by Roseanna White | Mar 24, 2014 | Word of the Week
Last night I ate an orange. (I know–groundbreaking news, right? LOL) At which point Xoe came in and exclaimed over how lovely my hands smelled. Which prompted her cheeky question of, “Mommy, did you get new cologne?”
I, naturally, said, “Now, now. These days cologne is reserved for what men wear, and women wear perfume.” And thought, Mostly. Although it used to be…
While I was thinking thus (ahem, LOL), my hubby thought it would be funny to say I was wearing “eau de toilette.“
Need it even be mentioned that our darling daughter dissolved into laughter and, upon getting the translation of “toilet water,” asked why in the world perfume was ever called that?
I then had the pleasure of educating husband and daughter both. 😉 Granted, I was halfway making it up. But I was right. So there.
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Toilet of Venus (no, not THAT kind!) by Simon Vouet
circa 1628-1639 |
The English toilet has pretty much followed the evolution of the French toilette through the ages. First, it meant “cover or bag for clothes.” So, a garment bag. This first meaning, which made its way to English in the 1530s, was from the French toil–cloth. In the late 1600s, it took on the meaning of “the act or process of dressing.” Another 120 years passed, and it became the word for the room in which you do that dressing, especially one with a lavatory attached. Then, and only then–70 some years later, in 1895–did it get attached to the lavatory and its fixtures instead of the dressing room. And yes, that euphemism is also an Americanism.
So really, it’s a very lovely word that we first used to pretty-up a not-so-lovely room…and by which we managed to make into an ugly word. Sigh. Sorry, toilette!
by Roseanna White | Mar 20, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Yesterday I read the book of Malachi. Right off the bat, I learned that historians aren’t sure if Malachi is a name, or the equivalent of signing something “Anonymous”–it means “the messenger of God.” So it could have been a pen name–pretty interesting for this author!
It isn’t a long book. It isn’t one I often hear quoted. But this verse really jumped out at me, when he’s responding to the poor sacrifices the people have been making:
8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?
Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favorably?”
Says the Lord of hosts.
I’ve thought a lot about sacrifice over the years–and though we don’t do the traditional Hebrew sacrifices as modern Christians, how it applies to us. But this really put it in perspective for me. Here, God is saying, “Would you present this to your earthly ruler? If not, then why do you try to offer it to me? Am I not a King above all kings?”
That really makes me take a look at my life. To whom am I giving my sacrifice? Is it to God? Or is to my husband, my kids, my editors, my authors? Who gets the firstfruits of my labors? Of my time? Of my earnings?
Who gets my best?
If I were having a royal family over for dinner, you can bet I wouldn’t be offering them leftovers–unless that was all I could offer. When I give a gift to someone I love, I don’t fish trash out of the can and wrap it up. When I hug my children, it isn’t half-hearted, I don’t then push them away.
So why do I think I can get away with treating God like He’s second-rate? Because let’s face it, that’s what we sometimes do. We think, “I’ll squeeze in some time for prayers later…unless I forget. I’ll read my Bible tomorrow. I’ll take a few bucks out of savings for the offering, maybe. I’ll give up something I don’t really care about.”
But you know what? God says He’d rather have nothing than our leftovers. Because a halfhearted offering is an insult. No, worse. It’s evil. That’s the word He uses there in Malachi, and I can’t think of a stronger one.
So when I give Him my worst instead of my best, I’m being evil. When I give Him my moldy leftovers instead of my feast, I’m being evil. When I pray as an absent afterthought instead of first, I’m being evil.
And that hurts. Because I so often get too busy. Too caught up. Too distracted. My heart’s in the right place, but the rest of me doesn’t always follow. And I think, “It’s okay. God knows my intentions. God loves me. God knows I’m trying.”
Yeah. He does. But He also knows when I’m not. He knows when I push thoughts of Him down. When I think, “Yes, I should do that, but I can’t. It’s too hard.”
And He knows that I wouldn’t make those excuses for a king who stood before me. And He mourns that I’m trying to do it with Him.
