I.O. Book Tours Presents "The Door is Open" by Andrew Court Weekly Guest Post 3

Welcome to Weekly Guest Post 3 of the book tour The Door is Open by Andrew Court.  Watch for a weekly guest post for the next several weeks on my site!  

A NEW LOOK AT ADAM & EVE: Part 1 – “The Rib”

The story of Adam and Eve is the foundational story of western civilization, and I believe it has been terribly misinterpreted with devastating results for us all. Let’s take a fresh look:

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘Adam’ is actually a gender-neutral word that means ‘a creature of earth’. In other words, Adam was initially created neither Male nor Female.

The creature was placed in the Garden and given only one restriction – not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Adam lived a quiet, comfortable, and all but purposeless life in the Garden, tending the flora and distributing names to the animals. But God saw that Adam was alone with no emotional life, no tension, hardship or struggle. So God decided to put Adam to sleep and separate it into Male and Female in order to provide an emotionally meaningful life for humanity.

Here is an extremely important point: The Hebrew word tsela appears many times in the Bible. With one exception it is translated as ‘side’, typically referring to the side walls of important structures such as the Tabernacle. On one occasion only, here in Genesis, tsela is translated as ‘rib’.

This unique translation has had horrendous repercussions.

But if we give the word the same meaning that it has on every other occasion, the story makes more sense. God took one side of the creature and out of this he made Eve, the woman, and the other side became Adam, the man – where neither had existed before. The ‘One’ has become ‘Two’, and there is nothing in this description to indicate anything other than perfect equality.

The isolation of one human creature can now be replaced with a new form of wholeness that is attainable through love and erotic longing between two individuals.

One possible reason for the early translator’s choice of the word 'rib’ in this one place is that by taking a rib God revealed the Heart of the creature, analogous to opening Pandora’s Box, thus bringing emotions (which are universally symbolized by the Feminine) into the realm of human life. Like Pandora’s story, this is where pain and difficulty enter the world, but also happiness and meaning, and only then do mortal beings become moral beings with the ability to make choices and mistakes, and thus to evolve and grow.

Even if we retain the word ‘rib’ as the translation of tsela, we see that this rib did not come from a previously created male, thereby suggesting some sort of primacy for the ‘man’. On the contrary, the rib came from a previously created earth creature of no gender.

And in fact, the Woman, Eve, in the story, was created before the Man!

Andrew Cort is an expert on the inner message of Spiritual Awakening that is always ready to be found in the wonderful stories of the Bible and Greek Mythology. To receive several FREE GIFTS from Dr. Cort (a copy of Chapter One, ‘Making the Decision’, form his new book, THE DOOR IS OPEN; a copy of his article on RECONCILING SCIENCE AND RELIGION; and a complete version of the Bible’s erotic masterpiece, SONG OF SONGS , adapted as a Poetic Dialogue to be read out loud by lovers; as well as a subscription to his SPIRITUAL GROWTH NEWSLETER) click here http://www.andrewcort.com/Gifts . You can also learn more on his blog, Spiritualityand Religion.

Interested in buying the book?

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Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1409094.Andrew_Cort

Be sure to check out the next stops in the tour:

9/26  My Cozie Corner  Weekly Guest Post 3
9/27 Simply Infatuated   Weekly Guest Post  3
9/27 Reading, Writing and More Weekly Guest Post 3
9/28    Simply Infatuated   Spot light and Giveaway
 9/28 Fighting Monkey Press  Weekly Guest Post   3
9/28 The Bunnies Review  Weekly Guest Post 3

To follow the entire tour,  please click here.

Disclaimer:  I don't usually post a disclaimer on a guest post, but I am today.  Guest posts such as this do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the owner of this blog.  This is guest post is for the sole purpose of promoting this book and creating a dialogue about various "religious" things.

Maybe You Have Noticed . . .

Or maybe you haven't.  And, honestly, I am not bothered if you have not.  It has been a tough month.  One of the longest and shortest of my life.  I've written about many personal things in the past, and I just have not been able to lately.  I have gotten behind in many things in my life, but I have been able to keep up with my book reviews, products reviews, and more.  Blogging is a gift that God has given me, and I can hardly wait to see how God is going to continue to bless me in this area in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.  My blog is not where it should be yet, but it has come a long ways!

