General
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Who Thought Dressing as a Barrel was a Good Idea?
My novel is set in 1917, and my heroine has a certain love-hate relationship with fashion. She loves looking feminine, but she loves digging in the dirt more. Tonneau sounded more fashionable than barrel, but a barrel by any other name. . . Who determined making your figure look like a barrel was attractive? At least wearing a cloth barrel would make mounting a camel easier than if she had to wear a slim skirt. One of the trends in 1917 was the tonneau skirt. It’s not as outrageous as a Louis XV, to be sure. I mean, you couldn’t hide a piano under a tonneau. But who thought this style was…
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The Tower of the Flock – Feroze’s Story
Shaking my head in disbelief, I stared at this ragtag cluster of lean-tos, huts, and shanties. Was it truly home to the King of the Jews? But as we hesitated, the light of the star grew in intensity, and it pulsed as if impatient for us to get moving. I looked at my companions, and we were of one mind. We didn’t understand, but we were in the right place. No doubt in our minds. Ihsan had fallen to his knees in worship. “Ihsan,” I said. “Let’s go. You can worship at the feet of the King of Kings.” My son Jamshid wrapped me in a tight embrace and breathed,…
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An Often Overlooked Prophecy
As we move into the Christmas season, I am reminded of a question I’ve had about Jesus’s birth since I was a little girl. It always bothered me that Jesus was born among a bunch of smelly animals and laid in a feed trough. The standard answer I received when I asked why Jesus wasn’t better provided for was that God chose a humble place to be born, showing he could empathize with the poor and downtrodden. Maybe that made some sense, but it just wasn’t a very satisfying answer. I had this nagging irritation that I kept shoved down, unwilling to openly criticize God’s plan. It just wasn’t nice. …
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Terror on Every Side
Pashhur is not the name the LORD has called you, but rather Magor-missabib, Terror on Every Side. – Jer 20:3ff The American government has failed to protect American citizens, Afghanis who supported our efforts, and millions of innocents who will suffer under the Taliban regime. Families who just wanted a better life for their children are being slaughtered. Underground church leaders, their congregations, and missionaries chose to stay, knowing they would be killed. I have cried over the reports of the Taliban’s savagery and duplicity, begging God to do something. I have felt crippled by shame over the actions of my government. But El Roi, the God Who Sees, is sovereign. In…
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Chief Prefect of the the Wise Men
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around Daniel’s life for a few years now, and one of his job titles has me stumped. Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel 2:48 That term “wise men” is a catch all for conjurers, sorcerers, astrologers, diviners, and magicians. The occult was a big deal in Babylon. Temples dotted the landscape like Subway restaurants. I can think of no one more opposed to the institution of Babylonian wise men than Daniel the prophet. And yet,…