I think a lot about how my Lord is like my father. How He loves, forgives, chastises, embraces, guides. And all that is true.
But He’s also my Savior, my King, my Lord, my God. And that means He deserves my praise. My worship. My awe.
My all.
He deserves my best.
by Roseanna White | Mar 19, 2014 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
As some of you may recall from my 30 Days of Giveaways over the summer, I come up with a unique message to use in signing each of my books–and as I now have cases of Circle of Spies in a corner of my bedroom, it’s time to decide what to write in those! I like it to be a sort of prayer or benediction for my readers, relevant to the book. Here are the ones I’ve been using for my other books:
May His touch leave you forever changed.
May the Lord be your Light.
May you find true Liberty in Him.
May you hear Him in the echoes of silence.
May His whisper guide your steps.
(This one was recommended by one of YOU!)
So here we are again, ready to come up with a new one! And I’m pairing it with a giveaway. Make a recommendation and be entered to win one of FIVE signed copies of Circle of Spies (the first of these I’ve given away!!). Make one that I end up choosing verbatim, and you’ll win a signed copy PLUS one of my other books. Or if you have my other books already, you’ll win a copy of the book of prayers that is featured throughout the series. And if you already have that, too…then we’ll get creative, LOL.
Now, to help you in your recommending, here are some key aspects and themes of the book:
Memory (Marietta has a perfect one–and no, I do not, LOL.)
Prodigal sons/daughters
Redemption
Freedom (both of the soul and physical freedom from slavery)
Family legacy
Family (as in, finding one)
Brotherhood
Embracing the gifts God has given you
Enough to get you started? I hope so! And please spread the word! (Paperback books eligible only to US mailing addresses–however, internationals are welcome to enter for a digital prize!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Roseanna White | Mar 17, 2014 | Word of the Week
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| A Cool Retreat by John William Godward, 1910 |
I have a writing retreat quickly approaching, and I am getting a little giddier at the thought with each passing day. =) But of course, I then have to pause and consider the word, because I’m just that kind of nerd, LOL.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that the typical definition of retreat is very old. The noun, meaning “act or retiring from action,” dates to the 13th century. The verb, oddly, took another 200 years to join English. But what I found really interesting is that my kind–“a place of seclusion”–dates from the 15th century! I had no idea it was that old. It had gained religious connotation by the 1750s.
To change the subject, I spent my weekend in VA Beach, celebrating with my critique partner, Dina Sleiman, her 3-book deal with Bethany House. And when hubby and I got home (after driving through a blizzard), I found these waiting for me!
The Dutch version of Ring of Secrets! This is my first Dutch-translated book, though many, many of my friends’ books have been translated, so it’s pretty cool. =) The title in Dutch translates as Mask of Innocence. I was hoping for a “mask” title in the series, so that’s awesome!!
by Roseanna White | Mar 13, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I figure I’ll just keep posting thoughts from my Bible study. 😉 Worked well for me last week, LOL.
This week, the study of James led us into a discussion on temptation. It’s worth noting up front that the root of temptation is tempt, and the root of attempt is also tempt. So there’s already a link between tempting and trying. And the dual meanings of try–both to try to do something and when something tries (vexes) you–are in the original Greek.
So. There were a few things in the verses we studied that jumped out at me. First is that trials, troubles, tribulations are not themselves any indicator of sin…but they often lead to it. Why? Because when things are going well, it’s easy to keep our focus (sometimes) where it needs to be. A healthy marriage doesn’t often lead one to an affair. When there’s nothing to get mad about, we don’t often fly off the handle and hurt somebody. When we’re not sick or injured, we’re not inclined to drown ourselves in self-pity and curse God (as Job’s wife told him to do).
But when the bad things come–that’s when that invisible finger curls, beckoning us. Telling us to come this way, it’ll be easier. It’ll be satisfying. It’ll give us what we lack. Sometimes even promising us that Noble Thing we’ve so long striven for, but in a way that goes against what God instructed.
You can be like God…if you just eat this fruit.
