A classic and comprehensive study on more than fifty Bible women and what their lives can teach us. Great for classes as study suggestions follow each chapter. Through character studies of women who have made sacred history, the ?spiritual descendants? of Sarah are portrayed in this informative book. Divisions include: ?Women of the Starlight?, ?Women of the Moonlight?, and ?The Sunlight Age.? 203 pages, paperback. $9.95
Rose assumes a heavy burden of domestic duties after her mothers accidental death sends the family into a tailspin. Gruff and uncommunicative, her father, Silas, threatens to pull her out from school so she can tend house full time, ruining the bright 14-year-olds dreams of becoming a teacher. As Silas takes more and more to the drink and then starts carrying on quite indiscreetly with a woman in town, Rose reaches a breaking point. Her desperation and grief drive her to hold vigil at her mothers graveside, threatening her own health as a result. Set in a small New England farm community in the late 1800s, thisfirst noveloffers an absorbing glimpse of its period, rich ininsights aboutthedomestic responsibilities facing many young women, aboutrural lifesseemingly limitless chores, andabout the small pleasures that helped lessen the daily grinds sting. A caring community led by Roses teacher brings the crisis to a hopefuland realisticresolution.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)
Late antiquity was a perilous time for children, who were often the first victims of economic crisis, war, and disease. They had a one in three chance of dying before their first birthday, with as many as half dying before age ten. Christian writers accordingly sought to speak to the experience of bereavement and to provide cultural scripts for parents who had lost a child. These late ancient writers turned to characters like Eve and Sarah, Job and Jephthah as models for grieving and for confronting or submitting to the divine. Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah’s Son traces the stories these writers crafted and the ways in which they shaped the lived experience of familial bereavement in ancient Christianity. A compelling social history that conveys the emotional lives of people in the late ancient world, Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son is a powerful portrait of mourning that extends beyond antiquity to the present day.
Jerrilyn McGregory explores sacred music and spiritual activism in a little-known region of the South, the Wiregrass Country of Georgia, Alabama, and North Florida. She examines African American sacred music outside of Sunday church-related activities, showing that singing conventions and anniversary programs fortify spiritual as well as social needs. In this region African Americans maintain a social world of their own creation. Their cultural performances embrace some of the most pervasive forms of African American sacred music—spirituals, common meter, Sacred Harp, shape-note, traditional, and contemporary gospel. Moreover, the contexts in which they sing include present-day observations such as the Twentieth of May (Emancipation Day), Burial League Turnouts, and Fifth Sunday. Rather than tracing the evolution of African American sacred music, this ethnographic study focuses on contemporary cultural performances, almost all by women, which embrace all forms. These women promote a female-centered theology to ensure the survival of their communities and personal networks. They function in leadership roles that withstand the test of time. Their spiritual activism presents itself as a way of life. In Wiregrass Country, “You don't have to sing like an angel” is a frequently expressed sentiment. To these women, “good” music is God's music regardless of the manner delivered. Therefore, Downhome Gospel presents gospel music as being more than a transcendent sound. It is local spiritual activism that is writ large. Gospel means joy, hope, expectation, and the good news that makes the soul glad.
Don't let your past keep you from a full future. Like every girl, Sarah Jakes dreamed of a life full of love, laughter, and happy endings. But her dreams changed dramatically when she became pregnant at age thirteen, a reality only compounded by the fact that her father, Bishop T.D. Jakes, was one of the most influential megachurch pastors in the nation. As a teen mom and a high-profile preacher's kid, her road was lonely. She was shunned at school, gossiped about at church. And a few years later, when a fairy-tale marriage ended in a spiral of hurt and rejection, she could have let her pain dictate her future. Instead, she found herself surrounded by a God she'd given up on, crashing headlong with Him into a destiny she'd never dreamed of. Sarah's captivating story, unflinchingly honest and deeply vulnerable, is a vivid reminder that God can turn even the deepest pain into His perfection. More than a memoir, Lost and Found offers hope and encouragement. Perhaps you, like Sarah, find yourself wandering the detours of life. Regardless of how lost you feel, you, too, can be found.
The three women highlighted in this story were chosen to represent a family whose records are all documented through husbands and fathers. They are from very different cultural backgrounds, French, Scots, and English, yet they are the true core of the American woman of their times. Diversity is greater now but it was always part of the countrys fabric. The women had a geographic location near the sea. This ensured a contact with both Europe and South America from the earliest times, not only because of wars, but in response to the world of ships, ship building and trade. In the 19th century, few citizens of the new country were involved in news from abroad as were those from the ports of New England and the docks of New York. Specific events from the life time of the three Sarahs are briefly described to show how modern times are clearly tied to the past. Each successive Sarah was affected by what happened to those who preceded her on the family tree. The Sarahs would also be astonished by the role of women in the 21st century. It is a premise of this book that the past and present are clues to the future and common themes run through history despite superficial changes.
