“Some of these walls had been of my own making; my rebellion, my resistance; my arrogance, my need for control. Some had been built around me by the misfortunes of life; my loneliness; my orphaned heart; my fear of rejection.… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“It's time to leave fear behind or you'll be robbed of your destiny. You don't need confidence in yourselves or in your own power.… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“I followed Ruth's example, you know." He tilted his head in confusion. There was a Ruth in his neighborhood. But when could she have… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“Victory was not so much in being perfect toward each other. Rather, victory would flow out of how they dealt with their failures.” — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“All of those different strands, the hard and the sweet, were being used in the unfolding of this extraordinary moment: Amestris offering peace to her rival. Esther would remain queen a little longer. A simple Jewish woman used by God in ways they could not yet comprehend. This was another turn in God's faithfulness. The safety only He could offer.… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share
“I try to remember that walking in the will of God might mean waiting as much as it might mean moving forward.” — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“I mean that the reason God seems to act in ways that make no sense to us is that our perceptions are wrong. Our expectations are subtly twisted. We long for things that harm us and run from the things that grow and heal us. We think good is bad and bad is good. God acts rightly, but to us,… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share
“Consider my lady, I’m the gardener and I know what the vine needs in order to thrive. You only see the stripping, but I… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“These simple words reveal Rahab’s amazing destiny: Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab (Matthew 1:5). In other words, Salmone and Rahab were married and had a son. The Bible gives us a glimpse into Salmone’s background through several genealogies (1 Chronicles 2:11; Ruth 4:20–21). Clearly, he comes from a highly distinguished family in the house of Judah;… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share
“He lingered in the periphery of her vision, studying her as she shaped a tall vessel. Her fingers had an enchantment to them as they formed the clay into curvaceous lines. Like Bezalel, the craftsman endowed by the Spirit of God with skill to furnish the Temple in Israel, she seemed blessed by something beyond human talent, something from God.… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share
“If God spared us from the piercing shaft of every sorrow,” she said, “we could never fulfill His best plans for our lives. Sometimes… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share Image
“Lord,” I cried out, in my mind. “You don’t see things the way we mortals see them. We judge by outward things, but You look at the heart. So much of my life, I have chased after outward concerns. I have wanted to excel. But You, O Lord, know my heart. Please forgive me for serving the false masters of… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share
“There is only one measure of true success, child. How close you remain by His side. Does the dust of His feet get on your cloak because you follow so close? Does the sound of His whisper reverberate in your ear because you have drawn so near? Are you obedient to that voice, day after day, hour after hour? That’s… — Tessa Afshar Copy Share
