Jennifer L. Wright's Blog, page 7

Are Women Persons?

Susan B. Anthony was an activist seemingly from birth.

Born into a Quaker family, her father’s mill failed when he refused to use slave-grown cotton. Inspired by his steadfast commitment to justice, she was collecting anti-slavery petitions as early as 17. During the Civil War, she helped found the Women’s Loyal National League, which conducted the largest petition drive in United States history up to that time, collecting nearly 400,000 signatures in support of the abolition of slavery. In 1856, she became the New York state agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society.

But Anthony’s quest for equal rights didn’t stop with the color of people’s skin, and she later credited her work as a teacher as the catalyst for the shift. “I think the first seed for thought was planted during my early days as a teacher,” she later told reporter Nelly Bly. “I saw the injustice of paying stupid men double and treble women’s wages for teaching merely because they were men.” In 1851, she met a woman by the name of Elizabeth Cody Stanton and, together, the two of them would make history as they sought fairness for another marginalized group of people: women.

Together, they founded the New York Women’s State Temperance Society after Anthony was prevented from speaking at a temperance conference because she was female. After the Civil War, they initiated the American Equal Rights Association, which campaigned for equal rights for both women and African Americans. She and Stanton gathered signatures to pass the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution formally abolishing slavery.

In 1870, the passage of the 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution caused additional rifts because it eliminated voting restrictions due to race or color…but not gender.

But they would not let this stop them. In 1869, they founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, which eventually merged with the rival American Woman Suffrage Association to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

The movement began to grow.

Buoyed by momentum, in November 1872, Anthony voted in the presidential election in her home of Rochester, New York. Two weeks later, she was arrested. During her trial, Anthony was unable to testify on her behalf, since women’s testimony was not considered to be competent. However, this did not stop her from speaking her mind after her indictment. In the so-called “On Women’s Right to Vote” speech, she invoked the preamble of the Constitution and added:

“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people – women as well as men. And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government – the ballot.”

She went on to say:

“The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no state has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void, precisely as is every one against Negroes.”

Although Anthony was eventually found guilty and fined $100 (which she refused to pay, allegedly telling the judge “May it please your honor, I will never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God,”), the incident and its publicity did allow her to bring her message of suffrage to a larger audience.

By 1868, it seemed Anthony was on her way to victory. Legislators in Congress introduced federal woman’s suffrage amendment. It would only be a matter of time.

And more time.

And more time.

Sixteen years passed with no advancement within Congress of the amendment.

On March 8th, 1884 Susan B. Anthony appeared before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. Anthony began her statement thus:

“We appear before you this morning…to ask that you will, at your earliest convenience, report to the House in favor of the submission of a Sixteenth Amendment to the Legislatures of the several States, that shall prohibit the disfranchisement of citizens of the United States on account of sex.”

She continued:

““This is the sixteenth year that we have come before Congress in person, and the nineteenth by petitions. Ever since the war, from the winter of 1865-’66, we have regularly sent up petitions asking for the national protection of the citizen’s right to vote when the citizen happens to be a woman. We are here again for the same purpose.”

Unfortunately, it took many more years to win approval for the suffrage amendment. Not until June 4, 1919, did Congress pass the “Anthony Amendment,” in honor of its champion. On Aug. 26, 1920, enough states ratified the change, which is now enshrined as the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

Women finally had the right to vote.

Anthony, regrettably, did not live to see her quest come to fruition; she died in 1906. There is no doubt, however, that it was her persistence and tireless efforts that led to its eventual acceptance. And, although there are many reasons behind March 8 being designated “International Women’s Day,” I can’t help but think that remembering Anthony’s speech before Congress on this day in 1884–ever tirelessly petitioning for women’s right to vote–is an appropriate way to honor both it and her.

Spiritual Lessons in Graham Crackers

Like many parents, I had a hard time getting my children to eat when they were younger, although the timeline of their pickiness was reversed.

My son refused to eat almost everything until he turned five; then, suddenly, he decided he wanted to eat EVERYTHING. (And, while I’m thankful, now that he’s nearing the teenage years, I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to be able to afford this little quirk of his!)

My daughter, on the other hand, would eat anything you put in front of her until she was around six. Then, for some reason, she decided everything she had previously loved was “gross.” Raspberries were too soft, macaroni and cheese was too cheesy, peanut butter sandwiches were too sticky.

My husband and I were flabbergasted. It wasn’t that my daughter wouldn’t eat anything, but the list of “acceptable” food items was rapidly shrinking.

Never was this more apparent than one Christmas a couple of years ago. I enjoy cooking and, though I would by no means call myself a gourmet, I will admit to making a mean Christmas spread. Ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, dinner rolls, stuffing, not to mention the assortment of appetizers and desserts. It’s this midwestern girl’s equivalent of a king’s banquet–all my favorite foods offered in one glorious, over-indulgent meal.

