Esther and the King

    One morning, I do not remember exactly when, my morning devotions ended up focusing on the story of Esther, and I began drawing correlations between the account of Esther and her interactions with King Ahasuerus, and my relationship with God Almighty. There is so much that can be learned and applied from Esther and the character she displayed. One can only grow in respect for her when placing oneself in her shoes, imagining what she lost in her forced removal to the king's palace (family, community, safety, etc.) and what she must have felt when the reality of what was going to be required dawned upon her.
    

    The story of Esther is a familiar one. King Ahasuerus, a king remembered in history for his ruthless and deplorable character, gives a feast for his princes and servants of the realm of Media and Persia. When his desire for Queen Vashti to come to the feast arrayed in the royal crown (there is discrepancy of exactly what the request required and whether Vashti was correct in her denial, but that is a subject for a another study), she refuses and in a fit of anger, King Ahasuerus repeals the queenship from Vashti. To appease the situation, the king's servants suggest that virgins be found to satisfy the king's lusts, and in that way, Esther is brought into the king's palace.  After living for a year in the house of the women, each maiden went to the king in the evening and, in the morning, was taken to the house of the king's concubines, to live out the rest of her years, most likely never to be in the presence of the king ever again. Esther, however, upon finding favor with King Ahasuerus, is made queen in place of Vashti. Following this, the king places Haman, an Agagite, as head of all the princes, and Haman wishing the Jews to be destroyed for the reason that Mordecai, Esther's uncle, did not give him the honor he desired, beguiles the king into agreeing to have a government-funded genocide of the Jewish nation. Mordecai, hearing this, goes into mourning for such a decree of destruction and refuses the clothing Esther sends to him, and it is then that she, too, learns of the decree against the Jews and herself among them. Mordecai entreats her to intercede for their people before the king, and after 3 days of fasting and prayer, Esther prepares to go to intercede for the Jewish nation before King Ahasuerus. This is the beautiful part of the story where the spiritual correlations are made. 

#1

"Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house." Esther 5:1

    Esther did not choose to clothe herself in her old apparel of a Jewish maiden to show her humility and her gratefulness for the position that King Ahasuerus had exalted her to. No, she selected the apparel that was her's because she was queen. It was royal, costly, elegant, and beautiful. The king had a right to enjoy her in the apparel he had bestowed upon her because of her position. Just so with us. As daughters of the King of all the earth, we who are in Christ, in God, have been given new robes of righteousness and glory. 

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10

And earlier in the same chapter of Isaiah, speaking of Jesus Christ...

"... to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

    There is a good and proper place to have a humble attitude before the Lord. To remember where we were, broken sinners, unable to do anything to earn our way to heaven, until the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's death on the cross dawned upon our hearts and we were justified in the sight of God by the acceptance of that sacrifice. However, we should not live there! We have been made saints in Jesus (Ephesians 2:19)! We are made holy, pure, sanctified, and justified in the sight of God through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11), and we should revel in that, take great joy in that, not still live in the "pig pen" when we have been made daughters of the king! Humility, yes, but it is the work of Christ done for us, not anything that we have done, and in that we should take great joy and glory in. We can humbly walk daily in the glorious garments of holiness and glorify the Giver by appreciating the royal robes that He bestowed on us. The book of Ephesians is a beautiful book to read, memorize, and meditate on for reminders of what we have received in Jesus. And may the Lord grow in all of us a humble glory for the holy and royal garments that we are clothed in because of HIM!

#2

"And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre." Esther 5:2

 

    Esther, arrayed in her queenly, royal robes, stands in the outer court of the king and receives the favor of King Ahaseurus, who extended the royal sceptre towards her so that she was able to come near to him to present her request. Just with us and God Almighty. We now have constant and available access to God in Christ because of Christ. Jesus is the "Sceptre", the sceptre of justification and restoration of our relationship with God the Father. 

"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Hebrews 2:17

I see that there are 2 points of application from this correlation. First, the "sceptre" of the sacrifice of Jesus is extended to us as guilty sinners as our access to a restored relationship with the Father.

