She Heard Magazine Summer 2021

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Isaiah 6:8

I have watched women share their
abortion story and receive the healing

He has waiting for them.

Surely your goodness and love
will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Psalm 23:6

52

SURVIVING OR

thriving

by Belinda Van De Griendt

InAugust 1864, during the

American Civil War, General
Sherman ordered his Union
troops to destroy the city of

Atlanta, Georgia, so that
nothing would remain for
the Confederates to reclaim

or rebuild.

55

A 36-day bombardment followed. Afterwards, There was another time when nations and
Sherman ordered that Atlanta’s military individuals faced trials like these. In the Old
resources, including munitions factories, Testament, Ezra and Nehemiah faced a similar
clothing mills and railway yards, be burned. The reconstruction project to what Atlanta faced in
fire got out of control and left Atlanta in ruins. the 1860’s.
The city was left smoldering, reduced to rubble
and ash, and those people left behind were Instead of Atlanta, it was Jerusalem that had
there only because they were too poor, or too been destroyed by the Babylonians, who took
wounded to leave. As the survivors slowly the people of Judah into a 70-year exile.
began to reconstruct their homes and stores,
Sallie Clayton described walking past “burnt The once great city of Jerusalem had lain in
buildings, piles of rubbish of all sorts, heaps of ruins for decades. The Jews who had been left
ashes and clay and odds and ends of almost behind when Judah had been taken away into
everything…” exile were those considered the weakest, least
valuable of the bunch; those not worthy even of
These last few remaining folks must have capture.
wondered how in the world they might possibly
rebuild the city as they sorted through the Miraculously, under King Cyrus, the people
burned-out ruins. For them, finding enough food were allowed to go back to Jerusalem.
and finding good shelter took all their work, all
their time, and all their emotional energy. In Ezra 1: 1 - 11 (HCSB)
those days, imagining a mega-city of steel and In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the
glass was simply not possible. word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah
was fulfilled. The LORD put it into the mind
And yet, Atlanta would rise from the ashes, of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation
bigger and more fantastic than anyone could throughout his entire kingdom and [to put it]
have imagined 150 years ago. Today, Atlanta, in writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia
Georgia, is one of the largest cities in America. says: "The LORD, the God of heaven, has
More than 5 million people live in the metro- given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has
Atlanta area, a city of gleaming skyscrapers, appointed me to build Him a house at
great sports stadiums, college campuses, and Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever is among His
the state’s gold-domed capital building. people, may his God be with him, and may he
go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house
I wonder, if your life was a city, what would it of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who
look like right now? Is your “city,” your life, is in Jerusalem. Let every survivor, wherever
surviving, or thriving? he lives, be assisted by the men of that region
with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along
There are so many people around the globe with a freewill offering for the house of God in
living in their own “civil war” … lives are in Jerusalem." So the family leaders of Judah
tatters, businesses have been ruined, families and Benjamin, along with the priests and
have been torn apart, and economies are shot Levites—everyone God had motivated—
to pieces. prepared to go up and rebuild the LORD's
house in Jerusalem. All their neighbors
Your “civil war” might be all about a tough supported them with silver articles, gold,
financial season. It might be a time when your goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to
physical health is deteriorating. Maybe a loved all that was given as a freewill offering.
one is struggling. Or sick. Or dead.
54

King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the But Ezra and Nehemiah changed all of that.
LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken Together, they were used by God to rebuild the
from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of city, rebuild the Temple, and rebuild the walls of
his gods. King Cyrus of Persia had them Jerusalem.
brought out under the supervision of
Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them The people of Jerusalem were desperately short
out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This of food, national security, and sleep. They had to
was the inventory: 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver move stones weighing two tons, and build gates
basins, 29 silver knives, 30 gold bowls, 410 that would withstand the attacks of well-trained
various silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles. armies. They worked with a sword in one hand,
The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. and a trowel in the other. They worked in an
Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the environment that was overwhelmingly negative,
exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem. with each day’s news reports explaining why
they couldn’t do … exactly what they were doing.
Can we even begin to understand how enormous
this undertaking was? They returned from The key point I see in Ezra is this: In the face of
captivity, a journey that today would take about doubt and fear and opposition and adversity,
four hours by air - they needed four months. they succeeded. In the worst of all the bad days,
They walked, they carried their supplies, they they were victorious. When people insisted they
made very slow time. couldn’t make it, they did more than simply
survive. They thrived!
And think about this: those who chose to go were
actually leaving a fairly comfortable environment, And the point behind this: we can too, and as
and headed toward a very tough one. They Children of God, WE SHOULD, even when our
willingly headed straight into tough times! external reality seems too hard to handle.

Yet as they went back to Jerusalem, they were Under Zerubbabel, workers cleared the Temple
making a huge faith statement. They were Mount, quarried new stones, cleaned old stones,
trusting God to take care of them, they were and finally, they laid the foundation for the
accepting God’s challenge to do something Temple.
great, and they were confident that they were in
God’s will as they took action. This was a really, really big day, and there was
music, and celebration. But there was also this:
When Ezra and Nehemiah returned to
Jerusalem, they found that no one had attempted Ezra 3: 12 - 13
to rebuild the Temple or the city. The task was But many of the older priests, Levites, and
just too big for them to even make a start. The family leaders, who had seen the first temple,
stones were overturned, the gates were burned, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of
and anything of value had long ago been taken this house, but many [others] shouted joyfully.
by the scavengers, or eaten by the rats. The people could not distinguish the sound of
the joyful shouting from that of the weeping,
Jerusalem was ruined, and no one had the because the people were shouting so loudly. And
energy to rebuild it. the sound was heard far away.