Ever pause to think how clever that enticement really was? Satan didn’t promise them riches. He didn’t promise them fleshly pleasure. How could he? Adam and Eve already had a perfect life. The one thing they wanted was to be ever more like the Father who walked with them. So that was the one temptation the adversary could offer. You can be like God, just like Him. A good thing–but to do so, they’d have to disobey. So he twisted the words, made them question their understanding. Are you sure he said that? Just like that? I don’t think so. And you’ll understand as soon as you eat…
But here’s the other thing that struck me. When we think of temptations, we think of something external, like that beckoning finger. We are tempted by something. By someone. By some force. And sometimes, yeah, that’s true. It’s an outside person or being luring us. But in James it says we are led by “our own desires” into temptation.
Not always by Satan. Not always by other people. By ourselves. Because we want the fleshly thing. We want the donut. We want the alcohol. We want the sex. All things that are good in the right time, in moderation, so why not more?
A lot of translators even put “evil” into the verse–that we are led astray by our own evil desires. But that’s not in the Greek. The Greek word just means “natural desires.” The desire for food, for drink, for warmth, for comfort, for love, for arms around us. Natural. Not bad in and of themselves. But they can lead us toward sin when we put those desires above our desire for God. When we let those desires rule us instead of the other way around.
This is why denying ourselves is a pretty big theme in the Bible. Because we need to get those urges under control. We need to not be enslaved by them. Because if we have to have them, and struggle with it when all is well, what’s going to happen when the trials come?
They’re going to test us, that’s what. Tempt us. Is it God? Well, James says God doesn’t tempt. But sometimes God tests–He doesn’t lead us to the temptation, but he allows the trials. Why?
This is another lovely realization that came through our study. Because we need to know we’re stronger. God already knows–these trials aren’t for His benefit. But seriously. How do you know how strong your faith is, until you have to use it? How do you know how much you love Him until you see that love under threat?
I remember back when Xoe was about 11 months old. She was cruising but not walking on her own yet, and in her usual way was going around the living room by holding on to this and that. We had a pedestal end table she’d just grabbed. I was across the room, on the couch. I saw it happen–her hand slip, her knees buckle. I knew she was going down. But before I could get there, she’d already fallen, hitting her head on the table edge on the way down. At 11 months, this was her first bloody injury. And it wasn’t bad. A Band-Aid made all well again. But it was the first time I’d seen my baby bleed. The first time she’d been in real pain.
And it made me sick. Dizzy. I had to hand her to David and sink down to the floor until my head and stomach righted themselves, and I have never gotten weird at the sight of blood.
But it was different when it was hers.
I’d obviously known I adored my little girl. I loved her to pieces. But not until that moment did it become perfectly clear to me how much. The pain–terrible as it was–acted like a lens. With Rowyn, that lens came at birth, when he couldn’t catch a full breath and had to spend his first two days under an oxygen hood. Newborn, and my baby had a problem. My heart hurt beyond what I thought it could. And my love just gushed from me.
No one wants trials. No one wants to be tempted. But it’s through these tests that we understand how much stronger God is than our weaknesses. How the longing for Him can outdo the longing for anything else.
And then I look at the world around me, and I have to wonder. Because “temptation” has become a sexy word. An alluring word. Not a word of warning, but a word of enticement. Come, be tempted. Give in, the world says.
Hearing the call isn’t a sin. Feeling the longing is only natural. But giving in to it–deciding to give in to it–that’s where the danger lies.
But it’s not going to give you what you hope it will. It won’t. Don’t be deceived, James warns in the next verse. Every good and perfect gift comes from God. God. Not the world. The world can make you happy…for a while. But it can’t make you joyful. It can meet the needs of your flesh…but not the needs of your soul.
That’s why God is always there. Always waiting. He always has His hand outstretched, so that when those trials come, when we feel the temptation, we can turn to Him instead. And we can know that He already gave up so much for us. He already paid the price that sin would exact. He already defeated the temptation.
We just have to remember it.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.