"Mary's Christmas Story" by Lucinda Weeks

EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY

Mary's Christmas Story
(Women Who Met Jesus Volume III)

by Lucinda Weeks

Mary's Christmas Story is the third book in the Women Who Met Jesus series by Lucinda Weeks. The Kindle version is currently ON SALE for only $0.99. The paperback version has also been released just in time for Christmas. The author stops by today to share an excerpt from the book. You can also enter our exclusive giveaway for a chance to win a paperback or Kindle copy of Mary's Christmas Story.

Also available for only $0.99 and featuring bright, new covers: The Adulteress (read my blog post) and Veronica (read my blog post).

Description

On the night of her father's death, young Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel who brings her a message of comfort and peace that she has been chosen by God to become the mother of the Messiah. Mary gladly accepts God's glorious plan for her life. However Mary soon finds that she has many challenges ahead of her as her own mother and her beloved Joseph finds it hard to believe.

This is a beautiful and exciting look at the life of Mary and the close connection that she has with Jesus. Told according to Protestant belief it tells about the romance she shares with her husband Joseph. This story focuses on the first 12 years of Jesus's life. It is filled with beautiful stories of what his childhood might have been like. It is a story of redemption and healing for those around Jesus.

Excerpt

On the Night of Jesus’s Birth

A short while later, we were surrounded by a group of twelve men who rode into town on the backs of camels. These men were very elaborately dressed in bright silk green robes, with red silk capes draped around their shoulders. They all appeared to be wealthy men, as they wore gold chains around their necks and gold rings on their fingers. Three of the men wore golden crowns on their heads, decorated with red rubies, purple amethyst and emerald green stones.

The spokesperson for the group, a tall and broad shouldered man, stepped forward. He bowed his head and nodded before he spoke in Hebrew, with an Italian accent.

“Hello, my name is Avichai,” he said humbly with eyes full of wonder.

“These men are the Magi,” he said turning slightly; he stretched out his arm and motioned to the men behind him. By the words Avichai spoke, and the fact that he was dressed distinctly different from the other men, it was apparent that Avichai was not an official member of the group. Instead, he acted as an interpreter for the others.

“We have seen the star of David in the heavens,” Avichai continued, interpreting for the Magi.

“We have come to worship the new King.” I was amazed that the Magi had recognized the star and stepped out in faith that they would find Jesus here.

“These men are astronomers, who believe that God has recorded the gospel in the stars that he would send his divine and holy son to the earth to be born. They have watched the heavens, for God to reveal the exact time and place of our saviors birth. We noticed the star appear in the night sky about a week ago. It appeared to travel from the region of Galilee and come to rest here in Bethlehem, directly above this stable.”

I was in awe that this magnificent star had guided these men to find us. It had appeared in the sky at the time that we left Nazareth and paralleled our journey here to Bethlehem. Neither Joseph nor I had seen the star above us until it drew near to the earth and became like a strobe of bright white light.

“The three Kings humbly recognize their low position in life. The Kings are honored to worship the King of all Kings,” Avichai continued.

The three kings emerged from their camels and approached us each carrying wooden treasure boxes, in their hands. The first King bowed low to the earth and stretched out his arms to present the square wooden box made from cedar wood. He lifted the lid revealing a blue velvet lined interior filled with gold coins. I gasped in awe of the gold imagining there must have been enough gold to help us care for Jesus through adulthood.

“The first King is the King of Yemen named Gaspar. Gaspar is from the desert region of Ramlat al-Sab atayan, the ruler of the Sabean people. The second King is Belshazzar, from the coastal region of Himyar ruler over the Himyarite people. King Belshazzar lifted the lid on his treasure chest made from dark mahogany wood. Inside the ornately designed box, King Belshazzar presented Jesus with a bowl of what looked like chunks of pineapple. I raised my eyebrow curiously and forged a faint smile, not knowing what the gift was that he presented.

“Behold, a gift truly fit for a king,” Avichai said, reading the look of confusion on my face. “Behold sweet smelling sap of the Yemen Boswellia sacra tree, better known as Frankincense. When the Frankincense is heated it gives off the most delicious aroma.” King Belshazzar brought the Frankincense near enough to my face that I could smell the rich savory aroma that drowned out the foul stench of the animals, who made their home in the stable.

“The third King is Melchior, from the Yemen upland region of Minean.” King Melchior opened the lid on his treasure box fashioned from finely polished gold. Inside the box was a vile of thick yellow liquid, like honey and a bowl of what resembled kernels of corn.

