THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE ME

Today in one of my favorite classes, we discussed the papers all of us had written on women who inspire and encourage us... there were so many wonderful examples. Listening to everyone discuss these wonderful women it made me want to write a couple more papers on a few of them. So begins a blog series on women who inspire me. I have so many women among my friends and family who encourage me, but the more I learn about some of these other women leaders, pioneers, writers, missionaries, I realize how much they also have to teach us. So, in this short series I will write about a few women that have made a difference in my world. Also, for some reason, a good list of such women is a rare find on the internet, so I want to provide that resource for you. Please feel free to comment on this post and add to the list some of the women, past and present, who inspire you.

THE LIST:
Arthur, Kay
Aylward, Gladys
Bevere, Lisa
Blandina
Booth, Catherine
Briscoe, Jill
Carmichael, Amy
Clare of Assisi
Crosby, Fanny
DeMoss, Nancy Leigh
Dryer, Emma
Eldredge, Stasi
Elliot, Elizabeth
Graham, Ruth Bell
Greene, Betty
Guyon, Madame Jeanne
Higgs, Liz Curtis
Judson, Ann
Julian of Norwich
Lotz, Anne Graham
Luther, Kathryn 

McPherson, Aimee Semple
Meyer, Joyce
Moon, Lottie
Moore, Beth
Mother Teresa
Palmer, Pheobe
Perpetua
Pullinger, Jackie
Scudder, Ida
Shirer, Priscilla
Slessor, Mary
Smith, Hannah Whitehall
Sumner, Sarah
Swindoll, Luci
Tada, Joni Erickson
Ten Boom, Corrie 

Teresa of Avila
Truth, Sojourner 

Walsh, Sheila

Wesley, Susanna

THE BIKINI OR THE HIJAB?

Have you ever been told that if you didn't look the way men wanted you to, you would be alone forever? For some women this means dressing with hints of scandal, for the men in their circles want to be able to see or imagine the curves of her body. For other women, this means distancing themselves from fashion by the wearing of clothes that distract from their figures. The men who surround them demand that shoulders not be shown, or that underwear does not accidentally peek above the waist of a skirt or pants.
Well, that's true isn't it? You might say, “The men that I know don't want to go out with a tramp.” or “The men I talk to aren't interested in a prude.” So, we choose our clothing carefully. It is a part of being a woman. But where does modesty fit into all of this? As Christian women, we are often told that modesty is this sense of covering up that Christian men require of us. But if that is the case, how does modesty apply to women surrounded by men who depict the proper clothing choice as less than austere? Does a woman's modesty really have anything to do with men at all?
In 1 Timothy, Paul writes, “Likewise, the women are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control.” In this passage, modesty means “with a sense of honor”. What does Paul mean when he wants women to dress with a sense of honor? Who are they honoring? I'd like to suggest that our clothing choices must be honoring to God, ourselves, and finally, others.
In all of life, our focus should be to honor God. If God convicts you on a particular outfit, honor Him by making a choice that pleases Him.
Next, a woman should honor herself. Modesty says something positive about a woman, and it is a message that the world wants to snuff out as soon as possible. It says, “I want people to see what I wear and say that I am confident, self-controlled and worthy of being pursued”. There is a level of pride that comes across with being modest, as if to say, “I think I'm worth waiting for and worth concealing!” I think this is tremendous. This is absolutely a reflection of self-worth. It's not conceit that should propel a woman to be modest, but a recognition of the truth of her value. And that's a sense of honor for who you truly are: a child of God!
Then, when it comes to honoring others we should remember that our clothes set an example for other women. Would we want our sister, daughter, best friend to dress as we do?
When it comes to honoring men, we must remember women are the protectors of their own sexuality and modesty is their thickest armor. Instead of inviting men to take what they want, it invites men to consider an idea. It is the idea that a woman's sexuality is valuable. It is the idea that a woman does not wish to give it until someone actually earns it. Therefore, modesty invites a man to earn it. This honors the redeemed part of a man, his ability to resist physical desires, which every Christian man is capable of doing in the power of the Holy Spirit. When you honor a man with your modesty, you are saying, “I recognize that you can be a true, godly man. If you are interested in me, I am giving you the opportunity to value me the way God would want you to.”
Modesty is about honor. Honor God, honor yourself and honor others. When you have your heart in this position, you might actually enjoy getting dressed!

