Esther: Powerful Woman of Influence #5

Posted on by Mary
Esther

We have spent a Whole LOT of time here on this blog talking about Esther! It’s no secret this orphan girl turned queen has greatly impacted my life! You can check out her other posts here.

ESTHER’s Story

At the beginning of her story, we see a girl whose parents have died and who is being raised by her cousin Mordecai. Then She is kidnapped, and taken to the king’s harem, where she will never be able to leave. She is given a year’s beauty treatments for one night with the king.

Did I mention she was a Jew who along with hundreds of others were exiled from Israel to Media -Persia? No? OOPS! Now that her night with the king was upon her, she was about to face another possible exile. If she didn’t please the king and he chose her as his wife, she would be sent to spend the rest of her life with the rest of the king’s concubines and she would remain there until her dying day.-OR- the king asked for her by name. (Fat chance of that happening.)

She was chosen.

Soon after that though another devastating blow would come. A man by the name of Haman wanted to kill ALL the Jews. This meant that Esther would be executed as well. He had gained permission from the king to make it happen!

Esther a seemingly insignificant girl had to choose bravery in every step of her journey. God had a much bigger plan to use Esther for…for such a time as this!

I so want THAT kind of bravery, to say ” for such a time as this” in whatever circumstances I find myself in! I want to be ready when God says “Mary, I have been preparing you for such a time as this!” and just like Esther, there will be many of those moments!

How about You?

Who has influenced you with their bravery? Let me know in the comments below.

You Can Check out more #31days2022 authors here!

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Write 31 Days-Day 16- Finishing Up Esther Part 2

Posted on by Mary

Esther

Finishing Esther Part 2

Ok so I know I said we were gonna finish up Esther yesterday but the post ended up longer than I thought, so let’s pick it up with our last three influencers from the book of Esther!

Haman

DUN DUN DUUUUN! the villain in our account.  Haman had a few problems that caused him to be such a negative influence.

  1. anger
  2. pride
  3. hate

First Haman let anger rule his life.  It defined him.  Mordecai didn’t do as he wanted.  He didn’t bow as Haman rode by. HOW DARE HE! Does he not know who I am ?   Look what the King has given me!

Pride: when the king asked human what should be done for someone  who has done noble deeds, Haman immediately thinks “OH BOY HE”S TALKING ABOUT ME”.   So he rattles off all the things he would like.  Oh to be a fly on the wall when the king said OK go do all that you have said….to MORDECAI!  WOW!

AND LASTLY HATE-  Hate is when you decide to destroy a whole nation because one man will not bow to you! I mean really?   No in all seriousness many think that the  roots of hate run deeper than that with speculation of  ties to a battle where Humans family was killed by the Jews.  I am not given those details with in the passage so I cannot tell. BUT for whatever the reason, the reality was Haman was controlled by hate.

Vashti

We don’t know if what Vashti did was a positive or negative influence but she had a choice.  She made it. There were consequences because there was fear of the. influence she had!

All we know was that Xerxes in the middle of his drunken feast requested the presence of his Queen So he AND ALL HIS DRUNK BUDDIES  could look at his beautiful wife.  She said no!

Now there is much speculation as to what all this means. Many scholars believe that she was to parade around all his buddies with no clothses on.   Enough said.  We don’t really know other than she said NO.  and for that choice she was disbarred as queen and sent to live in the concubine residence no longer to be called to the king again.

The King’s advisors

I’m gonna call these guys a bad influence because of two things

  • they were selfish
  • they didn’t man up to Xerxes and say you crossed a line.

When Xerxes asked this men what to do there response was- PUNISH her because if you don’t all the women will think they too can rebel against their husbands. they weren’t worried about what was right but instead what was easiest.

I know I said that I don’t know what exactly was requested BUT I do know he wanted Vashti to be gawked at by a bunch of drunk men.  She wasn’t a show pony.  How humiliating.

These dudes could have said ” ya know what we blew it, things got out of hand a.  We had too much to drink and we lost control of our senses.”  But instead the took the east=y non confrontational road so as not to make king Xerxes mad.

doing what we think is the easy way out is almost NEVER the Easy way out!

Let’s Chat : have you ever considered any of these as influencers?  Who was the most surprising?

 

Write 31 Days- Day 15- Finishing up Esther

Posted on by Mary

Esther

The other Influencers in the Book of Esther

Did you fret when you saw the title ? Oh don’t  worry I will be referencing it still throughout the rest of this writing Challenge.  But first we really need to look at the Influencers who  rounded out the rest of the book of Esther. Here are the 5 others we will be discussing together today.

  1. Mordecai
  2. King Xerxes
  3. Queen Vashti
  4. Haman
  5. King Xerxes’ advisors

Some will be assigned the title of positive or negative Influence.  We will discuss what makes them such. BUT then there are two who are up in the air- we don’t actually know how their influence panned out.

