tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post113311308579411807..comments2024-03-24T23:41:23.944-07:00Comments on Talk Wisdom: Every Woman Has A Beauty to UnveilChristinewjchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434229284833642438noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post-1133461707082395622005-12-01T10:28:00.000-08:002005-12-01T10:28:00.000-08:00I recently found and read this Article that shares...I recently found and read this <A HREF="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47648" REL="nofollow">Article</A> that shares more information about the terrible sexual abuse of girls that is happening in Cambodia. Here is a link to a ministry called, <A HREF="http://www.aim4asia.org/" REL="nofollow">Agape International Missions</A>. One of their most fervent goals is to abolish the scourge of sexual slavery in Cambodia. If you are so led, I pray that you will help them out financially in their efforts.<BR/><BR/>"You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." – Psalm 10:17-18 (NIV)Christinewjchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18434229284833642438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post-1133196655329386862005-11-28T08:50:00.000-08:002005-11-28T08:50:00.000-08:00You are a blessing in my life, Christine. Thank y...You are a blessing in my life, Christine. Thank you for the kind words. <BR/><BR/>Ok, ok... I will think about it... that is, reading the book... AFTER I check out some more reviews. :) I have always suspected you were one of those very feminine women like my two older sisters going by your attractive photo. Now which one is the mother? :) It is almost bedtime in Jerusalem so don't you come back with a "rant"!<BR/><BR/>I expect you to be good considering your "special" day is coming up on Wednesday! :) Love to the West Coast from across the Atlantic in East Talpiot. (ss)Susan Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01290399161065548291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post-1133194711301376132005-11-28T08:18:00.000-08:002005-11-28T08:18:00.000-08:00Oops. I goofed and left out a very important part...Oops. I goofed and left out a very important part in my blog post. I will write it here and then add it to the original post, too.<BR/><BR/>Stasi mentioned that the term that God gives Eve when she is created is <I>ezer kenegdo</I>. God states, "It is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an <I>ezer kenegdo</I>]" (Gen. 2:18 <I>Alter</I>) Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is "notoriously difficult to translate." Alter gets closer when he translates it "sustainer beside him."<BR/><BR/>The word <I>ezer,</I> is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God himself, when you need him to come through for you <I>desperately</I>.<BR/><BR/>Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and <I>helper,</I> and your glorious sword. (Deut. 33:26,29, emphasis added)<BR/><BR/>I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My <I>help</I> comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Ps. 121:1-2, emphasis added)<BR/><BR/>May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you <I>help</I>. (Ps. 33:20, emphasis added)<BR/><BR/>O house of Israel, trust in the LORD - he is their <I>help</I> and shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD - he is their <I>help</I> and shield. You who fear him, trust in the LORD - he is their <I>help</I> and shield. (Ps. 115:9-11, emphasis added)<BR/><BR/>Most of the contexts are life and death, by the way, and God is your only hope. Your <I>ezer</I>. If he is not there beside you...you are dead. A better translation therefore of <I>ezer</I> would be "lifesaver." <I>Kenegdo</I> means alongside, or opposite to, a counterpart.<BR/><BR/>Stasi goes on to describe:<BR/><BR/>"... that God calls us to a life involving frequent risks and many dangers. (Isn't that the truth!) Why else would we need him to be our <I>ezer</I>? You don't need a lifesaver if your mission is to be a couch potato. You need an <I>ezer</I> when your life is in constant danger."<BR/><BR/>(Jesus told us in John 16:33 - These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you *will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.")<BR/> <BR/>Stasi also mentions:<BR/><BR/>"That longing in the heart of a woman to share life together as a great adventrue - that comes straight from the heart of God, who also longs for this. He does not want to be an option in our lives. He does not want to be an appendage, a tagalong. Neither does any woman. God is essential. He wants us to need him - desperately. Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so you'll see that women are endowed with fierce devotion, an ability to suffer great hardships, a vision to make the world a better place."Christinewjchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18434229284833642438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post-1133191059802517222005-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:002005-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:00Hi Susan,I can certainly understand your feeling t...Hi Susan,<BR/><BR/>I can certainly understand your feeling that way. As I had mentioned, many women might get the impression that this book is only about a woman's physical beauty. However, it's really about the question, "You are many things to many people...but who are you to God?"<BR/><BR/>I probably didn't do this book justice by skipping much of the essential parts in the first few chapters. <BR/><BR/>I chose to do it that way only because the chapter I quoted was directly related to my post about the awful scourge of "Human Trafficking."<BR/><BR/>Here is a review that I just read in my Christian book club catalog. It reminded me of your comment here Susan!<BR/>*******<BR/><BR/>"I didn't set out to like this book - I don't like to be told by others what it means to be a woman of God. What usually happens is we leave with one of two messages: 'You ask too much, you are high maintenance.' Or 'You are not enough, you need to be more than you are right now.'<BR/><BR/>Guess what? Stasi Eldredge has a different message for you. Stasi tells you that you are captivating and desire to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure. And God has equipped you and empowered you to have those desires met! Through biblical studies, stories from Scripture and their own lives, she shows you how essential you are to God's plan.<BR/><BR/>I don't think I've used the word 'groundbreaking' to describe a book in a long time. This one rightly deserves the term"<BR/>(Written by Andrea)<BR/>*******<BR/><BR/>I think that what throws people off is the term "romance." If you look in the dictionary, there are several meanings (such as the 'prissy' one you had mentioned). But this book reveals the romance between a woman and God. Thus, the term 'romance' is more accurately defined as, "a romantic spirit, sentiment, or the like; a love affair."<BR/><BR/>It is about each woman's love affair with the Lord, and, as Andrea's quote states:<BR/><BR/>"to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure. And God has equipped you and empowered you to have those desires met! ...[this book] shows you how essential you are to God's plan."<BR/><BR/>You made two good points that are also in this book!<BR/><BR/>Susan said, "I believe the greatest beauty from God's image is inside our beings."<BR/><BR/>And: "We are all unique and I appreciate your sharing this book on your blog, Christine."<BR/><BR/>Yes! We ARE ALL UNIQUE and that is one of the greatest revelations contained within this book! <BR/><BR/>It's ok if you do not care to read it, Susan. I totally understand. In fact, I may have inadvertently ruined your desire to do so by skipping around in the book at my blog. <BR/><BR/>However, this book is so refreshing to me in that it tells us that it is ok to be unique, why we are unique, how God loves each and every one of us in our own uniqueness, and that the radiance hidden in the heart of each woman (because we are the image bearer of God) is <B>what the world desperately needs</B>!<BR/><BR/>Susan, YOU are <B>already actively revealing the radiance in your heart as the image bearer of God through your ministry activities in Israel, your uplifting comments at my blog, and also through your heartfelt newsletters!</B> <BR/><BR/>God bless you from the West Coast,<BR/>ChristineChristinewjchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18434229284833642438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post-1133158069390612592005-11-27T22:07:00.000-08:002005-11-27T22:07:00.000-08:00Susan Smith said... After reading many words, I am...Susan Smith said... <BR/>After reading many words, I am thankful Christine said: "I do want to make it clear that this beauty being described is not just physical beauty."<BR/><BR/>I have never considered my physical appearance to be "attractive" by the world's standards and I am thankful God's Word tells us "beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" (see PRO 31:30). Do not misunderstand. I am not ugly. :) I believe the greatest beauty from God's image is inside our beings.<BR/><BR/>Chances are, I would not buy this book, because my preference for reading material is not feminine, romantic or "prissy" books. We are all unique and I appreciate your sharing this book on your blog, Christine. Love from God's City. (ss)Susan Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01290399161065548291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12391603.post-1133157701904158152005-11-27T22:01:00.000-08:002005-11-27T22:01:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Susan Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01290399161065548291noreply@blogger.com