Uncategorized / February 6, 2023

Be the Heroine in Your Own Love Story Part 2

Hannah (1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2)

What bound Elkanah’s heart to Hannah instead of to the wife who bore him many sons? The Bible doesn’t tell us about Hannah’s looks, only that she had no children and her husband loved her. In those days, a woman was seen as cursed by God if she didn’t have children. Bible scholars believe Hannah was a first wife, and when she proved to be barren, Elkanah took a second wife who gave him all the children he needed. Yet he still loved and valued Hannah. Peninnah’s jealous actions against Hannah give us a clue that he might have even loved the barren wife more than he did the fruitful one.

As a first wife, Hannah could have been brutal to Peninnah. Instead, she withstood the abuse heaped on her by her rival and chose not to lash out. In the depths of her despair, she went to the Lord in prayer. At a time of feasting and celebration, it might have been easy to indulge in drinking, as Eli the priest accused her of doing, and “forget” her troubles for a bit. But she was praying. Pouring out her heart to the one Person who could actually do something about her condition.

She could have become bitter. Turned against God for closing her womb. But her gentleness shines through the narrative. I can only imagine how this must have maintained Elkanah’s heart soft for her. Each year when he went up to offer sacrifices, he gave her a double portion. I’m not 100% sure what this means, and even Bible scholars don’t agree on the literal translation of the term from the original language. Maybe he hoped God would open her womb. Or maybe, and most theologians agree, he was making a point of saying she mattered to him even without children. “Am I not better to you than ten sons?” he asks her. And since out of the mouth proceed the contents of one’s heart, we can assume that’s how he felt about her. She was worth more to him than ten sons. And for that culture and time period, that’s saying something!

Not only was she beloved of Elkanah but also honored by God. He gave her the son she begged Him for, and when she gave little Samuel back to the Lord, showing she was a woman of her word, God blessed her with five more children. Three sons and two daughters.

We live in a very different world. Society does not judge a woman’s worth by the amount of children she has. Quite the opposite. We are scrutinized for far more trivial things, and it can be easy to fall into a despair that breeds bitterness when we don’t measure up to society’s standards. But what man isn’t drawn by a meek and gentle spirit? To be clear, meekness does not mean weakness just as submission doesn’t mean doormat. I’m sure it took a lot of self-control for Hannah to not lash out at her husband’s shrewish second wife. And what admirable will-power for her to respond graciously to the priest when he accused her of being drunk when she was praying. A man worth having will prize the characteristics Hannah displayed more than the unrealistic, Hollywood-inspired beauty standards shoved down girls’ throats from the moment they come into this world. A godly man will value gentleness, kindness, and faithfulness more than a “perfect” figure or porcelain skin which fades with age.

Galatians 5:22-23 lists nine character traits it calls the fruit of the spirit.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Every Christian—man or woman—is encouraged to cultivate this fruit. Of those nine, Hannah displays seven right off the bat, with the other two, joy and peace, eventually coming to her. Now that’s a woman to look up to and emulate.

Uncategorized / September 9, 2021

Evidence

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

I sit at the table in a little ski cabin in North Carolina we rented for some much-needed R&R. As I gaze out the picture windows, the mountains and forest beyond smile back at me. The weather is perfect. Not hot. Not really cold, although it was chilly this morning…for the Floridian I’ve apparently become. There is nothing pressing. No cakes to bake, no flowers to arrange, no card designs to put together. Just peace and quiet.

Strange.

This past Sunday, the culmination of months of planning took place, and my first baby girl was married. I’ve gained a wonderful son, and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

As I sit here surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation and reflect on the past couple of weeks, I can’t help but see His loving hand. God gave me a nudge earlier as I was having coffee on the veranda, admiring the mountains and listening to music. One line in particular stood out as the song “Evidence” by Josh Baldwin played.

“I see the evidence of Your goodness all over my life…”

I don’t know the rest of the lyrics. That’s all I heard. I suppose those words were all I needed to hear, because that was the point God wanted me to take to heart.

Though happy about the wedding and the joy of my daughter, we are physically and emotionally exhausted. We’ve been through a lot in the past month. So have many people. In fact, there are others who have been through or are going through much worse. I know that, and it is sobering. Maybe that should lessen my struggle, but it doesn’t.

This past August 13 marked the five-year anniversary of my mother’s passing. Though I will always miss her, I praise the Lord she’s with Him and doesn’t have to see the world of today. She has no hurts or concerns. She’s never heard of covid. But August 13 now marks even more grief. The father of a friend of my girls, a man who served in a church we used to attend, lost his hard-fought battle against Covid on that day. I couldn’t understand it. Why, God? I asked.

That same day, one of the chaplains who worked under my husband, who had come down with covid the week before, was admitted to the hospital. He was doing okay—or so we thought. I was sure he would pull through. We all thought he would. But on August 27, covid claimed him as yet another of its victims. It gutted me. Maybe it shouldn’t have—he’s in a better place—but I prayed so hard. On my knees, multiple times a day, with tears. So many others prayed just as hard. I was sure…up until the last minute…that God was going to perform a miracle and save our friend. Yes, He healed him…by taking him to Heaven. Fr. Andrew was a devoted chaplain in the hospital, ministering to patients, many of whom were sick with this plague. That is probably where he contracted the disease despite taking all precautions.

