BREAK-THROUGH!

A Court of Two Sisters: How Two Women Established the Christian Woman's Exchange as one of the Leading New Orleans Woman's Groups, 1881-1891

What do you think?

It's my THESIS title!!!!

I can't tell you how incredibly stoked I am. (Not that you can't already tell that.) Seriously, those of you that know me, completely know what forming a thesis statement and good title means to me - and to UNO since they won't let me graduate without these.

Okay, so here's the story.

The CWE began in 1881, modeled after the New York Exchange for Woman's Work. In a decade, two women - Mrs. Bartlett and Mrs. Walmsley - were able to establish the first free circulating library in New Orleans, a day nursery for working mothers, a consignment shop for women to earn an honest living, and a boardinghouse for women. The best part is...those are only the biggest things this group accomplished in just one decade. So I got to thinking about it, and I realized that this is my thesis - that getting through the first decade set the CWE up as THE standard for almost all other successful woman's organizations in New Orleans. Know what's even better? The CWE is still in existence - known now as The Woman's Exchange. Unfortunately they have changed their mission to historic preservation instead of charity, but the fact that they are still around is HUGE!

Okay, I want feedback. I can take criticism or compliments or anything at this point!

Back to What I Do Best

At least, I think history is what I do best. I'm getting a Master's degree for it, so I must be decent. (That's right, I said Master's. So you can call me Master Gabrielle beginning on May 15.) What was I blogging about?

Oh yeah, history...it's what I do best. :)

Okay, so my hubby and I were reading some Scripture tonight that again pointed out to me why I enjoy history so much.

In 2 Kings, beginning in chapter 18, you will find the story of Hezekiah. He became king of Judah when he was 25, and "he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD...he removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it." Vs. 2-4 (NIV) This was one of the few good kings of Judah. He wasn't perfect, but he did his best to live for God. Later he became incredibly sick, but he prayed and wept. God took mercy on him, and He allowed Hezekiah to live and reign for 15 more years.

2 Kings 20:20 (NIV)

"As for the other events of Hezekiah's reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?"

You know what? That is not the first time in the Old Testament, or the last for that matter, where the "annals of the kings of Judah" are mentioned. You know what else? Nobody knows where the annals are. There are miles and miles of land in what was Isreal and Judah that have never been properly excavated. One of my dreams is that one day someone (maybe me?) will find the annals of the kings of Judah and many other Biblical relics. Part of my reasoning is to give a big "what you got now, fools?!" to those who would disregard the Scriptures. However, we are not to call people fools, nor should I be thinking in terms of vengence for all the flack I've taken as a Christian and historian. The other part of me just wants to see something of our past. What a marvelous way to commemorate God's fantastic mercy.

You see, history is not simply looking at old stuff and keeping it safe for other people to look at. That is only one tiny smidgen of history. There are so many things that we still don't know or can't find! As I say all the time, history is ever changing and ever moving. It is HIS story, not ours. The story of God's grace, mercy, and glory is not boring or mundane. It is exquisite.

Also, how cool would it be if I could be a female (Christian) version of Indiana Jones?

My Title

I've finally succombed. I have become a blogger. Thus with this first post, I thought I would explain my title "The King's Historian."

The most basic reason is that I am an historian. I study, research, write, and publish history. I am a little lacking on the publishing part, but very soon, the KnowLA on-line encyclopedia will publish an article of mine on the Christian Woman's Exchange (1881-present), a New Orleans women's philanthropic group. This probably seems strange to most people; in fact, my own parents asked me what I would do with a history degree. My answer to them, and to you, brings about the most important reason for the title. History is my God-given passion. History is not linear; it is alive and breath-taking. There are always new avenues to search. As I live my life using this gift, I do it for Him. Thus I am His, the King of Kings', historian.

2 Kings 18:18

"Then they called for the king, but Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them." (HCSB, emphasis added)

As I discovered this passage one day in reading the Bible, I found the recording of history was, as it is today, very important. Yet history, as Christians know it, is not simply the passing of time, important figures, and fantastic battles. History is the story of God redeeming man-kind. God has given me a passion for the study and public presentation of history. I seek academic integrity and excellence in studying all historical aspects, but I also view everything through His lens.

I am currently working on my Master's Thesis focusing on the CWE, the group I mentioned above. However, it is not a study of the group's religious affiliation (which happens to be Protestant). In fact, I never actually mention anything about their beliefs because while they all prided themselves on providing a "Christian" service to working women, they never really did anything in the Name of Jesus. Theirs was more of a charitable endeavor, and I focus mainly on their contribution to the labor movement among New Orleans single women during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through the operation of a boardinghouse and creche (a nursery). Yet even in something as secular as this may sound, I can see our merciful God using snobby, elite women to provide for those in need.

Acts 3:15 in the ESV translation calls Jesus the "Author of life." You see, the past is not simply history; it is His story. It is already written from beginning to end. I am merely a tool, a vessel, to study and proclaim God's glory through His story, be it labor movements, ancient archaeology, geneology, or archival preservation. Did you ever think history could be this cool?

Image found at http://www.jesuswalk.com/christian-symbols/chi-rho.htm