Empty-handed I come to these healing waters. It’s been a long, strenuous journey. At first, familiar adrenaline energized my gait and disguised the exhaustion, but gradually, the pace began to sag till I arrived here in a slump.

Before I awake, I feel the longings stir in my soul… just to be a cat in the sun, stretched out in God’s warmth, lazy in the most luxurious way. Ahhhhhh, purring, I feel the promise of Sabbath caress my tired mind, as I gradually emerge from the night.

We’re here to study and write, leaning into the sounds of silence together, my man and I. Books and iPads, hot tea and coffee ready, we hope to hear from God. Like Moses outside the camp, but with Sonny’s BBQ instead of manna. The flame in the propane heater is no burning bush, though.

I miss her voice the most. Like sunlight shimmering in a gently streaming rivulet, her words illuminated my soul with a glow that both comforted and inspired me. Oddly, I simultaneously relaxed into a deep sense of home and felt my chest swell with a burst of fresh adventure when I was with her.

I have struggled with modern Christmas. If I don’t watch it, I turn into the Grinch, cynical at all the commercialism and stressing obligations. But my frustration with the neon light replacing the true Light only turns my own heart dark.

I am furiously typing away because I woke up to a quiet house this morning and grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to read the first chapter. Then I ran to the computer and here I am. And oh my sister! I don’t even know how to express to you what I am feeling or thinking. I felt like, something happened. Someone else gets it. I am not crazy.

Elisabet’s much anticipated first book is now available.

Countless self-help books offer us formulas. However, God is not quite as manageable as they promise and reality has a way of messing things up.

Ruth 3:11“And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.” To what situation is He telling you, “And now, my daughter, do not fear. “?

Why did Boaz promise Ruth to do for her all that she requested?

Security

Tell your Father why you love Him:

Ruth 3:1

“Then Naomi her mother- in- law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?” What comes to mind when you think of security?

Open your heart to your Father:

Ruth 2:19

“And her mother- in- law said to her, “ Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.”

So she told her mother- in- law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Underline what most speaks to you and tell Him about it:

Ruth 2:10

“So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “ Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” What emotions do you think prompted in Ruth’s question?

Ruth 2:5-9. Week 7

Day 1 – Whose is this?

Ask the Author to open your eyes to Him:

Ruth 2:5

“Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” What do you think Boaz noticed in Ruth?

“So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “ Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “ Go, my daughter.”

Why do you think the Author mentions Ruth’s nationality, but not Naomi’s?

“Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin

Dance me through the panic ’til I’m gathered safely in

Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove

Dance me to the end of love”

~ Leonard Cohen

This entire week, we will mine the treasures found in this one verse: Ruth 2:1

“There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.” Day 1:

Scholars agree that Boaz is a type of Jesus, and we will approach him as such. Invite Him to show you more of Who He is:

Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “ Is this Naomi?”

But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother- in- law, but Ruth clung to her. Glance back over Ruth 1:1-13.

Then she arose with her daughters- in- law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread. Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters- in- law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

We will read these five verses every day, and then meditate on them, one a day. Ruth 1:1-5

Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion — Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah.

Before we actually turn to the pages of the Book of Ruth, let’s set the stage and prepare our understanding. The words have different meaning when we know who is speaking. I listen differently to someone I might suspect to be a con artist than to my dearest friend. I can’t separate the words from the person speaking them.