Still, I was not surprised when my daughter merely picked at everything on her plate, sampling all but consuming none. While the rest of my family and guests feasted, my never-satisfied little one turned her nose up at this lavish dinner and, after what she deemed as an acceptable length of time had passed, asked to be excused to her room to play with her new toys.

Now because–and ONLY because–it was Christmas, I decided that even though my daughter hadn’t finished (or even really started) her dinner, she would still be allowed to have dessert. This was usually a no-no in our home but, what can I say? I’m a sucker for the holidays.

I went upstairs, entered her room, and found the most bizarre of sights: my daughter, lying on her belly on her floor, reading a new book and munching on a package of graham crackers. Broken, crumbled, STALE graham crackers, I later found out, that she had stashed under her bed for months “just in case.”

My precious, beautiful, wonderful daughter had left the delicious, savory dinner I’d prepared for her in favor of a package of old, dried out crackers.

Parenting can be frustrating, you guys.

But as humorous and exasperating as the entire episode was, it also opened my eyes to a spiritual truth I’d sometimes rather not admit:

I sometimes leave the banquet God has prepared for me in favor of my own spiritual crumbs.

In one of the most famous Psalms of all times, David rejoices that “you [God] prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” (verse 5)

In this context, the table God is preparing is a victory celebration. He has just walked with David through “the valley of the shadow of death” and won. In “the presence of my enemies” means those enemies have been defeated; they are looking on as captives as the triumphant sit down to a banquet worthy of a King—a servant King who not only invites us to dine with Him but has also gone to the trouble of preparing this feast for us. Nothing should make us feel more humble than the imagery of the God of the universe making ready and then dishing out a majestic and regal dinner for His created.

The symbol of food is a common one throughout the Scriptures. And while God may not literally be filling our plates with tacos (in my imagination, Mexican food is the #1 thing I’d want at a royal feast because, well, it’s Mexican food; tell me I’m not alone in this!) but He is constantly offering up a feast of spiritual nourishment in the form of His promises.

We have the promise of God’s goodness (Psalm 119:68). We have the promise of His faithfulness (Hebrews 10:23), His kindness (Isaiah 54:10), His love (Romans 8:38-39), His power (2 Timothy 1:7), His joy (Psalm 16:11), His hope (Romans 15:13), His strength (Isaiah 41:10), His wisdom (James 1:5) and thousands of other promises littered through His Word that would take too long to write here. In fact, one scholar, Herbert Locklear, calculated that there were 7, 147 promises from God found in the Bible.

We truly, as David wrote earlier in the Psalm, “have everything [we] need” (verse 1).

And yet how often do we walk away from this spiritual feast to find nourishment in other places? How often do I look to my own goodness–or power or strength or wisdom–rather than God’s? How often do I look for hope in money, status, or government institutions? Have you ever looked for joy in the bottom of a bottle or fulfillment in that little online shopping cart?

The truth is that all of those earthly things may buoy us for a little while. In other words, just like those stale graham crackers my daughter chose over Christmas dinner, they may ease our hunger pains for a time. But we are missing out on true, lasting nourishment every time we leave God’s banquet to dig in the dumpster.

Our tendency as broken, sinful people is to run out into the world looking for things we already have in Jesus. There is nothing–absolutely nothing–that will satisfy those deep places in our souls like Him. He has given us everything we need in the form of His presence with us daily; all we have to do is accept it.

You see, when David proclaimed “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything that I need,” he wasn’t doing it because His life was perfect. He was making a declaration of a choice to be satisfied with the things God already laid out in front of him.

The same things God offers to each and every one of us. His peace. His joy. His strength. His wisdom. His power.

His presence.

Friends, don’t leave God’s table to go eat stale graham crackers in the corner. Sit in the goodness of His presence and be filled.

“Whatever It Is I Think I see…”

On this day in 1896, an Austrian Jewish immigrant and son of an Austrian candy maker opened a shop in New York City. His name was Leo Hirschfield and, while the name may be unfamiliar, the candy he soon created probably isn’t. And no, I’m not talking about Bromangelon Jelly Powder, a gelatin dessert powder that eventually became the precursor to the much-more successful Jell-O.

No, in this humble shop, Leo Hirschfield invented something much more iconic, mainstream, and something you may have found in your child’s Valentine candy bag just last week:

The Tootsie Roll.

Before A/C and refrigerators, chocolates were rarely sold during the summer months, with candy-sellers instead prioritizing treats like taffy and marshmallows, which could stand some heat without melting. But, with Tootsie Rolls, Hirschfield created the first individually wrapped chocolate-flavored candy that wouldn’t dissolve in the summer sun.