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us..." Ephesians 2:13-14

When we come near and touch the "sceptre" of Jesus Christ and accept it as the full payment for our sin, then our relationship is restored to the Father, and we have peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2).

    Secondly, because of the restored fellowship between us and God the Father through Jesus Christ, we can come forward boldly, entering into the privilege of fellowship with God. Through our "Sceptre", our mediator, Jesus Christ, we draw near to God, and we are welcomed by God because of the reconciliation that Jesus' death on the cross obtained for us (1 Timothy 2:5). Beautiful truth! Enter into a vulnerable and loving relationship with your Heavenly Father, which is made available to you. Make Him your confidant, your best and nearest friend. He desires such tender and close fellowship with each of us. Will we stay afar off, still living in the shadow of the law, or will we joyfully walk in the New Covenant and glorify Him by enjoying the freedom and fellowship that His sacrifice purchased for us? 

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:19-22

Fundraiser for Mother's Day!

This is late, but I thought I would post it anyway. The pro-life ministry that I volunteer with, Speak for the Unborn, is doing a Mother's Day fundraiser! At S4U, we believe motherhood is a beautiful gift and should be celebrated. One of our goals is to encourage the growth of motherhood by equipping churches to be able to graciously and confidently share the life-saving message of the gospel (because isn't the gospel pro-life, spiritually and physically?) to those who are pro-choice or considering having an abortion themselves.

Gifts to Speak for the Unborn allows the ministry to continue providing churches with practical tools to be equipped to share the gospel truth with those who do not see the God-given value of unborn life and motherhood. 

For more information on the work of Speak for the Unborn, please go to speakfortheunborn.com.

If you have a mother (physical or spiritual) in your life "who has everything", please consider giving a donation to S4U in their honor. If the amount is over $50, we will mail you (for an additional $5) a special feminine gift box which includes hand lotion, lip balm, a face mask, tea, information about S4U, and more!

Even if you are not able to join in the fundraiser, would you pray for Speak for the Unborn as they press forward with the desire to see souls and babies saved? Precious lives are slaughtered every day, and the church needs to be a voice for the voiceless. Pray (and vote) for the ending of this government-protected massacre. 

"Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and please the cause of the poor and needy." 

Proverbs 31:8-9.

Family Life - January-February 2025

January and February could be summarized in 1 word: "winter storms". Well, technically, that was 2 words, but who is counting? =) Our first storm blew in the first full week of January, and it felt like after that storm followed storm, complete with freezing rain, wet ground, frigid temperatures, cold winter winds, ice, and snow. It was a true Kentucky winter! We were able to put the cattle with the highest needs in our renovated poultry buildings for shelter, for which I am so grateful. Though winter storms are hard, they cultivate some of the greatest memories and sibling bonds, another blessing for which I am thankful. 

In early February, Dad came down with singles, and a few weeks later, Olivia and Hope broke out with chicken pox. Not too long after, the rest of the kids followed suit, but that is moving ahead into March. Mom would say when we were little that if we knew of someone who had chicken pox, we would go visit so we would catch it and get them over with. This never happened, though, and although it was a very challenging season of illness and itching, the Lord provided, and it was a blessing that the kids got them relatively close together, and it was not prolonged any more than it was.  

For the other details of January and February, I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story....

There are some winter days when we wake up and do not understand
how the cattle made it through the night alive, only by God's mercy.

I had this "picture-esque" idea of doing a gingerbread house with the kids, 
and when I found one for a decent deal, I got it during the holiday season. 
However, December passed, and it never happened, so one evening in January, 
we broke it open for a sibling project. It turned out to be quite a house, and we 
discovered that none of us will be professional bakery decorators! =)

One Saturday, we sisters took off for town to do some shopping and 
drop into the local coffee shop!

January 20th - thankful for the sovereignty and mercy of God on our country.

Hope and Joel braving the winter weather

Mom and I drove out to visit Grandma at the end of January.

One of the decent days...

For my birthday, back in the fall, Joel gifted me with dinner out with him,
but by mid-February, we had yet to have our "date". So the night before
Valentine's Day, we went out for dinner (we tried Blaze Pizza for the first
time...highly recommend) and got a bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes
and ate it on the way home after doing some shopping. Joel has such a 
sensitive heart toward us girls, and along with Dad, spoils us on 
Valentine's Day.

