A Keen Perspective

As I read Brent Gleeson's book " Embrace the Suck: The Navy Seal Way To An Extraordinary Life ," I was confronted with some tough questions: What do I value most in life? What is my ultimate purpose? My why? What is my plan for fulfilling that purpose? Click the book to reach my Amazon Affiliate Link, where I earn a small commission, at no added cost to you. At first, I thought, "Uh, good questions... um... _crickets_." But as I reflected on my life, which has taken some dramatic turns recently, I started to gain some clarity. What do I value most? Easy peasy: my relationship with God, my boys (aka my giant teen sons - yes, they're now taller than me!), my friends, and my church family. Those are my people, and I'd move mountains for them. What's my ultimate purpose? Loving God and loving others in a way that brings hope to the world. Yep, that's our church motto, and I'm sticking to it! Now, my why... Ah, my why used to be simple: my boys. T...

 In a world where submission is often seen as the ultimate virtue for women, Queen Vashti dared to be different. This ancient Persian queen refused to be paraded in front of her husband's drunken friends, and in doing so, became an unlikely hero for modern women everywhere. Let's set the scene: King Ahasuerus (aka Xerxes) was throwing a lavish party, and he wanted to show off his queen's beauty to impress his guests with his own prestige and masculinity. But Vashti was like, "Uh, no thanks. I'm good." And with that, she became the first recorded queen to give her husband the old "talk to the hand." You know, that classic move where you dismiss someone with a flick of the wrist and a whole lot of sass. Funny thing is, my soon-to-be ex used to tell me to "talk to the hand" all the time. I guess he didn't realize he was actually training me in the ancient art of Vashti-style assertiveness!  Now, some might say Vashti was disobedient or reb...