Carol sent me a copy of “I Am Eve” – cool even for a dude to read! So I came up with some questions on her series and writing…

What inspired you to write the series?

It wasn’t so much inspiration as God poking me until I agreed to write it. He first gave me a verse from the Book of Esther, which led to me argue with Him over whether I should write a book or a blog post. Once I agreed to write a study of Esther, three people suggested it be a series on Bible women. After more prayer, I planned out the series, With Faith Like Hers.

Or maybe God did.

Do you have a favorite Bible lady? Why is she your favorite?

As a girl, I loved Esther because going from Jewish exile to Queen of the world’s greatest empire was awe-inspiring. Being forced from her home and dumped into a harem was a more likely description, but I loved the Cinderella story, regardless of pesky real life facts.

Surprisingly, Eve became my favorite Bible lady. Yes, we pay for her disobedience. But she walked and talked with God in the Garden. She knew God was actively looking for her. She knew she was loved despite her sin. She sought knowledge and learned about God’s forgiveness and provision—lessons I still struggle to learn.

Frankly, each woman becomes my favorite as I write their story. Ruth had a brave heart. Mother Mary summed up 4,000 years of Scripture in five words—“Do whatever Jesus tells you.” Elizabeth had a hand in preparing the way for the Lord. How can you not love those gals?

One of my favorite devotions from I am Eve was “I Live Amid Incomparable Beauty.” I discovered we have both been to a pretty special place, Kealakekua Bay on the big island in Hawaii. So I’m asking Carol one of her own questions from her book: What aspects of stewardship over God’s resources are you most passionate about?  

Kealakekua Bay is indeed incomparably beautiful!

I tend to be personally rigorous about not wasting God’s natural resources—turning off lights and taking short showers. But the stewardship I’m most passionate about is the stewardship He has given us of our bodies. I haven’t always done the best job taking care of mine, which is why I’m passionate about it now.

It is convicting to combine the realization that this bag of bones belongs to God with the fact that God is living right here in me—watching how I take care of it. We struggle with faulty thinking that: “God owns my heart and soul, but this body is mine.”

The thought I keep in my head is that if I am God’s hands and feet in His world, how am I taking care of His tools? My truth is that I haven’t always done the best job I could caring for this resource.

I’ve heard that most women struggle with their true beauty, so “I Value Modesty” is a very meaningful devotion in which Carol describes how Satan convinces us to feel shameful about our bodies. Carol, describe the importance of modesty in today’s society. How can you encourage modesty in others?

God made our bodies “very good.” Before Eve met Satan, she felt no shame and had no need to cover up. Satan encourages us to feel shame. Satan also encourages others to sin because of woman’s beauty.

Womanly modesty is a matter of self-protection. We can’t stop others from having lustful thoughts but modesty can help us not encourage them. I think of modesty as part of woman’s “robe of righteousness.” If I were sitting next to the Apostle Paul while he wrote to the Ephesians, I would suggest he add a “smock of modesty” to his list of the armor of God for women.

Wearing sweeping cloaks and veils isn’t practical today. But we can stay within socially accepted levels of modesty. One of the ways Christians express their faith is by modeling their lives to others, especially to younger women who look to us for guidance. Modesty should be part of that modeling.

You’re also working on a line of beauty products with your daughter to go along with the book series. Can you tell us more about that exciting project?

My beautiful daughter is a physicist. One day we chatted about Queen Esther’s 12 months of beauty treatments before she was presented to the King. I said it was like a year-long spa experience. That simmered in my imagination until one morning I was using a sugar scrub Nicole had made for me. The two things clicked.

We’re creating a line of products called Esther’s Spa with a unique fragrance for each woman in my Bible study series. We connect the fragrance with the woman’s circumstances—succulent fruit from the Garden for Eve, a sweet floral blend reminiscent of Esther’s palace grounds and a cool, relaxing scent Ruth might have enjoyed after an exhausting day in the barley field.

A sugar scrub is first. We hope to have a matching lotion by the end of the year, for the release of I am Mary (a study of Jesus’ mother) and her spicy fragrance, with hints of frankincense and myrrh. The fragrance for I am Elizabeth will give a nod to her son John the Baptist’s diet that included wild honey—expected to release in 2015.