THE NEEDS: SEX TRAFFICKING

Need #1: Prevention of Slavery/Sex Trafficking of Women

Sex trafficking is one of the largest industries in the world and affects women drastically. “Victims number from 700,000 to 4 million annually. Police statistics indicate that less than 0.5 percent of these are male...every nation in the world is involved (Meroff 174).”

Many women are kidnapped and forced into labour or prostitution. Some women are deceived into thinking that a legitimate paying job awaits them in a new location. Also, a father, uncle or stranger might sell a young girl to brothel. Once there, she is told she has to work off her “debt”. Girls are beat and threatened until they comply.

The story of Srey Rath, who traveled from Cambodia to Thailand to work as a dishwasher, took a dark turn when she was turned over to gangsters who operated a karaoke bar/brothel. Rath and the girls who were with her were told that they had to work off a debt for the money the gangsters had paid for them. Rath was beaten and forced to take drugs. She was told that if she did not obey, she would be killed. She was required to smile at customers, be naked at all times to make it difficult for her to run away, and work fifteen hour days, seven days a week. The girls were not allowed to keep any money or ask a customer to use a condom.

Rath was able to escape from the brothel and when she arrived at the Thai border, she was sold into another brothel by a policeman. She eventually escaped from there and made it home safely (Kristoff xi- xvii). Many other women are not so fortunate. Brothels often use drug addictions to lure the girls back to them should they escape, or hold babies the girls give birth to as hostages.

The girls in the brothels are also at high risk for HIV AIDS because their sexual intercourse is unprotected and often forced. “Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic (IJM).”

Help On The Way:

International Justice Mission (IJM) is an organization which lives by Isaiah 1:17: “Seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow”. God's heart is that these needs be met and IJM works to meet the need of preventing slavery and sex trafficking. Gary Haugen, a United States lawyer, founded the organization in 1997 as a way to provide authoritative intervention in the cases of individual women in the sex trafficking industry (IJM). The mission is one of the leading organizations working against this huge problem, but there are many others who cropping up to do their share in the fight against slavery.

Apne Aap is one of these. The name means “self help” in Hindi. “Apne Aap prevents sex trafficking by building the capacity of girls, women and children in red-light areas and slums to get access to education, livelihoods other than prostitution, and safe housing by organizing themselves in small co-operatives (Apne Aap).” The organization works across India to assist women coming out of prostitution or to prevent sex trafficking through education and support.

There are even smaller movements that work to discourage the sex-trafficking practice. My father works for a military contracting company that will not hire anyone unless they sign a statement saying that they will not endorse sex trafficking in any way. This means that their employees can not participate in it, nor endorse it with their money when traveling on business.

Final Thoughts:

These needs cannot be ignored. They are so prevalent in our world today that one only needs to step outside their door to meet marginalized women longing to tell their stories of how they are being affected by these five issues and more. This is not even the beginning of the suffering that is not being spoken by women across America, and the immense trials of women who are silenced across the world. These needs are not being ignored, by a great deal of concerned people, both in the Christian and secular worlds. Awareness is being raised through publication of statistics and stories and organization of people who are willing to help make the change. However, there is so much more that needs to be done. People need to be made aware of the issues and the solutions. Please feel free to use the information on this blog to help inform others. If you want to learn more, I recommend "Half The Sky" by Kristoff and WuDunn. Many of the stories I used are from this recent, well-researched, and powerful book. And don't forget to pray for these women, and that above all, they will receive the strength and hope that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Apne Aap, www.apneaap.org

International Justice Mission, www.ijm.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

THE NEEDS: MATERNAL MORTALITY

Need #2: Prevention of Maternal Mortality

Women are extremely likely to die in childbirth when faced with the reality of birth complications, lack of hospitals, untrained midwives, and lack of concern for their health while pregnant. A woman in a developing country is more likely to have large amounts of children which means she is constantly in danger. “The immediate cause of death may be eclampsia, hemorrhage, malaria, abortion complications, obstructed labor or sepsis (Kristoff 109).” The most likely cause is of maternal mortality is hemorrhaging, but abortion complications and obstructed labor follow close behind (Meroff 13).