Many of you know that I have been caught in the middle of some domestic issues.  There are my parents and then my "best" friend (it seems strange to note that our friendship has changed), and then other "family."  I don't want to spend the time bashing anyone or going over the turmoil in my life.  The emotions were so bad this month that I had my worst period ever, I do believe.  I was in a lot of pain this week, and I am glad I am the tail end of this.

On May 2, my life will become my own again.  Well, that is not true.  My life belongs to God, but what I mean is that I will not be out and about like I have been this month.  It is honestly a miracle that I have been able to do anything this month on this blog.  I have been gone virtually every weekend, and many of my evenings have not been my own either.  On May 2, my friend of more than 10 years goes back to England.

It has been so strange of late.  I have realized that I am in a very strange dichotomy.  On the one hand, I could throw all my Christian morals to the wind and behave as I never have in my life.  On the other hand, I could call him up and say I never want to see him again.  It is only by God's grace that I have been able to be moderate in this area.  The spiritual battle has become intense in a way I have never known it.  And so often, I do feel as though I am alone.  Yes, God is here with me.  But there doesn't seem to be anyone else around.

I have been haunted by the dream that I had several years ago.  Satan was on his throne saying he was not going to let Martin go.  Martin is my friend from England who has impacted my life in ways I can't even imagine.  Both good and bad.  I find myself crying at the drop of a hat and blowing up at those closest to me (mainly my mom) for almost no reason.

Wednesday will be hard and yet easy.  I can't quite explain it.  I will miss Martin, but then I will have my evenings and weekends again.  I am praying with everything in me that God will get a hold of Martin.  He is meeting with our "fill-in" pastor at church tomorrow.  If there is someone who could reach him, it would be Nick.  If there ever was a prophet/evanagelist, it is Nick.  If anyone gets a chance to pray for Martin tomorrow, I would appreciate it.

So, my dear readers, just be patient, and you will see your dynamic blogger return.  Martin said my blogging would never amount to much of anything.  He only told me this month that I would never make the kind of money I think I am going to on here.  Let's see.  When I began blogging, I didn't think I would make any money.  This past week, I made $95.  Not too bad, as far as I am concerned!  I so want to prove him wrong!  Never tell me that I can't do it because I then plan to prove you wrong!!

Thank you for sticking with me during this time.  I have the best readers in the world.  I can hardly wait to get things back on track here.  Have a great evening/morning/day!

Solution Sunday--I Need To Stay Out of It!

Well, it is still Sunday here, and I know that this needs to be posted. God spoke to me in church today, and I honestly think I have direction in my personal life--even though it is not an easy task.

Those who know me well (and there really aren't that many) know that above all else, I will do just about anything to keep the peace and smooth things over.  I have done it my whole life.  I am willing to do whatever is needed to make things right.  I cannot live with a wedge between another person and me if I can do something to remove that wedge.  I am not one who is above humbling myself before others.

Now, I am not saying that any of the above is bad.  In fact, it is good.  God asks us to do many of those things.  I have been walked over so many times in my life that it often becomes a way of life.  My "knee jerk" reaction is to apologize for something I didn't even do wrong and to go out of my way to make the other person feel good about things.  And in many situations, this action diffuses everything, and life can go on.

Unfortunately, there is a drawback to acting this way--many, as a matter of fact.  Sometimes, when things don't get smoothed over, I blame myself and work extra hard to make things right.  And I don't rest until they are.  I think I sometimes get in the mindset of telling God, "I'll help you with this one.  I know I can set everything right, and You're not working fast enough, so I've got this one, Lord."  As I typed that, I know how ludicrous this sounds, but it is true.

For several years, I worked to make Martin become a Christian.  I worked to make him fall in love with me and want to marry me.  I worked to remove all obstacles between us.  I was certain that if I did this or did that or said that, the inevitable would happen.