MORDECAI

Mordecai was a positive influence for sure.  There is no doubt about that.  Though he really ruffled Haman’s feathers when we made the hard decision not to bow to him as he passed, he made the RIGHT decision because God had been clear about bowing to others bestowing honor that was rightly deserved  by only God.

sometimes when we take a stand like Mordecai did it is an unpopular decision.  It doesn’t make it any less right or positive BUT it can put a hefty price on our heads.

This can be as simple as standing up for someone who cannot defend themselves OR as life and death as taking a stand for your faith while faced with the possibility of death for doing so.

Mordecai also chose to speak up when he overheard a plot to kill king Xerxes.    He could have played dumb and never said a word.  Not standing for what is right,  would have been an active decision for the worst kind of negative influence there is.  DEATH.  King Xerxes could have been murdered, because it was easier for Mordecai to keep quiet.

And He was a positive influence to Esther.  He had helped raise his orphaned cousin and she was now a lovely woman married to the king.  She respected him and what he had today.  She followed all he told her to do, even when she didn’t want to.

And finally in Esther 8:17 b we are told, “and many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.”  COVERTS! Despite the fact that God is not mentioned in this book, you can see him working in every aspect.  None of this was by chance or happenstance This all Happened for a purpose.

KING XERXES

When this book opens and we first see King Xerxes we see that he LOVES to PAR-TAY! And he loves his wine.  The good stuff ALL the time no matter how drunk they got it was always the best-In those days as people partied (feasted) and got drunker the cheaper and less potent the wine would get. But not for good old king Xerxes.  SOOOOO clearly he was a bad influence! BUT he most certainly did not stay there.

I think the turning point came when Esther walked in and he had a choice to make.  Hold out the scepter or consult his advisors (as he did with Vashti)He made a choice to extend grace rather than ask for opinions.  He chose grace and mercy.

Xerxes was also a very angry man.  When he was didn’t get his way when he called for Vashti he was livid.  So much so he sought others opinions.  ( not always a bad choice, especially when we are angry) However note the difference when he is angry with Haman that he sought to kill the Jews in  all the kings land, which included Mordecai who the king had just honored for saving his life and Esther his queen.  Do you remember how he handled his anger, he left the room! To think.   and he made a decision, the right one to punish Human.  >

Tomorrow we are going to hit the last 3.  Two of them will be super short and the other well, we could maybe go on about him for a whole lot longer.

 

Write 31 Days- Day 9- Esther’s Influential Attribute: Action

Posted on by Mary

Action

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION

We have idea just how long it took for all of this to go down.  BUT clearly Esther had to put the plan into Action if  Haman’s evil plan was going to stop!

 A person of influence moves  forward, even if it’s baby steps.  

They speak up 

Esther 4:12-14 NIV

12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther had purpose, a very specific purpose.  BUT HAVING PURPOSE is nothing if you don’t ACT on that purpose!

They embrace their circumstances and move forward.

They act on their words.  It’s not enough to just say something we can say all day that we want to be positive influences but if we keep making choices including NOT to move forward  we are really a negative influence.

Being  a Active Influence is NOT comfortable!

The opposite of this powerful action of influence  is being comfortable. ,This person is satisfied with where they are.  They don’t want to get outside their comfort zone.  They don’t want to be  “PUT OUT”. They are completely at home in the pew doing what they have always done.  “New” is not in their vocabulary. 

Just like a boat in still water cannot be turned we cannot be turned in the direction God wants to send us if we are  just standing there waiting for something amazing to happen.  We have to pursue a relationship with Jesus.  we have to be willing to step out in faith.  Even if it seems completely Crazy.

Now I will say that sometimes God will pick us up and move us.  THIS IS A VERY PAINFUL PROCESS!

An that’s where We come full circle.  If we are WILLING to have FAITH,  live in a TRANSPARENT fashion, with  PERSISTENCE, and a CRAZY love to live life for Jesus, the Action part comes Naturally!

And that wraps up the first week (and two Days) of the writing Challenge!

Let’s Chat: Which of these Attributes is the hardest for you?  For me it’s persistence.  I must confess that I tend to give up WAY to easily!

What’s Coming Up

Starting Tomorrow we will kick off the second week of The Power of Your Influence.  This next week we will be discussing  more in depth the choices we have to be either a positive or negative influence.

You can check out all the writers HERE

And if you missed any of  of my other posts in this series you can click HERE

Write 31 DaysDay 8- Esther’s Influential Attribute -CRAZY

Posted on by Mary

Crazy

Have you heard Steve Curtis  Chapman’s Song Something Crazy?  Here’s the link to check it out on Youtube  and you can find the Lyrics copied below- THIS is the kind of CRAZY I’m talking about !