That’s right. Tootsie Rolls actually aren’t chocolate. But, back then, if you had a craving during the summer months, it was the only thing on the market that could satisfy it. Plus, it was cheap–selling for only a penny–which was a huge factor in candy sales.

So what exactly is a Tootsie Roll then?

Tootsie Rolls are actually pulled candies, much like taffy, which makes them light and porous. The difference between them and taffy, however, is, after pulling, the candy is baked at a low temperature for about two hours, a process that Hirschfield actually patented. This gave the candy its “peculiar mellow consistency,” in addition to helping it maintain its shape and not melt.

The inexpensive treat soon became a Depression-era favorite, which was only further bolstered with the outbreak of World War II, where Tootsie Rolls (as well as other chocolate candy) was sent to the front lines as a form of old-fashioned “energy bar” (or roll). This government contract allowed Joseph Rubin & Sons of Brooklyn, who acquired the Hirschfield-led candy company in 1935, to continue producing the sweets while many other factories were shut down for the war effort.

And the love affair with the chocolate-flavored taffy-like candy has never stopped.

But did you ever wonder where the name “Tootsie Roll” came from?

The candy was named after Hirschfield’s daughter, Clara, who nickname was–you guessed it–“Tootsie.”

When Love Hurts

Ahhh, Valentine’s Day.

The air is awash with the smell of overpriced roses, my dining room table is covered with glitter from my school-age children’s card-making, and my waistline is telling me I absolutely do not need anymore of those delicious heart-shaped chocolates.

Okay, yes, I sound a bit cynical. I’m not a huge fan of the holiday. BUT I do appreciate the idea behind it–this one special day to go out of our way and express love to those around us. For someone like me who often gets overwhelmed by my “to do” list and forgets to slow down enough to sometimes remind my people just how much they mean to me, it’s a good reminder to do just that.

But, for some people, Valentine’s Day is tough. Maybe you’re one of those people.

Single. Divorced. Widowed.

Or maybe your’e in a relationship but it’s abusive. Or just hard. Or flat-out failing.

On this day in which we celebrate love, it can be easy to forget just how many out there are living in a world without it.

In 1 Corinthians 13, we find perhaps the most famous passage about love.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.” (verses 1-8a)

I don’t know about you but, looking around me, I see very little love that is patient. Very little love that is not proud. Even less love that is not self-seeking. And not just out in the world–but in my own heart too.

And that can lead to a lot of disappointment. You see, deep down, in the innermost part of our souls, each one of us knows what true love looks like. Even if we didn’t have this passage from the Bible, we’d know. And we’d also know how impossible it was to find.

Many people have never found the type of love mentioned above. They have been abused or neglected, used or mistreated. But, truth be told, even if those who are in loving, committed stable relationships soon discover they are not perfect. They are not always kind. They do not always keep no record of wrongs. They do not always trust or protect.

That’s because the passage above is showing us what PERFECT love looks like–the love that Christ demonstrates for us. And while we should absolutely try to emulate it by walking in step with the Holy Spirit, it’s important for us to remember that the most perfect and true love we will ever find on this earth is the one God offers us every single day.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (verses 8b-12, emphasis mine).

Our love should be a reflection of Christ’s love, but it can never replace the real thing—because it is impossible to do so. We as broken sinful people can never truly live up to the standards put forth in these verses, no matter how hard we try. Even the best, most healthy relationship we can find will only give us a glimpse (a “part”) of the love for which each our hearts long.

Because while, yes, we were made to love one another, we were first and foremost created to love God and be loved by Him in return with the perfect kind of love only He can offer.

So, dear friends, take heart on this Valentine’s Day. Whether you are married or single, alone or surrounded by people, true love is still openly available to you every moment of every day. Past or present “loves” may have hurt or disappointed you, but I can guarantee you that God never will. Lean into Him today, resting in the truth of what He has done out of his perfect love for you.

He is the best and most wonderful forever Valentine.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…

In 1963, a man named Jack Babb visited the UK at the behest of Peter Prichard. Prichard was a London talent agent whose close friend, Brian Epstein, had recently begun managing a new musical group that was rapidly growing in popularity across Europe. Babb, who was a talent scout himself, was searching for acts to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, a successful music and variety show on CBS. He humored Prichard by attending two concerts of the four long-haired lads from Liverpool and, while he agreed the band had talent, he ultimately decided against inviting the group to perform on his show because “no one in America is interested in British music.”

A few months later, on October 31, Ed Sullivan himself–Babb’s boss–happened to be at London’s Heathrow Airport awaiting a return flight to New York at the exact time that same British band was returning from a tour of Sweden. A hysterical crowd of 1,500 fans crowded the terminal. Flabbergasted by the frenzy, Sullivan inquired about the group.

