*Sidenote #50 brave faith
The kind of faith that leads armies, changes bloodlines, and births kings.
Deborah, Ruth, and Hannah.
These ladies take up space in scripture—not just a verse or paragraph—but in chapters.
Kayte and I started a new series on the podcast. We had planned to talk about our favorite people in the Bible through the rest of spring. And then a listener suggested, "Why not just do women of the Bible?"
Well, why not? (AND ALSO, we have listeners, we are thrilled).
Okay, so why not!
We jumped in with one of our unanimous favorites, Deborah. A leader and prophetess in a time of trouble for Israel. Next, we studied Ruth, a foreigner who, because of her faithfulness to God and her mother-in-law, was woven into the lineage of Christ. In our next episode (releasing 4/14), Hannah shows us what agency looks like and cries out to God because she is barren. He heard her cry and gave birth to the priest who would lead the nation of Israel to their first kings.
Other key takeaways from studying Deborah (& Jael), Ruth (& Naomi), and Hannah (& Peninnah) for the podcast: They moved boldly and gently where they saw God moving. The men in their stories respected them. The women in their stories worked with them or mentored them, and if they were rivals, they were considered but not the focus.
What has also been striking is figuring out women in pop culture who could represent these awe-inspiring women. A full representation is hard to find. If you think of good ones, let us know!
If you've been listening to the podcast, our recurring opening line is, "Well, we've made it to another week." We don't mean to exaggerate, but it has been a persistently tough couple of months for various reasons.
During COVID, I learned the value and need for comradery in creative projects. For example, my friend Jessica and I wrote and taught a Bible study around that time. It gave each of us life as we worked through tough challenges.
As Deborah says in her song of praise, "March on, my soul, with might!" (Judges 5:21b)
I find myself in the creative duet again—during another challenging time—and I am so grateful for how life-giving it has been. When we brave challenging times, our faith and community hold us together.
We began this podcast to supplement a Bible study we were a part of and just kept hitting the record button.
It's been a joy to have a reason to study scripture, have a conversation, and share what I've learned. We know we named the podcast a bit on the nose, but frankly, it is just what we long for you—the listener—to do. We hope you can live life together (and apart). We want you to enjoy time with God and others as you study the Bible and help you put your faith into action.
Talking about the Bible, themes, and people gives us life. We feel seen by God—for better or worse (listen to the study of Zephaniah that was a doozy). But it's fun to study difficult scripture with each other. Kayte and I come to scripture with different perspectives, and it's lovely seeing scripture and God through her eyes.
In this new series, we search to answer the questions below as we study each woman. At the end, we ask our conversation starters to help begin and guide thoughtful chat with your friends.
Who is she?
What is her lineage?
What does she do/significance?
What do we like about her?
What are her challenges?
Knowing her story, how does she impact us now?
Current life character she reminds us of now.
We love learning and hearing from our listeners. Are there any other questions you would add to this list? Who are your favorite women of the Bible we should do an episode on?
This series is for all of us. Men listeners, I am going to single you out for a second. We would love to hear your perspective of the women in this series or how you relate to the men woven into their stories. We want a holistic view of all the people within scripture, especially those with powerful faith stories we might have overlooked.
I invite you to join us! Listen to the podcast and live life together with your friends by having great conversations and spurring each other on for the glory of God and the love of others.
Thanks for reading and letting me share about other things I make not on this platform! Below are several links for your favorite ways to tune in. New episodes are released each Monday!
Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever with the RSS feed
Follow us on Instagram @livinglifetogetherpod! It is a great way to communicate with both of us and interact with information from the show, like our conversation starters.