On Wednesday we attended Fr. Andrew’s funeral. So many other grief-stricken people were there, mourning his death yet celebrating his life. He was only fifty years old. A vibrant personality who lit up the room as soon as he walked in. With so many plans. Such a strong will to live and serve the God he loved. I couldn’t seem to stanch my grief. Nor could I stem the question running through my mind. Why? Where was God’s protection for a man serving Him, who hoped to continue doing so for many years? Why didn’t God show His power and glory by bringing him back from the brink of death? I had expected a miracle.

The day after the funeral, we hit the road for DeLand, Florida, where we rented a house that became our wedding headquarters. It was lovely, built in 1912, paradise for a history buff like me. And peaceful. The perfect place for all our preparations. When I say it was peaceful, the house and neighborhood were. But inside was a beehive of activity. Cake baking, flower arranging, details with DJ being worked out, steaming out wrinkles in dresses and suits, and…and…and….

All the craziness was worth it. What a blessed wedding day. Dark clouds and rumors of showers early on dissipated to beautiful blue skies. One of my greatest concerns leading up to the wedding (and an outside ceremony) was blistering heat. I’m the world’s greatest heat wimp, and Florida is, well, hot and sticky. But we had perfect weather. The humidity was down, and though the day was warm, a nice breeze made itself a VERY welcomed guest. God’s gifts to us. There were a few glitches overall—sound muted for those attending through zoom, a veil that didn’t want to stay in place, and a few other goofs that someday we’ll laugh about. But what a wonderful day. My daughter glowed with happiness, and I got to visit with some dear friends I haven’t seen in years. We were able to put aside the grief and thoughts of our recent personal tragedy and enjoy our daughter’s important day.

Monday rolled around with another flurry of activity, packing, cleaning our rented house and hitting the road for the mountains. After a long day on the road, we collapsed in foreign beds and slept like rocks with no time to revisit the grief of loss. But this quiet Tuesday morning brought back the memories. And the tears.

So here I sit in contemplation, surrounded by the peace and quiet of nature. Resting and relaxing. And yes, enjoying this moment of reprieve God has gifted us.

I still have questions. I will never understand why God took these two servants. But then, I don’t have to understand it. I’ve come to accept that. God has a greater purpose than my tunnel-visioned expectations. He still sits on the throne. He’s greater than covid or corrupt government or flawed medical practices. And I really do see the evidence of His goodness all over my life. In big details like a wonderful new son-in-law who cannot wipe from his facial expressions the depth of his love for my daughter. And the corresponding joy on her face. Like long-lasting, sister friends. Even in little details like pleasant weather. And quiet mountain scenes. And the words from a song I’d forgotten I’d saved in my Spotify list. And healing. But I guess that’s one of the big details.

I could keep on presenting my evidence, but we have mountain trails to explore and waterfalls to discover.

Uncategorized / October 17, 2023

Fighting a Thankless Heart

I woke up this morning to 58 degrees. That’s a big deal in south Florida. It actually feels like autumn even if the only fall color is the fake garland I’ve used to decorate my house. Cooler weather energizes me. I’m not naïve. It won’t last, so I take advantage while I can.

As soon as I got dressed and came downstairs this morning, I made myself a cup of coffee and headed outside with a blanket to enjoy some time with the Lord in the cold. (Don’t laugh, you Northerners! 58 is cold for us!) A friend texted me around 9 to ask if I’d had my breakfast outside. She gets it. Or at least she knows me. Lol.

The thoughts came to my mind, echoed in my friend’s next line of text. It could stay like this all the way into the opening of 2024. YES! I would love that. Would make the lack of seasons a little easier to bear. But a pang of guilt shot through me the second after that thought flitted through my head. God gave me (and all the cool-loving people stuck in season-less south Florida) this day. He sent a touch of fall for me to enjoy, but that wasn’t enough. I wanted more. I admit, I still want more. I love this weather. But I realized I had to take this day for what it is. A gift. If every day were like this, I might not appreciate this one as much. So I thanked Him and begged His forgiveness for not being satisfied.

Eventually my messy kitchen called me back inside, where I rushed to open the windows. With AC running all year long, fresh air from open windows is a rare treat. So with gratitude in my heart for God’s gift of lower temperatures today, I’m off to clean while enjoying the natural cool of the outdoors.

May He always remind me of the little blessings He bestows each day. And may my heart be every open to His rebuke when I’m tempted to grumble about what I don’t have.

Uncategorized / October 4, 2023

Meagan’s Middle Earth Baby Shower

This post should have gone up in May, but hey, read my last post to find out why it didn’t.

We put a lot of effort into making this baby shower special for Meagan and those who attended, and honestly, for us as well. Was it stressful? Yeah, of course. Events are always stressful for me, but they are fun, too. And I had a blast putting this one together.