“It’s the Beatles,” an attendant told him, incredulous Sullivan had never heard of the biggest and hottest band in all of Britain. Having released their debut album ‘Please Please Me’ earlier in the year, which became an instant number one bestseller, the group hadn’t slowed down since, appearing on the British television show, “Val Parnell’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium” and even performing for the royal family. The Beatles–and their music–was everywhere in the UK. Did this old American man really not know about the Beatles?

Well, he did now. And Jack Babb’s protestation be forgotten–Sullivan was determined to have the group on his show.

Ten days later, Sullivan met with Epstein at the Delmonico Hotel in New York City and agreed to host the Beatles for three performances, two live and one a taped rehearsal, for $2,400 ($16,261 in 2021 dollars) in February of the following year.

But “Beatlemania,” as it turned out, was not willing to wait. And Sullivan had no idea that he’d just signed up for history in the making.

The band’s single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was leaked in advance of its planned US release to radio stations across the country. When attorneys for Capitol Records were unable to stop American DJs from spinning the tune, the record label relented and, on December 26, 1963, dropped the album ahead of schedule. The record sold 250,000 copies in the first three days. By January 10, 1964 it had sold over one million units. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the number one song on the Billboard charts by month’s end. Radio stations played the band’s music nearly non-stop; teenaged fans sported “Beatle” wigs; girls screamed at the mention of their names.

And then the news began to spread: the Beatles would be appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show in early February.

The Beatles were coming to America.

The Beatles touched down at New York’s Kennedy Airport on February 7th, 1964. They were met by a throng of reporters and thousands screaming fans, creating a pandemonium the likes of which had never been seen. Upon disembarking the plane, The Beatles were whisked to a press conference hosted by Capitol Records in which they playfully answered questions from the media. (Example: When asked “How do you find America?” Ringo Starr jokingly replied, “Turn left at Greenland.)

For the next two days, the Beatles holed up in the Plaza Hotel. Fans camped outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the band. Meanwhile, 50,000 requests for the available 700 tickets poured into CBS Studios. On February 8–the day before their schedule performance–George Harrison came down with strep throat and had to be confined to the hotel while road manager Neil Aspinall and an Ed Sullivan Show staffer took turns standing in for him during the rehearsals in hopes he would heal.

Thankfully, he did.

Because at 8 o’clock on February 9th 1964, 73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles’ first live performance on U.S. soil. The television rating was a record-setting 45.3, meaning that 45.3% of households with televisions were watching. That figure reflected a total of 23,240,000 American homes. The show garnered a 60 share, meaning 60% of the television’s turned on were tuned in to Ed Sullivan and The Beatles.

“Now yesterday and today,” Sullivan began, “our theater’s been jammed with newspapermen and hundreds of photographers from all over the nation, and these veterans agreed with me that this city never has witnessed the excitement stirred by these youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves The Beatles. Now tonight, you’re gonna twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again in the second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles! Let’s bring them on.”

The opening chords to “All My Loving” mixed with the ear-splitting screeches from teenaged girls in the audience. Next came the McCartney-led “Till There Was You,” during which a camera cut to each member of the band and introduced him to the audience by displaying his first name on screen. The Beatles then wrapped up the first set with “She Loves You,” and the show went to commercial.

There were other acts on the show that night, too. Magician Fred Kaps performed some sleight-of-hand tricks. Comedian Frank Gorshin did impressions. Acrobats Wells & the Four Fays displayed amazing feats of poise and strength. The comedy team of McCall & Brill cracked jokes. Broadway star Georgia Brown performed with the cast of “Oliver!”

Unfortunately, those performances were overshadowed by the sandwich acts of the Beatles, who returned at the end of the hour-long show to sing “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

The Beatles appeared on the show again on February 16, February 23, and May 16 of 1964, as well as August 14, 1965. Even in their later years, when the group no longer appeared live, the group filmed promotional clips of songs to air exclusively on Sullivan’s program, including videos of both “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” from June 1966 and three clips from 1967, including “Penny Lane”, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and “Hello, Goodbye”.

The Beatles’ last appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show came on March 1, 1970, when they released promotional videos for “Two of Us” and “Let It Be” just a month before announcing their break-up.

The group’s success had a profound impact, not only on music, but on the culture at large. And although the popularity of the Beatles began before their Sullivan appearance, it was that program that introduced untold millions to their unique style, personality, and sound, paving the way for the “British Invasion” of the 1960’s and becoming a defining moment of a generation.

Keeping Secrets

As mentioned in my last “wellnesswednesday” post, I’m continuing a deep dive through the books of 1 and 2 Kings. And, also as previously mentioned, there is a distinct pattern that becomes evident the longer you read: “XYZ, son of ABC, became king in 123, and ruled for 456 years. He did evil/good in the eyes of the Lord.” This is sometimes followed by an account of specific events that occurred during the reign and a summary of the good or bad things this king achieved.

