Welcome to Want, Need, Wear, Read, where every week I share four things I can’t stop talking about—an encouragement that spoke to me, a Scripture teaching moment that stuck in my heart, a favorite fashion find, and a book worth the shelf space. It’s a quick, warm, happy 2-minute read; think of it as your weekly Add-to-Cart + Add-to-Heart. You’re gonna be glad you opened this one.
Something You Want A (Helpful-Hopeful-Fun) pep for your step.
True story: *clears throat* The year was 2003, and I was in my freshman year of college. Dorm life was a-bustling, and the nights were ususally late ones. My sweet group of friends and I would travel to Wal-Mart at 1 a.m. to buy a birthday cake for no one but ourselves. We’d sit together on cheap dorm carpet with plastic forks, eating as a group. It was glorious. To this day, I have a sweet spot (pun intended) for basic grocery store cake. BRB while I add something to my grocery list...
Something You Need A compact but powerful teaching moment
I taught this week at my church’s women’s bible study: The Grove Collective. We are studying Esther, and while I’ll teach for two more sessions to finish out the book, week 1 gave us a great start!
Recap of Esther 1-3: In the Persian Empire under King Xerxes, Queen Vashti is removed, and a Jewish woman named Esther is chosen as her replacement, guided by her cousin Mordecai. Meanwhile, a powerful official, Haman, becomes enraged at Mordecai and plots to destroy all the Jewish people throughout the kingdom.
Haman is, let’s say, committed to the annihilation of the Jewish people- sound familiar? So committed, that he guarantees 10k talents of his own money. (Esther 3:9) The modern equivalent of this amount is nearly 1 billion dollars. Yes. BILIION. With a B. Judas traded Jesus’ life (Matthew 26:15) for 30 pieces- $4k- so this amount in the book of Esther is unfathomable. The terrifying part about the whole thing is that Haman never had the money to start with. His plan was to pillage the homes of the deceased Jews to pay back Xerxes’ ancient Persian Kingdom.
What we know: When power is unchecked, there is no end to the collateral damage. Accountability is not a place we merely share our worries- when we are accountable to our friends, we give them the authority to call us down from our crazytown thoughts and set us back on the straight path. I’m praising God for friends like this in my own life!
Further reading: Esther 1-3
Faithfulness Without the Spotlight Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman, even though it puts him in danger. What does this moment teach us about quiet faithfulness when no one is applauding?
When One Person’s Anger Becomes Everyone’s Problem Haman’s rage at Mordecai leads him to plan the destruction of an entire people. What does this reveal about the destructive power of unchecked anger or pride??
You Are Not the Main Character If we are not the main characters of the story, what does it mean for God to be the central character of history? How might that perspective change how we view our own lives and struggles?
Something to Wear My mostest favoritest item of the week. You can thank me later.
Our school hosted a fundraiser recently. It’s kind of a big deal, and everyone gets dressed in their Saturday night best. As a sneakers/boots/hat kinda girl, I needed a refresh on the evening-dress category in my wardrobe. I ordered two dresses... this leather number and this, ahem, stretchier number. The first is so cute, and I ended up keeping it because it was a great price for a really interesting dress. (Favorite brand alert!) About 13 minutes before we were walking out of the house, the dress below showed up, and it was kind of special. The Spanx were doing their thing (and were worth every penny), but it felt simple and grown-up. The shoes were truly comfortable, and I enjoyed the look all night. Three cheers for getting dressed up when you really need to harness your adult energy and wash the pile of sheets in your bedroom. I’m nothing if not realistic. Ok. Bye.
Something to Read Fresh takes on all the books I’m loving. No genre loyalty here.
This book is just the best. Cover makes it look scary, but it’s really just a mystery more than anything. It is a story of lovers, friends, dreamers, and schemers, play-acting, and deception told against a backdrop of events that changed the world.