Most of the party decorations buy ready made, when they look nice, are too expensive. Or then the store bought stuff is just plain tacky. Sometimes what you really want doesn’t exist. So we made our own.

Meagan and Rob like fantasy. They each have their own preference, because let’s face it, fantasy encompasses multiple, very different tastes. But they settled on a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings nursery theme, so we organized a Middle Earth shower.

Some of the stress, for me, came in boiling things down. I had so many different ideas of how to go. I found these really cool travel posters for Middle Earth that an artist had designed, which was one direction I’d considered. And if I ever plan another Middle Earth type of party, I may still go that way as long as I can get a hold of the posters.

We decided to go in a different direction. Here’s what we settled on.

Gollum’s goodies — Guests had to guess how many Swedish fish were in the bottle.

Hedgehog with “Shire-Cuterie” (No, I can’t claim them as my own. Found them on Pinterest.)

Shannon’s cupcakes on the stand Serge made for Meagan’s wedding

Top of other bookcase with Rivendell decor. A little hard to see, but you get the idea.

Hutch with Shire decor and One Baby to Rule Them All banner

Uncategorized / October 4, 2023

I’m Back!

I was excited when the new year started, began strong with my February series. Then life outside my writing stepped in.

Last Christmas, my daughter and her hubby announced they were pregnant. Two weeks later they informed us he had gotten a job in central Florida, four to five hours north of us. Really? You tell me I’m to be a grandma then you tell me you’re moving away?

Don’t worry, they moved with our blessing. They are definitely better off where they are now. But yeah, it’s painful that they are no longer ten minutes down the road. In February we helped move them, and I stayed behind to help my pregnant daughter get her house in order. The day after my husband and younger daughter Shannon got back home, he got the call that his mother had passed away. She’d been sick, but we thought she was on the mend.

March went by in a bit of a blur. On the writing side, I had finished dictating my book into the computer and was finally editing and sending chapters for critique.

In April we held a baby shower for Meagan. I have fun planning those types of events, but I put a bit of extra stress on myself. That’s just how I operate. It turned out great. But I allowed myself to take a month off from blogging so I could concentrate on the shower. (See pics here.)

In May, I was full throttle into editing my book and gave myself another month off.

Then came June. Our grandson was scheduled to make his appearance on the 21^st, and Shannon and I were packed and ready to head up there on the 11^th. We were having a leisurely breakfast that Sunday when…surprise! Around 9 o’clock, my son-in-law Rob called to say Meagan was in labor and he was rushing her to the hospital. We could hear her in the background, laughing (because she wanted to put us at ease) and groaning with pain. Shannon and I hopped in the car. Thankfully, the bags were already packed, right?

Around 11 o’clock we got a text from Rob with a picture of the baby.

Wait. What? He’s already born? What a quick delivery. On one hand I was glad Meagan didn’t go through a long, painful labor and delivery. But slowly we discovered things hadn’t gone smoothly. Meagan had suffered a placental abruption, where the placenta pulls away from the wall of the uterus. Something that can be fatal to baby, and sometimes even to Mom. She had an emergency c-section. Explained why the baby was born so quickly.

Spoiler alert. God is good. That’s all the reason I have to give for the fact that mom and baby are fine. When Meagan’s doctor came to see her, he told us they were two minutes away from tragedy. He’s never at the hospital on Sundays. Not on purpose, anyhow. He “happened” to be there checking on another patient when Meagan came in. In a usual case, he would have taken at least twenty minutes to arrive after being called in. He said we could have lost them both if he hadn’t “happened” to be there. Of course, we know it wasn’t chance. God was in it.

The next few weeks were all about Meagan recuperating and getting used to having a needy baby in the house. No one got much sleep. Especially not Meagan and Rob, but Shannon and I were short on sleep, too. So, I hope I can be forgiven for not writing anything that month. Admittedly, there was plenty to write about. A new grandson. The miracle of his birth. But words eluded me.

July. . .I have no excuse other than mental and emotional exhaustion. And by this time, I had skipped so many months that one more didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

In August, with only a handful of chapters left in my book, I pushed hard with edits. Serge went to Brazil mid-month to bring his father back to visit with us at least through Christmas. I hadn’t seen my FIL in a year and wasn’t sure how my life might change, so I wanted to be finished with edits. Turns out, I have just as much time as before, so I could have gone easier on myself with those edits and actually gotten a post done.

Rowan smiling and chatting with Grandma in August

The rest of this year caught up with me in September. I felt weary. Of never-ending housework. Of missing my daughter and her family. Of forever miserable summer in south Florida. Of writing. Of editing. Of worrying about reader magnets and building platform. I reached the last chapter of my edits, and the inspiration went POOF! I tried to write through the block, but that just frustrated me more.

It’s October and I feel like the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel. (And that’s as close as I’ll get to the end-of-this-month’s celebrations the secular world loves so much.) I’m waiting for the moment when the bones stand and grow tendons and muscle and skin and come back to life. Maybe it’s here, in writing this post.

