The introduction reads like a novel. What would happen if all the women in your church didn’t show up?

I had a chuckle at what Jim Henderson said in that chapter of his book, The Resignation of Eve, “Picture this. It’s 8:30 am. You’re in your office at New Life Community Church, getting ready to lead the ten o’clock service.” As a church secretary, I had to laugh at this scenario. Where was Linda, the volunteer administrator, to stuff the bulletins, and why did Linda wait until Sunday morning to stuff them?

Henderson continues to describe a typical church. What would happen if all the women didn’t show up? I find it interesting that when he presented that scenario to each of the women in his book that no bulletin printing was a constant on their list. I am a church secretary (one of them) who designs and prints the bulletin. All of us church secretaries are women. Henderson is said to play devils advocate.

With that thought in mind, I could easily overlook, say the chapter where the woman in question teaches her children gender-friendly language when reading the bible and that God is an it, both a she and a he. I was disappointed not to see something regarding that under ‘My Take’ in that chapter. Still, he kept his focus on the topic at hand how women are viewed at church.

There are three roles women play in church in how they feel about the church’s viewpoint on women as a pastor or in influencing positions. The ‘Resigned To’ group are women who, “have come to terms with the fact that they are not “allowed” to exercise all the gifts and abilities they’re capable of contributing in the church setting…They’ve accepted the idea that the same people who deny them the right to lead their churches would go door to door on their behalf if they ran for president.” Or they love their churches, but they aren’t given influence or leadership. “They can run the operation, but not lead it. As a result,” Henderson says, “many have lost the desire to be creative.”

Then, there’s the ‘Resigned From’ group. Henderson explains this group as women who, “were capable of leading, thinking, guiding, shaping, and forming a spiritual community but were denied the opportunity to do so? This experience leads some women to walk away from church, Christianity, and in some cases God.” Those stories were sad.
The last group, ‘Re-signed,’ Henderson says, “This is the decision some women make, knowing the limitations, knowing the risks, and knowing that things are not likely to change. Women who “re-sign” don’t quit or accept things as they are; they engage, lead, and influence. They make waves and stay connected. They’re engaged, but not owned, integrated within the church but knowledgeable about its inherent limitations and dangers.” I want to be one of those women. Henderson says, “They’re not world changers, but they’re contributors.”

The book was well put-together and on topic. After each story, he gave statistics, blogging reactions, and his take on the person’s story. At times, that was helpful. The book asks tough questions, presents the problem, without getting ultra-feminist on the rest of us. But what do I think of the deeper question?

I believe women should lead and influence. To my best knowledge, I don’t think it’s against the Bible because of the women Jesus loved and had with Him. I agree that I would have a problem with a woman as a pastor, and I couldn’t tell you if that’s unbiblical or not. I believe that men should be the spiritual leader, and men and women should be partners, not in competition. I cling to the scriptures on marriage where women are charged to love their husbands and husbands are charged to love their wives. If we follow what scripture says about marriage, couldn’t we apply that illustration here? Yet, at the same time, I would vote for Sarah Palin to lead our country.

Yes, I’m a hypocrite.

Henderson’s points became very good fodder for discussion. When I posted a question about women in leadership positions at church on my Facebook account, I didn’t get one brave soul to comment. Most of the book, I could completely resonate with what some of the women said, and other times could see that their past heavily influenced their worldview.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and rated it five-stars in spite of some questionable viewpoints. The way Henderson allowed the women to tell their story without editing or softening it, while maintaining a biblical worldview impressed me. His book accomplished his intentions of making people think and talk about the issue.

I think both genders have issues. Men need to lead more and not be emasculated by women, namely feminists, and women need not be in competition with men. Both can work together if they follow Jesus’ teachings and love one another. But I’m still not sure where God stands with women as pastors.

This book was given to me to review by Tyndale Publishing. The book releases February 1. I am giving away my copy via a drawing. Leave a comment by February 6. Winner to be announced on February 7.

And From Tyndale!

We’d also like to let you know about a special event with Jim Henderson, author of Resignation of Eve.