If a woman does not die in obstructed labor, she will have a fistula after the birth. A fistula develops when a woman is in obstructed labor for a few days or more. In developed countries, this is prevented by a cesarean section, but in areas where no medical attention is available, a hole is created between a woman's vagina and her bladder. This can also occur if an object is forced into the woman, such as a bayonet or stick. The woman is then unable to have children and her feces and blood leak through the hole and down her legs, causing a foul stench. Because of this, the woman is often abandoned by her husband or family (Fistula Foundation).

Girls who are married extremely young are at greater risk because their bodies are not formed well enough to give birth. “Because their bodies (bone structure, pelvis, reproductive organs) are not yet fully developed, girls ages 14 and younger run a very high risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth compared with older adolescents (IWHC).”

With all of these complications, you would think that women in the developing world would be more wary about getting pregnant. Most women, however, are uneducated about birth control and family planning. Even if they are, their husbands may refuse to use condoms. Many women also do not have a choice about whether they will have sexual intercourse.

Help On The Way:

Many organizations and programs have formed to prevent maternal mortality as well. Consider the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Somaliland, built by a Somali woman to assist other women in giving birth as well as post-natal care and fistula surgery (Kristoff 123-130). An awareness is being raised by organizations like the Fistula Foundation as well. Though only ten years old, the organization has a mission to provide care for fistulas worldwide (Fistula Foundation). The biggest way that anyone can help with maternal mortality rates is to provide medical care. In close second is the importance of educating women on protecting themselves by marrying later in life and having fewer babies, if possible. The White Ribbon Alliance, an international coalition (whiteribbonalliance.org), works primarily on that side of preventing maternal mortality.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Fistula Foundation, www.fistulafoundation.org

International Women's Health Coalition, www.iwhc.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

White Ribbon Alliance, whiteribbonalliance.org

THE NEEDS: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Need #3: Prevention of Domestic Violence against Women

The belief in male superiority in a vast number of cultures often leads to violence towards the weaker sex. “Between one quarter and one half of women have been abused by a partner. Only 44 countries specifically protect women against domestic violence (Meroff 51).” Women are often, hit, kicked, cut, burned with acid, raped or killed by their husbands, fathers and sometimes even a mother or in-law. They are beaten primarily because they do not do exactly as ordered by their husband or father. Sometimes, in primarily Muslim countries, a husband will attack his wife if she does not have dinner ready, or refuses to have sex (Meroff 53).

Zoya Najabi, from Kabul, Afghanistan, was married off to a sixteen year old boy when she was just twelve. Since that time, Zoya was consistently beaten for faulty housework by her husband and her in-laws. They would tie her to a bucket and dunk her into the well, leaving her half-drowned and freezing. The worst of it came when Zoya inadvertently kicked her mother-in-law during one of these punishments. Her husband flogged her with an electric cable until she was unconscious. Through all of this, Zoya remained staunchly tied to her misogynistic culture. She said in an interview, “I should not have been beaten because I was always obedient and did what my husband said. But if the wife is truly disobedient, then of course the husband has to beat her” (Kristof 68-69).

Oftentimes, cases and cultures like this leave a woman feeling helpless and hopeless, and the majority of cases of domestic violence go unreported to the police. In some cases, this is because spousal violence is not a criminal act by law, such as in Swaziland or Uganda (Meroff 52). The situation is even worse in some places, such as Pakistan. Shershah Syed, a doctor in Karachi, mentioned, “When I treat rape victims, I tell the girls not to go to the police... because if a girl goes to the police, the police will rape her (Kristof 84).”

In many countries, girls are also victim to ritual genital mutilation. This is a cultural practice which is regarding as typical when “coming of age” in Africa and much of the Middle East. The young girl is held down while a knife of piece of glass is used for the circumcision. In these cultures, a girl is considered unclean and will not be married off until she is operated on. The consequences of this often include: Infections, obstruction of menstrual flow, infertility, increased risk of HIV-AIDS, psychological trauma or kidney damage. Many women also report that on their wedding nights their husbands had to use a knife or piece of glass in order to cut a wider opening for sexual intercourse (Meroff 76-78).

