eve.redefined has been around for a whole stinkin year! I can’t believe it! This is crazy. It went by wicked fast. I didn’t blog every week, to my shame, but I hope to do better, just as I hope and strive to do a lot of things better than just getting by. But enough about me, let’s talk more about this blog and where it’s been and where it hopes to head.

I looked back over the last year’s post, numbered some where in the thirties, and I noticed that we’ve covered a lot of content in the many different posts. There are Biblical devotional posts, a book review, posts inspired by pop culture and news, posts that tried to challenge you to think and open some discussion about women’s issues. All this has been great, especially when a posts gets people chattin it up in the comments section (which is always so smart and respectful, thank you!).

Lately, however, it’s been less about the Bible and more about whatever pops into my pretty little head, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing. I just wish what popped into my head was more Biblically based. But maybe there’s nothing to worry about because I believe God can speak to use through different media than just the Bible alone. Thoughts?

In the coming year of eve.redefined I would like to read my Bible more so hopefully my posts would be coming through a more Biblical lens, but I do like the potpourri path we’re headed down. I want guest writers. Ladies (and I suppose gentlemen, if I have any manly readers), if you have an idea for a post, write it, comment, and I’ll give you an e-mail address so I can post it!

A year later, we’re still here and still trying to encourage women to be all they can be in Christ.

Much love–Char

Recently, I was confronted by some fellow feminists ranting about people calling them Mrs. Whatever. I found this odd since they had in fact taken their husbands’ last names.  When it comes to titles I can understand someone being offended by not being referred to as Dr., Colonel, President, whatever.  I can even understand married women who have not taken their husbands’ name being ticked at people calling them Mrs. Whatever, but in this woman had chosen to take her husband’s name and still was offended when people called her Mrs. Whatever. What’s that all about?

I think when a woman gets married it is compeletely up to her what she does with her last name.  She can keep hers, take his, hyphenate it, whatever. I chose to take my husband’s last name for a number of reasons.  Personally, I knew myself, and I knew I might struggle with the whole “leaving my family to make a family with him” concept because I’m very close to my family.  I felt that by changing my name I would be making a very real statement that John (and now our puppy Roskoe) is my new immediate family.  I think taking his name helps me see more tangibly that we have become one in Christ.  It’s a physical proclamation of that fact.  And then there’s the much more superficial reason that I had always since I was in middle school been looking forward to finding out what my new name would be.

I cannot lie though. When it came down to it, changing my name was surprisingly traumatic. When I held my new driver’s liscence in my hand, my eyes grew wide.  I had never seen my new name in official government print before.  Sure I had doodled the new signature in my Intercultrual Communication notes, but this was official.  I was this new person.  It became even more jarring when I filled out the paperwork to change my name on my social security card. I left that office thinking that in 10-15 days I would no longer exists.  The person I had been for 21 years was going to be gone.  Now, I know that government records of my old self don’t show that I “disappeared.” I know that it simply shows that I got married and took my husband’s name.  Even though it sounded crazy in my head, I couldn’t help but feeling like I was losing a part of myself.

I came to my senses. It’s gotten easier with time.  I can sign it now without forgetting how to spell it.  I can say it without pausing to think, “Now what’s my last name again?” It still gets me that I’m at the beginning of the alphabet on the roll sheet in class instead of in the middle.  When other people say it or I see it in print somewhere else, I have to double-take. Maybe someday, it will be the other way around.

P.S. At one point in our engagement John suggested that I hyphenate my name since my family is so important to me. I thought that was so sweet, but I decided against it because I didn’t want a long ridiculous mouthful of a last name.

With Barack Obama becoming the first Black president, I’ve been wondering what it must be like to be an African American today.  What does that feel like?  Do you feel anything?  Judging by all the emotion and excitement, I’m guessing yes.  I wonder what it will be like for me if a woman is every elected president.  I’m not going to make the leap that women have ever suffered as much as African Americans, but it’s been a similar journey, I think. Both minorities were disenfranchised.  Both have been considered property at some point in history instead of human beings. Both have had an uphill battle to gain respect and equality in society and the workforce.  Both have had to beat against a glass ceiling.  An African American has broken through the ultimate glass ceiling, the White House, and people everywhere have rejoiced at the acheivement for America.  I’ve heard so many African Americans on the news say things like “People always say you can do anything with your life if you just try, but now I believe and my kids can believe that it’s really possible.”

With all this floating around, I just started wondering, will I feel something similar if I get to see a woman sit behind that desk in the Oval Office?

Why at major universities is Women’s Studies always directly linked to the GLBTQ organization?  Why do these two seem attached at the hip?

This link makes me sad.