Just one more announcement for today…

Carol Peterson’s Cyber Party

This post is part of a week-long cyber party, celebrating the launch of my new Bible study series. A party isn’t a party though without friends and gifts. So please get to know some of my friends, by heading to their place and signing up for a drawing. Leave your name and email addie in a comment. At the end of the week, I’ll pick three people who will each receive one of the Bible studies in this new series.

For more fun:

*Monday’s delicious CYBER LAUNCH LUNCH is still going on at my site www.CarolPetersonAuthor.com. There’s plenty of cyber food left. (OK, so they’re recipes, but they’re still available for download and still delicious!) Leave a comment with your email address to enter the drawing.

*Also on Tuesday at www.CarolPetersonAuthor.com, I’ll chat a bit about the writing of I am Eve and how I had to rethink the idea that living a life like Eve was a bad thing. Remember to leave a comment to enter the drawing—once more.

*Then return to Wednesday’s post at www.LynnMosher.com to glimpse a bit about one of Jesus’ ancestors, Ruth. Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing—one more time.

*Then Thursday, go to Terrie Thorpe’s blog at www.4everhischild-tathorpe.blogspot.com to glimpse a bit about Queen Esther. Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing—one more time.

*Return to the celebration on Friday at my site again www.CarolPetersonAuthor.com. More gifts and offers await you there; along with my thanks for helping me celebrate this launch.

One more gift to you: if you purchase two of the three print books in this series from Amazon, email me a copy of your receipt and I’ll email a pdf of the third book FREE.

All three books are part of Amazon’s “match book” program. If you purchase the print book for a friend, you receive the Kindle version for only 99 cents. That’s a good deal available any time.

BIO: Carol Peterson has an unquenchable desire to understand and share God’s Word with others and help them apply His teachings to everyday life in the modern world. Her books are available on Amazon. She writes about faith on her website CarolPetersonAuthor.com.

The post “With Faith Like Hers” Bible Study Series by Carol Peterson first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post “With Faith Like Hers” Bible Study Series by Carol Peterson appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Image from whychristmas.com

The first thing I do when I receive a gift is to hold it. I stroke the paper, twiddle with the ribbon, even adjust the card slipped under the bow, making sure it sits perfectly on the package—just to enjoy the moment, the love behind the gift and the wonderful possibilities it contains.

I slide out the envelope, noticing the writing on the front and whether the person had added a whimsical heart or flower to express their affection. Or just to make me smile.

I turn the envelope over. Is there a sticker or a smiley face on the flap? Or perhaps a lipstick mark, if it’s from Mom?

I slide my finger inside the flap and gently tug, careful not to destroy the envelope in my excitement. Out slips the card. I smile, noticing how the personality of the giver is reflected in her selection of the card; how the words evoke her feelings and relate to what she knows about me. Her personal words inside add to the delight, bringing with the printed words a part of her heart for me.

I set the card aside and tug at the ribbon. I watch the loop of the bow slither smaller, until it disappears and transforms into a single ribbon. I release the ribbon and watch as it curls into a tendril, bouncing happily up and down; up and down, as if it, too, delights in anticipation of the joy to follow.

As my hands smooth across the wrapping, I notice the colors and texture of the paper—silky or rough; cool or crinkly. My fingers find the edges where the tape—nearly invisible—has clasped them together, delicately attempting to delay my delight. I pull and the paper falls away.

The box sometimes has words on it, used for another purpose perhaps. Sometimes it is misshapen or tattered. Sometimes it is new and clean. But it is always beautiful, because it contains the gift— the precious thing my loved one has picked out and presented to me.

I lift the lid, flick away the frothy tissue and…

…oh! Thank you! It’s wonderful!

This is how I want to live my life for Jesus. This is how I want to experience every moment of every day. This is how I want to anticipate the ultimate gift Jesus has for me—the precious gift of eternity.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the greatest gift we will ever receive—spending eternity with you. Thank you for this life here on earth also. Please show us how to fully appreciate these moments in a way that reflects your love for us and our love for you. Amen.

The post The Present by Carol Peterson first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post The Present by Carol Peterson appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Every month has a birthstone. The birthstone for the month of May is the emerald. And it reminds me of Jesus.

The gorgeous green emerald symbolizes rebirth, reminding us of Jesus’ resurrection as well as our rebirth into God’s family when we come to Christ.

Several healing properties have been mythically associated with the emerald. The one that makes me smile is that gazing upon an emerald soothes the eyes. Well, of course it does. It’s just that beautiful. As is our Lord when we gaze upon Him.

