The Rape of Recy Taylor

Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, was gang-raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. A common occurrence in the Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who instead bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its rape investigator Rosa Parks to Alabama, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. 

THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR exposes the legacy of physical abuse inflicted upon black women and reveals Rosa Parks’ intimate role in Recy Taylor’s story. An attempted rape against Parks was but one inspiration for her ongoing fight for justice for countless women like Taylor. Parks’ 1955 bus boycott was the result of decades of activist work, not the beginning. More and more women are now speaking up after their assault. 

THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR shines a light on the black women who spoke up when danger was greatest; it was their noble efforts to reclaim control of their bodies that paved the way for today’s generation of activists. The 2017 Women's March and the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement are directly linked to their courage.



You can enter for your chance to win a $50 Fandango card and the screener of The Rape of Recy Taylor by clicking HERE.

With Women's History Month In March and Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, now is a powerful time to host a screening of The Rape of Recy Taylor and join our social impact campaign.   Screenings can be for a small woman’s group of 12 or a large school or church group.  Odyssey Impact provides all the materials and guidance you need to host your screening and lead a discussion after.
You can find more information about resources to help you do this by clicking HERE.

My Thoughts:
*I had the opportunity to view the screener of The Rape Of Recy Taylor provided by the producer.  All opinions stated here are my own.

The Rape of Recy Taylor is a tastefully done but very bold documentary.  The documentary incorporates interviews from Taylor's family members, photos and home video footage of her family, as well as historical video and pictures.  Also included in the documentary is commentary from a few people who have studied and analyzed the case of Recy Taylor and provide extremely useful insight.

The documentary gives historical context to this tragic incident in the life of Taylor and shines a glaring light on a piece of history many would like to forget.  This documentary won't let you forget.  And we shouldn't ever forget.  As far as I'm concerned it should be required viewing in every history class in our schools and universities.

Blessings,
Jennifer

Of Fire And Lions

Mesu Andrews is the CBA best-selling and award-winning author of Love Amid the Ashes and numerous other novels, including The Pharoah's Daughter, Miriam, and Isaiah's Daughter.  Her deep understanding of and love for God's word brings the biblical world alive for readers.  Mesu lives in North Carolina with her husband, Roy, and enjoys spending time with her growing tribe of grandchildren.

Exiles in Babylon.
Captives to deceit.
Will the truth set them free?

Belili wears her children's disdain like a heavy cloak.  The weight of their contempt threatens to crush her spirit, but she has perfected the art of survival.  She first learned it when she escaped death nearly seventy years ago as the Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem and took its finest young people as captives.  Years later she survived among idol worshippers and in King Nebuchadnezzar's court by donning an identity that shrouded her with guilt and shame.
She's kept secrets from Daniel, her childhood friend and the love of her life, but as the Medo-Persian Army invades, the thread of Belili's deception unravels and her tightly wound secrets begin to unfurl.
When tensions mount in the land of their exile, Belili will do anything to keep her family safe even though each step leads them closer to the truth.  Will Daniel die in a pit of lions before she can make things right between them?  Or will the God who rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego save her husband and replace her spirit of heaviness with a garment of praise?

My Thoughts:

"Stop badgering your weak friend on earth and start pleading with our powerful God in heaven."

"Yahweh created the heavens and the earth, He divided the waters of the Red Sea, and He summoned a fish to swallow Jonah.  I think he can reveal a king's nightmare to those who trust Him in Babylon."

Andrews' newest book, Of Fire And Lions, releases TODAY!!  With rich historical detail and careful attention to the biblical narrative, Andrews brings to life Daniel's story and the exile.  I so appreciate the richness of Andrew's novels.  In this book especially, Andrews fills in the gaps that Scripture doesn't reveal with her unique approach employing artistic liberty without compromising the integrity of God's Word as given to us in the canon of the Scriptures.  

"He placed his arm around Belili's shoulders and drew her near.  'We've seen Yahweh do impossible things, which has strengthened our faith to endure more impossible things.  We've grown spoiled and lazy in our freedoms, making us afraid to trust Yahweh for the uncomfortable."

"Can you give up your comfortable routine to live in the tension of God's uncharted plan?"

With lines like the ones above, Andrews poses questions within the story's narrative that jump off the page into readers' hearts engaging them in the story from beginning to end.

 "And last of all, I prayed Yahweh could somehow forgive me for surrendering my whole heart and then snatching it up again."

Andrews paints a vivid picture of Daniel's faithfulness and Belili's (his wife) growth in completely trusting God for all things.  Her journey is wrapped up in our journey of learning to completely lean on and rely on Yahweh; to surrender and not snatch up again, and to defend against an exile of our hearts.

Andrews writing drives readers to study the Scriptures for themselves.  I know I turned the last page of Of Fire And Lions with a greater hunger for a study of the Scriptures.  

*I received an advanced complimentary copy of the book from the publisher.  All opinions stated here are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer

How The Light Gets In

Jolina Petersheim is a bestselling author whose unique Mennonite heritage originated in Lancaster County, PA.  She and her husband now live in the mountains of TN with their three young daughters.  

Follow Jolina's blog at www.jolinapetersheim.com.

From the highly acclaimed author of The Outcast comes an engrossing novel about marriage and motherhood, loss and moving on.

When Ruth Neufeld's husband and father-in-law are killed in a bombing overseas, she travels to a Wisconsin Mennonite community with her daughters and mother-in-law to bury them, grieve, and piece together next steps.  They are welcomed by Elam Albrecht, her husband's cousin, who invites them to stay at his cranberry farm through the harvest.

Sifting through fields of berries and memories of a marriage that was broken long before her husband died, Ruth finds solace and healing in the beauty of the land...an also encounters the possibility of new love with Elam, whose gentle encouragement awakens hopes and dreams she thought she'd lost forever.

But an unexpected twist threatens the happy ending Ruth is about to write for herself.  On the precipice of a fresh start, Ruth must make an impossible decision:  which path to choose if her husband isn't dead after all.

My Thoughts:
Simply put, Jolina Petersheim is a genius! 
Not only has she written a book packed full of gospel-infused wisdom, but Petersheim has also shared with readers a heartfelt and genuine story of love, struggle, and sacrifice. Her characters are relatable and I love that we got the story from each character's perspective. Such depth here! I think I cried through the last 100 or so pages of the book. This story touched me in some of the deepest places of my heart.
With lines like, "In Elam, Ruth had found a refuge when she hadn't realized she was in need of shelter." and "Perhaps we mourn what we cannot have." and "For, yes, absence did make the heart grow fonder, but then, after a while, that shield of self-preservation grew thicker, and the heart forsook fondness for survival and all-consuming love for getting by.", Petersheim made me think and feel and offered me a clarion call to how I respond in my own relationships.
And the major twist...I didn't see that coming from any direction! This story of hurting and healing and how sometimes our hurts bring out greatest healing absolutely left me groaning and wanting better from myself. This book is going to be a game changer for so many.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher.  All opinions stated here are my own.

Blessings,
Jennifer