Brief Book Review

I have recently finished reading Lost Women of the Bible: The Women We Thought We Knew by Carolyn Custis James. Needless to say, the book title caught my attention immediately and the content kept my attention throughout. Here is a brief review I published on an online book club website.

This book has had a profound effect on me. So much so that I started reading it again, just after I finished it the first time. As a woman who has grown up in the church, I have often felt that women have gotten the shaft not only in the Bible but from the pulpit as well. I was fortunate enough to have been raised in a church whose denomination was founded by a woman, but you would hardly know it if you looked at the various church directories in this very denomination. To add insult to injury, women are not only extremely neglected in sermons, but outside of the pulpit, ridiculous mythical expectations and roles are defined for us because of poor interpretations of Biblical stories.

Custis James clears all of this up as she brilliantly profiles women who have been entirely ignored, those who have unjustly been given a bad name, or those who have been put on a pedestal that they probably should not have, for the reasons that they were. I love clarity, and Custis James brings about scriptural clarity where teaching has been cloudy, at best.

Who would have ever thought that an entire chapter could be devoted to Noah's wife, or that a close, realistic look at Esther would reveal that she was actually quite the compromiser, until it came down to the 11th hour for her people?,

The lovely thing about this book is that it, in no way, has a rabid feminist tone that would be off-putting to men or would pit women against men. Rather, she simply makes a case for women in the Bible, gently reminding men about our worth and reason for being and encouraging women who may not fit the standard they have seen set for them, in whatever social circles they call home.

I put this book down with tremendous sense that God has created me equally in His image, and that my "role" as a woman is in no way as binding as society, Christian or secular, would have me believe. I'm grateful to live in a free country but am not settling for the nonsense that I can only achieve true value in ministry if I fulfill the docile, unopinionated, married mother of 5 archetype. That's just not how God created me, and I am now convinced that that view is entirely opposed to how God sees women, his ezers. Not to say most of us don't long to be wives and mothers but that is not the end point of our existence. We are fighters, supporters, helpers, and nurturers. Custis James reminds readers that those qualities just might come not come wrapped in their expected packaging.

Loss

There are some people that I've always envisioned being here, in my life, on this earth. I lost one of them today. Not to sound trivial, but when the first President Bush spoke of "a thousand points of light," Joyce was a torch.

This was a woman whose mark on my life is probably far greater than even she could imagine. She was a fixture in my childhood. Just barely older than my parents, she and her husband were like an aunt and uncle but treated me more like a grandparent would--spoiling me and my friends each time when we were at their lovely and modest home. Joyce had a way of making you feel incredibly special. And it wasn't in a materialistic sense. She was so warm and inviting in her demeanor, you couldn't help but feel like one of the family. I recall many days and nights spent playing tennis at her house or swimming in their backyard, to come inside to the yummiest baked goods afterward. In my older years, she and her husband were enormously supportive of my endeavors, always supporting me as I went on missions trips and expressing tremendous joy when I reached a milestone such as a graduation.

Ironically, I feel much closer to Joyce and her husband than I do to their children. Lisa and Max aren't much older than I am, but I always loved hanging out with their mom. However, I feel a tremendous sense of sympathy and pain for them as they have just lost their beautiful, kind mother, and right before the holidays.

The worst part of this whole ordeal for me personally is never having had the chance to see her when she was ill or to say goodbye before she left us. I know that's terribly selfish of me, but I am pained beyond what I can express because I am so far away and never had that opportunity. I have no doubt that there will probably be well over several thousand people at her memorial. It hurts that I probably won't be one of them.

I know that Joyce fought valiantly and with such class. She's a model for enduring suffering. She was always optimistic and positive. I'm sure she hardly ever complained even behind closed doors. I just don't understand why God would take such a woman from us when this world is so desperately in need of Godly, loving, humble women. Yet I have to trust that He is sovereign and knows exactly what He is doing.

I honestly thought she'd pull through this, that she would beat the tumors and cancer that was so violently attacking her brain. I prayed for and believed for a miracle. And while that didn't happen in the way we all wanted, I am so happy that she is no longer suffering and that she is with the Savior she so adored. Those of us who await a reunion with her will always remember her passion for Jesus and how she so wonderfully bore His image. Now He has her all to himself.

Rest in Jesus, Joyce. Until that glorious day when we will see you again, we will miss you terribly.

Who is Portia and what's a piazza?

About five years ago, I ventured into the blogosphere. "Portia" has always been my pseudonym as she is my favorite Shakespearean character, even one I'd venture to say I'd like to emulate (minus the silly deception of her husband). I thought I'd take a second to explain to those unfamiliar with Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice who Portia is. Also, a piazza is a square, in Italian.

Here's my explanation, written approximately three years ago:

Who is Portia? Portia is quite possibly one of the most brilliant of the Shakespearean heroines. In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Portia is a beautiful young woman in search of a husband. Her father has just passed away and had certain stipulations about the process by which a suitor would become her husband. Being a woman with a deep sense of duty and honor, she abides by her father's rules, but with a certain flair that only she could possess.

