Empowered by Catherine Parks

"When you trust Jesus for eternal life and saving grace, God has already planned work for you to do for His glory. Do you think a loving God would give you work to do, but then wouldn't give you the power to do it?"

I never can decide if time is going by quickly or slowly. May seems forever long ago, but I'm inclined to say quickly when I think about how fast the end of the year is coming - because once we hit August, the holidays are practically tomorrow. Just see if I'm wrong.

I've read fourteen books so far this year. (I always wonder if I could've done more...) Some were brilliant, a few drove me crazy, and some fell into the category of nice-but-forgettable. Out of all of these, one gave me the strongest feeling of having learned something valuable, and this is the one I'm sharing with you today.

Empowered: How God Shaped 11 Women's Lives is part biography, part devotional. Each chapter spotlights a different Christian woman and a particular virtue seen in her story: Esther Ahn Kim, true strength; Sophie Scholl, seeking justice; Corrie ten Boom, loving the unlovable; Betsie ten Boom, gratitude; Pandita Ramabai, fearing God and not man; Elisabeth Elliot, obedience; Phillis Wheatley, using your talents; Joni Eareckson Tada, living abundantly; Fanny Crosby, kindness; Charlotte Forten Grimké, godly ambition; and Annie Armstrong, working faithfully.

The title Empowered sounds like some 'girls rule the world' kind of book, but nothing could be further from reality. It lovingly emphasizes over and over that its heroines were nothing special whatsoever. All that they were, all that they did, was only the result of God working in and through them. That's what I really love about it. As a chronic perfectionist, it's good to be reminded that I can never be enough. It's the ultimate lesson we all need to learn, that apart from Him we can do nothing. And after eleven devotionals gracefully try to hammer that lesson into one's head, one can't help but start to get the idea.

I tried a series with this short-biography format before (because it's a nice idea to read about someone's life in ten pages before deciding whether to read about it in three hundred) and was tremendously annoyed. It told a handful of loosely connected, often insignificant stories about each figure that left me wondering how they managed to be remembered. Well, Empowered is not like that either. Each biography is complete, interesting, and alive with little details. I especially enjoyed the tidbit about the town that smelled like coffee! We get to hear each person's voice in the many quotes. They are made memorable, and lovable. Because of the large type, readable style, and friendly illustrations, this book would be great for younger readers. And for those not-quite-so-young readers, the author's sources are listed, so you know exactly where to begin learning more.

Perhaps the best recommendation I can give is that I can't wait to get the companion book: Strong: How God Equipped 11 Ordinary Men with Extraordinary Power.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'"

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

- 2 Corinthians 12:9a, John 15:5