I am happy to report that in spite of my meddling with God's will and trying to make it happen, God worked in spite of me.  And He still is.  Martin is not saved--at times, very far from it.  But I realized last time that Martin came, I had to back off. I had to allow God to use whatever means possible to bring about His plan, and I had to stay out of it.  The "meddler" within me needed to have a time out.  This was one situation that I could not fix, try though I may.

Now there are other wedges I cannot fix.  I see it between people I care about, and I want to do all I can to fix it.  So what did I do?  My "knee jerk" reaction got in the way again.  I began to meddle.  I tried to persuade each side why they should listen and maybe even why the other side had merit.  I tried to be sympathetic and correct whatever I heard that might be wrong.  I defended one view to the other.  And, as you can imagine, I loused it up again!  There I was trying to fix a problem that was "unfixable" in the natural sense.  I am not equal to the task.  In fact, trying to fix it nearly drove me out of my mind.  I could not think, and I could not breathe.  Stress was truly getting to me.

Today, as I sat in church, our pastor began teaching about the book of James.  James chapter one says a lot about trials and tribulations.  And I needed to hear what was being said.  I did a lot of crying as I listened.  And God spoke to me.  Kind of like this:  "Ruth, I can handle this situation.  It is not too big for me.  I knew this was going to happen, and it is a trial.  I need for you to stay out of it so I can work my will through it.  I can still work my will if you meddle, but you will go through a lot more unpleasantness if you don't stay out of it.  My daughter, you are working way too hard.  Please, stay out of it."

I knew at this point that I had done it again.  I thought I could fix the situation.  I thought that I could say the right thing, and the issue would be resolved.  Wrong.  In fact, if anything, my meddling had made it worse.  Even Martin spoke wisdom to me.  He told me I needed to stay out of it.  Amazing how God can speak through people even when they are not saved!

While I am still struggling, I know now that I cannot handle this problem myself.   I don't know how to.  And Satan certainly attacked today--right where he knew he could get me.  Thank God my car was not hurt, but I  had to go outside the store and cry a spell.  I found myself saying exactly what God needed me to say.  "I can't do it, Lord.  I don't understand.  I need Your help."  And indeed He did send help.

I would love to report and say that everything is fine now.  But it is not.  It is such a strange role--not meddling.  I am so used to it.  I don't even know why.  I guess it is just what I am used to do.  And it bothers me to no end to know what needs to happen, and it doesn't happen.

I know that things are not improving.  And I realize they may never be the way they need to be.  But according to the Lord and Savior of the universe, He is in control, and no one can thwart His plans.

So, I am doing my best to remind myself that I am staying out of it.  God is in control, and He does not need me to meddle.  I need to follow His leading, and I know that things will turn out as they should.  May I not forget that this is the solution that God needs me to follow.

Solution Sunday--On a Personal Note Tonight

I want to apologize to my readers first of all--I know I have not been as consistent the past week.  I have been a very busy person.  School is getting ready to be done.  A couple more weeks, and my daughter and I are both out.  Things have been quiet, but I have been trying so hard to keep up with everything--giveaways, meals, e-mails, etc.  I will try to do better, but I am glad to know if I am unable to blog one night, you will understand.

Secondly, I am in the middle of a wonderful study right now:
  It has been years since I have done a women's Bible study.  I am  a trained Precept leader (Kay Arthur study, precept upon precept), and I have led one study.  I was always active in women's Bible studies--from the time I was a teenager.  But in recent times, I have tried to do it, and I have always run out of steam.

This study is through Proverbs 31 Ministries.   While I have not gone through the horror described in the book nor anything similar to it, I believe that all of us have gone through trials and tribulations that have left some kind of scarring.  Over 3,000 women have signed up for this study, and Melissa Taylor is the leader.  You can click on her name in the previous sentence to be connected with her blog.  And by the way, it is not too late to sign up.  I was fortunate to receive my book before the study.  Some are just getting theirs.  And the author of the book autographs each book personally if you order it directly through Proverbs 31.

