Purim is one of my favorite Biblical Holy Days. It stands as a reminder that God will come to the rescue of His people. He will even use situations that seem unfair and hopeless to accomplish His purposes.

The Biblical account begins with King Ahasuerus holding a feast which lasted 180 days. At the end of the feast he held a seven day feast for all the people. Queen Vashti also held a feast for all the women at the palace. At the end of these 7 days the King called for Vashti to come with her crown so everyone could see how beautiful she was. It has been wrongly (in my opinion) assumed that he meant in only her crown. The scriptures do not suggest this was the case. Vashti refused his request and the King was enraged.

Vashti showed no honor to her husband and disrespected him in front of the entire kingdom. This is a key concept of Esther’s story. When speaking to the wise men, King Ahasuerus is told that “^16b Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷ For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ ¹⁸ This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.” (Esther 1, ESV)

A royal order was sent out that Vashti was never to be in the King’s presence again.  ²⁰ So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike. (Esther 1, ESV)  It was also said that another should be given her position who is “better than” she was.

To make the story short, (and because you will greatly enjoy reading the account in full detail for yourself), this is where Esther’s character is important. Because she consistently showed the King respect and honor, when her hour of need came, she was able to be bold and  make her request. In doing so, she saved her people — God’s people –from annihilation.

While it isn’t completely Biblically accurate, we will be celebrating Purim by watching One Night With The King after reading the book of Esther. We will also have some hamantaschen cookies too!

For us that meant trying our hand at Hamantaschen cookies. We found a wonderful recipe for Hamantaschen from The Shika’s Blog. Here are some photos of our experiment.

We made poppy seed, almond, raspberry, and apricot. We ended up with 42 cookies. I can’t stress enough the importance of covering the dough with a damp towel. It made a huge difference. Because we were going for low-key we used almond and poppy-seed pie filling as well as raspberry and apricot preserves. Next year I plan to make the fillings too.

This can be a very difficult process for the believer. We have been taught again and again to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord and yet they seem to be the ones who are doing the most damage. It doesn’t have to be like this. Exposing the enemy and loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord are compatible. The scriptures say “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)   This means we are not to fight our brothers and sisters but we are to take up the spiritual battle. There are thoughts, ideas and concepts that distort the truth in the minds of God’s people. Before we get too full of ourselves, lets remember that we have these thoughts too. It does not mean that we are not a fellow Christian on the journey. It means we have wrong thinking that needs correcting. Let’s extend that same grace to others.

As the enemy of our souls is being exposed, I also believe that the Lord is paralyzing him. God is giving us the chance to choose Him. He is showing us the enemy and his works. He is giving up the Scriptures to back up the Truth so we can see a direct contrast between the darkness and the light. We now have a choice to make. Do we follow what seems to be well-meaning and loving brothers and sisters who are off the Word or do we follow the One Who wrote the Word?

You may notice that the enemy is still wondering around our churches and ministries. I believe this is because we have welcomed him in. God will take up the fight on our behalf but we first must make the body of Christ an inhospitable environment for the enemy. We must choose God and seek the truth of His Word over man-made comfortable “truths” that lead only to false freedom.

How do we do this? In the weeks to come I will be blogging on what the Bible has to say about judging. This will cover how we, in the Love of Christ, address false teachings and sin. God has taken me on an amazing journey that corrected my errors of not just falsely judging but also the ways in which I failed to judge Biblically. I hope you will join me as I share my heart on this.

I wanted something that edified the family and was a reminder to seek the Lord. I also wanted it to convey the hope or promise attached to it.  Then one day, while reading the Word, I saw these verses and knew it was the right message for the right place.

I found the great bird house design through a company that makes vinyl wall art. I made the letters with a scrapbook die cutter on store-bought vinyl. I learned a lot from this project. For example, my walls are uneven and even with a guide I can’t make a straight line.

Now I am trying to imagine some other locations and ways to places verses around my home.  Do you have any suggestions? Leave me a comment.

I am entering this into a great contest over at Doorposts. (A last-minute entry.)  If you don’t know about Doorposts, I highly recommend checking them out. They have a great Christmas Sale going on for products that will aid you in raising your family.

Image via Wikipedia

Over the summer and into the this fall I am taking a much-needed time away from almost everything. One of the things I found myself loving was making and drinking green smoothies. Green smoothies are a wonderful way to get lots of green veggies into your diet. A big bonus is that kids love them too.

Today I made a super yummy smoothie with:
8 ounces of water
1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 frozen banana
large handful of spinach
large handful of arugula
1/4 avocado

Bananas and avocados act like emulsifiers and give it smooth texture. Especially avocados. They give such a rich creaminess to the smoothie.
You can also add some ice before you blend. I find that when I use frozen fruit, I do not need to add ice.

Visit the 21 day Green Smoothie Challenge that got me hooked on green smoothies.

I believe that Christ died for my infirmities just as He died for my sins. I believe healing is mine, I’m just waiting for the full manifestation of that gift within my body.

I’m sharing all this because I see so many people who suffer from hidden pain in one form or another. For some there is a medical cause. For others it is emotional trauma and for many it is a combination of things. Usually, I keep very quiet about what I’m dealing with. I share with a couple of close friends I am blessed to have. But even then I don’t always share. Even if I did, would they understand?

Sometimes the pain and duration of physical illness literally cause a depression in me. Often, the condition I deal with causes me to not leave my home. Well meaning friends try to get me to go out for coffee but they don’t understand that I really can’t muster the energy or physically handle the activity. Other friends tell me if I just got up and moving I would start feeling better. While I don’t want to facilitate laziness in my life, nor want friends who are enabling, some times just a few minutes of aerobics is enough to cause such a set back that requires days to recover or symptoms that require medical attention. Needless to say, this has caused more than a few extra pounds that need to be shed and a vicious circle.

For years I felt there was no way out. I’d take a few steps forward and then I’d be hit with a giant leap backwards. I am trusting that slow and steady wins the race as I embark on a different path. I’ve tried the medical route and its numerous  variations. Now I am putting my all into His hands and whole heartedly working from the inside out. In this section of the site I will share my process with you as well as my thoughts and revelations of His love I experience.

I invite you to walk with me.

I hope it blesses you.


From childhood You loved me and out of bondage You called me Your own.

Even in my faithlessness, You persued me.

Though I didnt realize it, You taught me to walk and raised me up, healing me.

You led me with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and you eased the yoke of my burdens.

You bend down to feed me and keep me from entering back into bondage.

You my Lord are my King. You are the One Who keeps me from destruction, the One Who sustains me.

Even when I have failed You, You did not let go.  Your compassion grows warm and tender.

And You do not execute Your burning anger though I deserve it. You do not destroy those who seek You.

You are God and not a man, You are the Holy One in my midst.

I tremble at the sound of Your voice. You teach me to walk with You in faithfulness and lead me home.

Click here to read Hosea 11 at Bible Gateway.