But as you progress through the book, the mention of kings who “did good in the eyes of the Lord” becomes less and less. In fact, a little over halfway through 1 Kings, we encounter Ahab, who “did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (v. 16:30) and whose descendants (and even those NOT related to him, after his house was wiped out by God’s judgment) continued a downward spiral–with few exceptions–for 31 more chapters.

In short, this whole “king thing” the Israelites demanded went real sour real fast. And it pretty much stayed that way until God allowed the Israelites to be exiled from the promised land by their enemies.

“All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshipped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places I call their towns.” (2 Kings 17:7-9, emphasis mine)

Did you catch that one line right in the middle there? “The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right.”

Secretly!? The entire books of 1 and 2 King outline horrible things the Israelites and their kings have done. Literally pages and pages of sins. If that wasn’t enough, 2 Kings 17: 7-17 lays out a pretty succinct summary of just what had been going on “in secret” during the reign of these kings. I like to think the writer of 2 Kings added this bit with a little bit cheek; all these sins were most definitely not secret. Not only did he know enough about them to record them, now they have been laid out here for generations to see.

But the use of that word–secretly–perhaps alludes to something deeper. Maybe the Israelites thought their sins were secret; they believed they could hide them from God.

And while it’s easy to scoff at their foolishness, I believe this is something of which you and I are just as guilty today.

We all have things we try to keep secret from God. We all have things we do, say, think, or believe that we hope God doesn’t find out about. We all have areas of our lives in which we try to shut Him out or times during which we convince ourselves He’s absent (or at least looking the other direction).

If we sit down and think about it logically, it’s just as absurd for us to think we can hide things from God as it was for the Israelites. This is the same God who knows “when I sit and when I rise, [who] perceive[s] my thoughts from afar…before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” (Psalm 139: 2-4)

God knows our thoughts before we think them, our words before we speak them, and our actions before we perform them because “when [we were] woven together in the depths of the earth, [His] eyes saw [our] unformed bod[ies]” (Psalm 139:15) He knows us intimately because He created us; in fact, He knew us even before our created bodies came to be.

So why in the world do we think we can hide anything from Him?

For me personally, I can tell you that there are certain parts of my life–especially sinful parts–that I hold back from Him out of shame. I know right and willfully choose wrong…and it makes me ashamed. I love God, and I genuinely to live a life in obedience and servitude to Him….but I screw up. A lot. And it makes me feel like I have to hide those failures from Him so He won’t be angry–or worse, embarrassed–about me.

Still there are other places I try to keep hidden from Him because I don’t really want to obey Him in those areas. For example, I know God tells me to love those around me–especially my enemies–but there’s this one guy in my neighborhood that I really don’t want to love. He’s arrogant, disrespectful, rude, self-serving….

Sorry, got a tangent there.

Anyway, no matter how many derogatory adjectives I might use to describe this particular person, God still calls me to love him. What do I do instead? I certainly don’t talk to God about it, asking Him for help and guidance. And while I’m not actively mean to this person, I don’t necessarily walk in obedience either. Instead, I stew, allowing anger and resentment about this person to fester, poisoning me from the inside out.

I don’t want God to have this part of me because I don’t really WANT God to change it. Deep down, I don’t feel this man deserves my kindness. But I also don’t want God to see this part of me because it’s ugly. REALLY ugly.

So I keep it hidden.

Or, at least, I pretend to.

Stupid, right? But true.

Yet the only thing these “secrets” have only achieved is creating a distance between the God in my head and the God in my heart. It has created a tangle of barbed wire that harbors any true intimacy I might attain between me and my Creator. To truly connect with the Lord, I have to be honest about myself and those secret sinful areas of my life. Not for Him, because He knows them already. But for ME. To release my grip on the delusional sense of control I still seek to have over my life. To truly surrender to the power of God’s mercy, grace, and love. Only by setting free my imaginary secrets can I truly feel safe in the presence of God–a safety He longs to share with each and every one of us but from which we ourselves continue to reject.

Will you join me today in asking God to come into those secret places of our lives? To make Himself known to us in the moments where we foolishly believe we can hide? In those times when you feel yourself begin to retreat or attempt to conceal things from Him for whatever reason–guilt, shame, fear–boldly ask for His Spirit to wash over you afresh, reminding you of who He is and how much He loves you.

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.“

–Psalm 139: 7-10

“This Odious Column of Bolted Metal”

In the late 1880’s, to honor the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, the French government began planning the 1889 Paris International Exposition, a kind of “world’s fair” that would bring thousands of people to the French capital to marvel at the architecture, sample its foods, and get a taste–not only for French culture–but for the intellectual achievements and new technology springing up around the world, ushering in a new century.

But, being hosted in Paris, the focus, of course, needed to remain on Paris; to do this, the French government announced a design competition for a monument to be built in the central part of the city. The competition, according to the official Eiffel Tower website, was to “study the possibility of erecting an iron tower on the Champ-de-Mars with a square base, 125 meters across and 300 meters tall” to serve as the fair’s entrance.