What I have discovered recently is that I am learning to keep my mouth shut.  Anyone who really knows me knows that I do speak out--sometimes without thinking.  If you meet me the first time, you probably would think I am quiet and shy.  However, it doesn't take long, and I become rather talkative if you get me on the right subject.  I have discovered that my mouth is what often has gotten me into trouble around here.  I get involved in situations between my mom and dad which cause the situation to escalate.  I discovered that Martin often would get me going about my dad, and I became rather negative.  My speech has not always been what it should.  Yes, I have been known to say a few words here and there not becoming to a Christian woman. And God's  Word got through to me loud and clear today in church.  By the grace of God, my mouth will not get the better of me.  After all, isn't it true that if a man can tame his tongue, the whole body can be brought under control?  That is what the book of James says.

And finally, once school it out, I am going to get caught up on recording my various challenge updates.  I will be able to figure out then how well I am or am not doing.  I have read a load of books, and many of those books do figure into my challenges.  I just need to officially enter them.

I want to also thank everyone who has been faithfully following my blog.  I am excited to realize that I am well over the 400 followers mark, and that is all with not even a year of active blogging.  I have to look up when my exact "blogoversary" would be.

Thanks again!

Well-Spoken Wednesday--Quiet Strength Book Review

Summary from Goodreads:

He led his team to #1 in the world and showed the world a better way to live, lead, and succeed.

When Tony Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLIand made history as the first African American coach to win the big gamemillions of people, amazed by the success of his quiet, authoritative leadership style, wondered: how does he get it done?

In the pages of this fascinating memoir, Tony Dungy reveals the secrets to his successprinciples, practices, and priorities that have kept him on track despite overwhelming personal and professional obstacles, including firings, stereotypes, and the tragic loss of a child.

In the face of so much adversity, Tony has not only survived but risen to the very top of his profession in a way thats won the respect of fans, players, and even his competitors. His thoughts on leading, succeeding, and attaining true significance will inspire you to take a long, hard look at the things that really matter in your own life.

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off, I am not a football fan.  I watch it only because I have two people in my life who do love football.  The only time I even showed any interest in football was when I lived in the Tampa Bay area.  I remember when Tony Dungy took over as their head coach, and I remember how impressed I was and how the team changed.  I was horrified when he was fired, and then we he became the Colts coach, I was somewhat interested.  I remember how my heart broke when I heard of his son's suicide.  The constant for me with Tony Dungy was that he is a Christian, and he never yelled at the officials and the players like the other coaches did.

I was not looking forward to reading this book because I figured it would be filled with football stuff.  I was pleasantly surprised as I read the story of Dungy's life, and on almost every page, his faith showed forth in a very simple manner.  I was so inspired, and more than once he almost had me in tears.  To have the faith that he demonstrated throughout the book!  Goodness, he puts me to shame!  He gave all glory to God for everything, and he learned to trust Him in all things.

Indeed, this is the best Christian book I have read in ages.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to deepen their walk with the Lord.  It is autobiographical, but it is first and foremost a book of faith in God.


View all my reviews

Twilight Tuesday--I Am Being Tested

Yes, I realized that God was allowing me to be tested last week.  Something happened every day that should have caused me to go into a panic and become the worry wart that I am wont to be.

By the grace of God, that has not occurred.  I am not saying that I have come out completely smelling like a rose.  Where my dad is concerned, I still sometimes lose it.  It is so hard to see him sitting around doing nothing while my mom works with a serious eye issue and Martin works in spite of terrible stomach pain.

And the testing is far from over.  I could have panicked today when I couldn't find the school, but do you know what?  I didn't.  And I can say that it has nothing to do with what I am doing but all to do with God.  He is living through me.  It is not I that live.  I died, and He lives through me.  I can see that so clearly now.

I have even begun to pray about some things that continue to cause me to struggle.  Little, personal things, but they cause me to stumble.  Isn't it something how it's the little things not the big things that cause us the most trouble?

I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future!  Amen and Amen!

Solution Sunday--It's Not About What I Do

Okay, hold onto your hats--yep, I'm posting another spiritual thought.  God has truly been teaching me so much, and during church (really Sunday School), He yet again revealed something to me that I wasn't even thinking about.

