The projects my students did in the classroom while I was teaching were always exciting to me. There is a kind of learning that takes place through that type of classroom practice that is not duplicated in any other way. Our projects were student initiated, hands on, real world learning in which new learning opportunities spiraled out of the old.

I loved seeing students get excited about something they were working on or in charge of. There is nothing in the world like coming into a room full of excited students wanting to get busy on something they are working on.

I’ve been out of the classroom for almost five years, although I continue to tutor at Holy Trinity Learning Center. I wasn’t ready to retire, but a knee replacement changed my plans. I’ve had the second one since then and am doing great. But I still miss the energy that comes from students who are charged up over a project.

Recently, I’ve opened a project to Christian women, church family, and sisters of the faith where ever they may be and hear about this project. The first book in the series Mother: Warrior – Daughters, Arise! is already in print and available through Amazon and its affiliates, as well as on Kindle. The concept for the book was birthed out of a vision I had of a Mother standing between the powers of darkness and her child, fully clothed in the armor of God. I put the word out among friends that I was looking for “prayer warrior mother stories.” For almost a year, nothing much happened. Suddenly the stories started coming in, meshing together, and the book was completed and ready for publication in a little over a month.

I had the sense of relief when it was coming together and thought I’d have it done before fall and get to enjoy the leaves this year since I was still in recovery mode last autumn. Before the book was in print, I knew what the next book was supposed to be. Warrior Women – The Power of Prayer. I put the word out and almost immediately, stories began to come in.

On top of that, I had a very distinct vision of ordinary women in the full armor of God, equipped and ready for battle. I had a couple of medieval type dresses left over from the debut of my first children’s book, Sir Thomas the Eggslayer. So, I asked for volunteers to be photographed dressed in medieval garb.

The first photo shoot with Heather Ealy Felosi was mindboggling to me that the photos turned out so well for what I needed and had envisioned for the book. The next photo shoot was with Patricia Halcomb, who has a warrior spirit if there ever was one. Her photos were fantastic. The next session was a group of women from Solid Rock Church after their church homecoming. Again, I was stunned at the beauty staring back at me from the computer screen after I downloaded photos.

Ordinary women in the hands of an extraordinary God are something to behold. When we look in the mirror, we see our warts, our failures, our battle scars. But when God looks at women who have put their trust in Him, He sees them through the eyes of love. He sees us as a proud papa reviewing the troops comprised of his daughters, His Warrior Women, armed with the Sword which is the Word of God, and empowered through prayer to take their stand in the battles of this life.

Not only am I excited about the stories that are coming in for the book, but just as much, I am excited about the photographs that have been produced from this project. I have no illusions of grandeur and am not deceived about my own ability. I am an ordinary woman. But God is up to something good and He is quite extraordinary!

Reach Judith Victoria Hensley at judith99@bellsouth.net or on Facebook. Check out her blog: One Step Beyond the Door.