Recognize that line? Here's another one of my favorites from Precious Stones & Alabaster: Gifts of Advice for Christian Women Starting College
Ransomed
Les Misérables is the best Broadway play ever in the history of theatre… in my humble opinion. The story is incredible to the very last scene, but the most amazing part is the beginning. Jean Valjean (pronounced with a French accent, of course) is a criminal recently paroled from prison for stealing bread to feed his starving family. He has no place to stay, but a kindly priest and his wife take Jean in, feed him and provide him lodging.
During the night, Jean, who is mad at God for being unjust, steals the priest’s silver serving pieces and runs. The police catch him the next day and Jean swears that the priest gave him the silver. Jean is taken back to the priest to confess, and the most incredible exchange happens.
Upon seeing Jean in the hands of the police, the priest says, “Ah, Jean Valjean, there you are and thank you for finding him, officers. Yes, I did give him the silver, and Valjean, you forgot the candlesticks that are worth at least 2000 franks. Why did you leave them?” The police unhand Valjean and leave. Jean asks the priest, “Why are you doing this?”
The priest grasps Jean by the shoulders and looks intently into his eyes. “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.” Jean Valjean goes on to do great things. His life is not free from trials, but Jean is not only freed from his criminal past, he helps many other suffering people as well.
Isn’t this the very picture of what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus? As an unbeliever you were just like Jean Valjean; a common criminal looking for nourishment to satisfy your hunger and a place to lay your head. God gave as a sacrifice something much more precious than silver serving pieces or silver candlesticks. With His very own Son, He has ransomed you from fear and hatred, from sin and destruction. With the sacrificial blood of Jesus, your soul has been purchased at a very high price.
“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28 (NIV)
The priest bestows great charity toward Jean Valjean, and as a result, Jean becomes a compassionate and merciful friend toward others. Through this one act of love, Jean’s life is transformed from evil to good.
How can you show Christ’s love to your fellow students? You don’t have to spend lots of money. Just use the resources you already have. I’m sure you can see that many of your fellow students are desperate for a kind word or gesture. Be the one in your Bible study, Christian student organization or even in class who reaches out to the students who need a friend. You need not sacrifice silver candlesticks to show mercy and compassion toward a fellow student, just a little of your time and compassion.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Someone was on the move...
I'm working almost nightly to update my 12-week devotional book for first semester college women. I read this one tonight for the first time in awhile and was reminded how much I love this story. I'm not nearly talented enough to convey what happened to me in these few seconds, but I've tried to come close...
Your Guardian Angel
An amazing thing happened to me several years ago. My friend, LeAnn, was serving as a short-term missionary in Guinea, West Africa, and I was fortunate to get to spend three weeks with her there. I could write volumes about the culture, the food, and the people, but I am anxious to tell you about what happened to me in the market one day.
Guineans go to the open-air market every day to purchase the day’s food. It’s a fabulous, busy place full of wonderful sights and smells. To this day, the scent of pineapples takes my mind straight to the markets in Guinea. LeAnn and I were wandering around a market one day looking at all the fabrics, the fruits and vegetables and enjoying a rare cool morning. I found something interesting and turned to ask LeAnn how much it would cost. She was gone. I had lost track of her in the rows of merchandise. I could not speak a single word of the local languages. LeAnn was my only means of communication in this world. My heart sank into my stomach. In a split second all I could imagine was that I was lost in this place where I couldn’t speak with any of these people and that LeAnn would never find me. I think it's the only time in my life when I've experienced debilitating panic.
It seemed like a lifetime, but only a few minutes later LeAnn appeared with one of the Guinean market ladies. I was so relieved that I almost started to cry! The market lady had seen the look of shock on my face when I realized LeAnn was not with me. This kind woman knew she couldn’t speak my language, so instead of trying to calm me she just ran off to find LeAnn and bring her back to me. What an amazing feeling to find out that while I was almost paralyzed with fear and my mind was racing through one escape plan after another, someone was already on the move to make things right for me.
See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way
and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20 (NIV)
Your Guardian Angel
An amazing thing happened to me several years ago. My friend, LeAnn, was serving as a short-term missionary in Guinea, West Africa, and I was fortunate to get to spend three weeks with her there. I could write volumes about the culture, the food, and the people, but I am anxious to tell you about what happened to me in the market one day.