In the play, Antonio, a friend of Portia's finds himself in debt to a Jewish money lender named Shylock (you probably know him from his famous "If you prick us, do we not bleed" speech). Shylock is technically entitled to a pound of Antonio's flesh if Antonio cannot come up with the money, which, of course he cannot due to some unforeseen nautical issues. Portia masquerades as an attorney and begins with an argument full of pathos, appealing to the court and Shylock to show mercy. However, when that doesn't go over too well, she bends the law to such an extent that the court has no choice but to forgive the man's debt. Mercy didn't work, so she gave them the law.

In case you hadn't read it, her famed beckon for mercy:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

This all begs the question, is this site named Portia's Piazza because the site owner fancies herself her modern day archetype? Not one bit. But it's a noble pursuit. I love great writing, brilliant arguments and beautiful things. Portia seemed like a good fit. But you can be the judge of that.

Celebrating Manners

Today is Emily Post's birthday. She has certainly been a social hero of mine, not just because we have the same name, but because she is largely responsible for the popularity of manners in American society. William Wilberforce was responsible for revitalizing British society, and I think it's safe to say that Post had a hand in cultivating it on our soil.

But we've come a long way from those days. I'm continually horrified at the lack of manners in our society. The area I now call home is full of very nice people, so I'm blessed in that regard. But as a whole, and the more I travel, the more I realize how uncivilized much of our society can appear. Just go to any sporting event if you doubt me.

In part, this can be attributed to a positive change in society. Once strict classes were somewhat dissolved, and there was no marked difference between upper middle class and upper class, things became less formal and people behaved by fewer rules. The positive here is that there aren't caste-like social strata in the U.S. like there used to be. Of course there's the rich and the rest of us, but nothing like it was even 60 years ago. We no longer need heavy guide books like Ms. Post's to even communicate with those well above our station. In fact, most wealthy and prominent figures today act about as low class as one could imagine (see: nearly every celebrity).

While the shift in America's social economy is nice, it is too bad we threw the baby out with the bathwater and rid ourselves of most formal rules of etiquette. Rather than viewing manners as posh and only for the fabulously wealthy, it should have been taught to the masses to promote a more civil and classy society, regardless of economic standing. But that's just my humble opinion.

Read more about Ms. Post and how truly classy she was here. And for an entertaining read on manners, its history and present status, I highly recommend Lynne Truss' Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. It's a marvelous book, and probably funnier in audio book format. I've "heard" both her books and found them all the more engaging with her snobby English accent.

Spiritual ADD

Authors throughout antiquity have wrote of their pension for wandering from the fold. I am certainly less articulate and not the last writer to put pen to paper on the subject...

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ" Galatians 1:6a

Paul was astonished, and so am I. Countless times, God has explicitly given me direction and often has physically moved me to limit distractions from that direction. And I am still able to find ways to veer from the path He's set before me. My friends and I call this "The Shiny Syndrome." If you've ever put something shiny in front of a fishbowl, it's amusing to watch certain fish stop what they are doing to chase the shimmer. The same with laser pointers and dogs, or cats. Not only are they fascinated by this light, they must catch it. And the same can be said of my nature. I can be hot pursuit of God and His will for my life, and then this little devil on the side of the road flashes some shiny, cheap object in my peripheral vision, and bam! I'm caught in wonder of this elusive object and must chase it.

I do not anticipate this ever letting up. Sometimes, I am impressed with my focus. I simply bat away the shiny distractor and keep moving. Other times, and more recently, I can't resist it. And I wander, leaving my Savior behind me while I chase low grade, temporary experiences.

Again, to defer to an author far superior to myself, C.S. Lewis (my favorite Christian thinker) said in The Weight of Glory,

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

All I can do once I realize the pathetic nature of the distraction is simply run back to the path I was on, plead for my Savior to forgive me and set my gaze upon Him. If only He'd give me permanent spiritual blinders. Life would be all the easier for that, yet probably not nearly as rewarding that He was receiving the love of followers who loved Him in a passively forced manner. What a God we serve--He trusts us enough to walk along the path with all manner of billboard distractions and lies vying desperately for our attention. And He trusts the Word He's implanted in our hearts. That, in the end, we will not depart from it. And when we don't, how much sweeter is our love for Him. It is a choice made, knowing the counterfeits offered to us by the spiritual con men at the side of the road.

I'm back on the road, determined to keep my eyes affixed on the One who sacrificed far more than my little mind could ever imagine, so that I may have a life more abundant than the one presented by the shrill, unceasing voices off the road less traveled.

Though I fall, I know He's there to catch me. Though I wander, He's faithful to pursue me and woo me back to the life He's intended. And I am in utter awe of His faithfulness and patience with His attention deficit riddled little girl. What a God we serve.