You are invited to register for:  Jim Henderson Presents The Resignation of Eve Cloud Conference

This will be a 75 minute call and is scheduled for Monday, February 27 at 5pm PST / 6pm MST / 7pm CST/8pm EST

This telephone-based event will feature Jim Henderson, author of The Resignation of Eve, David Kinnaman, President of The Barna Group, and women of The Resignation of Eve. David will discuss and take questions regarding the Barna Group’s most up to date research regarding women in the church. Jim will do the same regarding The Resignation of Eve.  Jim will introduce a couple of the women he interviewed for the book. You will get the opportunity to discuss your thoughts and ideas on this topic with other callers from all over the United Sates as well as interact with David, Jim and  a few women from The Resignation of Eve.

NOTE:  As part of the invitation people are invited to arrive 5-10 minutes early as the call will start promptly at 8pm EST – you won’t want to miss the Woman of Resignation of Eve

To register, click here.

Please join us for this crucial conversation! And forward this link to everyone you think would find value in this gathering.

Description: A story about a woman enduring verbal and physical abuse and being stalked by her husband after finally escaping him.

Night Sounds by Pam Young piqued my interest. It looked and sounded like something that would get me hooked. Instead, I did a lot of skimming. This puzzled me. The writing was good. Why didn’t it interest me?

First of all, there were errors. I’m not against self-published books. I’ve given fine reviews on self-published items and some not-so-good reviews. Inconsistent point of view changes (attributed to the e-formatting perhaps?), some punctuation and e-formatting problems (i.e. NIGHT SOUNDS came after an incomplete sentence, a large space; then, the page number, followed by the rest of the sentence) made the reading a trial. I haven’t had a problem reading other e-formatted books on my kindle (except a recent ARC), and wonder if the publisher didn’t adequately e-format? It’s very distracting and breaks the tension.

Also, I had to re-read the first two chapters in order to get my bearing again. That’s unusual. I can read between the lines the author’s voice, her experience, and passion, but for some reason the book didn’t keep my attention. I did a lot of skimming, and at the end of the book stared at the wall in complete mystification. The plot was good, and yet I was bored. It hit me as I was lying in bed. The story lacked what Donald Maass calls, “micro-tension.” But even that doesn’t give me a clear idea why it bored me or how I would fix it.

I rated it three-stars for effort and good character development. Dr. Young says on Amazon.com, “In my career as professor, and later as psychotherapist, I encountered too many women who had been sexually abused. This story was written not only for the colleague who inspired it, but for all those others. Sexual abuse leaves its victim broken, depressed, angry, sleepless, and unable to form healthy, intimate relationships without some kind of healing intervention. My intention in writing this story was to facilitate awareness, understanding and perhaps even healing for all involved.” She did a very good job in illustrating that in the character of Samantha.

Book given by WoMen’s Literary Cafe to review. As of an email from WoMen’s Literary Cafe, the e-formatting issues were because it was sent as a pdf. They sent me a mobi file and so the formatting issues are a non-issue. However, I still stand by my review.

My parents adopted their grandchild after a judge ruled my sister an unfit mother. When my parents died, I was their estate’s executor; they entrusted me with my ten year old niece. While following our parents’ Last Wills, my siblings gave me grief requiring they get a share of the cash flow from the house, life insurance policies, etc.

None of them seemed to care about our young ‘sister-niece’s’ welfare. Plus, those relatives turned a deaf ear to my announcement that I paid many of our parents’ needs including costly pain medication due to our mother’s cancer. Since I took no promissory note, that money could not be removed from their estate. We’d each get a fifth of our parents’ worldly treasures.

Due to years of family dysfunction, one sister dared complain that the estate split five ways; she felt the ex-mother of our niece deserved nothing; the estate needed to be quartered. Even though the estate was small, it caused a huge rift; the selfishness I witnessed weighed on my soul. It made me feel that Cain and Able were alive and well!

My oldest sister never paid to support her ex-daughter; she failed to see this as the cause of an abyss between us. Years later, she called to brag; my sibling inherited a substantial sum from someone. During her selfish monolog, a particular statement hurt me to the core; “God rewarded me for being a good person and helping so many people!” When I remarked to her about her less than helpful nature concerning her offspring, she accused me of jealousy. Plus, she dared to call me ‘certifiable.’

I remained relatively resilient throughout my life with my dysfunctional family members but that day, admittedly, I was not stable at all! It felt like the end to me; I cringed hanging up the phone. Like a zombie, my feet waltzed me to my closet where I wailed and gnashed my teeth. There was no peace just emptiness and pain. My soul could not move forward or back; stationary, it reeled from mistrust. In my dark closet, I was one lost soul. As my spirit remained in darkness, my soul wondered why God rewarded my sister. Also, how could God allow her to taunt me?

