Book Review: THE CAPTIVE’S CROWN by Olusola Sophia Anyanwu

Eliana has lost her identity through a series of broken relationships, dreams and heart-ache and has now perfected the status of a high-class prostitute.

But things are changing in and around Jerusalem! There’s a ‘new man in town’ and he is turning over the tables. This man is a miracle-worker – he is healing people of illnesses, making the lame walk and, even more miraculously, he is giving people new hearts full of love and hope.

Many of her friends in the trade are giving up their professions, helping each other and learning ‘respectable’ trades. Not just her friends, but many other out-casts, tax-collectors and undesirables as well.

She is desirable, of course, but only in secret places; she cannot hold her head up high in public. But Miriam would not wish to give up her life, except maybe to quench the longing in her heart for love, for family…

She is curious…

Should she meet this miracle-man who fed thousands with five loaves?

This man who loves the unlovable?

What would he make of her?

Sophia Anyanwu takes the reader into Eliana’s captive life as Miriam and cleverly introduces her past story, weaving past pain and future hope into this creative tale of human betrayal, struggle, redemption and transformation.

She invites the reader into the fragrance of Jesus’ presence, through those he has already touched, and with them the reader witnesses the life-giving restoration of all who encounter him.

I cried, yearned and empathised with Miriam; I hoped tentatively and courageously with Eliana; and I rejoiced with all the relationships that flourished under the touch of the Kingdom of Heaven.

More importantly I experienced a re-awakening of hope in my own relationships, sensing again the real, life-giving possibilities under the miraculous power of radical love and of forgiveness.

Thank you, Sophia.

The Captive’s Crown can be bought from Amazon, or via Olusola Sophia Anyanwu’s website, where you will see all her other amazing written work.

www.olusolasophiaanyanwuauthor.com

Second Chances

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes.

The prompt this week is ‘Chance’

21:44

I work in a charity shop called Second Chance. People donate their clothing, books, music, film, toys, ornaments – anything that has outlived its usefulness to the owner, but could still be useful to another.

Some of these second-hand donated items are deemed ‘not good enough’ to sell from our shelves, so these, which still deserve to be more useful than landfill, are donated on for other companies to recycle and reuse in other ways. For example, some coats we donate on to a local homeless shelter and towels and blankets go to PDSA and similar uses. Others may be sold on as rags and metal is also recycled.

We all have different ideas about what is good enough to sell, what is worth buying – and of course, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Sometimes what is old is worth more than what is new. An item’s worth is not always of monetary equivalence either – many of us have objects that are of enormous sentimental value to a family or individual, that another would consider ‘old tat’.

But for many varied reasons, our shop is blessed with a great many bags of donations every week and it is our privilege to sell these items on, to bless new homes for a fraction of their original price, and to give the items themselves a second chance to be valuable. They may go on to have a third, fourth or more chances too.

For those who know the film ‘Toy Story’, I often feel that same panic and nostalgia that Woody feels for himself and the other toys, for these donated items moving on to be loved again, rather than rotting in an attic.

front of Second Chance Charity Shop

image from inside the shop from a year ago

How much more valuable are we? Jesus told us not to worry about what to eat, drink and wear etc, because our loving Father cares for us. He said we are more valuable than the sparrows. We are also more valuable than the clothes and furniture that we care so much about. We are more valuable than money itself. How much is a life worth?

God loves us so much that He gave us His Son – surely that is the most treasured and valuable possession that He had – He gave Him up so that whoever believes in Him, and His death and resurrection – so that that little me or you – could have eternal, abundant life.

What is more valuable than life?

Abundant, eternal life.

He gave the most valuable of His own to save the most valuable of your own.

By this He forgave you, not once, but, if you are anything like me, He forgives you again and again and again. I have had multiples of second chances!

How often do I give others even one second chance?

Do I ever give another?

May He teach me to hold lightly not only to the material things around me, but to not hold on to resentments and unforgiveness at all.

Let me be one who is willing to give as many second chances to others, as God is giving to me.

Stop

Three score and ten?

FMF Writing prompt: Twenty

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes. The prompt this week is ‘TWENTY’

18:01

I am of the age when most of my life has been dated 19- something, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s.

Twenty-something feels very recent!

I remember the sense of occasion vividly on the approach of the new millennium and of it becoming 2000.

Some called it the noughties. I felt quite old!

The noughties passed in a lot of personal changes, challenges, blessings and – well, LIFE, I guess.

I don’t know how it was called when we hit 2010 and that decade – was it the teenies maybe?

For me, twenty- twelve was a bit of a breakdown, leading to twenty-fifteen as the start of a proper recovery.

2015 I determined would be the best year of my life! It was!

Maybe it was/is all part of a process towards recovery, because I am so blind, deaf and stubborn in my heart! I thank God for his loving patience!

Then we got to 2020 – that excited me, because the nerdy part of me loves number patterns.

I expect I was particularly tickled to get to 20/02/2020, and even to 02/02/2020.

I remember folk posting prophetically about 20-20 vision and an air of expectation, but with the benefit of hindsight the twenty-twenties seem to have been swallowed up in a covid-19 aftermath of fear, chaos, mistrust and hardships.

