The Night Hope Came into the World*

*and i’m not talking about barack obama

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it….The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

–John 1:1-3, 9, 14

“Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth “

–Silent Night, 3rd Verse

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger…So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

–Luke 2:8-12, 16-18

“Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
‘Glory to the newborn King’”

–Hark the Herald Angels Sing, 3rd Verse

“I will celebrate the day that you were born to die that I might one day pray for you to save my life.”

–I Will Celebrate the Day by Relient K

And to quote Santa Claus: “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

quotation: donatella versace

I know! I can’t believe I’m posting a quote by Dontalle Versace, but I was so surprised when I read this that I just had to share it. Granted, I know very little about her other than that she’s a famous fashion designer and what I’ve seen of Maya Rudolph’s impression of her on Saturday Night Live, but this statement blew me away.

First let me give you some context. In this week’s issue of TIME Donatella Versace is the subject of the magazine’s feature “10 Questions” in which the famous figure must answer 10 questions submitted by TIME readers. This is her response to one of the questions.

Q: Recently Hillary Clinton refused to be in Vogue magazine, fearing she would appear too feminine. What do you think that says about women’s roles in society?

Donatella’s amazing answer: “Showing your feminity should help your career and not go against your career. Dressing like a man, using the suit to look powerful–that was the ’80s, and that didn’t help women. Helping women is [using] your brain and not the way you dress.”

Incredible. Who knew? And that statement definitely reflects a key principle behind this blog. Being a woman should not hinder us; it should help, and it makes me so sad to know that Hillary Clinton has this amazing opportunity as the first viable female candidate for president, and she is sending a message that women cannot compete as women but must compete as something we can never be–men. Trying to be more masculine is not the answer to securing equal pay for equal work or busting through the glass ceiling.

This is my prayer and plea for all women: Embrace being a woman!!!! Don’t let it stop you from chasing your dreams! Let it help you realize them!

Much love-Char

P.S. See the feature here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1724391,00.html

P.P.S. I just wanted to let any readers out there know that I did not forget about Easter. Being a Christian feminism blog, I do want to take a look at some interesting things about the women during that event, but I need to do some delving into the scriptures first so look for a post on that next week.