Becoming Women of the Word: How to Answer God's Call with Purpose and Joy

by Sarah Christmyer

Overview

Winner of a 2020 Catholic Press Association book award (third place, scripture-popular studies).

The women God called to bring his chosen people into the world were ordinary women who struggled with emptiness, oppression, infertility, and loss—yet who found strength and hope in God. In her first book, Sarah Christmyer—codeveloper of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible study program—pairs the stories of key Old Testament women with stories of women she has known to show us how we can hear God, say yes to his call, and share him with the world just as they did.

Breaking open the scriptures to reveal the historical, cultural, and biblical context in which Old Testament women lived, Sarah Christmyer breathes new life into their stories and makes their lives surprisingly relatable. In the process, she shares stories from her own faith journey and the lives of family and friends to show how the same principles that turned ordinary women into heroines of the faith are true for our lives today.

Each chapter of Becoming Women of the Word highlights the spiritual legacy of one or more women in the Old Testament. Their world was vastly different from ours, yet they faced the same questions we do: when we can’t feel God’s presence, where do we find help? When our world is collapsing, where is God? Why should we trust him? How can we trust him? Christmyer simply and clearly draws from the lives of these women important principles that help us to trust—even as we struggle with doubt. For example:

• Through Eve, we learn to hold on to God’s promise even when we fail.
• Sarah reminds us to wait on God’s timing to make us fruitful.
• Miriam, the sister of Moses, shows how to lead by example.
• Ruth and Esther challenge us to see womanhood as a gift.
• Hannah and Judith inspire us to trust God even in matters of life and death.

These unforgettable portraits create a colorful mosaic of faith, encouraging us to mine God’s Word for spiritual treasure and to pass on the gift.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594718779
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	08/02/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	346,139
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Sarah Christmyer is a Catholic author, speaker, and adjunct faculty member at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is the codeveloper and founding editor of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible study program, where she served as director from 2010 to 2013.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Gordon College in 1981 and a master’s degree in theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary/School of Theological Studies in 2017.

Christmyer is a member of the board and executive committee of Malvern Retreat House, where she serves as chair of the spiritual programs development committee. She is the author, coauthor, editor, or contributor to more than twenty-five books and bible study programs, including Gaze Upon Jesus and Walk in Her Sandals. She has blogged for WINE: Women In the New Evangelization, the American Bible Society, and Ascension Press. Christmyer has been a guest on Relevant Radio, Breadbox Media, Radio Maria, Iowa Catholic Radio, and Holy Spirit Radio.

She lives in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area with her family.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Daughter of God, Remember Who You Are! xi

Eve: In the Beginning, There Was Love 1

Sarah: God Calls Us to Trust 13

Leah and Rachel: God Longs to Fill Our Hearts 25

Miriam: God's Love Gives Us Worth 39

Rahab: God Is in Control of the Storms of Our Lives 53

Deborah: God Calls Us to the Leadership of Love 67

Ruth: Gods Kingdom Has Room for Us All 79

Hannah: God Listens to Our Prayers 91

Esther: God Has Called Us "for Such a Time as This" 105

Judith: God Created Our Beauty for Good 117

Postscript: Daughter of God, Be a Mother of Faith! 131

Acknowledgments 137

Notes 139