My husband told me to focus on gratitude. And I am SO grateful for God’s blessings this year. For my grandson, alive and healthy. That God spared my Meagan, and she is doing well. I’m grateful for cars in good condition which can get me to her house in a handful of hours.

I will forever miss my mother-in-law, who was more of a second mom to me than a MIL, but she’s no longer suffering and I will see her again someday. I am focusing on the joy of having had her in my life for 33 years, and of the wonderful son who wouldn’t be by my side if not for her.

And with that gratitude and more in my heart, I’m back. Hopefully soon I’ll have a book to offer you. 🙂

Rowan with Great Grandpa Lopes at the end of September

Uncategorized / March 17, 2023

Be the Heroine in Your own Love Story – Part 5

Priscilla

I’m weeks late in posting this article. It was supposed to go up on February 27, but Priscilla and her husband Aquila are too special to leave behind just because I’m a few weeks late.

It’s impossible to talk about Priscilla without her husband. Every mention of her in the Bible includes her name next to his. Aquila and Priscilla. Their names even rhyme! At least in English.

We only get glimpses of this dynamic duo in the Bible, but we can infer a lot from those glimpses. We are first introduced to Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18 when Paul goes to Corinth. Verse two tells us Aquila was a Jew, born in Pontus, a province in the northeastern part of Asia Minor, an area that is now in Turkey. At some point, Aquila and his wife had moved to Rome. When we meet them, they are living in Corinth instead because Emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome.

The Bible text doesn’t tell us exactly how Paul met this couple. Acts 18:2 simply says Paul found a certain Jew…and he came to them. They were tentmakers by trade and so was Paul, so he began to work with them. They even invited him into their home to live with them. Now when I say tentmakers, I mean literal tentmakers. They made tents. I have no idea out of what or for whom. Was camping a recreational activity back then? I wish I knew, but I imagine not. And it’s not important. They worked together, lived together, and ministered together. Paul went through some scary times in Corinth, and since his residence was in the home of Priscilla and Aquila, they would have faced those struggles with him. Still they pressed on, and verse 8 tell us “Many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.”

Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, and then when it was time for him to move on, he went to Ephesus and took Aquila and Priscilla with him. They must have been very important to him, and vice verse. Once Paul left Ephesus, the couple stayed behind and established a church in their home. (1 Corinthians 16:19).

When a renowned speaker named Apollos came through Ephesus, he preached about John the Baptist, but he didn’t really know or understand the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Aquila and Priscilla quietly took him aside, invited him into their home, and taught him all the things he was missing. They must have been excellent teachers, because Apollos went on to become a great evangelist. The Holy Spirit gets first mention in Apollos’s life and choice of following Christ, but God used Priscilla and Aquila along the way to set him straight and strengthen his faith.

We see them again in the second letter Paul wrote to Timothy. He mentions them as being in Ephesus working alongside this young pastor. Paul must have been quite at ease, leaving the new church behind in the hands of young Timothy, knowing such a godly couple was there to offer him support.

To focus specifically on Priscilla since the intent of this series of articles was to look at the lives of the ladies, let me draw up some of my conclusions. What a role model for women. Opening her home to so many others would have involved extra work for her. More mouths to feed. More people to clean up after. More time to spend entertaining guests and making sure her home was welcoming. And still spending time building and maintaining the marriage relationship she had with her husband. And that’s on top of the tent making work that supported them financially. I’m sure at the end of each day when Aquila closed his eyes, the last image he sought out before drifting off to sleep was this beautiful Proverbs 31 woman he’d chosen as his wife. What man could resist a woman who not only slept beside him, but worked, ministered, and entertained beside him? She must have done it all with a joyful spirit because God honored her in a special way, too, by naming her beside her husband whenever they are mentioned in His Word.

Uncategorized / February 20, 2023

Be the Heroine in Your Own Love Story – Part 4

Mary

Mary the mother of Jesus is probably the most famous woman in the Bible. We know she was special simply for the fact that God chose her out of all the women in Judah at that time to be the mother of His Son. I could end this post right there, but that wouldn’t be any fun. At least for me. 

Mary must have had as pure a heart as any human could possess (other than her Son, of course). We don’t know her exact age, but judging from Hebrew custom and practice of the time, she was probably quite young. Maybe as young as 13 since even today, that is the age at which a Jewish person, male or female, is considered an adult.

Matthew 1:18–25 tells us Joseph’s side of the story. He chose Mary as his betrothed. (A betrothal was more binding than an engagement today, but not quite as binding as a full-on marriage. They weren’t living together as man and wife and had not, of course, consummated their relationship.) Then he discovers she’s pregnant. Can you just imagine the shame and agony he must have felt? He’s been honorable, but now she’s with child. Not his child. We the reader are told up front she was with child of the Holy Spirit. No hanky panky involved. But Joseph didn’t know that. He could have had her publicly humiliated. Dragged out to the town square and stoned to death for adultery. Verse 19 tells us he didn’t want to make her a public example so he “was minded to put her away secretly.” A less honorable man might have wanted revenge. I’m all about giving people their due, so Joseph gets a 100%, A+ for honor and kindness in my book. But beyond his honorable character, there must have been another reason he didn’t want humiliation or death for Mary. We don’t know how well they knew each other. Was it a love match? An arranged marriage? He must have had some knowledge of the kind of woman he was marrying. I believe he cared about her. That’s why he could unselfishly put her wellbeing above his own feelings.

