SHEF has a strong ladies ministry.  The most obvious aspect is the Prayer Chain, but we are planning a number of things for this coming year.  Please keep watching this area for details as they are posted.

Ladies Bible Study on Thursday Evenings   

Extraordinary Women

   .  This unit is Life Problems, and the first session deals with,  Women and Depression, Managing Stress.  As usual there will a time of prayer starting at 6:00 p.m. with the video  starting around 7:00.  No additional books are required.  For additional information please call 745-6687.

Below is a quick overview of :Unit I Life Enrichment

 In week one Beth Moore spoke on, A Woman and Her God:  Prayer Devotion, and the Spiritual Life.  Using Psalm 63 as a backdrop Beth described what she calls the "Sacred Romance" that God has with believers.  People try to fill the "vacuum" in their souls with everything except what it was intended to be filled with-God.  Moore stresses the importance of routine intimate encounters with God.                                                                       

The Learning Objectives were:

That nothing on earth compares to God and His love for us.

 What makes life work!

                            How to find deep soul satisfaction in life.                      

How to look to Christ to have our needs met daily.

    Week two, A Woman & Her Body:  Fitness, Diet, Beauty, & Healthy Living was with Katherine Hart Weber.  Weber objectives in this lesson were:

The importance of taking charge of your health and well-being.

How to identify and reach your goals.

The key strategies to improve your health and well-being.

How to develop basic eating and fitness plans.

How to reduce stress and recover from its affects.

    Sandy Wilson presented, A Woman's Soul: Self-Concept, Identity and Fulfillment in week three.  Wilson equated finding fulfillment in life with a, "woman knowing who she is in Christ". 

The learning objectives were:

How one's self-concept is developed during childhood.

(Through parent "mirroring")

The difference between biblical and unbiblical shame.

How a defensive personality structure influences a woman's life.

How God can heal and change a wounded woman.

    A Woman's Ministry: Sharing the Faith and Growing the Church, was presented in week four by Jill Briscoe.  Jill taught about the important strategic roles that women played in Jesus' ministry.   One of Briscoe's interesting and entertaining statements is, "that we need to get our eyes off our lunch".                       

Other objectives were:

What is Jesus' heart and calling for women.

What is  Jesus' vision, passion, and mission for the world.

How to share in this calling.

    Mary Hunt told her story of breaking fee from debt in week five with, A Woman's Finances: Finding and Keeping Financial Freedom. 

Hunt's objectives is this lesson were:

        How to debt-proof your life. 

 The six danger signs that you are headed for the debt trap.

                 The eight steps to get you out of the debt trap.               

                    

 

The sixth week of the series, A Woman’s Personality: Understanding Yourself and Others with Florence Littauer covered the different personality temperaments.

Learning Objectives:

The four basic personality types and their characteristics.

To meet your children's needs according to their individual personality types,.

How to communicate with and understand your spouse and others better.

 

 

Ladies Bible Study on Thursday Mornings

The ladies bible study  at Augustine's on Thursday mornings at 10:30 are studying Nehemiah, and the different names of Jesus.   If you need a ride or directions please phone 745-6687.

                                    [1] THE GOD WHO HUNG ON THE CROSS

Jesus said, "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32,
NIV).
    "In their cruel march through Cambodia to destroy much of its infrastructure, the Khmer Rouge enslaved, killed, or otherwise caused the deaths of millions of Cambodians. When they reached one village, they forced everyone out of their huts and lined them up to dig a deep pit. The villagers realized they were digging their own mass grave. Anyone who tried to run or hide was shot on sight and dragged to the edge of the pit that was being dug. When the pit was finally finished, the soldiers ordered the people to turn and face the pit. As the people stood, helplessly awaiting their execution, they began to cry out in some desperate plea for help. Some screamed to Buddha, some to ancestors, to demon spirits, and some even for their mothers. "Then one woman, drawing on the distant memory of something her mother told her, began to cry out to one she called "the God who hung on the cross." Surely this one who had suffered so himself might have compassion on those about to die. Soon, the screams around her became just one desperate wail-crying out to the God who hung on the cross. And then
there was silence. As the people slowly turned, they realized the soldiers were gone. And ever since that day,
they were, as the book says, 'waiting for someone to come and tell them more. More about the God who hung on the cross.'"1
    It was September of 1999 when a Cambodian pastor came to tell these people about Jesus and learned this story from an older woman who grabbed his hands and said, 'We've been waiting for you for twenty years.'"
It was Jesus Christ's death on the cross that paid the ransom price for your sins and mine. Only through him can
we ever come to God and be freely forgiven and given the gift of eternal life. If you have never done this, be sure
to go to find out how to do this.
    Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for the cross of Christ ... and for Jesus Christ who gave his life in my place so I could be freely forgiven and receive your gift of eternal life. Grant that my life and the way that I live it will be a thanksgiving offering to you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for
hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. From the book, The God Who Hung on the Cross, by Doris
I. Rosser Jr. & Ellen Vaughn as told by Ron Hutchcraft.
http://www.gospelcom.net/rhm/.