“Why should the name of my father be wiped from Israel
like footprints in a sandstorm because he bore only daughters?”
The promised land—God’s precious gift to the Israelites. Precious indeed, but for Rizpah and her sisters the promise seemed empty. Only a male could claim a family’s inheritance of land, and since Rizpah and her sisters had no brothers or husband...
After wandering in the plague-ridden desert for forty years the Israelites are preparing to move on at last to the Promised Land. But when Moses divides the new land among the men of Israel, it is Rizpah (called Noah in Numbers 27) who has the courage to fight for her family of sisters.
It was an unexpected blow to realize that the Promised Land was being divided all right, but only between the men. Rizpah must stand against an entire nation of men to earn for her and her sisters what is rightfully theirs.
This is a women’s equal rights amendment straight out of ancient history, and handed down straight from the throne of God. How much more do we need to understand the great worth of women, and our worth to God throughout history, today and evermore.
JusticeRightfully Mine: God’s Equal Rights Amendment is about justice. The subplot involves a love triangle, greed and murder, and family ties that bind, but that subplot is the parallel to this infant nation finding itself before they can emerge to earn what is rightfully theirs. How could the nation inherit the Promised Land when they denied some of their own (women) their rights to the Promised Land?
Love
The love triangle is intricate to Rightfully Mine’s theme; a parallel on so many levels to the path of Rizpah's life and the life of every believer. Like all of us, our heroin, Rizpah, had a public calling, but when she fulfilled it, she mistakenly believed her calling was completed, and she could go on with life as she had it planned.
God’s Plans
But God had different plans. He knew, though she indeed had fulfilled the great public purpose she was born to, she hadn't yet been circumcised personally, which was the basic physical (personal) requirement for the nation of Israel (all God's children).
The male word circumcision is purposely used for this personal (spiritual) requirement, not because Rizpah did a man's job in the council, but to speak to the calling of each child of God to be cut off from that which is not right for us.
Love vs. Justice vs. God’s Plans: Which Will Win?
Rizpah’s entire life was grounded in what is justice and what is love. She thought she knew about these better than most. She thought they all meant the same thing. When these principals seemed to be in opposition, which would win?
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The Interview Circuit Loves
Talking With Aggie About Rightfully Mine
Live on Blog Talk Radio: Nanci Arvizu Page Reader
Red Rivers Writers No Limits Live on Blog Talk Radio (Nov 2009)
The Christian Author Show Live Interview (COMING SOON)
Blazing Trailers Interview by Kim McDougall
WordVessel with Cathy Bryant (Coming Soon)
Rave Reviews for Rightfully Mine
“Seamlessly woven into the plot is a love story of Rhett-Scarlett-Ashley proportions. Hanniel, Rizpah’s cousin, spends his life in love with her, but she loves Caleb–or is it hero worship, or the desires of a young, foolish heart carried into adulthood?
“Along with the rich plot and subplot of the novel, Aggie exhibits a talent for placing the reader in the heart of the bedouin camps, in the very tents and activities of the characters she brings to life, with the economy of words that is the hallmark of a masterful writer. Her characters are full-bodied; her action scenes are tense and exciting; her love scenes are both pure and seductive. I’d recommend this novel to anyone who wanted to step away from the ordinary.”
Linda Yezak, AuthorCulture, Ms. Yezak writes reviews for Christian Romance Magazine, and has reviews featured on such sites as Jerry Jenkins, Riven.
“Her portrayal of a humanity struggling between safety and destiny is touching, palpable, and memorable. This is easily one of the best biblical novels I’ve ever read.
“Villanueva’s careful research—aided by a visit to Israel—is evident on every page of this fast read. With a light hand, she sketches the history of a people that, in our modern age, seem very foreign indeed. But Villanueva never allows the intricacies of historical detail and customs to obstruct the heart of her story: the insistent, unrequited love of a man and the demanding, struggling faith of a woman whose heart is torn between her lifelong passion for the famed warrior Caleb and her need for the just treatment of herself and her orphaned sisters.
“Villanueva follows no clichéd storyline. She presents an array of plausible characters and includes an intimate look into the lives of some of the most famous biblical heroes, never faltering from uncomfortable historical facts.”
K.M. Weiland, author of A Man Called Outlaw, and Behold the Dawn
"One of my favorite movies of all time is The Ten Commandments. Rightfully Mine is now one of my favorite books.”
Cindy Bauer, author of Chasing Memories & Shades of Blue
"A carefully researched and inspiring story of someone who stands up against the crowd and seeks God with their whole heart . . . regardless of the cost."
Bill Myers - bestselling author of "Eli."
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Writing since the late 70's, Aggie Villanueva’s first novel, Chase the Wind, Thomas Nelson 1983, was published before she was 30 and her second, Rightfully Mine, from Thomas Nelson in 1986. Villanueva freelanced throughout the 80s and 90s, also writing three craft columns and three software review columns for national magazines. Villanueva was featured on the cover of The Christian Writer Magazine October 1983.
After teaching at writers conferences throughout the Midwest, she founded/directed the 3-day Mid-America Fellowship of Christian Writers conferences for four years until 1990. For the past several years Aggie has blogged. She is founder of Visual Arts Junction: http://www.visualartsjunction.com, and is known for her in-depth interviews.
Photographic art entered in 2007, and within two years Villanueva was critically acclaimed and award winning. Dubbed the Grandma Moses of the American Southwest by her artistic peers, Villanueva is represented in several online and walk-in art galleries across the nation.
Rightfully Mine is a PDF document which can be read using free Adobe Acrobat Reader software http://get.adobe.com/reader/. It can be downloaded immediately after purchase, more instructions are available on the download page.
If you have any questions, please write me at myaggie2sales@gmail.com.