Verse 20 says “while he was still thinking about these things…” He’s still trying to figure out what to do. I may be reading into the text, but what I get out of that is he’s not resolved about what to do. Maybe he loved her enough to want to take her as his wife anyway. She had to be a very special woman for him to even contemplate such a possibility under the circumstances. Then—oh happy sleep—he’s told by an angel in a dream not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the babe in her womb is of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 24 says “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife.”

Again I may be reading into it, but the wording of this verse makes it sound as if he woke up from his dream and ran to Mary’s house right away to get her. He could have waited a day or two. But no, he jumped at the chance to welcome her into his home as his wife. Yeah, she’s carrying a Child not his, but what a Child! He was so delighted to discover she hadn’t cheated on him that he rushed out the same night to get her.

Let’s skip over to Luke 1 for Mary’s side of the story. In verse 27 the angel greets her with the words “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

Wow. That’s really high praise. They talk a bit and once she understands what’s happening, she submits. Verse 38 tells us her response: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

Did she have a choice in the matter? I believe God’s free will would have allowed her to say, hey, wait a minute. I don’t want to do this. Or maybe God chose her because He knew what her response would be. She found favor with Him for good reason. Reasons we don’t know because the Bible doesn’t tell us about her early life. We don’t need to know. Her response tells us she was humble and submissive to God. Two of the nine fruit of the Spirit.

The following verses tell of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth and Mary’s song of praise to God. For a young teen-aged woman, pregnant outside of marriage, it could have been frightening. She knew she was still pure, but facing the doubting Thomases around her could have taken a toll on her emotional state. She shows wisdom in going to spend time with Elizabeth, away from the wagging tongues in her own community. But she gives a beautiful testimony of gratitude and praise to God, the One who put her in that situation to begin with. She sees the honor of what God chose her to do rather than the discomfort of her situation. She says in verse 49 “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.” (emphasis mine.) Those are the words of a humble and grateful person. And she goes on to lift Him up. No arrogance. No bitterness.

Luke 2 tells us the difficulties Mary faced at the end of her pregnancy. She’s heavy with child and has to leave the comfort of her home and go to Bethlehem to register for a census by, not her own people’s government, but the pompous king of a conquering nation. Then they arrive in Bethlehem but no one will take them in. She has to go to a barn that stinks of animal sweat and excrement. Because let’s face it, a barn is a barn. Even a clean one will have animal smells and dust and dirt. She has the baby in that barn. She’s tired from her long journey while nine months pregnant, then the exhaustion of giving birth. A little rest, please.

Nope. A bunch of strangers rush to the barn to see the miracle the angels told them about. I’m going to use my writer’s imagination, here, and what we’ve already observed of Mary’s character. She could have been bothered. Told them to go away and come back tomorrow. I believe those shepherds were received with a welcome full of grace. I imagine Mary’s mother-heart filled with joy to see her baby, God’s Son, the Savior of the world, worshiped as He deserved. Verse 19 says “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” I imagine a quiet girl, sitting back, observing. Taking it all in and holding all these events in her memory. And wondering, why me? Why did God choose this lowly maidservant for such an honor?

Joseph, of course, was witnessing all this. Observing his chosen wife. And saying to himself, yeah, I made the right choice. His heart must have been full to the brim with love for her.

Skip ahead 33 years. The Child Mary has loved as a Son and as a Savior is dying on a cross for crimes He didn’t commit. She’s at the foot of the cross, offering Him whatever support she can though her heart is breaking. But Jesus shows His great love for her by thinking of her well-being even while He’s agonizing. He looks down and sees her with his disciple John. Joseph is no longer in the picture, so Jesus asks John to take care of Mary. Yes, I know Jesus is God, Himself. And as a perfect Human He was the epitome of unselfishness. But His human side was in pain. Dying. Carrying the burden of the sin of the world. And He put all that aside to make a dying request for His mother. That says plenty about our Savior, but it speaks to the person of Mary as well.

It’s no wonder Joseph was in such a rush to make her his wife.

Uncategorized / February 13, 2023

Esther, Miss Persia circa 486 BC

Welcome back to my third post on the romantic heroines of the Bible. Today I want us to study a literal beauty queen.

Esther’s outward beauty cannot be contested. The biblical narrative tells us “The young woman was lovely and beautiful.” (Esther 2:7) So beautiful, she was chosen to go into the king’s harem. But there was more to her than her looks.

As soon as she went into the harem, she won the favor of Hegai, “the custodian of the women.” The Bible says she “pleased him, and she obtained his favor.” (2:9) He favored her so much that he gave her extra beauty preparations and appointed seven “choice” maidservants from the king’s palace to serve her. But that wasn’t enough. He moved her and her maids to the best part of the women’s house. Hegai was a eunuch, as any man in charge of the king’s women would have been. So his attraction to her was something more than her physical beauty.