God began sending messages of love in my direction. For example, the telephone broke my tension; and a friend sang out, “I was just out in my garden and a little bird told me to call you! I was hoping to see you sometime soon because I have a little gift for you. Just something I picked up at a gift store today. It reminded me of you.” She added that she missed me. Her statements helped me realize that my kids and other people would miss me if I left like my father did; dad committed suicide a few weeks after breast cancer took his wife. The realization that I was loved moved me towards psychological stability.

That same day, God sent another messenger. A close friend, who was a triage nurse at a mental health ward, called me insisting on a coffee date; she wanted to meet immediately. As a result of her prodding, I dressed and went to our favorite meeting place. While recounting my upset, I remarked that my spirit witnessed the deviousness that drove my father to self-destruction. My soul caught a glimpse of his hell but I did not want to join him.

After listening, my good friend remarked, “You are emotionally one of the healthiest people I’ve met. You know your buttons, you know when people are using things to harm your psyche, and you have a strong survival instinct.” She hesitated, “Having said that; you are vulnerable especially today!”

“What hurt the most included that my sister has no concern for my niece’s needs!”

“That should not surprise you; she never showed interest.” I should have immediately felt better. However, there was a question that still needed answering. Why did God give my sister that money? His messenger quickly explained, “Maybe, He gave her that inheritance as a test hoping she’d share it correctly! Instead, your sister failed to understand how to use HIS gifts!” My friend’s conjecture gave me food for thought.

After arriving home, I retraced the footprints of my day to my husband. He interrupted, “Why waste your day in tears? Maybe, God gave her that money to see if she learned her lessons about sharing and caring about family. Obviously, she is clueless!” Two people answered so similarly that it jarred my soul into understanding God had no intention of harming me. My sister had free will, and she used it to taunt me.

However, that day left a scar on my soul so deep it was hard to erase. I wondered if I’d ever fully recover from the family plagues of our ongoing dysfunction. Then, I met a minister. During our encounter, other people gathered around to receive his prayers of exorcism or his specialty. Due to my wary nature, I kept my distance but that man focused on me. He revealed my secret, which was that due my emotionally unhealthy childhood I harbored mistrust. Next, that preacher told me that God was on my side but I had to allow Him to heal my past and guide my future path. I understood his message and have been trying ever since to trust.

Currently, I feel more open to ‘keeping the faith’ especially knowing God sent me so many love-filled messages. In short, when the Devil devised his plan that dark day, he didn’t grasp the strength of the healing ability of friendships. He , also, failed to take into consideration my strong desire to be the caretaker to my nuclear family or that I fully understood that my niece didn’t need to lose another parent. Mostly, Satan failed to understand the power GOD especially over my soul!

You can view her website here. Each Survivors and Faith story comes from a unique perspective. Sometimes in reading someone else’s story we can get a new perspective on our own stories. If you would like to submit a story, see guidelines here.

Hanson’s Bio:

My favorite question during book interviews is: How did you get started writing? The short answer is that in 1991 my mother died. Some people dream of being authors; my writing began as what could be described as a nightmare! HOWEVER- as she died, mom experienced what would be called a Christian Near Death Experience (NDE) or miracle. My witness became Mom’s on the Roof and I can’t Get Her Down. After that, I’ve co-authored or compiled seven other Divine Tales including HIS Story, Through the Storms HE Performs, The Presence- The Present, The Evans terrace Girls and Stacey’s Song. THEN, due to my life changing trip, I had to overcome a partial shoulder replacement, which hindered my left arm. With one hand, I wrote My ArmOr (My Life), which is about my acceptance of God’s plan for my life. To date, my Christian books total seven. Meanwhile, I have ghostwritten four novels including The Vision, which is based on a true story of overcoming blindness, bipolar dysfunction, and living ‘The Golden Rule.’ Finally, I’ve produced four picture books for children. You can find out more about my writing on my author webpage, which is at http://mchanson714.weebly.com/

The point of the story is to glorify God. I may have you re-write if I need to see that lesson more obvious in your words. I think it’s important to get these stories out there so others might be helped by the process in which you went through to forgive and heal. Your story remains yours after publication. I do have the right to re-post the story on my blog only without your permission.

I’ll need a photo and bio if it isn’t anonymous.

I don’t care if you can write. I’ll help you form the words. The important part is the story it tells to my readers. What can they glean from your pain? How can God redeem your pain?