But there was growth and many blessings amidst this time. There was great courage, trust, generosity and sacrifice too.

There is always hope.

God was not surprised by any of this, as we were.

It being 2022 already makes me realise that we are here for such a short time.

Even a general life-span is counted in 20s – three score years and ten, I remember often hearing. Whether I live that long or longer, God only knows, for He has numbered my days and my times are in His hands.

I will trust Him every day, with every hour and every breath.

With my ‘one-day-at-a-time’, may I honour my Father God and honour and cherish all of life that He has created, especially yours (whoever you are) and mine.

Life is a beautiful gift, however old you are.

June Gratitude

June Gratitude

I already feel my spirit rise joyfully as I begin to look back on the prayers answered and blessings received during June.

June has ushered in a series of events that have challenged me greatly.

I thought of the word ‘challenge’ and smiled to see the word ‘change’, with just 3 extra letters in the middle.

The letters l-l-e.

Little Life Events.

(I resist change, though I know it is a gradual constant in all of life and is necessary – and to be welcomed and embraced – for growth.)

But from time to time there are these ‘little life events’ that interrupt our equilibrium and cause us cha-lle-nges.

I have been experiencing a few of these throughout June and they will continue to take some outworking over the Summer at least.

Truly a grateful heart counting blessings is medicine to an anxious mind.

So I think of all that Father God has done in my life already and how much he has blessed me with answered prayer and extra blessings throughout June.

I publicly want to give Him thanks and glory for:

A great ACW weekend of inspiration, support and fellowship.

Full recovery from my accident and picnic on the park to celebrate with the grand-kids.

For the ‘Bow Down’ event in the Nottingham Market Square and glory to You in this city.

For bringing S safely back to Switzerland and for organising the next season of her journey.

For the Queen and her 70 years service to this country and to You.

For Holy Spirit to guide, protect, empower, remind, renew, comfort, convict, refresh, warn, enliven, embolden, encourage… (fill in the rest yourself)

For a new phone on the day it was needed.

For friendships, re-connections, spontaneous fellowship and seeds sown.

For C’s new official role at church and for her energy, vision and heart.

For Your gift of kindness in others and in me, and the power of it.

For a superb, transformational second weekend at the EH course; for breaking the old lies over me, and for enabling me to minister to others.

For blessing me with S and for giving me patience with him.

For sustaining me through the weeks of trial and teaching me to trust only You and not to lean on my own understanding.

For teaching me, loving me, forgiving and healing me, patiently, one day at a time.

For teaching C the importance of budgeting.

For support and advice from generous Christian professionals and for A’s kindness, active listening, practical and holistic wisdom.

For a card from a friend which says that ‘mightier than the waves is His love.’ Amen.

Whenever I have felt overwhelmed and tempted to panic, I have remembered Peter’s words: Lord, to whom shall we go, You have the words of eternal life.’

I have searched my heart and counseled myself, saying, ‘Dawn, if you trust God with your health, your life, your eternal life, your children, your family and your loved ones, can you not trust God with this?’

Today I read a story (in the UCB Word for Today) of a man who sees a boy being beat up by thugs. The man goes in and rescues the boy, takes him to hospital, pays the money and cares for him and, learning that he is an orphan, he adopts him, gives him his own name and welcomes him into his home and family. One night he hears the boy sobbing and goes in to comfort him and ask the matter. The boy tells his new ‘Daddy’ that he is worried about where he will find food, drink and clothes tomorrow and where he will sleep. Understandably his Daddy rightfully troubled that, after all he has done for him, that the boy he loves as his own son still doubts him.

My Father God knows that I am anxious about many things at the moment and he told me this story to let me see how sill my worry is!

I can trust him 200%!!

Thank you that Your faithfulness is my shield, hope and dwelling place.

psalm 93:4

Do I trust Him? Can He trust me?

This week’s FMF writing prompt is: TRUST

16:12

Words that occur to me in response to that loaded, elephant in the room five-letter word:

Trust = falling, insanity, sacrifice, disappointment, let-me-down…

Trust is almost a dirty word and terrifying, to me, yet simultaneously one of the sweetest and most precious of dreams.

It is currently being held right up there in my face, questioning, showing me how little of it I have, testing me now it is actually needed.

Now I need to walk the talk!

I see that it is the only thing left, if I am to obey the voice of God.

But all of me rebels, kicks and screams and asks for an easier way, a way I can control myself, a path I can see the outcome of and one which looks safe and ordinary…

(Of course my own way, the broad road, is never at all better, or smooth, or safer, or anything else I deceive myself with in my denial and resistance.)

How does one surrender, submit, let-go and let God?

How does one learn to trust? Except by doing it?

My only response, to self, is that if I am to trust that God loves me, as He says; to trust that God has forgiven me my sins, that He hears my prayers, that Jesus has purchased for me eternal life with Him, then I am going to have to prove to myself that I will trust and obey Him with this seemingly crazy, but relatively trivial, step right now.

Stop

I was looking for an image of that trust game we used to do at school where one fell back, hopefully to be caught be the ‘friend’ behind you… So grateful to have a real trustworthy friend in Jesus. Can He trust me?