I answered a question today from a church leader planning an event with a faith heroines monologue at the center of their program. I thought the answer might be of interest to others.:

“Here is some information about the shorter presentations – First the Corrie Ten Boom shorter monologue. It is a abridged version of a sermon Corrie delivered titled “Effectual Fervent Prayer”. The main message of the sermon is to pray and to trust because there is no problem so small that God’s love does not apply, and no problem so big that God’s power is not sufficient. This message has been very appreciated when I have performed it. The longer Corrie monologue is more biographical and focuses more on the need to trust Jesus and forgive those who have hurt us.

For the other monologues, the shorter versions are just less detailed narratives of the longer monologues. Sometimes a group has a limit of 20, 25, or 30 minutes, so I simply reduce the story but still try to deliver the message that each faith heroine would have wanted her audience to hear.

The basic message themes for each of all the faith heroines is as follows:

Corrie Ten Boom: “There is no pit so deep that the love of Jesus is not deeper still.”

Gladys Aylward: “God is always God” (never incapable of doing what must be done.)

Darlene Deibler Rose: “He will never leave you or forsake you.”

Ida Scudder: “The greatest of these is love” (From 1 Corinthians 13)

Margaret Brand: “You can’t out-give God.”

Betty Ann Olsen: “There is perfect peace at the center of God’s will.”

Lilias Trotter: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.”

I hope that helps you. The stories have a lot in common in that all these women lived challenging lives and saw God at work. The testimonies inspire just by the example set by the women, with or without a “theme”. Some of the stories involve more tragic circumstances than others, with the most tragic being the story of Betty Ann Olsen, who died while in captivity in Vietnam. Her story is known because of a fellow captive who survived and came home to tell the story. In spite of the sad ending, it also has been very well-received. All the rest of the women lived normal lifespans, in spite of hardships, and all were known to have shared their testimonies with groups just like yours. So I am in the enviable position as an actress of having to be a speaker imitating a speaker!”