I smiled guessing that the liquid was a type of perfume and the bowl of waxy looking corn was a type of incense. I looked into Avichai’s eyes that sparkled beneath the moon’s glow and looked for answers. Avichai was a man to be admired, very intelligent and knowledgeable of the foreign people. 

“May the King present the purest form of Myrrh? Myrrh is the blood of the Commiphora Myrrha tree,” Avichai explained. “The Myrrh is a natural gum resin that is a perfume, an incense and a medicine. It is sought after by people everywhere for its healing properties as well as its rich aromatic fragrance”.

After the Kings came presenting their gifts, the remaining Magi formed a single file line. One by one, they stepped forward, admired baby Jesus, and spoke blessings over him in their native tongue. Then I could hear the faint pattering sound of a drum. Par rum pa pum pum pum par rum pa pum  pum, could be heard as the Magi stepped away from the manger scene.

Behind the last Magi came a young boy who appeared to be about twelve years old. He wore sandals and a short striped tunic. He carried a drum hung around his neck with a leather strap. The boy shivered but was unconcerned with the biting cold wind. I smiled imagining he was exactly what Jesus might look like some day. He was adorable with rosy pink cheeks and white cotton shepherd’s headdress tied with a cord behind his head. He began to sing as he played his drum.

“I am a poor shepherd boy,” he sang out with a painfully agonizing screech. “I have come to see the new born king,” he continued struggling to stay on key. He continued to play his drum pa rum pa pum pum rum pa pum pum. I smiled seeing that he was truly giving a heartfelt effort to honor baby Jesus with his music…

Praise for the Book

"This is a wonderful story of life purpose that reveals how we can all live the greatness that God has in store for each of us as we allow Him to take total charge of our lives and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit as Mary did. Part III in a series titled The Women Who Met Jesus, this is a truly amazing story that will warm your heart and empower you to follow Jesus." ~ Margaret Lukasik

"Very beautiful and realistic story. I loved the vivid characters and the simple message of God’s love for all humanity." ~ Elleny Cartagena

"This story is one that deserves to be read over and over, every Christmas season." ~ Robert S. Canizales

"I loved this story! It has a wonderful Christmas message. Unforgettable characters and great story." ~ LC

"I enjoyed reading this book truly original. Exciting read, hard to put down." ~ William R. Washington

From the Author

I have been writing fiction as a hobby when I was eight. I've written as a ghostwriter for national magazines and websites. I have been a Christian believer in Jesus Christ for more than thirty years and began writing Christian fiction as a way of sharing Christ's love and to share with others the talent he gave me to write. I strive to write in a way that glorifies Christ first of all and to show in my writings of his divine love and mercy.

In 2005 I earned a degree in biblical studies from Ambassadors of Faith Christian Center and Seminary in Saint Joseph, Missouri, which has helped enhance my Biblically-based writings.

Giveaway

Enter our exclusive giveaway for a chance to win one of two autographed paperback copies (US only) or one of 20 Kindle copies of Mary's Christmas Story by Lucinda Weeks (international).

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"Veronica" by Lucinda Weeks

GUEST POST and GIVEAWAY

Veronica:
The woman with the issue of blood
(Women Who Met Jesus Book 2)

by Lucinda Weeks

Veronica is the second book in the Women Who Met Jesus series by Lucinda Weeks. Also available: The Adulteress (read my blog post).

Both books are currently ON SALE for only $0.99. Or order your paperback copy of either book directly from the author to get 50% off the cover price! Simply email Lucinda Weeks and mention this offer.

The author stops by today to share a guest post and an excerpt from Veronica. You can also enter our exclusive giveaway for a chance to win one of two paperback copies of Veronica.

Description

Veronica has faith that just one touch from Jesus is all she needs to bring healing to her body and restoration to her life and her soul.

As a grieving young widow, Veronica has made a terrible decision, one that has destroyed her health and ultimately rips her family apart. Her condition has ravished her body. Her issue of blood has forced her to live as an outcast, cut off and rejected by society.

She is labeled as unclean.

Desperate to get her children back, Veronica spends everything she has seeking out doctors and undergoing barbaric medical procedures, hoping to find a cure. Her medical treatments seem to do no good, but leave her worse off than before.

Just when Veronica is about to give up hope of seeing her children again, she hears about the great physician, Jesus! She has heard that Jesus has healed many; he has restored the sight to the blind and cleansed the lepers. She knows that he has the power to heal her. When Veronica encounters Jesus, she finds everything she has been looking for and more.