Guineans go to the open-air market every day to purchase the day’s food. It’s a fabulous, busy place full of wonderful sights and smells. To this day, the scent of pineapples takes my mind straight to the markets in Guinea. LeAnn and I were wandering around a market one day looking at all the fabrics, the fruits and vegetables and enjoying a rare cool morning. I found something interesting and turned to ask LeAnn how much it would cost. She was gone. I had lost track of her in the rows of merchandise. I could not speak a single word of the local languages. LeAnn was my only means of communication in this world. My heart sank into my stomach. In a split second all I could imagine was that I was lost in this place where I couldn’t speak with any of these people and that LeAnn would never find me. I think it's the only time in my life when I've experienced debilitating panic.
It seemed like a lifetime, but only a few minutes later LeAnn appeared with one of the Guinean market ladies. I was so relieved that I almost started to cry! The market lady had seen the look of shock on my face when I realized LeAnn was not with me. This kind woman knew she couldn’t speak my language, so instead of trying to calm me she just ran off to find LeAnn and bring her back to me. What an amazing feeling to find out that while I was almost paralyzed with fear and my mind was racing through one escape plan after another, someone was already on the move to make things right for me.
See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way
and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20 (NIV)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wow... What happened to 2011?
Fellow Snobs... I've been an absentee blogger for so long! I had such great intentions, but somewhere around February of 2011 I completely fell off the blog bandwagon. What happened? Well, this is what happened...
Yep, I met Eric White and fell head over heels in love! I think we might have started planning our wedding around the second or third date. :) I abandoned all blogging (and almost all reading) for wedding magazines and catering sites!!
We got engaged on the observation deck of Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama on June 3, 2011. Eric had the proposal running across a sign in Southside below us. See...
(Vulcan statue)
"Lori Barstow, I love you, will you marry me?"
YES!!!
Finally, the big day came! December 3, 2011. It was a magical, spiritual, wonderful day. I got to marry the love of my life and I got to have lots of friends and family there to celebrate!
We went on a honeymoon cruise...
... and we're finally settling down into real life.
This Book Snob has a lot of reading to catch up on and I'm looking forward to it. Several friends and I are going to attempt to read through War and Peace this year. I think most of us are both excited about the adventure AND skeptical about our ability to understand it - not to mention stick to it long enough to finish. I'm about 60 pages in and already fairly lost as to what is happening. I'm going to forge ahead and see if it comes together for me at some point.
I'm also working on updating and republishing my devotional for college women...
Precious Stones and Alabaster: Gifts of Advice for Christian Women Starting College. www.PreciousStonesBook.com
I'm excited about the possibility of doing a format for e-readers like Kindle and Nook.
The year ahead has some great possibilities for reading snobby books and having lots to talk about.
I hope your 2012 is off to a great start and that you're starting it off with a great book.
Read on!
Yep, I met Eric White and fell head over heels in love! I think we might have started planning our wedding around the second or third date. :) I abandoned all blogging (and almost all reading) for wedding magazines and catering sites!!
We got engaged on the observation deck of Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama on June 3, 2011. Eric had the proposal running across a sign in Southside below us. See...
(Vulcan statue)
"Lori Barstow, I love you, will you marry me?"
YES!!!
Finally, the big day came! December 3, 2011. It was a magical, spiritual, wonderful day. I got to marry the love of my life and I got to have lots of friends and family there to celebrate!
We went on a honeymoon cruise...
... and we're finally settling down into real life.
This Book Snob has a lot of reading to catch up on and I'm looking forward to it. Several friends and I are going to attempt to read through War and Peace this year. I think most of us are both excited about the adventure AND skeptical about our ability to understand it - not to mention stick to it long enough to finish. I'm about 60 pages in and already fairly lost as to what is happening. I'm going to forge ahead and see if it comes together for me at some point.
I'm also working on updating and republishing my devotional for college women...
Precious Stones and Alabaster: Gifts of Advice for Christian Women Starting College. www.PreciousStonesBook.com
I'm excited about the possibility of doing a format for e-readers like Kindle and Nook.
The year ahead has some great possibilities for reading snobby books and having lots to talk about.
I hope your 2012 is off to a great start and that you're starting it off with a great book.
Read on!
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