Ancient Greeks and Romans, associated emeralds with Aphrodite/Venus—their goddess of love. Our Heavenly Father—the one true God of love—proved His love by the physical act of becoming human and dying for our sake. In Christian symbolism then, the emerald stands for rebirth in Christ, faith and hope and love.

So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Sort of makes you want to go find an emerald and gaze upon its beauty, doesn’t it?

Happy birthday to everyone born in the month of May.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the extravagant beauty you have spread throughout this world. Thank you for even hiding bits of your glory underneath the surface of the world for us to find and enjoy. Thank you that everything in the universe provides us with an opportunity to thank you and exclaim your glory. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? This is the final post in the Carol’s Gems series. Have you followed the monthly birthstone blogs? Which birthstone most reminds you of Jesus?

The post Carol’s Gems: May – The Emerald first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post Carol’s Gems: May – The Emerald appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Every month has a birthstone. The birthstone for the month of February is the amethyst.

Amethyst

And it reminds me of Jesus.

Amethyst is one of my very favorite minerals. This photograph shows the gigantic pile of amethyst sitting in my kitchen window, catching the morning sunlight and casting sparkles about the room.
Amethyst is just quartz—like what you find most everywhere. But as quartz goes, amethyst is the most precious of the varieties of quartz. And the loveliest.

Symbolism of the Amethyst Stone

Amethyst symbolizes heavenly understanding, spiritual contentment, and the unity between mind, body and spirit. Can you say Holy Spirit? God, through the Spirit lives in us—our bodies, its temple.

One of the 12 foundations of heaven is amethyst. Heaven—founded on lovely amethyst—is gonna be amazing in its heavenly beauty!

The Color Purple

Lydia, one of the New Testament women mentioned in Acts had a business selling purple cloth to rich people. Most people couldn’t afford to wear purple, because the die used came from one specific type of clam, found in the Middle East—a costly process to achieve the beautiful purple color.

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. (Acts 16:14)

Purple cloth eventually became so expensive that in medieval times, no one but royalty wore purple. To this day, purple is considered to be the color of nobility. Jesus, the King of Kings, is most worthy of all to wear the purple color of royalty.

And in fact, he did.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. (John 19:1-3)

The Science of Purple

Purple is a combination of the colors red and blue. In color symbolism, red is associated with war, blood and judgment. Blue is associated with law and commandment.

Jesus—as God incarnate—represents both judgment and the commandments, made new and made possible through his blood sacrifice.

Purple is the color of Jesus.

Happy birthday to everyone born in February!

PRAYER: Jesus, as the King of Glory, you have the ultimate right to wear the purple robes of majesty. Please remind us that in your creation of the beautiful amethyst, you have hidden a tiny glimpse of the glory waiting for us with you in heaven. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Know anyone who needs to hear about the amethyst?

The post Carol’s Gems: Amethyst, Purple Is The Color Of Jesus first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post Carol’s Gems: Amethyst, Purple Is The Color Of Jesus appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Every month has a birthstone. The birthstone for the month of January
is the garnet. And it reminds me of Jesus.

The term “garnet” refers to a family of minerals. The garnet family
contains gemstones that appear in every color except blue. The
difference is what they are called and what extra minerals they
contain. For example, within the mineral family of “garnet” are
tsavorites (green), hessonite (orange, brown and pink), and rhodolite
(purplish red). When we picture a garnet, however, most of us think of
the deep blood red stone.

Red Garnet

Blood red. The color of Jesus’ blood shed for us. A forever reminder
of His sacrifice for us.

In gemstone symbolism, the garnet signifies eternal friendship and
trust. Such as is found in Jesus, our eternal friend in whom we can
place our trust.

Just like there are star sapphires, there are also star garnets. The
“stars” are produced by a sphere of tiny rods composed of titanium
dioxide. These rods reflect light back out of the garnet and appear to
our eye as a 4 or 6-rayed star that moves across the face of the
gemstone. Star garnets are only found in India and Idaho.

Star? With our celebration of Christmas still fresh in our hearts, it
would be nice to have a star garnet to always light the way to Jesus.

Star Garnet from Americanlisted.com

The garnet is known for its luminosity and high refractive quality.
Because of those qualities, early travelers carried garnets, which
they believed lit up the night and protected a person from evil. Many
extra biblical sources suggest that Noah used a lantern made from
garnet to help him see through the storms while on the ark.

Evidently, the garnet reminded Noah of Jesus, too.