When Esther’s turn came to meet the king, she asked for only the most basic of beauty aids. Whatever and only what Hegai suggested. If it isn’t clear enough to the reader that the young woman’s beauty was more than skin deep, the narrative adds in 2:16 “And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her.” Her physical appearance would have been enough for anyone to do a double take. But for her to obtain their favor, the inner person must have been shining through.

The king loved her “more than all the other women.” She was chosen out of the many women, all beautiful, to take the place of the ousted queen.

And King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther lived happily ever after. The end.

Hold it. Not quite.

King Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes, wasn’t known for his patience and kindness. This guy had a nasty temper. When he decided to invade and conquer Greece, he had to get his army across a strip of water called the Dardanelles Strait, also known as the Hellespont. By tying together a large group of boats, his engineers made a bridge that would allow his army to march across. Before they could venture over it, a storm blew up and destroyed the bridge. Maybe he should have been grateful it happened beforehand instead of when they were in the middle of the bridge. Or maybe he should have given up and gone home. After all, the destruction was an “act of God” and the king should have heeded this warning. But nope. Not he. He threw a major hissy fit and ordered his soldiers to—this is recorded in history—whip the sea 300 times with chains. Then those poor soldiers, who must have already felt stupid, had to poke the strait with red hot irons and toss handcuffs into the water to make sure the sea would submit to the king. Um. 👀

The harshest thing he did, though, was promptly order the decapitation of the engineers. Hey wait. It was a STORM. Not their fault. But you get the picture. Side note…he should have listened to the God who orders the weather (though this would have been before Esther and Mordecai were part of his life, so it’s doubtful he cared about the Hebrew God), because they made it across, were humiliatingly defeated by the Greeks, and went back to their ship-bridge with tails between their legs. To find it destroyed once again.

In the opening to the book of Esther, an older, should-have-been wiser Xerxes starts by deposing his beautiful wife who refused to parade about for a bunch of drunken royals. Once his anger subsides, he realizes the mistake he’s made, but then it’s too late. Should have controlled his temper. 🙄

Why am I telling you all this stuff about the king? Isn’t this post supposed to be about Esther? Yes, it’s about her. I’m just letting you know who she was dealing with.

When it became clear Xerxes also had bad judgment when it came to those he chose to rule with him, namely, Haman, Esther had to confront the problem this posed to her people.

When she goes before the king to plead for her people and her own life, she’s afraid. Well, yeah! If she went before him without him requesting a visit, it could mean certain death. And since he’s shown himself to be a bit hot-headed and ill-tempered, who could know what kind of mood he’d be in when she went to see him?

The king shows her favor. Yes, we know God was in it. We know He had a special plan for her. But maybe, just maybe, God chose Esther because of the characteristics that endeared her to everyone who came in contact with her. Xerxes welcomed her, did as she asked, even offering to give her half of his kingdom. And later, once Haman’s scheme was revealed, the king chose his wife over his most trusted adviser. He could have doubted her. Haman was his number two, after all. Esther had kept her Jewish ethnicity a secret, so what else might she be hiding from him?

Nah, he believes her. He’s so angry, he walks away (surprise, surprise!). When he returnes, he finds Haman begging Esther for his life. Last straw. Haman’s a goner.

Now the king knows all of our heroine’s secrets. He knows she’s a Jewess, one of the conquered people, but he gives her everything she asks for and even elevates Mordecai to Haman’s position. With plenty of other beautiful women populating his harem, he could have easily replaced his new queen. But he loved her. He was enchanted by her.

I get the same vibes from Esther as I did from Hannah. Gentle. Kind. She possessed a submissive and obedient spirit. Not only to men, but to God as well. She must have been aware she had the kind of looks that turned men’s heads, but it didn’t make her arrogant. I imagine when she was taken into the harem, she must have been quaking with fear. Or she might have turned bitter for the liberty she lost. That’s not what happened. She showed great courage as she continued to blossom, despite her circumstances, and let her inner being shine through…A light that engulfed the people around her and endeared her to their hearts.

It’s no wonder the cantankerous Ahasuerus/Xerxes chose her to be his queen and turned to mush in her hands.

Uncategorized / February 1, 2023

Be the Heroine in Your Own Love Story

Have you ever wondered what it was about Sarah, Rebekah or Rachel that made their husbands fall head over heels in love with them? Why did Elkanah prefer barren Hannah over Peninnah, the wife who bore him plenty of children? We know Esther’s beauty caught the king’s eye, but what made him favor her to the point of allowing her people, captives and slaves, to fight his to save themselves? Joseph was a righteous man, but what was it about Mary that caused him to want to “put her away quietly” instead of humiliating her when he, himself, must have been embarrassed to discover she was pregnant outside of wedlock? And why, in a male-dominated society, did the apostle Paul mention Priscilla together with her husband Aquila?

Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Esther were all described as beautiful. They naturally turned men’s heads and drew attention to themselves for something that wasn’t necessarily their own doing. But looks fade with time. There must have been something more about these women that kept their husbands’ love and attention.