“Something Crazy”

He’s got a Bible and a megaphone standing on the corner
And everybody’s saying he’s crazy
Well does he really think anybody wants to hear what he has to say
He’s not screaming anybody in fact it’s as if
It’s a love story that he’s trying to tell them

And he knows it may look a little strange
But he just smiles and says “that’s okay”
Cause you know sometimes love makes you act that way

And it’s crazy when love gets a hold of you
And it’s crazy things that love will make you do
And it’s crazy but it’s true
You really don’t know love at all
Until it’s making you do
Something crazy

I know a lady in Uganda and forty kids call her Momma
And everybody thought it was crazy
She used to drive a beemer, but I’ve never seen her
Any happier than she is now
I’ve met them all around the world, they’re the boys and girls
Filled up with the love of the Father

And they know it may seem a little strange
But they just smile and says “that’s alright”
Cause love puts everything in a different light

And it’s crazy when love gets a hold of you
And it’s crazy things that love will make you do
And it’s crazy but it’s true
You really don’t know love at all
Until it’s making you do
Something crazy

Something crazy
Crazy
Crazy when love gets a hold of you
Crazy, crazy
Crazy thing that love will make you do

Well, some might say it’s a crazy thing
To believe in a man who would say he came
From heaven down to earth because of love

But I just smile and say “that’s okay”
Cause you know sometimes love makes you act that way

And it’s crazy when love gets a hold of you
And it’s crazy things that love will make you do
And it’s crazy but it’s true
You really don’t know love at all
Until it’s making you do

Crazy when love gets a hold of you
And it’s crazy things that love will make you do
And it’s crazy but it’s true
You really don’t know love at all
Until it’s making you do
Something crazy

(Lyrics found at AZ Lyrics

My Crazy Story

When I was 19 I wason a plane headed for a country that persecutes Christians.

Everyone thought I was crazy. Maybe I was.(Ok I am-it’s an undeniable fact but that’s ok I’m completely comfortable with that)!

Then when I returned home 10 days later I headed off to Bible college.  Through my time there. I got a lot f “you gotta be  crazy”.  comments.    a couple were before each of 3 or  4 trips to NYC for street witnessing.  One of which was  7 months after 9/11.  We went to ground zero which was still a mess.  The images, noises and smells will be forever etched in my brain.  It was one of the single most hopeless experiences of my life.  Watching as people waited in hopes that their family member was still alive.   The wailing in mourning of loved ones.   The unnatural  nose burning smell that came from the smoke (not steam) from the manhole covers and sewer drains.   The digging of the vehicles as they creeped along the rubble trying to clean out the massive destruction.  and what felt like the miles and miles of memorial wall leading to Ground Zero..  This single moment – more than any other – helped me to understand the dire need our world is in – for their desperate need for HOPE- the HOPE I have In me – Hope that is a person!  THAT IS CRAZY!  And that is why we do what we do!

Getting married the same day we graduated.  Yep that qualifies us as CRAZY BUT we didn’t do it for ourselves, we did it for other people.   mostly our dad’s who both work weekends, and we were trying to eliminate the time they would need to take off.

When we had more than 2 kids we were told  we were crazy.  When we had 3 kids in 3 years we were told we were crazy BUT ya know what?  Those four kids are some of the most amazing people I know. Hubby and I were talking just yesterday about how special they are   I have never met four kids who love so deeply, EVERY SINGLE PERSON THEY MEET!  We have watched as our oldest who is 13  now but mourned the loss of people from  the time he was 4.  Always thinking about the people they left behind.   He also seeks justice for those who have been hurt deeply.  He has such moral standards that he seeks to have a marriage that is morally sound AT THIRTEEN! Yeah he has his flaws  BUT his heart !   Most people would say WOW that’s Crazy! And it is.

Our daughter is 12 and she is one of the most patient and sweet spirited kids I know.  She can help out with almost any child she comes in contact with and cares deeply.  She too is also flawed.  but she is 12  and very reliable and trust worthy.  She cares for children and animals.  she has a hunger for learning.

And the two younger boys.:

One has such radical unconditional love!  He might struggle with social cues and norms due to his autism BUT he will always be willing to give you a hug and tell you  You’re beautiful.

and the other is the most hardworking and determined 8 year old I have ever  Met.  He laments from time to time not knowing what he is good at BUT I can tell you this kid is gonna kill it when he gets older.  He has some challenges now with a learning problem BUT he is a fighter- literally ! Yep He’s got a temper BUT our greatest struggle oftentimes become our greatest  gift.

So Yeah I guess I’m 100% crazy AND I wouldn’t change a minute of it.  Outside of my salvation and Hubby these four crazies are the greatest blessing this mama could have ever asked for.  Parenting is hard.  Stuff kids deal with today is awful.   But those who have truly gotten to know our kids REALLY know what kind of blessing they are.  But those who think they know our kids but have never taken the time to get to know them and their hearts, they tend to be super critical.  The funny thing is OUR kids know it.  They know who really love them.  And we didn’t;t say a word.