One hundred and seven different project ideas were submitted, but ultimately the commission was granted to Eiffel et Compagnie, a consulting and construction firm owned by the acclaimed bridge builder, architect and metals expert Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, who had recently designed the framework of the newly erected Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

While Eiffel himself often receives full credit for the monument that bears his name, it was his employees who actually came up and fine-tuned the concept—a structural engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier as well as architect Stephen Sauvestre.

Koechlin and Nouguier proposed “a large pylon with four columns of lattice work girders, separated at the base and coming together at the top, and joined to each other by more metal girders at regular intervals.” Eiffel reportedly rejected Koechlin’s original plan for the tower, instructing him to add more ornate flourishes. So Sauvestre suggested “stonework pedestals to dress the legs, monumental arches to link the columns and the first level, large glass-walled halls on each level, a bulb-shaped design for the top and various other ornamental features to decorate the whole of the structure.” This design was later determined to be too ornate. Eventually, a simplified but still elaborate open-lattice wrought-iron tower that would reach nearly 1,000 feet above Paris, a height previously believed to be almost unattainable, and be the world’s tallest man-made structure was designed. This was thanks to a patent filed by Eiffel back in 1884, which outlined “a new configuration allowing the construction of metal supports and pylons capable of exceeding a height of 300 meters.” As Eiffel explained, the curvature of the uprights was mathematically determined to offer the most efficient wind resistance possible: “All the cutting force of the wind passes into the interior of the leading edge uprights. Lines drawn tangential to each upright with the point of each tangent at the same height, will always intersect at a second point, which is exactly the point through which passes the flow resultant from the action of the wind on that part of the tower support situated above the two points in question. Before coming together at the high pinnacle, the uprights appear to burst out of the ground, and in a way to be shaped by the action of the wind.”

Despite this, many critics immediately objected to the design and the project itself, claiming the structure would be unsafe, unsound, and an eye sore in their beautiful city. Protest pieces were written in many newspapers, with satirists using words such as “belfry skeleton, “mast of iron gymnasium apparatus, incomplete, confused and deformed” and “this high and skinny pyramid of iron ladders, this giant ungainly skeleton upon a base that looks built to carry a colossal monument of Cyclops, but which just peters out into a ridiculous thin shape like a factory chimney.” (The title of this article comes from another not-so-happy Paris citizen).

Irregardless, ground broke on what would soon be called the “Eiffel Tower” on January 26, 1887. According to official figures from the Eiffel Tower website, the project took 18,038 metallic parts, 5,300 workshop designs, 50 engineers and designers, 150 workers in the Levallois-Perret factory, between 150 and 300 workers on the construction site (with, remarkably, only 1 death, an impressive number back before workplace safety rules and regulations), 2,500,000 rivets, 7,300 tons of iron, 60 tons of paint, and 5 lifts. All in all, the duration of work lasted 2 years, 2 months and 5 days, reaching conclusion at the end of March 1889.

Criticism of the tower quickly wore out upon its completion. An estimated two million people visited it during the 1889 World’s Fair alone. Although the tower was originally planned only to stand for twenty years, its height found further uses in the early 20th century as a hub for wireless messages, particularly in wartime, and a house for scientific research such as astronomy, meteorology, aerodynamics, physiology, and even wind speed tests conducted at the base.

Nowadays, its hard to imagine Paris without its iconic statue, whose construction began on this day 137 years ago.

Seeking Fame and Fortune in the Book of Kings

I’m currently doing an in-depth study of the books of 1 and 2 Kings and, while I love diving into the history of the Old Testament because of the deeper understanding it gives me of the New Testament, I have to admit: some of the OT stories can drag a bit. Especially for a writer who has been harped on about pacing and action and word choice for her entire editorial career, the stylistic and cultural differences apparent in ancient Scriptures can sometimes make my eyes cross.

For example, once you get deep enough into 2 Kings, you will start to notice a pattern. Alternating between the kingdoms of Israel in the North and Judah in the south, paragraph after paragraph goes one of two ways: either KING XYZ did “right” in the eyes of the Lord or KING XYZ did “evil” in the eyes of the Lord. That’s usually accompanied by the length of his rule, as well as a summary of it, highlighting a few notable accomplishments (or sins). The pattern becomes so distinctive and predictable, in fact, that one particular passage stands out precisely because its absence.

