The Fish Tank

Teenage Mother A donkey owner Simon of Cyrene Who are these people? I am sure you can figure out the first one: Mary the mother of Jesus. Who are the others and what do all three of these people have in common? They all did extraordinary things but, for the most part, went unseen. Do you ever feel unseen? Undervalued? I do. I try not to get caught up in that space, but I find myself there too often. While Mary is infamous today, she wasn't when she brought the King into this world. She was a teenager who gave birth in a barn. She was an outcast who was pregnant but not married. She told of an unbelievable story involving an angel, a Spirit, and a Savior who was going to save the world. Could you even imagine? It's easy for us to be in awe of Mary. We know the whole story. She didn't. And neither did the people around her. She had to live it. To top it all off, she had to watch her beloved son die a gruesome death. Talk about feeling unseen and undervalued. She faithfu...

You are worthy. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are destined for greatness. You were made with a purpose and for a plan. You are beautiful. You are highly favored. You. You. You. We like compliments. We enjoy when people tell us how great we are. We check our social media to see how many "likes" our pictures receive. We like to go to church and leave feeling encouraged and good about ourselves, don't we? We are a pretty me-focused society. From toddler-hood on, we are a pretty selfish bunch. We like things to go our way, in our timing, with our plans. Tell us how fantastic we are, and our day is made. When we take a look at the Gospel, at the life of Jesus, we see quite the opposite. No longer is the message me-centered. Instead, it is others-focused. "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be serve...

Bathsheba: David's mistress turned wife Deborah: Judge and Prophetess Dinah: Daughter of Jacob Elisabeth: Mother of John the Baptist Eve: The very first woman Leah: Jacob's wife Lois: Timothy's grandmother Lydia: First Christian Convert Mary: Mother of Jesus Mary & Martha: Served Jesus Mary Magdalene: Disciple of Jesus Miriam: Sister to Aaron and Moses; Prophetess Naomi: A Woman of Noble Character Phoebe: Deaconness of the Church Priscilla: Missionary Rebekah: Wife of Isaac; mother of Jacob & Esau Ruth: Left her life to be with her newly widowed mother-in-law; wife to Boaz The Woman at the Well: First Missionary This may just look like a list of names. The list could extend the entire page. There is a story behind each one of these women. A story of value, perseverance, and meaning. A story that was written and propelled by God. These are some of the women of the Bible. I was raised to be a strong woman. I didn't grow up in a feminist househ...