Help On The Way:

Unfortunately, the issue of domestic violence is more difficult to fight with organization and programs. There are some that exist, such as the The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, both organizations fighting domestic violence in the United States. Prevention of violence is a very personal matter and women need to be taught that they do not have to put up with abusive relationships. This is easier said than done, especially in developing countries where everything is working against a woman who wants to escape a violent home. That is why shelters exist in developing countries, and others are slowly appearing worldwide.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, www.ncadv.org

National Domestic Violence Hotline, www.ndvh.org

THE NEEDS: EDUCATION

Need #4: Equal Education for Women

In families that don't have money to send all their children to school, parents will make sure the boys get an education first. For example, if a school charges for books or admission, and the family doesn't have much money, they will send the boys in the family to school first. Out of the 300 million children in the world who do not have access to an education, 200 million are girls. In Yemen, for example, twenty percent of students were females and ninety-two percent of women over 25 can't read (Meroff 55-56). Even if a girl is able to go to school, she may be forced to leave to get married, do chores or make money for the family.

Even if she is exceptionally bright, if the family begins to suffer economically they may pull her out to save money and may even sell her or marry her off to save themselves the cost of feeding her. Or a daughter may feel it is necessary to find work to help her parents through their financial crisis. For example, Srey Rath of Cambodia, traveled to Thailand when she was promised a job as a dishwasher (Kristof xi). Girls are often promised jobs in locations far away from their families, which end up being a trap. I will cover more on this practice in Need #1. This works in a circular motion against women. They are denied education so they can't get work, so they can't pay for their daughters to get an education. Although there are still high numbers of illiterate men across the world, it is much easier for men to exit this cycle by engaging in physical labor, plus they can make more by doing the same amount of work as women and they are more likely to be sent to school than their sisters. This reinforces the belief that men are better than women.

Help On The Way:

When it comes to education, there are organizations that are working to provide schools, as well as perform initiative programs, or bribes, to get girls to go to and stay in school. In 1993, Ann Cotton started the Campaign for Female Education, also called Camfed. According to their webpage, “Camfed has fought poverty and AIDS by educating girls and empowering young women. More than 645,400 children in impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi have benefited from our innovative education programs.” Their results show that the girls they educate are likely to make up to 25 percent more money and invest ninety percent of it into her family, making Camfed's work a circle of empowerment for women.

What Do You Think?

Works cited:

Campaign for Female Education, www.camfed.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

THE NEEDS: EMPLOYMENT

Need #5: Equal Employment for Women

According to estimates, women represent about seventy percent of the world’s impoverished (UNIFEM).Women are not given the opportunity to make money for themselves or their family in many nations. They are usually restricted to homemaking roles, and if their husband is lazy or dies, then they are unable to make an income. This may also prevent them from leaving abusive home lives, because they know they could not make it on their own without a job or with an extremely low-paying job.

Women who can work make less money than men. “They are often paid less than men for their work, with the average wage gap in 2008 being 17 percent. Women face persistent discrimination when they apply for credit for business or self-employment and are often concentrated in insecure, unsafe and low-wage work (UNIFEM)”. This is not merely a trend in developing countries, but around the world, even in developed countries that claim to give women equal rights. According to one source, women hold only one percent of the entire world's assets (Meroff 112).

Saima Muhammad was a shame to her husband. She couldn't have a son and since her husband did not work, she was constantly being beaten for her inability to have a child who could provide for the family. At the end of her rope, Saima turned to an organization that gave her the finances to buy beads and fabric and begin an embroidering business. Once she began to bring in money, her husband no longer beat her. He even decided that having girls was not so bad, they were not as weak as he thought they were (Kristof 185-187). Women are capable and willing to be a part of the working world if they are provided with the opportunity. However, many women cannot have jobs if they don't have an education.

Help On The Way:

Camfed works to empower women as they enter employment. They are helpful in their launch of a Seed Money Program, which loans small amounts of money to girls who are trying to get their foot in the door of the business world (Camfed).