We can admit this: Challenging times hurt. Times of trial are difficult. Adversity is painful. It’s not fun or
“easy” when the mountain in front of us is so big that it blocks out the whole sky.

Nothing in the message of Ezra comes free of pain. In fact, through all of it there is hard work,
disappointment, discouragement, and exhaustion.

And that might be where you are right now … but here’s the key: Don’t get stuck in the pain!

Are tough times tough? Are scary things scary? Yes.
But how we respond to the challenges matters.
Do you shrivel up and sulk and tremble, or do you act like Esther and pray, fast, get up, wash your
face, get dressed, go out and do what God has for you to do?
I’m not minimizing what you’re going through, I promise! But I am encouraging you not to get trapped
there!

It shouldn’t surprise us that the Bible has a message for challenging times, because the Bible has a
relevant word for every season, for every people. Here, now, says the Bible, is an opportunity to
thrive. Here, says the Bible, is an opportunity to grow your faith.

Ezra’s message for us is simple: Your hard times , your trials, will demand either defeat, or victory.
You will either survive, or you can thrive. Ezra’s path to victory was his unwavering faith in his God.
When others thought he wouldn’t survive, that his plans for his city were foolish and doomed to fail …
he did more than succeed. He thrived.

Ezra’s reformation efforts should encourage us as Believers. And yet, we place our hope in Someone
far greater than Ezra, and something far greater than any earthly temple. There’s a song that speaks
about the “hopes and fears of all the years” … and these are only met in Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Savior!

Belinda Van De Griendt is a 40-something wife,
homeschooling mom, and grandmother. She
serves with her husband, Bjorn, as a deacon at
City Base Church in Springs, and also works as the
church secretary. Belinda is passionate about the
Word of God, and about helping others to grow in
their spiritual lives through teaching the Word.
Belinda has a BPrimEd from Wits and a Bachelor
of Theology from UNISA.

BIRTH MATERNITY

MOTHERHOOD

Evelyn Vali
c: 214.223.2137
e: [email protected]
w: writteninwonder.com
@writteninwonder

photo / film

BREAKING BREADb y L i n d s e y H a y e s

Maragrita Salad

Lindsey Hayes

They broke bread in their homes and ate
together with glad and sincere hearts,

Acts 2:46

58

ThisFresh vegetables are some of my favorite parts of summer. We often grow many of our own

vegetables in our garden each year, and I love to mix and match them into fresh recipes to share
with friends and family. One of my most favorite recipes is a sort of margarita salad that features
fresh heirloom grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. The recipe is simple, but delicious.
For the best flavor, be sure to let your mixture sit in the fridge for about 12 hours.

You will need..

Grape Tomatoes cut in half length-wise
Mozzarella log cut into bite-size cubes
Sweet Vidalia Onions sliced thinly
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

Begin by cutting the tomatoes in half length-wise, the mozzarella log into bite-size cubes, the onion
into thin slices, and mince the basil. Combine all ingredients into a big bowl and coat lightly with olive
oil. Add in your seasoning and red wine vinegar to taste. Remember the flavor will get deeper after
sitting overnight. You could also add in fresh garlic or substitute out the fresh basil for dried. Chill for
approximately 12 hours and enjoy either at home or at your next friends and family picnic.

Lindsey is a wife and mother of 5 children ranging in age from
3 to 13 years. She and her husband Byron currently reside in the
beautiful country setting of Southern Ohio. Lindsey is currently
delving into her seventh year of homeschooling. Her aim is to
give her children a learning environment tailor-made to each
of their individual needs. Along with home schooling, the past
year and a half have given Lindsey the opportunity to reach
the other side of the world through teaching English as a
second language to students in China. The opportunity to have
some influence in the lives of children who may never
otherwise be exposed to a Christian is both an exciting and
heavy responsibility that Lindsey truly enjoys.

LEAVE YOUR JAR AT THE WELL

Who is SHE?

"Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, 'Come, see
a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?' They left the
town and made their way to him...Now many Samaritans from that town believed in
him because of what the woman said when she testified, 'He told me everything I
ever did.' So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them,
and he stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what he said. And
they told the woman, 'We no longer believe because of what you said, since we
have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.'"

Here at SHE HEARD you'll find a space where God is exalted. He will be glorified
through the workbooks we write, the Magazine that we publish, the content we post,
and the life that we live. It's our mission to Educate, Encourage, and Equip you as
well. The woman left her jar at the well after meeting Jesus and ran to tell her
community about Him. Because of her testimony, and her willingness to share it,
many were saved. We, like the Woman at the Well, have a community waiting for
us. There are those in your family and in your circle who need to hear about Jesus
and what He's done in your life. It's time to leave your jar at the well...

John 4: 28-30, 39-42

Find us online:

Facebook: @sheheardjesus
IG:@sheheardjesus
Website: sheheard.org