Submit to nikolehahn@thehahnhuntinglodge.com

Bloggers wrote about how to get ahead in the world of literature by leaving comments with a link. As I grew in my writing, I realized that behind each blog post is a person. Bloggers take the time to write their heart or invest in their blog by giving us valuable and free information. My google reader filled with posts that I began to follow and leave comments. Then, I invested my heart.

Leaving comments like, “Great post,” or, “Good point,” or other vague words doesn’t encourage a blogger because those words don’t warrant further conversation or discussion. Not to say I would despise my readers for leaving short comments, but if it’s sincere, then I am glad. Still, ettiquette seems to dictate online that if one blogger visits us, we must visit their blog.

One blogger apologized that he hasn’t visited my blog in a while. I follow his blog because I got to know him as a person. There’s a real community of bloggers who care about each other and some who are just trying for their fifteen minutes of fame in a competitive world. I have encountered a few of them. They are the same or similar people I have encountered who want me to critique their stories, but don’t want to critique mine. There’s enough apathy out there to warrant that we think about why we do what we do, and it all comes down to Bonnie Gray’s post about each comment being a gift we give to each other.

You may not see my comment on your blog. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t there; it simply means I couldn’t think of anything worthy to say. I couldn’t gift you with the right words other than to promote myself. And I may not have read your blog, and you may be a faithful reader who, like me, likes to read blogs because you got to know me like a friend.

But I think we do need to change our way of thinking in this commercial lifestyle. I am still using you, but not to promote me. I am using you to grow me. Your stories, your life, your  lessons, and you mean a lot to me. Anger dehumanizes people. I see anger all of the time on the road and in the stores, even in church, but here we can be honest, call each other out on our untruths or misunderstandings. We can gift each other with comments that encourage deeper discussions.

So thank you, Bonnie, for being such a positive influence on all of us!

Are you a self-promoter? Why do you read blogs?

It’s billed as “the secret to receiving God’s supernatural abundance.” The book speaks about how to “break free from a poverty spirit,” and talks about the, “five principles for receiving God’s abundance,” “how you can bless others with His overflow,” and reads like an in-depth bible study guaranteed to challenge your notions of the word, “Abundance.” It’s most definitely not a book that teaches Prosperity Theology.

That was my first thought when I chose this book to review. I was looking for something to encourage my husband and I through these difficult economic times. I had never heard of Derek Prince. Apparently, he passed away in 2003. His ministry is still alive here. It was my hope that this book wouldn’t teach Prosperity Theology as I believe that is damaging and not biblical. Prince does not teach this theology. In fact, his idea of abundance does not match most people’s.

Abundance does not mean wealth. Prince talks about Abundance as the fulfillment of God’s promises. He speaks about stepping into those promises, owning them, and the conditions of those promises. I have often overlooked the conditions of the promises. God is not simply going to give His abundance to a man intentionally sinning. There are consequences.

“It is here that we turn to the administrator of our inheritance for guidance. As with many aspects of God’s promises, it is incumbent upon the believer to be sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit in appropriating what God has made abundantly available. Sometimes there is a timing issue. Sometimes there is a character issue God wants to deal with. So while we can move confidently into the provision God has promised in a general sense, that does not remove our obligation to hear from God in a specific sense in each situation we encounter. It is so important to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, avoiding presumption and any hint of a sense of entitlement.” (Pg. 79)

Prince backs his words with scripture. Poverty, he says, is a curse. This book could really educate some Christian occupy people (Is there such a thing?) who view wealth as bad and poverty as holy. Prince rails against this viewpoint and does not hold to class warfare. Jesus, he says, took the curse of poverty on himself on the cross so that we, as His children, can have abundance. I loved how Prince spoke about the promises of provision in the earlier chapters.

I had never thought about how God had provided ahead of time everything His people needed from Genesis to the New Testament. Food and shelter were provided at the place He told them to go, and that includes the Apostles when Jesus sent them without provision to unknown towns and lands. Everywhere they went they had abundance. God knew ahead of time where His people were going and as long as they followed His direction, they had provision. The conditions of God’s promises were enlightening. How could I ever worry again about the bills or where we are going when all we have to worry about is loving Jesus so completely that we honor Him with our choices, following His edicts as He directs in the Bible. Abundance does not mean wealth. This book is amazing in how it talks about tithing and offering. It talks about fiscal responsibility, not entitlement.

