The Crimson Cord: Rahab's Story
by Jill Eileen Smith
The concept for this book is an interesting one. It is a deeper look at the story of Rahab. She merits only a few verses in the Bible but also earns a spot in Jesus' lineage . . . so what is her story? Obviously we can't know for sure. So Jill Eileen Smith imagines a tale for her--how did she become a prostitute, what was that life like for her, how did she come to know the Israelite spies and save them, and how did she end up married to an Israelite and the great-great (several times) grandmother of Jesus?
It's always fun to speculate and add meat to stories with few details and eternal impact. So the concept is interesting. Unfortunately, I found the delivery to be lacking. Smith does a decent enough job creating sympathy for Rahab. She also creates multidimensional characters in Salmon, Rahab's younger sister, and Joshua and his wife, Eliana. Beyond that, Smith asks the reader to suspend disbelief a little more than is fair. She uses various stories from different parts of the Bible and builds them into Rahab's story. Because the Bible doesn't put them there it is distracting to have them and other random lines from Scripture tucked into places where they don't belong. Rahab's transition from a prostitute into a follower of Adonai borders on realistic but falls flat in the end, as does her official entrance into such a holy family tree.
One final note. Because these stories take us into a time we can only otherwise read about in our Bibles, they invite us to witness events that have built the foundation of our faith. To that end, there was one line that jumped out at me and made this otherwise flat story worth my time. Seeing these events come to life--even in an unbelievable, disappointing, and at times distracting way--serves as a reminder that through all the events of our lives God is worth trusting. As Rahab herself reasons: ". . . If Israel truly gained victory over the warriors of Jericho . . . there was no reason to doubt a God who could part the Red Sea."
Disclosure: I received this book free from Revell through the Revell Reads program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Sunday, February 01, 2015
The Ultimate Cheat
We've been on sort of a hardcore diet for the past week. I don't actually prescribe to dieting per se. I believe that for weight loss to be sustainable it needs to be a lifestyle change. I also don't believe losing weight should be the end goal. That needs to be "healthy," and healthy comes in all shapes and sizes.
At the same time, healthy for me will mean, in part, losing weight. Now, I know the theory behind losing weight and getting healthy: eat less (of the crappy food and oversized portions), eat more (of the right things), and move more (whether it's walking or running).
I get all that.
But, like many things (and many people), I struggle to put that theory in action. So we came across The Doctor's Diet. Dr. Travis Stork (yes, from The Doctors on TV, but also an ER doc at VanderBilt) put his own eating plan down on paper--it's high in veggies and healthy proteins and healthy carbs, and low in all those other things that taste great but make us gain weight, have low energy, and generally feel like junk. Since I am the picky eater in the house, I looked through the menus he suggests for his two-week STAT plan and for his two-week RESTORE plan. And then I looked at what I got to eat when I was done with that four-week cycle and had finally reached the holy pinnacle of My Goal Weight. That's the MAINTAIN plan. And it all looked doable. And sensible. And healthy.
So we kicked it off.
We've each had a cheat day (Thursday for both of us) where I did have ice cream. And it was too big, and I felt like garbage after. And not from guilt either. I don't prescribe to guilt. I'm a Romans 8:1 girl. Beau noticed on his cheat day that he felt run down by afternoon, something he didn't feel the rest of the week while he was eating on the plan. Imagine that. The veggies and healthful carbs and protein works! (And, incidentally, they actually taste good. Imagine my surprise in enjoying a variety of beans, an avocado, guacamole sans onions, AND grapefruit?! Not all together, though. That still sounds gross.)
We also woke up this morning 9 pounds down (for Beau) and 7 pounds down (for me). Which is exciting and horrifying all at once. Exciting: the plan is working. Horrifying: we were really eating like garbage before.
Anyway, today is Sunday. It's Super Bowl Sunday, so we carefully chose the cheats we wanted for the party we're attending tonight and are looking forward to enjoying fellowship and some (carefully excessive) eating. But first, we went to church.
Not only is today Sunday, today is Communion Sunday at our church. We sat through the bulk of the service--a baptism, crying kids, offering, snippets of the sermon caught through chatting and wiggly kids--and then it was time for communion. I learned a cool way of thinking about communion recently, so I was definitely looking forward to it this morning. That time of toasting Jesus' memory, thanking Him for His love and His sacrifice . . .
