Welcome to my stop on the Ordinary Women of the Bible Blog Hop! OWB is Guideposts’ one-of-a-kind series that brings you page-turning stories enriched with biblical and historical facts, which allow you to see how God called on everyday women to work His will. The series consists of twenty-four books, each one written by an author hand-picked by the Guideposts editors for their ability to bring the Bible to life. We’re excited to feature ten of those authors in this Blog Hop!

Blog Hop Details: Participating in this blog hop is easy! Just hop over to each of the ten authors’ blogs listed on this page by October 11, read what they’ve written about their books, and write down the keyword in their blog post. You don’t need to follow any particular order. When you have all ten keywords, submit your entry at the bottom of this page. You’ll be entered into a drawing for all twenty-four books in the Ordinary Women of the Bible series, many of them autographed. The drawing will be conducted on October 12, so get your entry in before then. Plus, some of the authors are giving away their own goodies, so be sure to read every post!

Now, about my book…

The Last Drop of Oil: Adaliah’s Story is the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath described in 1 Kings 17:7-16.

About the book: 

A devastating fire threatens the lives of Adaliah’s four-year-old son and her abusive husband. In a desperate effort, she faces the raging inferno to rescue her son from certain death. But her husband is left to the fate of the flames and does not survive. Did she hesitate a moment too long? Could she have saved him if she’d truly wanted to?

Left to cope with the aftermath of the fire, the condemnation of her husband’s relatives, and her own guilt, Adaliah struggles to scrape out a living from the ashes of her former life. She is an outcast in the village, thanks to the vicious rumors spread by her stepdaughter. When she and her son face starvation, a prophet of Yahweh appears, asking for her last drop of oil.

What I learned while writing this book: Oh, so much! Zarephath was a town in Phoenicia, about eight miles south of Sidon. The king of Sidon was the father of the infamous Jezabel, who married Israel’s King Ahab. God told Elijah to proclaim a drought because Ahab and Jezabel were leading His people into Baal worship. That infuriated Jezabel, who had all God’s prophets killed. When Elijah escaped, she launched a huge manhunt to find and kill him too, but God sent Elijah to a safe house – the house of a widow in Zarephath. Now, I always assumed the widow was  elderly, but if so, why was she out gathering wood to cook the last meal for her and her son? What if she was young, and her son too young to help? If that were true, and since Jezabel grew up just a few miles north, it’s entirely possible the widow knew of her and admired her, and may even have grown up wanting to be like her. (What girl doesn’t want to be a princess?) I find it fascinating that God sent Elijah to stay in Jezabel’s father’s kingdom to keep him safe. We know from Luke 4:24-26 that the widow was not Jewish, so God sent Elijah to a foreign people, right under the nose of his worst enemy!

The more I researched Zarephath (which was excavated in 1969-1972), the more questions I had. Zarephath was located on the coast, with two promontories, each with a good harbor. It’s safe to assume a large part of the people’s diet was fish. So why was the widow starving? The drought may have reduced the supply of grain, but wouldn’t she have access to fish? If she had no money, why didn’t someone take pity on her? What if she was being ostracized by her fellow villagers for some reason, and not allowed to buy food?  The questions kept coming, and I kept praying about the answers and before I knew it, Adaliah’s story came to life in my mind. To me, that’s the awesome thing about biblical fiction that is based in fact – it makes the bible come alive.

My Giveaway: I’m giving away an autographed copy of The Last Drop of Oil and also a copy of the second book I wrote in the Ordinary Women of the Bible series, Raised for a Purpose (about the daughter of Jairus). To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below. I’ll draw two names on October 12 and notify you if I draw your name. If you win the Blog Hop grand prize of all 24 books in the OWB series, you can select another of my books instead.

My Blog Hop Keyword: 

PROPHET

Thanks for stopping by. Now, hop on over to the next stop on the Ordinary Women of the Bible Blog Hop!