Excerpt

Allister went away, leaping with joy and shouting praises to God, knowing that his body had been healed and his life completely transformed. Allister was not only physically healed but was also given the opportunity to live a normal life. Allister, like other men, had always dreamed of falling in love and getting married, but his grotesque deformities were repulsive to women. Allister knew that women weren’t interested in looking at him, let alone marrying him. Now with his stunningly handsome new face, every young woman in town would soon be chasing him. I shuddered; astounded by the mighty miracle that Allister had received at the hand of Jesus. Allister was kind and gentle with the heart of pure spun gold. Despite Allister’s hardships, he was always looking out for others, helping them in any way that he could. I knew that he must have modeled his life after the life that Jesus had lived while helping the little orphaned children. Surely, if anyone deserved to receive such an incredible life-transforming miracle, it was Allister.

I was amazed how everyone who came to Jesus had been healed.

It’s my turn! I thought with much awaited anticipation.

I had suffered for so long. I began to think about what my healing would mean.

I would finally be able to immerse myself in the cleansing waters of the Mikvah and be declared clean again. I would finally have the chance to be reunited with my precious children.

I have waited so long for this moment. Twelve long hard years is longer than anyone should have to suffer.

With great strides, I began to run after Jesus. The crowd of people continued to throng Jesus, who continued to brush the foreheads of everyone he saw and healed them.

Praise for the Book

"I love this author. She has a warm, personal style that make her stories truly engaging." ~ Christi

"I just love reading books from this author. Very well written, thought provoking, pure genius!" ~ brian pfleiderer

Guest Post by the Author

An Introduction to My Women Who Met Jesus Series

I am excited to introduce the series I am writing entitled Women Who Met Jesus. This is an exciting fiction series based on New Testament women whose lives were changed forever when they met Jesus. The first two titles in the series have recently been released. These books were written as a way of sharing Christ’s love with others. It is my hope to eventually add several more titles to the series.

I believe each of these books contain many elements of great Christian fiction:

• Biblically based
• Well written
• Action
• Adventure
• Romance
• Culture
• History
• Humor
• Controversial

While these books are written about women who lived over 2,000 years ago, they were written in such a way that today’s women can relate to them. Women in Bible times struggled with many of the same issues that modern day women are faced with.  

Like women today, the New Testament women may have struggled with the worry that God could not possibly forgive them, that they are alone and rejected. Then the women come to meet Jesus and learn how loving and forgiving he really is.

Some of the themes that are central in the Women Who Met Jesus series are Christ’s love, mercy, forgiveness and redemption are available to everyone who believes in him.

While the books do not have to be read in the order in which they were written, the reader will find that many of their favorite characters appear in each book, and the reader is able to learn more about the lives of their favorite characters by reading all of the books.

As an example, two women that readers are sure to come to love are Adriana and Deborah who model Godly Character and who seem to embody Christ’s love. These two women, reappear in each book and the reader is able to learn more about these incredible women. Other characters, such as Salvador, tend to reappear in each book to guide the reader through the culture in which the stories were set.

One of my favorite elements of these books is that each story is interwoven with many other wonderful New Testament stories. These women lived at a very exciting time in history, when Jesus was on this Earth. Many people, both men and women, were being healed by Jesus. It may have been possible that some of these New Testament men and women may have met each other, may have been friends, or even related. They may have had the opportunity to hear Jesus preach and see people healed.

I chose to interweave many New Testament stories, especially of Christ’s healings, with the goal in mind that it may inspire those readers who have not read the Bible to begin reading it and discover that the it is filled with many exciting stories of real people.

I began writing The Adulteress several years ago. Writing had always been a lifelong hobby and I enjoyed some success writing professionally, yet I had a longing desire to write something that truly glorified Christ.

As I was contemplating what to write, I happened to read portions of the book Bad Girls of the Bible and thought how exciting it would be to write about a biblical character that had lived during the time of Jesus, who had met Jesus, heard him preach, and whose life Christ had transformed.

I began to pray about what female character I could base my story on, as there were so many different New Testament women. It was about this time that I heard a man say in an interview on Christian radio that the story of the Adulteress should not be in the Bible, because God cannot forgive sin like that. The man’s words upset me because I knew that Jesus is a God of love, that his mercy knows no end, and that he can and does forgive even what people may believe are the worst of sins. It was sad for me to think that people are being told that God cannot or will not forgive.

After hearing the man on the radio, I sat down to write The Adulteress, and what unfolded was a vivid story that has many characteristics of a great novel: suspense, action and romance, history, culture, humor.

The Bible does not provide any specific details as to who the woman actually was. She could have been anyone. Adina’s story is told in a way that I feel has never been done before.