Happy birthday to everyone born in January—especially my super husband
Jim, whose birthday is TODAY!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for placing reminders in this world
of who you are. Please open our eyes to see you in everything today.
Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you own a garnet?

The post Carol’s Gems: Garnets For Jesus first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post Carol’s Gems: Garnets For Jesus appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Each month has a birthstone. The birthstones for the month of December are the blue topaz…

Blue Topaz

and tanzanite.

Tanzanite

And they both remind me of Jesus.

Blue topaz and tanzanite are popular gemstones used often in women’s jewelry. But did you know that nearly all of the two gems found in their natural state begin as dull, brownish stones? In fact, the exquisite tanzanite—found at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 1967 and nowhere else on earth—was not recognized as a gemstone until a wildfire heated some of the brown stones on the ground and turned them the rich purplish blue color we know today. It is heat that did it. And heat is also routinely applied to natural brownish topaz to turn that gemstone blue.

Our souls, too—in their natural state—are dull and brownish; filled with unrepentant sin. We need Jesus to clean us up and make us sparkle.

Scripture tells us that Jesus will make us white as snow. But when you think of laundry back in Grandma’s day, you remember that she added bluing to the white load because blue-white was even whiter than white.

So, too can Jesus clean up our souls so that they are whiter than white.

Sometimes though, he has to do so by allowing us to go through fire.

This third I will put into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
(Zechariah 13:9)

And check this out—scripture that combines both a refiner’s fire AND a laundry reference!

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. (Malachi 3:1-3)

God can transform our drab, brown souls into something that glorifies Him. He can turn them into something that reflects His glory.

I said last month that more than any other birthstones, yellow topaz and citrine best represented their birth month, November—a time for autumn and harvest. But December’s blue topaz and blue/violet tanzanite also nicely reflect their birth month, December. The color we humans most generally associate with baby boys? Blue. Appropriate because during this month of December, we celebrate the human birth of the most precious baby boy in the history of humanity—Jesus Emanuel. God with us.

Happy birthday to everyone born in the month of December.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the sparkling glimpses of your glory found in nature. Please clean us up and make us shine—even if you have to put us through fire. We thank you that you are with us always. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Is there a time you felt you went through fire but came through knowing God had been with you?

The post Carol’s Gems: Blue Topaz And Tanzanite first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post Carol’s Gems: Blue Topaz And Tanzanite appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Every month has a birthstone. The birthstone for September is the sapphire. And it reminds me of Jesus.

The Sapphire is Strong

The diamond is the only mineral harder than the sapphire. I like that fact. It means you can wear sapphires every day, without having to worry about them cracking, being scratched or disintegrating.

We should put on the armor of God each day also. Jesus’ cloak of righteousness is not only beautiful; it is strong and durable, too.

Protection from Evil

According to folklore, the sapphire protects the wearer from evil and grants the wearer peace and joy. Its traditional blue color symbolizes truth, sincerity, and faithfulness, which is one reason women in many countries (remember Princess Diana and later, Kate Middleton?) prefer a sapphire engagement ring.

Jesus protects us from evil and grants us His peace and joy.  Jesus is truth and sincerity and is ever-faithful.

Sapphires Remind Us of Heaven

Medieval clergy wore sapphires to symbolize heaven, while commoners thought the gem attracted heavenly blessings.  The sapphire’s various shades of blue reflect the sky at different times of the day and night—from soft blue to twilight to midnight blue. Some ancient stories claimed our earth sat inside a large blue sapphire heaven.

Sapphires come in other colors than blue, however. In fact, the sapphire and the ruby are both in the same family of minerals—the corundum (see July Carols Gems: Rubies For Jesus ). The existence of additional mineral elements (such as iron, titanium, vanadium, chrome) in corundum, determine its ultimate color. When corundum contains chrome, it is called “ruby.” All other colors of corundum are called “sapphires” and come in white (clear), black, yellow, pink, green, blue, and violet—basically the colors of the rainbow.

Speaking of rainbows…God created them as a reminder to us and to Him of His love for us. One more way sapphires remind me of Jesus.

Happy birthday to everyone born in September.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the great variety and excessive beauty you have filled this world with. Please help us see the beauty around us and be reminded that it is but a small reflection of your glory. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?  What do you love about sapphires? Do you know someone born in September?