My husband and I have been trying out churches in our area in the hopes of finding a church home.  After visiting a promising prospect, we received a welcome information packet for visitors that explained the different ministries and the mission of the church.  It was all well and good until I found the paper I was looking for–the paper on the church’s women’s ministry.  It looked good.  Not only do they have a general women’s ministry for women of all ages, there is also a single’s women ministry that meets at least once a month.  While I am not a single women, I have a lot of single friends who often voice that there is no real place in the church for them once they leave college.  

Unfortunately, this was all too good to be true as I looked to the description for more information.  The women’s Bible study was only offered on Mondays at 10 am.  Most of my friends, family, and myself would never be able to attend this Bible study.  Why?  Because we all have jobs, most of them in education, which is a strict, unforgiving schedule.  Out of all the working women in my life, my part-time retail job is the only one that is flexible, but my duties at work require me to be at work on Mondays from 7 am to noon.  As of last Sunday there was no other option for working women to fellowship and study the Bible with other women at that church.*  While I’m sure this was an unintentional burn, the fact remains that the very time of the Bible study excludes career woman and could be construed to be a smack to her face.  Now, I don’t believe this was this church’s intent.  I don’t want to judge a church I’ve only been to three times, but I think its evidence of a larger attitude towards women in the church culture.  

This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced a women’s Bible study that was only offered to women who did not have careers that kept them in the office during the day.  When I was in high school, my mom (a teacher) wanted to benefit from the Beth Moore Bible study that was of course only offered while she was at school.  So she decided with my bff’s mom to take initiative and set up the same Bible study on the same day but at night for career women.  Of course, the night crowd was smaller than the day crowd, but those women now had an opportunity to grow in Christ with other women in the church.  

If you look at a church bulletin most of the women serving in the church only do so in the capacity of taking care of younger children.  Most pastor’s wives I’ve met do not work, and if they do, only in a Christian setting, never out in the real world.  Yeah, the real world is a scary place, but Christ called us to be a light in that world, not to hide from it.

Just as it’s not okay for the world to punish women who choose to stay at home, it is not okay for churches to punish women who choose to have a career.  Women, just like everyone else in the world, were born unique individuals with different interests, talents, and abilities.  Not every woman is called to be a mother or a stay-at-home wife and therefore should not be seen as less of a woman, person, or follower of Christ for not following a calling she never received.  Women who stay at home or remain in the Christian setting should not be put on a pedastal above those of us who choose to go out into the world.  Neither should the working woman be above the stay-at-home woman.  Both are equal in God’s eyes and so both should be equal in the eyes of the church and be given the same opportunities to grow and serve.

*This Sunday, as I opened my bulletin at the previously mentioned church, I was pleased to find another women’s Bible study will be offered Thursday nights.

*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!”

I was enjoying a rerun of “The Gilmore Girls” (an episode I hadn’t seen before), and the issue of Donna Reid and the housewife sparks a huge fight between Rory and Dean.  Rory of course is disgusted by the image represented by Donna Reid while Dean admits he thinks the idea of coming home to a wife cooking dinner sounds nice.  

Normally, I would totally side with Rory on this one.  Initially, the fact that any person’s complete purpose in life should center around serving another person sounds completely unacceptable.  In fact, I do agree that no one should be forced to serve another.  It is unacceptable for only a woman to be forced to or expected to give up her dreams in order to take care of the family.  

Where I think Rory went wrong was assuming that it was always a crime against human rights for a woman to be a housewife.  It never seems to cross Rory’s mind that a woman could actually want to be a housewife, that any woman would actually find joy and fulfillment in taking care of her family and home.  What gets me about feminist who share this view is that they are just as bad as the men who want to confine women to the kitchen.  The evil of women oppression isn’t that women were confined to the house, but that women didn’t have opportunities or choices outside of the home.  The liberation of women is all about giving women the opportunities and ability to be and do anything they set their mind to.  When any person puts a woman down for doing what she loves or says she shouldn’t do what she loves, we step backwards in the journey to gender equality.  

Just because housewife is an occupation that once represented oppressed women doesn’t mean it is a crime against gender equality.  The real crime is taking homemaker off the table of opportunities for women and therefore limiting ourselves.  If a woman loves taking care of her home and her family she shouldn’t be punished by women who don’t.  She should be celebrated for doing what she loves.

My husband asked me today if I think that men are more drawn to read books written by and about men and are women more drawn to reading books by women and about women.  If you were to stumble across my facebook page you would see that the majority of the books listed in my profile–books I’ve deemed worthy enough to call favorites–are written by men, men like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Donald Miller, Lloyd C. Douglas.  Even the books that have topped my most recent favorites are written by men–Josh Grogan and Ian McEwan.  In fact, the most recent books I’ve read that are written by women are either really bad or good, but not something I’m probably going to read over and over again.  Does this mean I connect more with a masculine story-telling style?  Could be.  After all, the Western style of story-telling is linear, a style that is identified often as masculine, and I am definitely a Westerner.  Does this stem from the simple fact that our world and culture has only recently started to move away from the male-dominated culture its been steeped in for centuries?  J.K. Rowling, the author of probably the most popular book series of this century so far, is a woman, but she chose a gender neutral pen name so young boys would be more likely to read her books about  a young wizard in training.  