When I first "fell in love" with my ex, I spent all my time trying to please him.  I was willing to do almost anything to be with him.  I ate four meals a day and gained a good ten pounds when I had not gained any weight that semester.  I even made myself sick one day when he was gone all day and I was supposed to go to a singing engagement with a girl's group.  I called in sick--I really thought I was.  It was all emotional, but I didn't know that till later.  I began studying in the library--me?  I never studied in the library.  I even got in trouble in the library, and it was all related to him.  They tried to throw me out.  I skipped class.  My goodness, I did a lot to get him to fall for me, didn't I?

And that is how I spent the next almost 10 years of my life.  I spent them trying to please him.  I did whatever he wanted.  Yes, I let him control me.  You see, before he came along, no guys except the scum of the earth ever showed an interest in me.  Paul made it very clear that his love for me was based on what I do, not who I was.  But in my naivety and ignorance, I thought that was normal.

And after all, why should I be surprised?  My relationship with my Heavenly Father was basically the same.  I felt that as a Christian, I had to do certain things.  Okay, so I didn't have to do anything to be saved.  That was the free gift.  But to keep God happy, I think I tended to buy into the idea that I needed to do this and this and that.  God would love me more if I did this or didn't do that.  And sometimes I tended to think that God was like Paul.  When I messed up, I think I tended to imagine that God would punish me somehow.

Proof of this feeling even shows up in recent times.  Satan tried to put me under condemnation even today as I was remembering how I was late to work this week.  Maybe God would remove me from that distirct, and I wouldn't be able to work there any more.  When I didn't get a teaching job last school year, I tended to think that this was God's way of punishing me for making a move back here to Washington state.  I sometimes still expect fire and brimstone when I forget to do my Bible reading (like I did yesterday).

When I was married to Paul, he never pointed out when I did something right (except in the bedroom, but even those were few and far between).  He waited for me to mess up, and he was the first to point out when I was wrong.  Even after I tried to break away from him, I still read book after book and was led to believe that if I did what Dr. Phil or Oprah said, I could fix my marriage.  And sometimes, it worked.  I can remember a day when Paul and I cried together and talked--really talked.  But that was it.  Pretty soon, the criticisms returned.

Now that I am out from under that bondage, I am fully willing to embrace the fact that it is only by God's grace that I can make it in this life as His child.  There is not one thing I can do without Him to please Him.  It is not about trying harder, but it is about being controlled by His Spirit.

Amazingly, it is my friend, Martin, who has taught me the most about this kind of unconditional love.  While he and I are not romantically involved, we love each other unconditionally and always have.  I can remember how often I used to worry that if I said the wrong thing or did the wrong thing, he would no longer be my friend.  After all, Paul was like that as were so many of my friends growing up.  Even God was, or so I thought.  There were so many times that I felt so far away from God because I continued to mess up.  And every time I tried harder, it just got worse.

The time that showed me just how much Martin loved me was a time back a couple years ago when we had such a sharp disagreement that I sent him a very nasty e-mail.  I was angry, and in I knew after I sent it that  I shouldn't have.  It was the worst day I ever had at work.  All I could do was think about how much I had hurt Martin and that he would stop being my friend.  Yes, it took some time to heal our friendship, but the thing that showed me exactly how much he loved me was that he picked me up from work.  He let me ride next to him in  the car.  And when I tried to apologize, he actually blamed himself more than anything.  Within a couple weeks, we were closer than we had ever been, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.



If that isn't a deep thought, I don't know what  is.  As I write this, I don't think I can even grasp everything I have written.  But what I do know is this.  Paul never loved me unconditionally in spite of everything.  He loved me for what I did, how I tried to please him, and how I would fit into his future plans.  He figured he could make me into the person he wanted me to be.  And I tried, but I just couldn't become that person.

Thankfully, the solution to all this is that God loves me for who I am in Him.  And, dear reader, you need to embrace this truth if you are God's child.  Don't do what I did for nearly 30 years.  Trust solely in God.  Let Him live through you!