Another program that helps women to start their own businesses is the Kashf Foundation. Kashf was founded by Roshaneh Zafar, a Pakistani woman. She was fortunate to grow up wealthy and empowered and uses her gifts to pioneer micro-financing in Pakistan. The program gives sixty-five dollars to a woman who is willing to invest. Women's businesses grow more slowly than men's and face complications, such as being taken over by a man, but the micro-financing revolution is a new and growing idea (Kristoff 188). The basic premise is that is a woman is contributing to her family income, she will be more valuable to her husband and she will be able to provide for herself and her children. It does not work to simply pour money into the homes of poor families, as most of it will go into the hands of the husband do with what he pleases. Micro-financing uses small loans to ensure that women themselves are building their self-worth, and that the money cannot be used for other purposes.

Organizations like this are growing more popular in America, as a way to contribute to the efforts to fight poverty overseas. Americans can donate and will be repaid by the business owner without interest. A friend's church has taken the initiative to invest its church building fund into one such organization, and many other churches and Christians are following suit by investing their money in micro-financing.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Campaign for Female Education, www.camfed.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

UNIFEM, United Nations Development Fund For Women, www.unifem.org

THE NEEDS: INTRODUCTION

We live in a world where women are marginalized. Hierarchical cultures and chauvinistic mindsets are the normal way of life for most of the world. Although some more developed countries are leading the way towards the valuing of women, there is much to be done and women are oppressed and treated unfairly in every nation in the world.

There are so many needs that should be addressed for the sake of women: the unethical treatment of disabled women, female infanticide, child brides, girl soldiers, honor killings and the plight of widows, to name a few. However, I believe the top five needs, worldwide, are equal employment for women, equal education for women, prevention of domestic violence towards women, prevention of high maternal mortality rates and finally, prevention of slavery and sex trafficking.

I chose these five needs as the top five because in my research I found these to be the most widespread. Not only that, but these are top five issues that I believe continue to hold women in the pattern of oppression and reinforce negative perceptions of women. If we can begin to meet these five needs, we will not only be making a huge difference in the lives of individual women, but also fighting on the front lines against the idea that women are not valuable.

I will be posting on each of these issues, research that I have done as well as information on how we can help. Please, feel free to share your thoughts on these posts, and especially any information you may have on people or organizations that are helping meet these needs. Thank you!

THE SISTERS

Two women who were devoted followers of Jesus were the sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus spent a significant amount of time and effort in engaging their minds and helping them to independently grow. There are three stories of the sisters that specifically show Jesus' care towards them. The first, and probably most commonly referred to, is in Luke 10, the second is in John 11 and the third in John 12. First, we will follow the story of the older sister, Martha.

In Luke 10, we find Martha welcoming Jesus and His disciples into her house. She, along with her sister, work to prepare food for all their guests. From the example of a woman's duties in the Mishnah, we can assume that this included grinding, cooking, baking and serving to all the guests (Vamosh 20). We must remember that women in those times did not have grocery stores and refrigerators, so there was a lot of work to be done to prepare a meal for a large group of people. Then, while everything is still not prepared, Mary leaves Martha to go and sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him. Martha becomes upset at this. “Martha's indignation was perfectly understandable in the light of her culture. A Jewish woman's primary role was that of homemaker. She was exempt from rabbinic training and received no merit from learning the law. Should not Martha's request that Mary help her in service supersede Mary's desire to learn (Tucker 27)?”

Yet Jesus sees this as an opportunity to engage with Martha on a spiritual level. He does not respond as Martha might have expected, telling Mary to get up and go help. Instead, Jesus turns to Martha with a gentle chiding that does not devalue her great service, but instead emphasizes the importance of what Mary had chosen to do (Witherington 101). He seems to be expressing to Martha that she too can make the same choice Mary did and that he would like for her to come and spend time learning from Him. He had fasted in the wilderness for forty days, He could probably wait on a meal for an hour.

The next time we see Martha she is at her brother's tomb, where he has passed away after being sick (John 11). Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.”