I’m glad that we didn’t;t listen to the negative voices around us telling us how to live our lives.  I’m so grateful we followed God’s leading whether it looked crazy or not!

Being involved in many ministries.   Im not gonna list it all but a couple of times a year I get asked Are you Crazy?  MOSTLY BY MYSELF- and the answer is ABSOLUTELY!!!

I’m In GREAT Crazy Company!

If you look at history we look at people like Edison, Einstein, The Wright brothers,  Corrie Ten Boom’s family, JESUS, the disciples Peter, Paul, Ruth, Rehab (I could seriously keep going) just to name a few. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that almost every single person in Scripture were Crazy by their culture’s Standards- and they lived out their faith ANYWAY!

Even Esther was CRAZY

Esther told Mordecai in Esther 4:8-11; 15-17 that it would be crazy for her to go before the king because EVERYONE in EVERY province knows that if you go before the king you will die.  In a sense she saying are you nuts? Why are you asking me to do this? Everyone knows what happens when you do that!

Then after Mordecai gives his response of “well if you don’t, somebody else will and your gonna die anyway,”

She responds back If i die, I die.-That’s  CRAZY!

Safe and Sound

The opposite of Crazy is Safe.  We want to do everything that will keep us safe.  Safe socially, physically, financially and even emotionally.  We build walls and we protect ourselves from being hurt or ruin.

Peter when he denied Christ three times was out of a fear for his safety..  He didn’t want to be put on trial, publicly humiliated and possibly die.

Im gonna be honest here.  I have struggled with a few books as of late.  They are books that either I have read on my own or our Ladies Bible Study have done. 

Now while I think that both books have some great points and areas of  sound advice I saw something in myself that goes against one  my core beliefs.   That Core belief is that when I became a Christian and I gave my life to Jesus that it no longer was my own.   It is His to do with as He pleases- My home is His- Our Home is His.  My craft Stuff IS HIS!.   It is the principle of dying to self!  My life is not my own.   This has radically changed the way we do life in our home.

When I became a believer I gave my entire life over to God It is not my own.   I have handed it over to him.  And it is His to do with as HE sees fit not me.   And I’m not saying that you should not read either one of these books but they do have potential to create a negative influence factor in your life.  So I’m gonna share my struggles with both of these books.

 The Best Yes- There are many Positives to this book!  And the first time I worked through this book I asked some REALLY hard questions about the things I was doing and God posted out something that was not my best yes- Gardening.  I was doing because that is what all “good and frugal wife and mom’s do”. BUT I hate to garden and I don’t have the time to do it justice!!  I was driving myself and my poor hubby insane. We often times put these ideals on ourselves (an sometimes on others).  And if you take the 5 areas Lysa talks about in the Best Yes  and question your ideals looking at deep at the choices you are making FANTASTIC that is what she means by it BUT I found myself busing these principles to build walls- putting myself (AND GOD) in a box-  It became an area of control.  I found myself beginning to seek to control my circumstances and protect myself from those around me who have hurt me.  THAT IS NOT WHAT LYSA IS SAYING!

The second book is Boundaries by Dr Henry Cloud. Now it’s the same basic thing.  I was using the principles in this book to build walls Protecting myself.

And then I heard a song:  I mean I already knew it!! BUT I really HEARD IT.

LIVE WITH ABANDON by the Newsboys

Here’s the YouTube Link

Here a couple of stand out lines from the song

  1. Chasing after this world makes me tired
    Praisin’ my own name leaves me dry
  2. I wanna live with abandon
    Give You all that I am
    Every part of my heart, Jesus
    I place in Your hands
    I wanna live with abandon
  3. I’ll drop everything to follow You
    It’s only Your hands I hold onto
  4. I’m not looking back
    I’m done with that
    Wanna give You all I have

EVERY PART- OUCH

My time

My enery

My Money

my sanity

EVERY SINGLE PART

We think it’s our job to protect ourselves BUT IT”S NOT.  Sometimes it’s when we get hurt that the most beautiful parts of us show through.   Like a refiner’s fire  (yeah now I’m dating myself!). Gold or any precious metals has to go through painful things in order to become the most pure form of itself Because that fire burns off the impurities.  If we protect ourselves from the hard stuff and we build walls- God’s gonna break free and use somebody else- Just like Mordecai told Esther!  By building protective walls you have rendered yourself useless.

By The Way our Ladies Bible Study is currently working through LET. IT. GO. and it’s all about releasing the control we have (or so desperately want). Im breaking down those walls of control!

How about You?

let’s Chat?  What is something that You have done that peole have looked at you and thought you were crazy and you chose to follow God anyway?

OR

What is God asking you to do and you are thinking NO WAY LORD THAT”S CRAZY!!!!!