Sarah (Genesis chapters 12 – 23)

When God told Abraham to leave Ur, the home where he and Sarah had grown up, Abraham packed everything and left. Sarah might not have had much of a choice in the matter, but I imagine she rolled up her sleeves and packed the bags. She was a barren woman, and in an age when bearing plenty of children was part of a woman’s worth, Abraham valued her and did not take a second wife, as their culture allowed. If she had a negative spirit, always complaining about “Why’d you have to move us so far from all we know?” Abraham might have been quick to take on that second wife.

They stopped part way to the Promised Land and set up camp for some time in Haran. We don’t know how long they stayed there, but it might have been just enough time for her to get settled when Abraham pulled up roots again and moved them to the land of Canaan.

I’m supposing here, I have no biblical passages to back me up, but Sarah and Abraham likely had a stable home in Ur of the Chaldees, which was a thriving city at the time. For an urban girl, born and bred, to have to slip into a nomadic life couldn’t have been easy. But she did it.

A wife’s support is vital to a man. The saying that behind every great man is a strong woman isn’t just a cliché. A wife can make or break her husband. The Bible has examples of wives who were not good influences on their husbands, and both paid the price. Jezebel and Ahab, Ananias and Saphira come to mind.

Sarah wasn’t perfect, and she made some VERY poor choices in her long life. She would have done well to put her foot down and say no when Abraham asked her to lie and say she wasn’t his wife but his sister to protect his life. Twice! She would have spared herself a lot of heartache if she’d trusted God to keep His word rather than push another woman into the arms of her husband. But despite her faults, she was a good, submissive wife, and when she passed, Abraham mourned for her and went to a bit of trouble to have her buried in a decent place.

The New Testament has good things to say about Sarah, too. In Hebrews 11 she is called faithful. She was given God’s power to conceive in her old age because she believed in Him. No, that’s not a contradiction. Yes, she took things into her own hands and regretted it forever after. But she came to understand God’s will and trusted Him to keep His word. And reaped the rewards of it by having a beloved son for the final 40 years of her life.

1 Peter 3:6 also praises Sarah. It says she “obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.” This passage might be hard to swallow for some women today. The words obey and submission send chills down the spines of many. That’s because biblical submission is misunderstood and misinterpreted by the world, and unfortunately, by some who belong to Christ as well.

Being a submissive wife does not mean being a doormat to be trampled. Nowhere in Sarah’s story do we see an abused, cowering woman. Submission is not weakness. Do you know how much self-control it takes to submit to another human being? Jesus, the God-man, the only Person to have the power to bring Himself back from death, willingly submitted Himself to God the Father. He also willingly submitted Himself to humans and allowed them to take His life. It wouldn’t have happened if He didn’t want it to.

The same concept is described in 1 Peter 3:6. A wife is very much an equal to her husband as far as her worth before God and her importance in the relationship. But a godly wife, like Sarah, willingly agrees to take the role of follower for the good of the family. And out of obedience to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22-26 lays out the way things should be in a marriage. A wife is to submit herself to her husband as she would to the Lord. Some folks like to stop there and put all the burden on the woman, but a few verses down, the passage says a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church. To the point he’s willing to give his life for her. Whoa. Can you imagine a world where every husband loved his wife with that much fervor?

In my view, it’s a happy cycle. If a husband is following God’s mandates and loves his wife that sacrificially, his wife will gain respect for him. If she knows he has her back, she’ll have an easier time submitting to him. In turn, her respect and submission will fill him with more love for her. And the more he loves her, the more she’ll love and respect him. It’s a win-win situation. But then, isn’t God’s way always a winning strategy?

Tune in on Monday for our next romantic heroine. Hannah.

Uncategorized / January 10, 2023

Read. Carry. Share.

Last week my daughter gave me a taste of some yummy chocolate. Sweet, and smooth and just so melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The following day I noticed the bars were Cadbury chocolates which my older daughter brought back from a trip to Ireland. Deliciousness explained. 🙂 The brand name reminded me of a story I heard my entire childhood, one I was quite proud of once I understood my connection to it.

Helen Cadbury (born January 10, 1877), the granddaughter of the famous English chocolatier, was twelve years old in 1893 when she gave her life to Christ. Excited about her conversion, she witnessed to her best friend the following day in school. The young ladies read the Bible together, and eventually Helen’s friend also asked Christ to be her Savior. Through the enthusiastic outreach of the two girls, 80 of their schoolmates came to know the Lord. Helen firmly believed that “If we could get people to read the Book for themselves, it will surely lead them to Christ.”

Helen and her friend organized a group of girls who would sew pockets into their dresses to carry New Testaments. They were adamant that Christians should Read the Word of God, Carry it with them, and Share it with others. They called their evangelistic club The Pocket Testament League, a local group that would grow into a world-wide missionary outreach which continues to this day. Through the years, Helen’s New Testaments were whittled down to a booklet of the Gospel of John, considered the most evangelistic of the four Gospels.

In 1965, Charles and Betty Bruynell, my parents, set out for South America with The League, eventually making their way to Brazil where I was born.

