³ He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the LORD. ⁴ Then once more the LORD will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.

Ron Owens,  Return to Worship: A God-Centered Approach

• “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.” –Ambrose Redmoon.
• “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” Eddie Rickenbacker
•  ”Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others” – Sir Winston Churchill.
•  “One person with courage is a majority” -John Maxwell
•  ”Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship and Invocation

Video – Describe God

Songs of Worship

O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing

Happy Day

Once Again

Worship Through Prayer

Songs of Worship

He Knows My Name

The Love of God

Worship Through Giving

Special Music

Worship Through God’s Word

Stewardship:It’s A Question of Attitude

Closing Song

Offering

Benediction