Esther

This morning in my quiet time I decided to get a head start (kind of) on the next Bible study that I'm going to be a part of in a couple weeks. We are getting ready to do Beth Moore's new study on Esther. Let me tell you how this first chapter goes.

Esther starts out with King Xerxes throwing a big huge party for everyone that was in the palace of Susa. Now, I'm not just talking a party like we would have today, where the whole thing lasts for one night. Oh no, King Xerxes partied in style. It says that for a full 180 days (about 6 months) he displayed his vast wealth of his kingdom. After that he held a big ole banquet which lasted 7 days. It tells about how the garden was decorated with things that would even be impressive today. Things like couches of silver and gold on mosaic pavement, marble, and mother of pearl. On top of that, everyone was given their own gold goblet and each goblet was different from the others. Everyone got as much or as little to drink of the royal wine as they wanted. We're not talking the cheap wine either, this is the creme d 'la creme of the palace. It goes on to say that even Queen Vashti even gave a banquet for the women of the palace. Apparently they didn't get to party with the boys. Man, can you imagine having to clean up after a party like that?

Now let me give you a little bit of history here. King Xerxes the Great was king of Persia from 486-465 BC. He was Persia's 5th king. Susa was his winter palace. At that point in time, Persia was the world power. Persian kings of the day loved to flaunt their wealth and when they did so, it usually meant they were preparing for war. They wanted to show everyone that they had enough money to be able to go to war. It wouldn't be uncommon to see them wear precious gems in their beards and it was a common practice for warriors to even wear gold jewelry into battle.

On the 7th day of the banquet after King Xerxes was all liqueured up, he decided it would be a good thing to call his little misses out to strut her stuff and show off her beauty for all his friends. He sent off his 7 servants to tell Her Royal Highness to get all dolled up and come before him. They deliver the message to Queen Vashti and she suffers from a moment of diva syndrome and says "I don't think so" and refused to come before her husband. We don't know why, but she refused to go. There are a couple of possible reasons for this. It may have been that it was against the Persian tradition for a woman to appear publicly in front of a gathering of men. There is also speculation that Vashti was pregnant with their son Artaxerxes and chose not to be seen publicly in her state. No matter the reason, as you can imagine, this didn't set well with the drunken king. He decided that she had broken a law and gathered his closest advisers and friends to discuss what they should do about this insult to his personage. After all, he had his most important officials and advisers there so that they could see is power, wealth and authority. If he couldn't control his wife, how would he control his troops. This could have devastated his military creditability. So, they all decided that she should be never again be in the presence of King Xerxes. They also come up with this brilliant edict that is sent out to all the kingdom stating that all men should be the ruler over his own household.

I should mention that back in those days, the king was seen to some of his people like a god, so once a rule was made, there was no going back. The law couldn't be changed, no matter how ill advised it was. The only thing that could be done was for such an ill advised law was to neutralize it by create a new law.

So there you have it. The synopsis of the first chapter of Esther. Man! Women, can you imagine how many times you've refused to go to your husband right away after he has called you to come to him. I'm sure glad that we live in the society that we do! Otherwise, I might be banned from the palace even as I type!! LOL! I can't wait to share more with you! The book of Esther, I'm willing to bet, gets better as we go!

Joyful and Thankful

It is a cold snowy day here. Although it is only January, its sad to say that I already have cabin fever. When you've had a couple of 70 degree days one just can't help but long for the warm days of spring. However, my Bible tells me that I am to give thanks in ALL things so I am thankful for the moisture and I supposed I'm even thankful for the cold that I currently have, because it reminds to slow down a little from time to time.

Bryan & I have been house hunting lately. We just really need a larger house. I thought that we were going to hold off for a while, but apparently the hunt is back on. There is one house that we have found that we are pondering, but there are a couple of things that I don't really care for in the house. For one, even though the house is modern above, when you walk into the basement, it is like walking into the 70's with wood paneling and this lovely shade of mauve, pink carpet. Oh yeah, there is even a pink bathroom to boot. Don't keep me wrong I love pink, but there is tasteful and then just plain hideous!! Oh well, they are all just aesthetic things that can be changed. If this is the house that the Lord will provide us I will be joyful and thankful for His provisions.

The thought from my heart today:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

My First Blog

Well, here it goes my first official blog. I guess that with that being said, I should probably bring some of you up to date on what is going on with me these days. My husband Bryan and I have been married for almost 12 years now. We have two kids, Wyatt and Makaela. I'm currently work for Emmanuel Baptist Church as a Ministry Assistant (glorified name for secretary) and also as the Nursery Coordinator. I feel very blessed to work in such a great environment with such a great group of co-workers/friends. Our church is in the process of building a new building. With God's grace we should be moved in around late April!

The kids keep us pretty busy. Wyatt loves playing video games, hanging out with friends and playing soccer. Kaela is our little cheerleader/monkey. I keep saying that I need to get her into gymnastics, but am hard pressed to find a good coach with moral character.

In addition to our children, we also have three fury ones. Baxter is our Barky Van Schnauzer. JD and Beau-Bella are our two cats. JD and Beau have funny little stories that go with them. About a month after we got Baxter, Bryan called from work and said that he had found this little kitten and asked if I knew of anyone who was looking for a cat. I told him that I didn't know of anyone right away, but to bring him home and we would find a home for him. Needless to say, we did find a home for him, our home.

Beau-Bella is a recent addition to our home. At the beginning of December, a pastor friend from Ovid brought this adorable little kitten into work. Mark said that he had tried to call the Humane Society but the were full. He even tried to put her on Swap Shop and still no one wanted her. It was close to Christmas, and all I could think was "The poor little thing! Every animal deserves a home at Christmas time!" So against my better judgement, I brought her home. (Let me stress that Mark said that this cat was a girl.) The kids loved her and we gave her the name Bella. Bryan took a little more convincing, but Bella won him over with her loving disposition. Then, just about 2-3 weeks ago, I realized that Mark had no clue what he was talking about. Bella is actually a BOY!! We are still having a hard time adjusting to this fact and didn't want the poor cat to have a complex generated by a female name. Hence the name Beau, the masculine equivalent of Bella.