The quality of this picture is not good, but there is nothing like witnessing
a new life emerge and begin in the world. It is beautiful every time, 
and it is a privilege to watch God-given instinct in nature.

Though we do not have house dogs, when the girls had chicken pox, we would
bring Peaches in to make visits and cheer up the sick ones.

"And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wonderously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed." 

Joel 2:26-27

Resting in the Shadow

I do not know for all of you, but I believe that I can rather confidently say that the book of the Song of Solomon is not the go-to devotion spot for us single gals. No single word in the Bible is without Spirit inspiration and practical application, yet for those of us who are in the waiting period for the Lord to manifest our romance stories to us, the Song of Solomon can be a book of the Bible perhaps visited less than other parts of scripture. There are, though, several lovely passages of the Song of Solomon that can be taken and beautifully applied to our relationships with Christ. One of the precious verses that has blessed my heart over and over is Song of Solomon 2:6, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." What a heart-pattering picture of me being safe in the arms of Christ, His hand pressing my head against Himself and His right hand encircling me in love, acceptance, and protection. 

    

    Another passage from this book that I studied last week, after it arrested my attention from The Daily Light on the Daily Path devotional (again, very highly recommend), is from Song of Solomon 2:1-4, 

"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." 

    Verse 3 caught my attention, "I sat down under his shadow with great delight..." What is the purpose of and the help that we receive from a shadow? Shadows are used as places of coolness on an intensely warm day, they are a place to rest from the oppressive heat during or after exertion, they can be a place to comfortably commune with a friend without expereinces the uncomfortability of the sun's heat, and a darkened shadow can be a place of refuge from being seen by an enemy. They are a place of protection, rest, cooling, help, and comfort. Little help can be received from a shadow unless one steps into it and personally experiences its benefits. 

    Below is an excerpt from a commentary I read while mulling over this passage and its application.

"When a poor soul is parched with convictions of sin and the terrors of the law, as David (Ps. 32:4), when fatigued with the troubles of this world, as Elijah when he sat down under a juniper tree (1 Ki. 9:14), they find that in Christ, in His name, His graces, His comforts, and His undertaking for poor sinners, which revives them and keeps them from fainting; those that are weary and heavily laden may find rest in Christ. It is not enough to pass by this shadow, but we must sit down under it (here will I dwell, for I have desired it); and we shall find it not like Jonah's gourd, that soon withered, and left him in a heat, both inward and outward, but like the tree of life, the leaves whereof were not only for shelter, but for the healing of the nations. We must sit down under this shadow with delight, must put an entire confidence in the protection of it (as Judges 9:15), and take an entire complacency in the refreshment of it."

    

   So that is my new name for Christ, "My Shadow". His love overspreads me, and I partake of the cooling and comfortable fellowship with Him. My Shadow never shifts, never shortens with time, never loses its ability to rest me, but is ever present and always comforting. Full confidence must be placed in the Shadow, for there alone is full fulfillment. This week, ladies, take rest in The Shadow. Take a moment each morning to picture yourself sitting down there and pray to the Father to hold you there during the day's stresses, needs, frustrations, or pain. The Shadow is enough for you.

"For Thou has been a strength to the poor, a strength for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall." 

Isaiah 25:4

"And a Man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Isaiah 32:2

The Righteous Hand of God

I am making my way through the Psalms and I was recently reading Psalm 48 when verse 10 caught my attention.

"According to Thy name, O God, so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness." Psalm 48:10

Passages that speak of the arms and hands of God have a special interest for me, and since finding cross-reference passages is fun, that is where my studies held me on this particular morning. I found many passages, mostly neighbor verses in the Psalms on the right hand of the Lord, which from the verse above, we know is full of righteousness, so that promise can be inserted into the passages regarding His right hand.

Psalm 18:35 came to mind first,

"Thou has also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness (humility, meekness) hath made me great." 

• The right hand of the righteousness of the Lord holds me up and gives me security.

"Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy." Exodus 15:6

• The righteous hand of God sets the wicked at naught and makes Satan flee.