Israel had, for a long while, been ruled over by kings who–remember the pattern above!–had continued to do “evil” in the Lord’s sight. But, around 874 B.C., a new king came into power, and he was in a class all by himself. In 1 Kings 16, we find out:

“But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him. Then, as if following the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not enough, he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, then proceeded to serve Baal and bow in worship to him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Ashram pole. Ahab did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” (v. 30-33)

Because of this, God pronounced judgment on the house of Ahab, vowing to “eradicate” his descendants and “wipe out” his household. (1 Kings 21: 21-24). So, it was no surprise when Ahab’s son, Ahaziah (who “angered the Lord God of Israel just as his father had done” according to 1 Kings 22:33) died and Ahab’s seventy other sons were massacred. Although horrendous, it was done as an act of judgement, attempting to purge the great evil that had infected Israel’s throne.

End of story, right?

Nope. Because here comes the plot twist: “When Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate the royal heirs…Athaliah ruled over the land.” (2 Kings 11:1-3)

Where modern readers look back and see judgement (and where those living during it may have seen devastation), Athaliah saw only opportunity.

In the void left by the slaughter of Ahab’s sons, Athaliah took it upon herself to wipe out anyone else who may have tried to lay claim to the throne….and then took the kingship (or queenship) for herself.

Knowing what we know of history, this doesn’t seem too shocking, does it? Hundreds if not thousands of thrones have been usurped over the centuries. But it’s interesting to catch God’s perspective over this particular power grab at the end of chapter 11:

“So they arrested her, and she went through the horse entrance to the king’s palace, where she was put to death…all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king’s palace. Joash was seven years old when he became king.” (v. 16-31)

Yes, Athaliah was killed, but so were many other kings of Israel. What’s important to note here is not her death per se, but the way that it is recorded. There is no summary of her reign, as with other kings. There is no listing of her deeds or sins, no mention of her resting with her “fathers,” as it was with other rulers. The pattern long established in the records of other leaders is noticeably missing.

Why?

Can I venture to conjecture here? I think it’s because the writer of 2 Kings didn’t view any of Athaliah’s accomplishments worth recording because she was not viewed as a legitimate ruler. She was someone who took advantage of a volatile situation to put herself into a position of power.

One who sought to puff herself up and make sure her name was remembered….received the exact opposite.

And oh, what a convicting truth this ancient usurper can bring to a 21st century heart.

Culture today is obsessed with recognition. People today make entire careers of being “influencers,” attempting to be famous for being famous. In the all the noise and clamor, the end-all-be-all goal is to have your name and face recognized above all others. We seize any opportunity to elevate ourselves, believing the lie that standing out is what will give us worth and make us be remembered.

To matter, we must be seen. We must be heard. We must pursue SELF at all costs.

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that ambition is necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great thing, when harnessed in the right way for the right purpose with the right attitude. But since the beginning of time, the temptation to use ambition for pride has been a powerful one. And, when I say “the beginning,” I mean the beginning.

Looking back all the way to Genesis, I can almost see ambition in Eve’s eyes as she stared at the fruit offered by the serpent. I mean, after all, he had promised if she ate it she would “be like God” (Genesis 3:5).

Who wouldn’t want that kind of power?

Fast forward a few hundred years to the story of the Tower of Babel, created so that “we may make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4).

While Athaliah’s story may be new to you, I’m guessing these two are not. And, much like hers, I don’t think we need a reminder of how they ended.

These early examples may be different in scope than what we experience today, but at their roots lay the same desire: a determination to raise our names, statuses, and/positions.

A hunger not for God’s glory…but for our own.

Contrast these stories to the calling of Abram (Abraham) found in Genesis 12. God told Abram that He would make Abram’s name great; that He would make him into a great nation; that He would assure Abram would be blessed and be a blessing (v. 2-3).

Abram didn’t have to scheme or plan, usurp or swindle. He didn’t have to “hustle” in order to be seen or heard.

Because he already was.

And all he had to do was follow Him.

Friends, the same is true of you and I. When we seek to raise our name above His, we are directly disobeying the commandment to have no other gods before Him. (Exodus 20:3) This includes the “gods” of self worship and self elevation. Healthy ambition is commendable, but if you find yourself exhausted from striving or compromising morals–engaging in behaviors or stepping into positions to which you know God has not called you– in order to puff yourself up, you may have crossed the line from initiative to idolatry.

The key to finding true peace is letting God work through you. Let His name be glorified by stepping in obedience to His calling–and seeing what wonders lay in store. Let the hallmark of your life be remarkable faith rather than remarkable self-interest. By doing so, you and I may never see our names in lights–but we will one day see them in the Book of Life. Because, friends, I know it may feel like the opposite, but can I just tell you that it does not matter how many Instagram likes you get, how many Facebook followers you acquire, or how high you go up that societal ring.

None of those things will ever assure you have clout. Never assure you are recognized, that you are seen or heard in the ways all of us so deeply desire.

But the blood on that old rugged cross two thousand years ago can..and did.

Time of Death….

Dr. James Bedford died on January 12, 1967.

Sort of.

