Marydean Draws

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September 15, 2023 books that shape me•kids

A resource for teaching the Bible to kids, the Tower of Babel, + an update on my Bible study project

I recently started teaching Sunday School again and the lesson last month was on the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. After all I’ve been learning about faithful Bible reading, I knew better than to assume that I understood why the Biblical authors and compilers included that story! I found helpful information in this book by Old Testament scholar, John Walton: “The Bible Story Handbook: A Resource for Teaching 175 Stories from the Bible” (I got the Kindle version...
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August 24, 2023 all good things•reading

August Good Reads

Purely for pleasure, I have been reading through Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache murder mystery series. I just finished The Beautiful Mystery (#8 in the series). I love the way the characters in the books develop over the series. The focus of her books is not so much on the murder as the motivations and emotions of the characters involved. The Beautiful Mystery is set in an aging monastery hidden deep in the Québec woods, where a group of monks...

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July 28, 2023 Jesus speaks to women•Uncategorized

The Jesus Speaks to Women Project: Mary Magdalene and Patterns of Naming in the New Testament

Artwork: Christ and His Disciple on the Road to Emmaus by Henry Ossawa Tanner (in the public domain) If you’re following me here, you’ll know I’m expanding my series on “Jesus Speaks to Women” to a Bible study (or maybe a few Bible studies). I’m in the process of researching for the studies now, so I’ll be sharing some of the questions I’m exploring with you here on the blog. I have been researching Mary Magdalene in the Gospels....

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June 29, 2023 Jesus•Jesus speaks to women

Jesus Speaks to Women: Mary at the Empty Tomb

I am wrapping up my series of art and poems based on the words Jesus spoke to women with this final poem! This poem is based on the account of Jesus’ words spoken to Mary at his empty tomb, found in John 20:1-18.

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June 16, 2023 Jesus speaks to women

Jesus Speaks to Women: Mary (the mother) at the Cross

I am creating a series of art and poems based on the words Jesus spoke to women. This poem is based on the account of Jesus’ words spoken to his mother, Mary, when he was on the cross found in John 19:25-27. This is the artwork I created for this poem: You can hear me read this poem here: my heart has beenfull of him and the yes I gavethe God I could not see be to me accordingto your word letting go since...

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June 9, 2023 Jesus speaks to women•Uncategorized

Jesus Speaks to Women: Opening Reception Recap and Thoughts

Last Friday evening was really special. It was the opening of my "Jesus Speaks to Women: Poems and Portraits" show through the Arts Incarnate program in the beautiful gallery space at The Church of the Incarnation in Harrisonburg, VA.

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Welcome to the blog!

I’m Mary and I’m glad you’re here! Since 2014, I’ve been sharing encouraging words, fun Bible printables, and accessible art activities.

let’s talk about . . .

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If you look up artwork or movies featuring Mary Ma If you look up artwork or movies featuring Mary Magdalene, you’ll often find her depicted as a penitent woman or as sexualized, with her clothes literally falling off her body. It was Pope Gregory the Great who proposed that Mary Magdalene’s seven demons represented the seven deadly sins and that she was both a prostitute and the penitent sinner who anoints Jesus in Luke 7:36-50 (Jennifer Powell McNutt).

Later church historians assumed that Mary Magdalene’s great sins were to blame for her demon possession (McNutt). While the Western Church came to see Mary Magdalene as a prostitute and a great sinner, the Eastern Orthodox church honored her as the leader of the “myrrh-bearing women” (Taylor and Bond).

Read some research into the REAL Mary Magdalene story here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/jesus-speaks-to-women-chapter-16
In today's Friday newsletter: 🌸 Mother's Day Sa In today's Friday newsletter:
🌸 Mother's Day Sale! 20% off with the MOMLOVE on my website. Mother's day is Sunday, May 10 this year.
🌸 Part 1 of the Mary Magdalene study is up on Substack. Have you ever heard that she was a prostitute? Where did that come from? Is it Biblical? I was fascinated by how her story has been told through history, the origins of her name, what it means that she had been possessed by seven demons, and her place among Jesus’ disciples. 
🌸 The Holy Post podcast episode with Bri Stensrud, the director of Women of Welcome, “a community dedicated to diving into the whole of scripture to understand God’s heart for the immigrant and refugee.” 

Read the newsletter here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/marys-friday-newsletter-41726

Read the Mary Magdalene post here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/jesus-speaks-to-women-chapter-16

If you sign up for my newsletter, you can receive all my posts in your inbox. Sign up on my website at www.marydeandraws.com or find me on Substack. You don't need the Substack app to read my posts, but it's easy to use, and you can listen to any of the stories with the playback feature.
When I started writing the Jesus Speaks to Women B When I started writing the Jesus Speaks to Women Bible studies last year, I started collecting books on New Testament women. I really didn’t know where to start at first. I wasn’t familiar with the scholarship about women in the Bible, and I hadn’t even heard of any female theologians doing this work!

So you don’t have to start from scratch if you’re like I was, I’m going to share a list of books I’ve learned from in the last year. Some are more academic than others, but all have been helpful. 

See the list here or find me "Marydean Draws" on Substack:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/books-about-women-in-the-new-testament
In today's Friday newsletter: 🌸 things I learne In today's Friday newsletter:
🌸 things I learned from my pastor dad (in honor of his birthday)
🌸 upcoming bird collage workshop at Friendly City Clay and Art Center
🌸 using oil pastels + a recommended set from Blick
🌸 book about women in the New Testament 
🌸 preparing to write about Mary Magdalene and the resurrection stories

Read it all here:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/marys-friday-newsletter-41026

The post about books about New Testament women:
https://marydeandraws.substack.com/p/books-about-women-in-the-new-testament

If you sign up for my newsletter, you can receive all my posts in your inbox. Sign up on my website at www.marydeandraws.com or find me on Substack. You don't need the Substack app to read my posts, but it's easy to use, and you can listen to any of the stories with the playback feature.
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