Charles and Betty Bruynell arriving in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 6, 1965

My father turned Helen’s story into a bit of a comedy routine when he’d speak in churches about his work. He’d pull one booklet out of his coat breast pocket to show how handy it was to carry with him. Then, ham that he was, he’d pull a few more from the inside pocket. Then from his side pockets. His front pants pockets. The back pockets. It was like the clown car where a seemingly impossible number of clowns pop out of a tiny vehicle. Except there were no gimmicks to Dad’s stunt. By design, each booklet fit perfectly well in his pockets. I loved that routine. It never got old for me, and he always received plenty of laughs.

Two PTL Gospels from back in the day. The one on the left was used in Brazil in the late 70s. I believe my father designed the cover. The title says Peace, Truth, Love.

For size perspective, you can see how small they are. Small enough to fit several in pockets.

I found this on the inside of the English language Gospel. It’s the same pledge Helen had her friends sign to become part of her original Pocket Testament League.

As a child, I thought it was so cool that the mission I considered myself part of had such a connection to the Cadburys. But now, with the advantage and wisdom of age, I was humbled as I read about Helen’s fervor. I still think my tiny connection to this great warrior of God is cool, but it’s convicting to realize I don’t have that twelve-year-old’s zeal.

Ah, the exhuberance of youth, you might say, but no. Helen’s evangelistic passion didn’t diminish as she grew older. In adulthood she married Charles Alexander, an American evangelist with close ties to Dwight L. Moody, and in 1908, they officially founded a mission they named–you guessed it–The Pocket Testament League.

In England, The League’s little booklets were distributed to soldiers heading to the trenches in WW1. Throughout the decadence of the Roaring 20s and the economic difficulties of the Great Depression of the 30s, Christians in Great Britain and America armed themselves with these Gospels to reach out to the lost. During the 40s and 50s, the movement spread through Asia, and PTL literature made it into the hands of Captain Mitsuo Fuchida (of Tora! Tora! Tora! fame) who led the first wave of air attacks on Pearl Harbor. Searching for the truth of God’s grace for some time, Captain Fuchida became a Christian, an evangelist, and worked for awhile with The League.

Mitsuo Fuchida with Jacob DeShazer, a survivor of a Japanese POW camp whose story was instrumental in helping Mr. Fushida come to the Lord.

I could go on naming famous individuals who were touched in some way by The League, but this post is long enough already. For me, the takeaway is that through the vision of a pre-teen girl in love with her Savior, millions have been and continue to be introduced to Christ. What a legacy!

On March 1, 1969, at the ripe old age of 92, Helen Cadbury stepped from this life onto the Streets of Gold. I have no doubt she was greeted with the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

For more information about The Pocket Testament League and its history, go to: League history. The page contains a written history as well as a cool little video you can watch.

Helen wrote a biography about her husband, Charles Alexander. You can find a digitized version through the Internet Archive here: Charles Alexander: A Romance of Song and Soul-winning

Captain Fuchida wrote several books, one in particular about his conversion. It seems to be mostly out of print, but Amazon offers a .99 kindle version or a free audible version: From Pearl Harbor to Calvary

And if you’re into old war movies, you can find the movie here: Tora! Tora! Tora!

Uncategorized / December 31, 2022

Blessings Through the Years

It’s the last day of the year, and as I sit at my kitchen table, my heart fills with gratitude to the Lord.

Friday a week ago, we went up to the Daytona area, to Ormond Beach, to get away for the holidays. With the temperatures dipping into freezing, this heat wimp was in paradise. A nice reprieve from the constant heat. On Saturday morning I bundled up and took a walk on the beach, but getting there, I saw something I have not seen in ages.

I had a nice, brisk walk in the cold, but I admit, I didn’t do that again until the temperature started to rise. 🙂

Christmas day actually felt like Christmas with the cold weather. Don’t laugh at me, those of you who live up north, where 30° means it’s starting to warm up. Just ask the iguanas. They’ll tell you it really was cold here.

God has blessed me abundantly, not just in the past year but throughout my life. He gave me two amazing parents who brought me up to love Him. Although Mom and Dad are both with Him now, I have the certainty that we will someday be reunited.

Mom and Dad with me, sometime in 19?? (Tee-hee)

Over 32 years ago, He gave me the most wonderful husband a girl could want.

He went on to bless me with two beautiful daughters. They have been sources of great joy in my life, and I couldn’t have asked for better.

More recently, but getting to be back in the day as well. (2016)

Then in the midst of all the ugliness of 2020, God saw fit to bring a new person into our lives. He gave us the son we didn’t have.

2021 saw him become an official part of our family, and he’s been a great addition.

But God didn’t stop there. Maybe you can see the progression here. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. (I think “they” are wrong about this, and that saying really pricks at my word-loving, writer’s heart.) But let me share one more picture with you.

I received this for Christmas:

This blessed grandma-to-be is super excited about the new role she’s about to play. Looking forward to 2023 and the joy of adding yet another member to my family. So grateful to my Lord for all His blessings.

Congratulations, Meagan and Rob.