Martha shows a growing faith and Jesus responds in an encouraging manner, “Your brother will come to life again.” Martha responds that she knows her brother will come back to life at the resurrection in the last days, in light of her previous statement, she seems to be pressing the LORD for more. “Note the care that Jesus used to prepare the mind of Martha for the great miracle so that it might have the greatest possible value for her own religious life. Martha is often thought of having her chief interest in the kitchen because her service was there. But to her Jesus spoke words of transcendent value” (Southard 32). Jesus spoke these words to her in verses 25-27:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who comes into the world” (NET). Martha's response was one out of only three verbal proclamations of Jesus' deity ever recorded (the other two were given by Peter and a soldier at Christ's crucifixion).

The next, and last, time we see Martha is in the next chapter, which simply states one thing about her. She served. Jesus recognized in Martha the incredible capacity to believe and claim Him as LORD. Therefore, she matured leaps and bounds in her faith, and she still found joy in serving God.

Mary, her sister, has an even more evident interaction with Jesus on the spiritual level. We see from the first story that she spends time sitting at His feet, listening and learning. The fact that Jesus let her sit at His feet is a dramatic contrast to the culture. It was a position that was assumed if one was the disciple of a Rabbi (Tucker 26). Mary overstepped her cultural boundaries in sitting at Jesus' feet, and likely made not just Martha uncomfortable but perhaps also the men around her (Stephens 35). Jesus defends her decision to prioritize His teachings above her womanly duties and her desire to be His disciple was affirmed.

In the second story, we see Mary in a less prominent role than Martha. She stays in the house until Martha tells her that Jesus wants to see her. She poses the same question as Martha, but instead of probing for deep theological truths, He simply lets her cry and also spends some time grieving, before asking Mary to take Him to the tomb where He raises Lazarus from the dead.

The next time we see Mary, she is at a passover feast with Jesus. She takes three quarters of a pound of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard and anoints the feet of Jesus. She then wipes his feet dry with her hair. The disciples are indignant at this, but Jesus defends her once again. He says, “She did it to prepare me for my burial.” It is obvious that Mary had a deeper understanding of Jesus' impending death than did His male disciples (Tucker 28). Perhaps this was due to the attentiveness with which she sat at His feet, despite its religious and cultural faux pas, as well as the emotion she shared with Jesus at her brother's tomb.

Jesus is increasingly willing to give His teaching and hope to these women, despite the effort, and risk of public scandal that may have been involved. He also felt free to have relationships with them (Witherington 114). “These conversations show Jesus' belief in the ability of women to comprehend the deep truths of life and of theological thought. They also show that He felt it so desirable that they should comprehend these truths that He put forth much effort to lead them to this understanding” (Southard 32). He never expects them to act as thought they were men, however. Notice he does not expect Martha to completely disregard her womanly responsibilities, as she continues to serve throughout her life. He lets Mary express deep emotion, and shares it with her. He allows both women to ask questions. He defends Mary's sentimentality. Jesus' attitude shows that God created women with an ability and a desire to stretch their minds and apply themselves to the practice of faith.

Works Cited:

Net Bible, Biblical Studies Press (BSP), L.L.C. 1996-2007

Southard, M. Madeline. The Attitude of Jesus Toward Woman. George Doran Company, 1927.

Stephens, Shirley. A New Testament View of Women. Nashville, TN. Broadmen Press, 1980.

Tucker, Ruth and Walter Liefeld. Daughters of the Church. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 1987.

Vamosh, Miriam. Women at the Time of the Bible. Herzlia, Israel. Palphot, 2007.

Witherington, Ben. Women in the Ministry of Jesus. Cambridge University Press, 1984.

THE BEGINNING

I decided to title this blog "Martha and Mary" after the two sisters of Gospels fame whose stories bring us face to face with the reality that God seeks after women who will follow Him and lead others in His ways. I hope through this blog that I can encourage women (including myself) to woman up and chase after God with passionate love, persevering judgement and reckless courage.

I have done a lot of writing concerning women's issues that I will post, but I will also alternatively share God's Word and my thoughts on things which concern all people, but may affect women in a particular way.

Whoever you may be, and wherever you are in your relationship with God and your views on women, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. This blog is designed to facilitate growth, both yours and mine!

God Bless!