Entitlement is not biblical. I would recommend this book to anyone struggling economically. If you are having trouble tithing, let me know in the comment section of this post before January 31 for a chance to win a copy of this book. It will change your mind about money, reveal God’s promises, and stun you in the revelations that were there in the Bible this whole time.

*Publisher gave a free copy to me to review.

You Are My Inspiration

A true friend isn’t always one who accepts us; sometimes a friend ‘s job is to inspire us. Henry Van Dyke, a Princeton professor and clergyman, once said that the mark of a true friend is someone who makes you want to be at your bst when you are with him.

Are you setting up a social base that inspires you to be the best man or woman you can be? Or is your group of friends and advisors giving up and giving in to the most common spiritual enemeis of our age? Does your doctor address your symptoms, or does she address your decisions? Is your pastor strong enough to occasionally confront your disobedience?

We think the most loving thign we can do is to make someone feel good about themselves, no matter what, and the worst thign we can do is make them feel bad about themselves, but what if ignoring the truth is allowing or even encouraging a condition to continue that may take a decade or more off our friend’s life? Is that love as the Bible defines it?

*Book given by Zondervan to review. See yesterday’s post to read my review of this excellent book.

“For me, a diet—something unusual or temporary—held little interest. Most people come to realize that diets can be enormously successful in the short term, but over the course of a couple of years, they almost always fail; for the most part, people gain back the weight they lose. You see this particularly when celebrities—even celebrity Christians—succeed in losing weight, write a book about their breakthrough, and then, two or three years later, look just like their pre-diet selves. Besides, most dieting books ask, “What does my body need?” While it is an entirely appropriate question, an even better one is: “What eating habits are healthiest for my soul?” (Pg. 52-53)

Thomas talks throughout the book of getting fit, not to look good, be healthy, or to fit into that little black dress, but to get healthy and fit to serve God. If we’re obese, how can we effectively serve God? And what does our weight say about our witness? Our obesity causes other problems that directly impact our motivation, finances, and our future. Thomas describes the purpose of working out on the back of his book, “The goal in this pursuit is not sculpting thinner or more athletic-looking bodies. The goal is to cultivate stronger, well-nourished bodies that are primed to become, in the words of the apostle Paul, ‘instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.’ By looking at your body as an instrument rather than an ornament, you’ll find new and compelling motivation to embrace the kind of active lifestyle that fortifies your soul.”

This book changed my mind about my weight loss. I wanted to fit into a bikini for the first time and look good. I didn’t want to ever become so big that I lose motivation to even live a healthy life or be able to love others in an active way. I am thrilled by what I learned in it. Now I have a different perspective about losing weight and my lifestyle change in eating habits. I rated this book five stars. For anyone looking to lose weight, return those diet pills, ask for a refund from Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, and let’s get back to common-sense eating and regular work outs. There is no magic formula for permanent weight loss except hard work and good habits.

*Zondervan gave me a free copy of this book to review. Currently, there is a blog tour happening. Review links are posting at http://zondervan.typepad.com/zondervan/2011/11/every-body-matters-blog-tour-review-gary-thomas-book.html

April 2009 - by December was 220 lbs.

September, 2011

…And I am almost in a size 10 now!

“These meats are so expensive!” She complains very loudly.

Her friend says something, but I can’t quite hear him. The slicing machine continues to whir as the deli attendant worked diligently with his back hunched and his left hand catching the sliced meats as they fell from the blade.

The woman walks over to the display next to the deli. “We’ll get these meats. Those at the counter are way too expensive. In fact, we’ll get Sargento cheese instead. It’s cheaper.”

The clerk doesn’t react as he places the meat on the scale. His fingers punch in a code. His dark eyes go to the couple and return again to the scale. I smiled extra big to him and said a little prayer for him that his day goes much smoother and he doesn’t have to deal with people like that woman.

The first thing my family taught me was not to yell out that something was expensive. Many times I’ll show Tony a price tag and raise my eyebrows, but I never insult the clerks that their products are over-priced. Personally, I really don’t think my grocery store is overpriced. The food is good quality. The meats in the other display case are the same price as in the deli case.

I’m frequently surprised over the years at the lack of common sense and grace. Even friends I know I have had to shush when they have unthinkingly blurted out that a product was too expensive. I believe every clerk deserves respect for the product they represent.

It is more polite to simply look and walk away. I left that day grateful for learning that lesson.

Have you ever said really loudly that something was too expensive?