A dear friend wrote this note to me about her thoughts on The Voice of One Woman book launch
(excerpted)... I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it... but it was so
beautifully written, that I just had to... Thank you.... You know who you are,
and the Lord bless you indeed.
The Voice of One woman Book launch:
Saturday was beautiful! The School II Bistro was moderately lit with dim lights
and candlelight. Tables were decorated with rose petals. There was a band
playing as poem after poem was read. What I liked best about it was that she
didn’t just read each poem by herself, she got others to do it and for one of
the poems, there was an accompanying dance! The very last poem was done in a
call and respond manner and that was very nice…interactive. Hors d'oeuvres
served...we got to take leftovers. Need I say more?
Her work was obviously geared towards empowering women and the proceeds from
the book sale went to a Charity that works with female victims of domestic
violence/abuse etc. I particularly like the verses that reinforced accepting
our femininity as beautiful or just teased the senses and here is a verse that
just makes me smile all the time:
I am She
Black, White, Latte
Moccachino, Cappuccino
Every creamy delightful shade in between :-)
I wrote the above on Mon to a friend who was unable to attend the book launch.
I was high from inspiration on Sat so much so that I read your lines on the
phone to friends over and over on Sun.
.... I wanted you to know that what you did on Sat, your prose, seeing you all
organized helped me remember and hold on to the fact that God is making
something beautiful out of me.
Thank you for being a source of inspiration and a reminder to keep my dreams
alive.
3 There was a man of
the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him.
3 Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Born:
1.
a. Brought into life by birth.
b.Brought into existence; created: A new
nation was born with the revolution.
See:
1.
To perceive with the eye.
2.
a.
To apprehend as if with the eye.
b. To detect by means
analogous to use of the eye: an electronic surveillance camera that saw the
activity in the embassy yard.
3. To understand;
comprehend: I see your point.
4. To know through
firsthand experience; undergo: "He saw some service on the king's
side"
Enter:
1.
To come or go into: The train
entered the tunnel.
2.
To penetrate; pierce: The bullet entered the victim's skull.
3.
To introduce; insert: She entered the probe into the patient's artery.
4.
a. To become a
participant, member, or part of; join: too old to enter the army; entered the discussion
at a crucial moment.
b. To gain admission to (a
school, for example).
5. To cause to become a
participant, member, or part of; enroll: entered the children in private school; entered
dahlias in a flower show.
6. To embark on; begin:
With Sputnik, the Soviet Union entered the space age.
7. To make a beginning in;
take up: entered medicine.
8. To write or put in:
entered our names in the guest book; enters the data into the computer.
9. To place formally on
record; submit: enter a plea of innocence; enter a complaint.
10. To go to or occupy
in order to claim possession of (land).
11. To participate in;
take an active role or interest in: enter into politics; enter into negotiations.
2. To become party to (a
contract): The nations entered into a trade agreement.
3. To become a component
of; form a part of: Financial matters entered into the discussion.
4. To consider;
investigate: The report entered into the effect of high interest rates on the
market.
3. To take possession
of: She
entered upon the estate of her uncle.
From the above, we can then say:
Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be Brought into life again,
he cannot perceive the kingdom of God.
Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be brought into life of
water (The Word) and of the Spirit, he cannot participate in; take an
active role or interest in, or take possession of the
kingdom of God.
Romans 12: 2
Galatians 4:4
Now I say, That the heir,
as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord
of all;
Ephesians
5:26
King James Version
(KJV)
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word,
Born of water and the Spirit. Some suggest that the “water” is the release of fluid that
accompanies physical birth, but linguistic considerations point to
understanding “water” and “Spirit” as referring to a single spiritual birth.
Many interpreters understand “water” here as the water of baptism, but such a
reference, before Christian baptism was instituted, would have been meaningless
to Nicodemus. Others find a reference to John’s baptism, but Jesus nowhere
makes John’s baptism a requirement for salvation. Probably the statement refers
to Old Testament passages in which the terms “water” and “Spirit” are linked to
express the pouring out of God’s Spirit in the end times (Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25–27). The presence of such rich Old
Testament imagery accounts for Jesus’ reproof of Nicodemus (v. 10): as a
“teacher of Israel,” he should have understood.
