Here are a few things that You — our readers — are telling us.
First, a reader from Michigan stopped me this weekend to say that she loves reading our stories each day, and also enjoys the fact that “there are things to do” at ReadTheSpirit. Another reader from Chicago emailed to explain that he printed out last week’s musical quiz and used it in a Sunday School class at his church. Others have sent us similar comments.
So, with your encouragement, we’re going to continue our Tuesday Quizes and encourage you to send them to your friends and use them in groups.
Second, we’re hearing that readers still are finding their way around our site and learning about the many facets of ReadTheSpirit. “I really enjoyed the interview with Frederick Buechner, but I’d like to know more about that book, ‘Godric,'” one man said. He hadn’t noticed that, if you click on book titles or book covers on ReadTheSpirit — you’ll jump to our Amazon-related bookstore and, on those pages, I do tell you more about the books and movies we mention. (In fact, you can buy them through our bookstore and a small portion of that sale comes back to us from Amazon to help support our work.)
So, as we grow and add more inspirational features, keep exploring our site, keep telling your friends — and we welcome you to copy our quizes, interviews and stories — as long as you credit what you’re copying to David Crumm and readthespirit.com
TODAY, we’ve got a clever little quiz to test your awareness of Heroic Women of Faith.
Here are the rules: You’ll find 20 first names listed below, then 20 short descriptions of these women. Match them up correctly. Then, click on the link at the end — and the answers will pop up. If you’re a daily subscriber by Email (you can sign up for free on the right-hand side of our site), we’re sorry that you don’t get this Click-to-See-the-Answers feature in your Email versions — so, please don’t read too far ahead today, if you’re an email reader.
Who are these 20 women? Half of them are featured in the short Guideposts-like profiles of women in Bonnie St. John’s book, “How Strong Women Pray.” Tomorrow, in our weekly Conversation, we’ll hear from Bonnie about her own remarkable life and her experience interviewing dozens of women about prayer. The other half of the 20 in today’s quiz are women from the Bible and other books we’re featuring this week on ReadTheSpirit.
Ready? Here’s the list:
1.) Barbara
2.) Harriet
3.) Ann
4.) Marsha
5.) Teresa
6.) Johnetta
7.) Edie
8.) Kathie
9.) Immaculee
10.) Nadia
11.) Marilyn
12.) Aimee
13.) Amy
14.) Maya
15.) Vonetta
16.) Eve
17.) Mary
18.) Hagar
19.) Ruth
20.) Deborah
THEN — Match these women with their IDs …
… the first among Firsts
… a world-famous judge
… inspirational Rwandan survivor
… influential Catholic visionary
… mistaken as a prostitute; actually a leader
… Boaz’s wife and David’s great grandma
… crossover singing star
… black Olympic bobsledder
… gave birth to a great nation
… knows “Why the Caged Bird Sings”
… pioneering Pentecostal evangelist
… an admiral in tough times
… founded a utopian movement
… 20 percent of the 5th Dimension
… former First Lady
… Olympic star who defected
… risked her life to free slaves
… president of women’s college
… award-winning Soprano
… from talk show to activism
When you think you’ve got all 20 lined up correctly, CLICK on the link below in the online version of this quiz, and the ANSWERS will pop up!
Remember, if you’re intrigued by any of the book, movie or audio titles (or covers) that you see sprinkled through this article, click on them to read more — or to purchase copies.
Ready? CLICK for the ANSWERS below …
HERE are THE ANSWERS:
See how you did …
1.) Barbara Bush is a former first lady and the mother of the current president. Her no-nonsense, compassionate approach to faith and life is widely admired.
2.) Harriet Tubman risked her life repeatedly to free slaves as a leader in the Underground Railroad.
3.) Ann Lee was the founder of the Shakers in the late 1700s, a utopian Christian movement that separated men’s and women’s living quarters, but also shared leadership between the sexes.
4.) Marsha Evans was an admiral in the U.S. Navy, assigned to clean up abuses after the Tailhook scandal. After her retirement in 1998, she was a national leader in Girl Scouts and the Red Cross.
5.) Teresa of Avila is the 16th Century Catholic visionary whose meditations inspired novels and artworks and continue to shape the lives of many modern Christians, as well.
6.) Johnetta B. Cole was president of Spelman College, a leading historically black women’s college.
7.) Edie Falco is the Emmy-winning co-star of “The Sopranos,” whose spiritual journey includes overcoming alcoholism.
8.) Kathie Lee Gifford moved from a talk-show career with Regis Philbin to activism on behalf of children, but her plan took a tough turn when it turned out that she was unknowingly raising funds through sweat-shop labor. To her credit, Kathie now works against sweat-shop abuses even as she continues to work on causes that aid children.
9.) Immaculee Ilibagiza survived the Rwandan genocide by hiding in a bathroom with seven other Tutsi women for 91 days. Her inspirational story has appeared on network TV several times and she speaks to groups around the world, as well.
10.) Nadia Comaneci is the Olympic athlete who finally defected from Romania to the U.S. and now is known for charitable work with causes such as the Special Olympics and an effort to bring better health care to children in Bucharest.
11.) Marilyn McCoo was 20 percent of the Fifth Dimsension and later left the group with her husband Billy Davis Jr. Their memoir, “Up Up and Away,” also is an enjoyable and uplifting story of faith overcoming life’s many obstacles.
12.) Aimee Semple McPherson was infamous for disappearing in the 1920s, but she also was a pioneering Pentecostal evangelist in an era when women weren’t allowed in most American pulpits. She was the subject of a popular PBS documentary recently.
13.) Amy Grant is a crossover singing star who moved a number of gospel and country hits onto the pop charts. After her early years as an evangelical darling in the country music world, her second marriage and later career has mellowed and deepened her religious reflections.
14.) Maya Angelou is a world-famous poet and Civil Rights activist whose work, including “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” is an inspiration to millions. (By the way, if you’re a Maya Angelou fan, you’ll want to check out our review of “Celebrations,” a terrific collection of 12 of her best pieces.)
15.) Vonetta Flowers seemed like an unlikely medalist at the 2002 Olympics, because there are not many black bobsledders poised at the top of this highly competitive winter sport. Prayer plays a key role in her life.
16.) In women’s history, Eve was the first among Firsts.
17.) Mary of Magdala often was mistaken as a prostitute by people who assumed that an unnamed adulteress was Mary Magdalene. Modern Bible scholars say she was given a bum rap by earlier theologians and artists who depicted her as a whore. In fact, she was a key leader among Jesus’ earliest followers.
18.) Hagar, in both the Bible and Quran, gave birth to a great nation. The stories vary in some key details, but they agree that Hagar and Abraham were the parents of Ishmael. Muslims regard Hagar and Ishmael as sacred figures in establishing the branch of the Abrahamic tradition that eventually would be known as Islam.
19.) Ruth is best known for her second marriage to Boaz in a boundary-crossing life that displayed great courage, compassion and friendship. But she also is listed as King David’s great grandmother.
20.) Deborah is the Israelite judge and military leader whose story is told in the fourth and fifth chapters of the book of Judges.
How’d you do? Remember — if you enjoyed this week’s quiz, you can print it or email it to a friend. We welcome that. We only ask that you credit the quiz to David Crumm and readthespirit.com
Tell us what you think. Click Here to email me, David Crumm, or leave a Comment for other readers on our site.
AND: Come back tomorrow for our Conversation With Bonnie St. John!
