Hello You Women of Valor!

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did not expect to enjoy A Year of Biblical Womanhood as much as I did. In my head, I thought it would be like A.J. Jacobs book The Year of Living Biblically, which had me chuckling throughout.

There is also some humor in Evan's book, but all in all it was a bit more reflective and serious. This was a pretty big plus for me. Much of what she has to say is reinforced by what I've learned from the Teaching Pastor in my own church, lending authority to her voice.

I loved how she described the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina:

"Lectio Divina, or "holy reading," isn't really about reading at all; it's about listening. It's about approaching the text as you would a sanctuary and inviting God to inhabit the words."

There is much to like throughout the book, but I especially liked the chapter on the Proverbs 31 woman. The Proverbs 31 woman is like, so perfect that I, at least, could never hope to attain her magnificance.  Evans explains that the Hebrew (eschet chayil) that describes the wife in question as virtuous or excellent is actually best translated "valorous woman".

This is what her Jewish friend Ahava says about Proverbs 31:

"Take Proverbs 31 for example. I get called an eshet chayil (a valorous woman) all the time. Make your own challah instead of buying? Eshet chayil!! Work to earn some extra money for the family? Eshet chayil!!. . . Every week at the Shabbat table, my husband sings the Provers 31 poem to me. It's special because I know that no matter what I do or don't do, he praises me for blessing the family with my energy and creativity.

I find this beautiful. According to Evans, this is not unique. Jewish men memorize Proverbs 31 and say it to their wives at the Sabbath meal. I love this chapter because it reminds me that I am surrounded by "women of valor" every day, and that we should celebrate each other more.

Evans is passionate about the role women play in all areas of life. She did a great job of bringing out the value that woman played in the Bible and as lovers of Jesus, both historically and today. She did a nice job of bringing her husband's thoughts into the book as well.

Bottom line is, we are all, man, woman, child, valued members of the Kingdom of Heaven. I agree with one of her ending statements:

"It's not our roles that define us, but our character. A calling, on the other hand, when rooted deep in the soil of one's soul, transcends roles."

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Racial Injustice Revealed Through Story

The Round House by Louise Erdrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an excellent book - not only was the story captivating, but the relevance to issues for people of another culture (in this case the Indian culture) are still current. I rarely think about the prejudices that other people incur since most of the folks I hang out with are from the same culture and upbringing. Books like this are so valuable for jolting us awake to the problems we have in our neighborhood and world right here in the good old USA.

"Oops", the main character in the story was very real to me. Oops and his friends lived a pretty normal life up until a racial attack on his mother. The way he and his family, as well as his community, react to this was so believable. It was very easy to empathize with all the characters in the story. Injustice always captures the imagination, but since the basis for the tale was based on very real facts, the story becomes even more compelling.

The ending was a little abrupt for me, but it fit with the overall tale.


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