This week I’m giving away THREE copies of Liz Curtis Higgs‘ book, The Women of Christmas. Liz is the author of more than 30 books, with 4.5 million copies in print, including her nonfiction bestsellers, Bad Girls of the Bible: And What We Can Learn from Them and The Girl’s Still Got It: Take a Walk with Ruth and the God Who Rocked Her World. Liz has presented more than 1,700 inspirational programs in all 50 United States and 14 foreign countries, and is honored to be a speaker with Women of Faith. Nearly 10,000 readers follow her weekly Bible study blog.
I recently had the chance to ask Liz a few questions about her book:
Margaret: With all the Christian books on the market today, what motivated you to write The Women of Christmas?
Liz: I’ve been writing and speaking about the women in Scripture for ages—those Bad Girls of the Bible in particular. This time I wanted to explore the lives of three truly good girls from the New Testament—Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna.
The Christmas story is so familiar, we tend to nod our heads and barely pay attention when it’s read aloud at Christmastime. My goal was to help the reader slow down, going phrase by phrase, so that each amazing truth has time to sink in. Angelic appearances, miraculous births, Holy Spirit utterances—oh my!
By broadening the story to include the birth of Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, and the Christ child’s appearance in the temple courts, where Anna saw him, we get a fuller grasp of God’s unfolding plan, not only for these faithful women, but also for us.
What has been the greatest encouragement in your writing experience?
Writing is a form of worship for me, a continual conversation with the Lord—sometimes silent, though more often times spoken. I pray, I read passages aloud, I seek his direction. My writing study is really a sanctuary. Even the fragrance—a mix of old books and apple-scented candles—brings a smile to my face when I walk in the room. Home.
Once a book is released, my readers are a huge source of encouragement. When they kindly reach out via Facebook, Twitter, or email, describing how one of my books has impacted them, it motivates me to keep studying, keep writing, keep blogging, keep speaking. One woman wrote, “The Women of Christmas is changing my life. What’s helped most? The line that says, ‘The opposite of disgrace is grace.’” A comment like that can fuel my writing passion for days.
What were the biggest challenges or struggles during the writing process?
Staying glued to the chair is always the hardest part for me. So many distractions, in real life and online! I’m a perfectionist, so I spend waaaay too much time triple-checking every detail, when double-checking would be enough. And I can get so caught up in research that I forget what readers want most is life application. I’m grateful for truly gifted editors who keep me on track.
What do you hope will happen in the reader’s heart and mind after they finish the book?
My prayer is that readers will see the bigger picture God is painting through the lives of these three remarkable women. They represent different ages and stages—Elizabeth is menopausal and married, Mary is young and unwed, and Anna is a widow of eighty-four—giving us all someone we can identify with. Each one plays an important role in the coming of the Messiah. Each one serves as a role model of faith in action.
The title of the first chapter expresses my dearest hope for The Women of Christmas: “Let every heart prepare him room.”
If you haven’t watched this yet, you must. Ann Voskamp and Liz Curtis Higgs invite you to the farm to discuss traditions, recipes, and a whole lotta Jesus:
(RSS Subscribers: Click here to view)
To win ONE of THREE copies of The Women of Christmas, enter a comment on the original blog post at MargaretFeinberg.com. Winners will be selected and announced on Friday.
Congratulations to the winners: Becky Landrum, Daphne Orgeron, Arlene
Which is your favorite rendition of Jesus’ birth–Matthew, Luke, or John?
(Remember: Mark launches straight into Christ’s ministry and doesn’t tell the story of his birth).