I think both are true.  Of course I am going to be drawn towards a Western/masculine plot structure, but I also love reading books that focus on strong women and that often explore the deep emotional side of a story (i.e. Jane Austen, Phillippa Gregory’s portrayal of Anne and Mary Boleyn).  

Despite the lack of women on my facebook profile book list, I do have several favorite women writers.  I haven’t read a Jane Austen novel yet that I haven’t liked although Pride and Prejudice is my favorite.  Emily Dickinson’s poetry is just way too cool.  Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “Yellow Wallpaper” is disturbing but really good.  Mary E. Wilkins Freeman’s “Revolt of Mother” made me laugh so hard I wrote a paper on it.  Of course there is J.K. Rowling.  I read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird finally this summer, and I loved it!  

Hopefully, as the world continues to progress, there will be more and more women writers breaking into the published world, and my favorite books list won’t be so male-dominated.

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that most Christian living books written by women are all about being a good mom and wife or prepping yourself for those two roles????   I haven’t checked that section out in a long time so I might be wrong, but what’s up with that??????

Ginger Garrett’s In the Shadow of Lions takes the concrete facts of the stories of Anne Boleyn and Thomas More and spins them into a historical fiction that will make one appreciate their family Bible.  While the book does follow the story of Anne Boleyn’s rise to Queen of England, this story becomes a part of the greater story of how the Bible came to be written in English and made available to the common people.

Garrett tells this story from the eyes of two women–Mary, a servant in Sir Thomas More’s household, and Anne Boleyn, a lady in King Henry VIII’s court.  Sir Thomas More is staunchly against the William Hutchins’ English translation of the Bible being smuggled into England.  Mary is struggling with the sins of her past and her hatred of the Church.  Anne brings the book with her from France but struggles with the dangers it holds.  Confused and desperate, Henry searches for a way to find God’s will for England and an heir to solidify his kingdom.

Garrett takes a different approach on the story of Anne Boleyn.  Anne’s character has been speculated from historical accounts for years by historians.  Usually, she is painted as intelligent and conniving with an unstable temper and deserving of her eventual beheading.  Garrett, however, uses the same historical facts, but assumes that Anne was a faithful God-seeking woman who throughout her entire ordeal with Henry was simply trying to maintain her virtue and follow God’s will.  At first, this was a stretch for me to believe because my mind has been entrenched with the idea that Anne was an evil schemer, but after awhile it became clear to me that if Anne was in fact a devoted Christian, it would be conceivable that she would keep Henry at an arm’s length, wanting to perserve her virtue and reputation.  This new take on a righteous and humble Anne is very refreshing as I have wanted for so long to like the mother of one of my favorite people in history, Elizabeth I.

While this Anne is godlier than the others portrayed in the media, she does not lack those qualities we know existed in the true Anne Boleyn.  She is still intelligent, witty, and Garrett especially draws on the idea that Anne was open-minded when it came to scripture and God’s will.  This is where the stories of Thomas More’s opposition to the Hutchins’ Bible and Anne’s role in England’s break from Catholic Church collide into what led to the Bible being widely available to the common people.  The struggle and the fight of this drama will make you appreciate the value of having the Word of God so easily accessible.

Garrett’s beautifully brings to life the exquisite life of Henry’s court and the grim realities of life in the London streets.  Her use of language is fresh and her grasp on history brings the characters, places and events to life.  This book is a pageturner, the reason I haven’t been available to update this blog in awhile.  I couldn’t put it down.

Since this is a blog about women I thought it would be appropriate to give a nod to October being Breast Cancer Awareness month.  My paternal grandmother, aunt, and mother-in-law are all breast cancer survivors.  I’m pretty sure everyone I know knows someone who has fought or is fighting this terrible disease.  And this disease isn’t just any cancer, it attacks one of the things that symbolizes being a woman…the tatas, the part of our bodies that nurture our children.  This makes breast cancer a beast to deal with, but losing your boobs doesn’t in anyway make you less of a woman and don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.  A woman is who you are on the inside…your heart…your soul.

Now I know its just a big marketing ploy developed to gain our loyalty and trust, but I can’t help but fall for it.  I love how every October, stores are filled with pink products and some of your money goes to research a cure for breast cancer.  So cool!  I get so excited when Yoplait yogurt is suddenly topped with pink foil; Bath and Body Works spotlights its pink fragrances, and Target busts out the pink cookware!  Who doesn’t need a set of pink measuring cups!

For more ideas on how to support the fight against breast cancer other than shopping, visit the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.