Imagine a heartwarming Bible study wrapped inside a beautiful gift book: that's The Women of Christmas. the latest release from Liz Curtis Higgs. Verse by verse, Liz unpacks the biblical stories of Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna, who each welcome the Christ child into the world in a marvelous and miraculous way.
Amazon.com ReviewJezebel and Delilah have plenty to teach
contemporary Christian women, according to Bad Girls of the Bible
and What We Can Learn from Them. In this self-help book, Liz Curtis
Higgs tells fictionalized, contemporary stories based on the lives
of biblical characters including Eve, Potiphar's Wife, and the
Woman at the Well. In verse-by-verse commentary, Higgs summarizes
each life's lessons and provides a list of questions for personal
consideration or group discussion. The overall message of each
chapter is the same: "Good Girls and Bad Girls both need a Savior.
The goodness of your present life can't open the doors of heaven
for you. The badness of your past life can't keep you out either."
In its effort to turn readers' minds heavenward, Bad Girls draws a
distinction between fun and joy. Associated with "fleshly
pleasures," fun "is temporary at best; it's risky, even dangerous,
at worst." Joy, on the other hand, is found in God's "gift of
grace." Perhaps the book's greatest weakness is its inability to
see that "fun," in many lives, is a holy and necessary means of
attaining "joy." --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an
alternate Paperback edition. From Publishers WeeklyHumorist and
popular storyteller Higgs (Help! I'm Laughing and I Can't Get Up)
takes a look at the vamps and tramps of the Bible, searching for
the lessons these wicked women have to teach. She acknowledges that
as much as she admires Sarah's faithfulness and Mary's innocence,
she finds that her own life contains many of the shortcomings of
women such as Rahab, Delilah and Lot's wife. When Higgs begins her
study of Jezebel, she notes, "I understood her pushy personality, I
empathized with her need for control, I tuned into her angry
outbursts...but boy did she teach me what not to do in my
marriage." She places the ten women in her study into four
categories. Eve, she says, was the "First Bad Girl," for badness
has to begin somewhere. Potiphar's wife (who tried to seduce
Joseph), Delilah and Jezebel, Higgs says, were "Bad to the Bone":
these women "sinned with gusto from bad beginning to bitter end."
Women who were "Bad for a Moment," and who have forever been
characterized by their "life-changing" mistakes, include Saphhira,
Michal and Lot's wife (who was turned into a pillar of salt for
looking back on her homeland against God's commands). Higgs says
that Rahab, the prostitute who helped the Israelites conquer
Jericho, the Woman at the Well and the Sinful Woman were "Bad for a
Season, but Not Forever": these women "had plenty of sin in their
past, but they were also willing to change and be changed." Higgs
opens each chapter with a fictional retelling of the biblical story
and then proceeds to a verse-by-verse exegesis and commentary on
the biblical text. Each chapter closes with four lessons to be
learned from the life of the bad girl and eight "thoughts worth
considering." Higgs retells these biblical stories with rollicking
humor and deep insight as she teaches about the nature of sin and
goodness. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers
to an alternate Paperback edition. ReviewPraise for Bad Girls of
the Bible
"Liz takes--with humility and humor--the evangelical message and
puts it in a lens that anybody can look through. A truly remarkable
accomplishment."
--Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
"The entertainment value of the book is obvious, but the take-home
extra is the Bible study. Who but Liz Curtis Higgs could so
creatively reveal God's compassion, unconditional love, and mercy
through such 'Bad Girls' in scripture?"
--Carol Kent, speaker and author of Becoming aWoman of
Excellence
"A fresh concept--looking at what women have done wrong to figure
out how we can live right. The conversational style and friendly,
relational, upbeat tone (so true to Liz) are wonderful--sassy and
yet challenging and inspirational. And the questions are
top-notch!"
--Ramona Cramer Tucker, former editor, Today's ChristianWoman
"Liz has brought a blended format of fiction, biblical commentary,
and thought-provoking questions to each of these characters. I love
the way she slips modern-day flesh on biblical truth."
--Darlene Hepler, former director of women's ministries, Church of
the Open Door, Elyria, Ohio
"Bad Girls of the Bible is not only a hoot to read, it is full of
serious warnings about shaky choices and serious encouragement to
take God's way for our own good."
--Gloria Gaither, author, speaker, and lyricist
"I love Liz's work! She entertains while teaching and leaves me
with points to ponder long after. Her insights are fresh and
exciting and will draw readers back into the Word."
--Francine Rivers, best-selling author of Redeeming Love
"I loved the down-to-earth realism. Instead of an airbrushed,
plastic feel, Bad Girls of the Bible jumps off the pages with
fresh, relevant, and engaging applications."
--BeckyMoltumyr, Brookside Church, Omaha, Nebraska
"In her creative, fun-loving way, Liz retells the stories of the
Bible. She delivers a knockout punch of conviction as she clearly
illustrates the lessons of Scripture."
--Lorna Dueck, former co-host of 100 Huntley Street
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