Unlike the millions of deaths that came before his, Bedford did not go to the grave with an intent to stay there. Therefore, his body is not buried underground, nor are his ashes contained to an urn or scattered somewhere he held dear. No, Dr. Bedford is currently at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where his cryogenically frozen corpse–the first ever–remains frozen, awaiting reanimation.

Sounds like something out of science fiction, doesn’t it? Or maybe even a horror movie? But I assure you it’s all very real…and very strange.

James Bedford was born in 1893 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. After suffering from a bout of diphtheria that nearly took his life as a four-year old, Bedford became determined to live a life as full and as adventurous as he possibly could. Eventually, he moved to California and attended UC Berkeley, earning a masters in education while teaching high school in Escalon. His focus was vocational training and career development, a subject about which he published a number of books. He married twice (his first wife, Anna, died during their first year of marriage) and had five children, Doris, Donald, Frances, Barbara, and Norman. He was an avid photographer and traveler, going on safari in Africa, touring rainforests of South America, and visiting ancient cities all across Europe.

It was likely this zeal for life that made his stubbornly refuse to accept the end when it came. In his seventies, Bedford was diagnosed with kidney cancer that had spread to his lungs. Inoperable. Uncurable. Unbeatable.

Unless…

Just two years early, in June 1965, the Life Extension Society (LES), the world’s first cryonics organization, made waves by offering the opportunity to cryopreserve one person free of charge, stating that “the Life Extension Society now has primitive facilities for emergency short term freezing and storing our friend the large homeotherm (man). LES offers to freeze free of charge the first person desirous and in need of cryogenic suspension.” Founded in 1964 by Evan Cooper, who first promoted the idea of cryonics in his 1962 book Immortality: Physically, Scientifically, Now, the LES sought to promote its ideas as well as connect cryonics advocates through a network of similar minds.

One of those similar minds was Bedford. Though not a member of any cryonic group, the idea intrigued him. However, when the offer was made in 1965, Bedford was still an active, healthy, and robust man who believed he had still had years left.

His diagnosis in 1967 changed all that. And so, fronting his own money, Bedford agreed to become LES’s–and the world’s–first cryopreserved person upon his death with the hope of future revival.

In early January 1967, Bedford moved from the hospital to hospice care at a neighbor’s home in Glendale, California. The end was near. On January 12, doctors were summoned. According to Dr. B. Renault, Bedford murmured, “I’m feeling better,” before dying quietly at 1:15 p.m.

The Cryonics Society’s doctors–cryobiological researcher Robert Prehoda; physician and biophysicist Dante Brunol; and Robert Nelson, president of the Cryonics Society of California–had just seven minutes from the moment Bedford died to complete the first phase of the rest of his life. He was put on artificial respiration to keep oxygen flowing to his brain while dimethyl sulfoxide was pumped into his veins to replace his blood and protect his organs from freezing. Once that was done, he was placed on ice in a metal, tube-shaped capsule, known as a dewar. The body was then transported via hearse from a Los Angeles mortuary to the Edward Hope’s Cryo-Care cryonics facility in Phoenix, Arizona. 

A few days later, the Cryonics Society announced to the world that the first human had been successfully frozen with liquid nitrogen, ready for revival when the cure for cancer was found.

Or had he been?

As the science behind cryogenics progressed, doubts arose. Vitrification, which provides the benefits of cryopreservation without the damage caused by ice crystals, was not introduced until the 1980s. In addition, dimethyl sulfoxide, when used on its own like it was in Bedford’s case, was discovered to destroy brain cells. UCLA biotech laboratory head Dr. John Lyman called the project “extremely naive” and “absurd.” “The metabolism of the cells breaks down and when even the small bodies have been cooled by liquid nitrogen, the cells burst and what you get out is something like a dishrag,” he said.

In addition, the mechanisms needed to maintain Bedford’s frozen sleep began to falter. Just three years later, in 1970, the dewar housing Bedford began to malfunction. He was moved to Galiso facility in California, but in 1976, that facility also couldn’t maintain the upkeep necessary for continued freezing. So Bedford’s son Norman picked up dad in a U-Haul and drove him to a commercial cryonics company in Emeryville. Eventually, Bedford’s body ended up in the care of his children, who housed it in liquid nitrogen in southern California until 1982, when it was moved to Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where it remains to this day.

The jury is still out on whether an entire human can be revived after cryopreservation. What is known is that the rest of Bedford’s family has elected to be buried or cremated, meaning if Bedford does revive someday, he will wake up in the company of strangers and to a world irrevocably changed.

Christmas Hiatus

There will be no #historyfriday post today or #wellnesswednesday post for Wednesday, Jan. 3 as I take a little break to enjoy the holiday season with my family. Regularly scheduled posts will resume Friday, January 12.

Merry Christmas, dear readers, and have a spectacular New Year!