Still, I wasn't prepared for the actual act of putting that little piece of white bread in my mouth today.
You guys. Aside from two whole grain English muffins, I have not had a piece of bread in over a week. And I certainly haven't had a hunk of pure, refined carb, zero nutritional value, white bread. That thing was good. My teeth sank into it. I crushed it between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. And for a moment I was in heaven.
Then I chuckled.
And in my head I said, "God, that was a great cheat. Thank you."
And then I thought about it for a moment while the elders gathered the trays of grape juice, and I sat in anticipation of the taste of that juice--the first time drinking something other than water or tea in a week--passing across my taste buds and trickling its happy, sweet goodness down my throat.
And I whispered, right out loud, "Let it always be like this, God. Let it always feel like a refreshing, I have missed you for so long, thank you for this gift, cheat. Because, in the end, that's what it represents."
Death should have been mine. That's where I was headed. But Jesus cheated that for me.
Praise be my Rock!
At the same time, healthy for me will mean, in part, losing weight. Now, I know the theory behind losing weight and getting healthy: eat less (of the crappy food and oversized portions), eat more (of the right things), and move more (whether it's walking or running).
I get all that.
But, like many things (and many people), I struggle to put that theory in action. So we came across The Doctor's Diet. Dr. Travis Stork (yes, from The Doctors on TV, but also an ER doc at VanderBilt) put his own eating plan down on paper--it's high in veggies and healthy proteins and healthy carbs, and low in all those other things that taste great but make us gain weight, have low energy, and generally feel like junk. Since I am the picky eater in the house, I looked through the menus he suggests for his two-week STAT plan and for his two-week RESTORE plan. And then I looked at what I got to eat when I was done with that four-week cycle and had finally reached the holy pinnacle of My Goal Weight. That's the MAINTAIN plan. And it all looked doable. And sensible. And healthy.
So we kicked it off.
We've each had a cheat day (Thursday for both of us) where I did have ice cream. And it was too big, and I felt like garbage after. And not from guilt either. I don't prescribe to guilt. I'm a Romans 8:1 girl. Beau noticed on his cheat day that he felt run down by afternoon, something he didn't feel the rest of the week while he was eating on the plan. Imagine that. The veggies and healthful carbs and protein works! (And, incidentally, they actually taste good. Imagine my surprise in enjoying a variety of beans, an avocado, guacamole sans onions, AND grapefruit?! Not all together, though. That still sounds gross.)
We also woke up this morning 9 pounds down (for Beau) and 7 pounds down (for me). Which is exciting and horrifying all at once. Exciting: the plan is working. Horrifying: we were really eating like garbage before.
Anyway, today is Sunday. It's Super Bowl Sunday, so we carefully chose the cheats we wanted for the party we're attending tonight and are looking forward to enjoying fellowship and some (carefully excessive) eating. But first, we went to church.
Not only is today Sunday, today is Communion Sunday at our church. We sat through the bulk of the service--a baptism, crying kids, offering, snippets of the sermon caught through chatting and wiggly kids--and then it was time for communion. I learned a cool way of thinking about communion recently, so I was definitely looking forward to it this morning. That time of toasting Jesus' memory, thanking Him for His love and His sacrifice . . .
Still, I wasn't prepared for the actual act of putting that little piece of white bread in my mouth today.
You guys. Aside from two whole grain English muffins, I have not had a piece of bread in over a week. And I certainly haven't had a hunk of pure, refined carb, zero nutritional value, white bread. That thing was good. My teeth sank into it. I crushed it between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. And for a moment I was in heaven.
Then I chuckled.
And in my head I said, "God, that was a great cheat. Thank you."
And then I thought about it for a moment while the elders gathered the trays of grape juice, and I sat in anticipation of the taste of that juice--the first time drinking something other than water or tea in a week--passing across my taste buds and trickling its happy, sweet goodness down my throat.
And I whispered, right out loud, "Let it always be like this, God. Let it always feel like a refreshing, I have missed you for so long, thank you for this gift, cheat. Because, in the end, that's what it represents."
Death should have been mine. That's where I was headed. But Jesus cheated that for me.
Praise be my Rock!
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