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy: at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11

• There is a full, complete, and joyful rest in the righteousness of our Savior's right hand.

"For they got the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them." Psalm 44:3 

• The righteousness right hand of the Lord goes before me as a shining light of hope and direction.

"My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me." Psalm 63:8

• I fall upon the righteous right hand of God to sustain me through this life. Though I fall, the righteousness of the Lord is my stay and all my hope.  

"Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:10

• I am held in the righteous right hand of Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice, for eternity. 

Book Review- Mountain Breezes

I enjoy poetry, and I am grateful when a faithful saint can put into poetic words what I may struggle to articulate in comprehensible sentences. I first came across the compilation of Amy Carmichael's works at a conference several years ago. I took a picture of the book to look up at a different time. Several years past and it was not until this past fall that I obtained my own copy of this work and what a blessing it has been to my heart! 

"Mountain Breezes" is the collection of poems written by Amy Carmichael. Born in 1867 in Ireland and the oldest of 7 children, Amy grew up in a loving, Christian home. She spent time as a missionary in Japan before finding it necessary to leave due to the strain of the climate on her health. She landed in India in 1895, where she organized a traveling band of Christian women who wanted to reach other women and children. When made aware of the horrific and demonic trafficking of young children to be "married" to the Hindu gods and used to "religious" prostitution, Amy gave her heart and soul into rescuing those precious young souls. The Dohnavur Fellowship of South India was founded, and due to the faithful efforts and countless prayers of Amy and her helpers, child after child was rescued from the horrors of the life destined for them and lived to see the heinous custom of temple prostitution become outlawed in 1948. Though never marrying, Amy became "Amma" (mother) to many children who would have been lost to the evils of the world had it not been for her faithful obedience and willingness to lay it all on the line. She never had a furlough and spent the last years of her life as an invalid, but maintained a steady and fervent trust in the Lord in whom she had looked to for all those years. Amy Carmichael passed away in 1951. Her legacy continues in Dohnavur today.

The poems of "Mountain Breezes" are divided into several sections and touch a variety of heart cries, including poems for worship, surrender, ministry, encouragement, and more. There is a "rawness" to the verses that help me feel like my heart position, struggles or fears are articulated for me when I do not feel I have the ability to articulate. I highly recommend and encourage obtaining your own copy and I am thankful for how the Lord has used it in my life.  

"Missionary life is simply a chance to die." ~Amy Carmichael

Family Life - November-December 2024

November and December recaps...better late than never! Both months held holidays which, for us, were different this year than others, but we were together and we can laugh about it now. =) 

The weather was beautiful through the 2 months with unusually warm temperatures. It was excellent for our house building project and a great deal of progress was made. 

Caden was here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Emma, Stephen, and the boys traveled here the day after Christmas and were able to be here through New Year's. 

November began with a morning of cattle work!

House project: tearing apart the back deck

The quality of this picture is not good, but rain was coming,
the wind was strong and we were trying to tarp the open part
of the house. It was a rather scary undertaking, but it was successful
and has left us with a great family memory.

House project: picking up busted bricks...

... and stacking the bricks.

Several of the family enjoying a Saturday night SEC college
football game.

House project: shoveling gravel

House project: finished cleaning out the garage and the beginnings of
the plumbing begun 

House project: footers dug, block laid, and gravel poured

House project: the garage gutting begun

House project: garage gutting finished and the 1st wall up!

I began using some Saturday mornings to slip off to the local
coffee shop to work on ministry tasks, write letters, do research, 
and enjoy a hot coffee!

House project: concrete pad laid (and dried!) and framing up

Mid-December held a pro-life ministry fundraiser for me to help plan. 
I am thankful for this niche of ministry to serve and am looking 
forward to what 2025 holds in that capacity.  

We created donation Christmas gift boxes for that family member
"who has everything".

House project: roof on, "eyebrow" begun, some of the windows in,
and more of the brick off!

House project: ZIP siding up and ready for windows

Every once in a while, our family will have an outing together. In 
the past, this has usually been to Ollie's discount store, but we chose
Menards in December. Fun family memories and time spent together.

Christmas 2024