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CAROL’S GEMS: PERIDOT—THE FOUNDATION OF HEAVEN

Peridot
Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Every month has a birthstone. The birthstone for the month of August is Peridot. And it reminds me of Jesus.

Biblical Gemstones

Translations of mineral names from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic to English are not always exact. Most scholars and historians, however, believe that the green stone referred to in Bible translations as chrysolite, is beautiful lime-green Peridot.

Back in the Garden

Without getting into a discussion of who Ezekiel meant by the King of Tyre, Ezekiel says Peridot (chrysolite) was present in the Garden of Eden:

You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. (Ezekiel 28:13)

In the Middle Ages, Peridot was believed to have the power to drive away evil. Too bad Eve didn’t know that back in the Garden…

The High Priest

Peridot (chrysolite) was named as one of the stones adorning the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28) and represented the Tribe of Zebulun (the sixth son of Jacob and Leah). When the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, the Tribe of Zebulun’s inheritance was generally the territory toward the Sea of Galilee where Jesus conducted his Galilean ministry. It also included Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus.

Only the High Priest was allowed to wear the jeweled Breastplate. Because Jesus became our High Priest forever, Jesus symbolically wears the Breastplate of the High Priest—and August’s birthstone, the peridot—forever.

Heaven

The Apostle John shares his vision of heaven, saying,

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. (Revelation 21:19)

Did you see? The seventh layer (the number of perfection in biblical symbolism) of the foundation of heaven is Peridot.

I fell in love with Peridot when my son was born in the month of August. When I wear Peridot, I think of my son. After this post, I’ll also think of Jesus—the Son of God. I hope you will, too.

Happy birthday to everyone born in August.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the beauty in our world—in mountains and oceans, flowers and gemstones. Thank you also for your beautiful son, Jesus. Please open our eyes and hearts to see your love through Jesus in the world around us today. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Written on those 12 jeweled foundations in heaven are the names of the 12 apostles. John doesn’t say which layer represents which apostle. Any guess at who Peridot represents?

The post Carol’s Gems: Peridot — The Foundation Of Heaven first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

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“Carol’s Gems” is a glitter-loving gal’s way to find a place on a geologists’ blog site. This begins a year-long series that focuses on the birth stone for each month of the calendar and how they remind us of Jesus.

When God created Earth, He filled it with beauty. Mountains, plains, oceans, lakes, rivers, creeks, ponds and puddles. The cloud-filled sky. The grass, trees, flowers, critters, all reflect God’s beauty.

But when God finished covering the Earth’s surface with beauty, He still had lots of beauty left. So He hid some deep inside the earth.

Mankind digs into God’s rich soil. Underneath the beauty at the surface of our earth, past the wiggly worms, gnarly roots and crumbly dirt, nestle sparkling, glittering treasures. We dig them up, dust them off and hold them to the light, exclaiming, “Beautiful!”

And we call them “precious.”

We name those treasures diamond, sapphire, emerald, ruby. They are a reflection of God’s glorious, excessive beauty.

Matthew 13:44 recounts Jesus’ parable of the man who found a treasure in the ground. The man covered it back up and sold everything he owned. He then bought the land so the treasure could be his.

The treasure in Jesus’ parable was the Gospel, the priceless good news of our salvation through Christ.

When I think of gemstones, I am reminded that God has placed His beauty all around me. It is in nature, in people, in God’s Word. Sometimes, His beauty requires us to dig. But when we find it, it is a sparkling, glittering, precious delight. And it is worth the seeking.

Hidden treasures also remind us that God has placed a sparkling, precious delight inside each of us. With God’s help we can dig through the dirt, past the worms and the roots and find it—our desire to know and love Him. And to become the people He means us to be.

God can dust this treasure off and hold it up to the light. Our obedience is a delight to Him. Our faith is a sparkling, faceted radiance, shining God’s glory to the world.

It is worth the digging.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your glory and for the reminders of your beauty around us. Please work in us so that we are a delight to you. Help us seek your treasure above all else. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What treasures in your life do you see as God’s sparkling delights?

The series, “Carol’s Gems” begins next month with the June birthstone: the pearl and how it reminds us of Jesus.

The post Carol’s Gems: Treasure Hunting first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post Carol’s Gems: Treasure Hunting appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Carol Peterson is a writer with a heart for encouragement, sharing parables of faith on her blog From Carol’s Quill and making learning fun in Fun with Finance and other teacher resource books.

The post The 10 + 1 Building Blocks Of Relationships first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

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