Adina is young and in love with Yeichiel, who is a thief and a drunkard. Her father is certain that Yeichiel is not good enough for her and arranges for her to marry Eleazar, who is very rich. In those days, it was customary for a man to pay a bride price to the father for a woman’s hand in marriage. He will stop at nothing and pay any price to marry Adina.

In those days, it was not uncommon for a woman’s father to arrange for his daughter’s marriage. I wanted to raise awareness to arranged marriages, as it is a practice that still takes place in many other cultures around the world. 

Adina is a character that the reader is tempted to either love or hate. She is clearly a victim of her circumstances, she finds herself living a life she never imagined for herself, and is trapped in a marriage to a man she does not love. Adina is a woman who is very confused. At times, the reader may want to sympathize with her, while at other times the reader may wonder why - when she knows that her wayward actions brings her much heartache - she continues down such a path of destruction and doesn't stop the types of things she is doing.

We may all know people like that. The answer for Adina is that, not only will it take a real and meaningful encounter with Jesus, but also she needs the loving support from women in the church who will walk with her, pray with her, and model for her what it is like to be a Godly Christian woman.  

The story of The Adulteress has many twists, turns and surprises interwoven together or inspired by many other Old and New Testament stories. Some of these stories are:

• Anna the prophetess
• The story of Jacob
• The story of Ester
• The Samaritan woman
• The paralytic
• The pearl of great price
• Trial and crucifixion of Jesus

After I finished writing The Adulteress, I wanted to continue writing. It was then that I decided to write a series. I began to pray about what character to write about next. I had always loved the story on the woman with the issue of blood who had suffered for 12 years. The woman had been rejected by society because of her bleeding. Through her faith in Jesus, she received healing and her healing brought restoration. She would be able to re-enter society.

The character was not named in the Bible. I did some research on who this woman was. Some historians believed that this woman’s name was Veronica and that she was so grateful to Jesus for all he did for her, that she lovingly walked beside Jesus all the way to the cross. As she walked with Jesus, she took her head covering off and wiped the face of Jesus, and his face was imprinted into the cloth. This beautiful moment is recaptured in the story.

Her bleeding disorder could have been caused any number of things. I had watched my own mother suffer from heavy bleeding for many years prior to menopause due to a hormonal imbalance, and it looked like I had inherited the same bleeding disorder. I suffered just four months before the Lord had healed me in a church service. I knew very quickly after I began praying, that I wanted to write the next novel on the woman with the issue of blood.

Before I began to write, I talked about my plans for the novel with a co-worker; we discussed some things that might have caused her bleeding disorder, and the idea came to mind that her bleeding may have been due to an abortion that had gone terribly wrong.

When I began writing Veronica, what unfolded was a heart-touching story filled with pro-life themes and pro-adoption themes, particularly the adoption of children with special needs.

My editor commented on Veronica and stated she had not read a story that touched her so deeply emotionally for many years.

Veronica is a young woman who loves children but she and her husband struggle to have children. They decide to adopt a baby from a local orphanage.

The orphanage is where they first meet Jesus. As a young man, Jesus volunteered his time at the orphanage caring for infants and young children who were sick and deformed. The Bible tells us that Jesus was a carpenter. In the story, Jesus used his carpentry skills to lovingly construct cribs for the infants at the orphanage.

Over time, Veronica and her husband adopt three children. Then Veronica is left widowed. She struggles to raise three difficult children alone. Her mother pressures her to find a husband and then learns she is pregnant by a very charmingly deceptive man. Veronica chooses to have an abortion that causes her bleeding issue. She hopes the abortion will make life easier for her children, but she eventually loses custody of her children.

Veronica spends everything she has on doctors hoping to find a cure for her bleeding, so she can get well and get her children back. As the Bible tells us, she suffered many things at the hands of doctors. Finally, out of money and out of hope, she learns that her old friend Jesus, whom she has already come to have faith in as the Messiah, has begun a great healing ministry. She believes in her heart that Jesus can heal her, and she sets out to find Jesus and receive her healing. Not only is Veronica healed, but she is reunited with her children, who are now grown. Veronica encounters some surprises, both good and bad, when she is reunited with her children, as none of them turned out quite like she had imagined.

The story of Veronica is interwoven with many other great New Testament stories. Some of these are:

• The birth of Jesus
• The slaughter of the innocents
• The woman with the alabaster jar
• The Syrophonician woman
• Simon the Leper
• Simon from Cyrene
• Martha, friend of Jesus
• Lazarus
• