Hadassah's Story || Living Courageously for God

I'm in the most beautiful place in the world, but I wish I could run from it. Hide from it. I wish I could tear these tapestries off the walls and hide under them, turn them into the forest canopies where I was safe, a child.

When I was Hadassah, I was safe. No one knew me. I meandered through Sushan's market places and waded through cool watersides, and no one knew my name. They saw me, and I was gone. I played then. I laughed. I was free.

Yet my name changed. I am Esther now, a queen.

But these marble floors are cold, even through my leather sandals. I curl my toes, but the painted ends feel like ice.

My whole body's ice.

Arched ceilings that took decades to establish. The scent of lavender and perfumes that make me choke. The way my silk dress hangs heavy on my shoulders, cold against my bare legs. And the tiara, it seems to pierce my skull and mock me.

A million girls would want to be me. To be the strong and beautiful Esther they thought I was. I'm a queen. It's perfection.

I could laugh in their faces.

My fingers touch the closed door. It's hard, wooden, and swept with intricate designs. I want to bang them with my fists or crawl between the slivers caused by a knife's blade and hide. Never be found.

My husband's behind the doors. He is royal and holds the power of nations. And he says he loves me.

Then why hasn't he called me these many days? Why has it been a month since he even wanted to see me?

Maybe he forgot me.

My hand drops. I touch my tiara, edged in diamonds, but it's cold too. My back leans against the wall, brushing the tapestries hemmed in a dozen colors. I fall. Cover my face.

My shoulders shake. I want this to be someone else's life. I never asked to be queen. I never asked to be noticed. I just wanted joy. Life. Beauty. Someone to love me.

First it was Daddy to leave me, then Mommy. I remember crying then, but my cousin took me in. And now I was stolen from him too.

And I have to do the impossible.

My chin lifts, teardrops lingering in my eyes. I inhale. Exhale.

Standing, I tap at my moist cheeks. Sparkly powder meet my fingers. My shoulders lift, eyes narrow.

People would say I was courageous - Esther. Others would call me crazy for thinking I, Hadassah, could do anything. I'm more the latter. I'm still a child.

Hadassah is scared and small and wanted someone to save her. Esther is bold and brave and beautiful.

Somehow, I'm both persons. I can't fight. But the One within me can.

My eyes lift, a silent prayer.

I am alone, and now I will go before a King and maybe die.

But I am loved. I am strong.

God is here, here in this beautiful room that scares me so much. And with Him, I'll live or die. Queen or commoner, I am loved. Hadassah or Esther, I am His.

And He is King of Kings.

Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me... and so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!

- Esther 4:16

Ready to explore more of Hadassah's story? Here's a worksheet for you!

Click Here!

~♥~

Blog Tour || Amputated by Jordy Leigh

cold and ruthless are her trials - but not God-forsaken

Her old enemy, “isolation,” is back with a new face.

“It’s not like you need me,” she went on as she prepared for her journey. “You might even do better without me.”

Canada, December 2016—For three months, Louise Stella has been a refugee of war, trapped on a mixed forest island in Quebec. Unlearned in wilderness survival, she’s dependent on ex-criminal Ezekiel for food, water, warmth . . . and companionship. Yet with his cool demeanor, he’s hardly a friend, and she feels alone all the same. As winter sinks in and the river freezes, Louise decides to leave the island—with or without Ezekiel. Little does she know that her decisions will cost her an arm and a leg. Perhaps she needed as much to realize that Someone had been with her all along.

Amputated is a Young Adult suspense novella with ills, thrills, and winter chills. It will have you pondering a presence that transcends loneliness. Would you take comfort as Louise does?

Links:

author website

add on goodreads

pre-order

read for free!

Hello Friends!

I am excited for this book! I mean, who else has read a book based in Canada (!), full of excitement and survival adventures, while having it's focus be on Truth? The previous novellas have been great reads, and I expect this one to be equally uplifting and enjoyable.

And what happens when aforementioned book is written by a young lady who has so encouraged me? A blog tour, obviously!

God has used Jordy Leigh to be a huge blessing in my life, both in personal interactions, the truth-seeking on her website, and in her novellas.  And, it just so happens, that she is releasing Amputated, a new, beautiful story for the world!

I can't wait to read it. But, 'til then, here's one of my favorite quotes + why it happens to be so.

Sometimes I wonder what I believe.

Because I've grown up believing my whole life. I know the foundational truths. I know what the Bible says about God and who I am. I know all these things in my head, yet I still go back and wonder.

I wonder what I believe. And this is why:

If I believed God is good, why would I be scared to surrender everything and follow Him? Why would I fear the future, worry about which friends like me, or fret about anything?

If I believed I am in Christ, I belong to Him, why would I worry about the way I look, the way I dress, the attention I get; because wouldn't I be overpowered by His amazing greatness and the fact that I'm His?

If I believed that Jesus' power is in me, why wouldn't I have the faith to move mountains and pray for the sick and raise the dead? Why would I shrink back and let the world control me when He has said "greater works than these he will do?"

If I believed that God delights to answer prayer, then why would I ever stop praying? Why wouldn't I continually petition for His will, continually praise Him, eagerly look for His hand working around me?

And there's so much more. Do I believe God is literally the Creator of all? Do I believe He knows all of me and still loves me? Do I believe He has a plan for my life? Do I believe He is Almighty? Do I believe He is LORD?

That would change everything.

Sometimes I have to step back, look at my life, and wonder what I truly believe. And then I pray, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

Because all those are true: God is good. He does love us. He is Almighty.

Despite all we do, He is true.

Like in Amputated, despite all that Louise does, God is still true. And He has a purpose.

This is a challenge to me, to you, to everyone. Let's live out what we believe. Let's let Him work, surrendering all, and watch the salvation of the Lord.

The Lord will fight for us, and we shall hold our peace.

And we shall know the truth, and the truth will set us free.  ♥

(and ps, grab a copy of Amputated - it explores similar ideas within the story + a riveting adventure. And it's based in Canada, just saying.)  *wink* 

~♥~

Zacharias' Story || Man Remembered by God

Zacharias' Story

I never thought I'd be here. I never thought it would be me.

But here I am, on the other side of the veil, and I'm trembling like the rumbles of thunder that shake the world in utter terror. I feel like I'm sinking, falling.

With every flickering of the candles and dancing shadows, I wonder if it's Someone. If those eyes that see no sin can bear to look upon my soul. If He knows how much my hands shake as I try to burn incense before Him.

The smell rises up. It's beautiful and sickly and washes over me like a downpour. I can't breathe. It's everywhere, that thick, perfume scent, a million flowers. All around me, hidden under the shining roof of the temple.

I shouldn't be here. I don't deserve to be.

God Himself could step in. He's here. And who am I?

I drop the incense. Something wet moistens my sandals. The perfume is like flowers meeting soiled ground, flawed staining the purely immaculate. Silence echoes around me.

I fall.

And I hear a voice. He knows my name.

He speaks, and the words could shake earth and crack it in two:

"Do not be afraid."

I am afraid. I want to run, to hide, to keep this angel from seeing who I am. God is here, and I am man.

But the angel speaks. He utters words I don't understand, ones I've dreamed of only in my faintest, distant yearnings. He says I'll have a son. He says the world is changing. He says our hearts will once again return to God Almighty.

After all these years. All these hopes and prayers that seemed to dissolve into muddy soil.

God remembered.

I can't stand, can't breathe, can't control myself. It's like this Being is here, and He is ultimate and supreme and everything I've ever wanted and so much more and beyond.

God.

Somehow, I'm before Him.

I can't speak, and if I could, I wouldn't know what to say. Even after silence settles, lights dim, the incense slowly drifts into the air, I'm frozen and can't do anything and don't want to. My knees are wet with the perfume I was supposed to give Him. Somehow, He poured out everything on me.

God remembered. He remembered me and the struggles I have that I pretended didn't matter. He remembered Israel and our yearnings for a Messiah. He remembered. And after all these hundreds of years, He still loves.

He loves.

That God, that overwhelming powerful One, He chooses to love.

I'll never do anything the same. May my life be only to serve Him forever and fall on my face saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel."

Because somehow I was like a trampled flower, soiled by the earth, like the incense poured out, but He chose to lift me back up.

I'm speechless.

To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.

- Luke 1:79 

And for you - a worksheet to explore Zacharias' life more fully!

Click Here

~♥~

Habakkuk's Story || Man of Questions

Habakkuk's Story

The leaves are so dry that they crumble to my touch. Foliage becomes dust. It falls. Disappears into the rocky sand by my feet.

But it's the whole world. Dust forever, clinging to every crisp bough and the hem of my tunic. It billows up like a storm then settles like sickening mist. It's on us, crawling, stabbing our skin and waiting for us to give in and become dust like we once were.

Sometimes I want to. I want to give in and become like all of them. Because we live in a world of giving up, where no one holds on, keeps believing, keeps hoping. We give up and try to forget.

But I still see it.

The dust is thickening on the horizon, and armies are coming. Soon, the ash will darken our world to midnight; we'll wonder where the Light has gone.

So I keep staring, seeking. There, in the distance, the night rises. But the Light shines in the darkness. Shadows revolt. The darkness cannot understand the power that will one day destroy it.

I'll never give up. There's a people behind me in the walled city who may never know the danger from without, but I'll fight it. I'll let sand slice through my skin. I'll resist the urge to cave, the desire to settle, and I'll keep my eye on the Light.

No matter what armies besiege our city. No matter how many of my own people create their own statues and call them "god." No matter how much the world seeks its own power, comfort, love.

I shiver under this grime. Sometimes I fall too. The mountains still stand before me, but when the Light comes, they'll part to let Him through. The depths of the seas will raise their hands in worship. And may I be found here, waiting, trusting in His power amid the storm.

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - 

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.

(excerpt from Habakkuk 3:17-19)

And, like last week, here's a worksheet to help you dive deeper into Habakkuk's story!

Click Here

~♥~

The Samaritan Woman's Story || Discovering Living Water

                                                   

The Samaritan Woman's Story

I feel like I’m standing in a sun shower, but without rain. Or dancing in a snowstorm, but the flakes are all in my imagination, the beautiful, white softness. I feel them, tingling down my arms. My heart bursts. I want to dance. I can’t help it. 

My hands are clasped tight, pressed against my face, and I’m trying to breathe. If it was frigid, I would see my own breath. Today I only see His. 

I see the way His chest rises and falls, every beat of His heart true. It seems to speak my name somehow. 

I see His eyes, that deep brown that penetrates my sin, my past, my blood. They crinkle in the corners, smile lines, and still accept me. 

I see Him, here, before me, and somehow He chose me and loves me even after telling me everything I ever did. The ugliness I try to hide. It’s here, taunting, dancing in my face, and I can’t hide it. But for the first time, I don’t have to. 

He says I can change. He says things aren’t like they’ve always been. Where two people collided, He brings peace. Where the earth runs dry, He brings water. Living water. 

That’s why I feel snowflakes on this mountain, raindrops when there are none. It’s like He took my emptiness and filled it with part of Himself. And I’m overflowing. 

So I’ll cry or dance or scream, and it’s okay. I’ll tell the world; they can’t stop me. No one can. I’m breathing different, living different. 

I met the Messiah. This changes everything. There’s no more longing, no more seeking. Because I’m found. I’m a new woman. 

I will worship forever, in spirit and truth; I will be found kneeling before a God who knows me, yet loves me. Who told me everything I ever did but chose me anyway. 

Maybe that’s worship. I never really understood how or when or where, but the Messiah is here. Now I can’t help it. 

My past is gone. And I’ll dance in the snowflakes to praise Him.

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

- John 4:23

                   

If you want to study more of the Samaritan Woman's life, here's a worksheet just for you!  ♥

Click Here

~♥~