I'm still not sure how to react to this...

"Whether a woman works outside or strictly in the home, her first priority is her family and home. We just really want to step up and provide some of these skills."

- Terri Stovall, dean of women's programs at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is offering a new bachelor of arts in humanities degree with a 23-hour concentration in homemaking. Only women may enroll in the program, which offers courses on food and nutrition, design and apparel, the value of a child, and the "biblical model for the home and family."

(This quote is taken from an Associated Press article which you can read here.)

Pictures!

Yesterday I gave a recap of our August at New Hope, and today I've posted tons of pictures from the month on our web site's Photo Gallery pages! There are pictures of Children's Day Camp, lunch at Izzy's, our service in the park and the BBQ potluck. Check them out!

Funny Fellowship Faces

Repko Bruinsma provided pictures of the Young at Heart lunch at Izzy's on August 19, and he seemed to have a knack for capturing funny expressions on people's faces there. I didn't include them on the website, but I figured I'd share some here!

August 2007 at New Hope Christian Fellowship

Wow, it's already the beginning of September, and we're gearing up for a terrific fall season at New Hope!

As I look with much anticipation to September and a new "year," I am reflecting on what an awesome August we've had. August is statistically a tough month for churches. Attendance-wise, we had been averaging 160-ish back in May, and when June hit we dropped dramatically to the 110-120 range (with a low Sunday of 86!) and we weren't sure what the summer was going to hold for us as a church! But this last month we averaged around 130-140, which is very solid considering all the vacations and missing college students. Not only that, our giving for the month of August was outstanding--God has been good to us financially, and I know all of us Shepherds praise God for our fellowship's faithfulness.

But church isn't about numbers. It's about connecting with God, serving Him, and connecting with others, and August has been good for those things, too! We've enjoyed good teaching from three of our Shepherds (Dewey, Rich and Ken), and been led in worship by two different leaders (me and Dustin) in two different locations (in the Senior Center and in the Park). We also had a chance to eat lunch together last week with a potluck barbecue.
Our softball team had a blast finishing up the season with three wins and one loss (and, uh, only one major injury). Kevin and Cheryl Gebhart were nice enough to cap off the season with a pizza party at their house. I think we're all disappointed the season is over, and we may get together for an unofficial friendly game with some players from Creekside Community Church sometime soon. I know I got a chance to become better aquainted with some people as a result of playing together!

And of course we had a great week of Children's Day Camp (I've written in detail about them in posts from August 14 & 16), with 5 kids raising their hands on the last day to ask Jesus into their lives. We look forward to our children's ministry continuing strong with Awana starting up in a couple weeks.I love being a part of this church, and I hope we can continue to serve and glorify God in great ways this fall!

Prioritizing Fun for Your Marriage

I just read a practical article by Michael Smalley that you might find helpful to you and your spouse. Here's a quick excerpt:

The simple reality is this, if you stop having fun together you will stop wanting to be together.
The problem is that many people dictate their ability to have fun with someone based on their feelings. This is a major mistake...

Powerful Quote

The story goes that this was written on a wall in a room where Jews were hiding from the Nazis in Cologne, Germany...

I believe in the sun even when it isn't shining.
I believe in love even when I am alone.
I believe in God even when he is silent.

New Worship Service

Beginning on September 23rd, we will have two worship services on Sunday morning, one at 9:15 and the other at 11:00, with fellowship time at 10:30. Last week we sent a letter to our fellowship to explain our plans, and you can read a copy of the letter here.

Having two services will be a real convenience in some ways, but we'll also need some extra help. If you'd like to help out with our set-up and tear-down crew we would love the help! Feel free to email me if you want to serve in this important way.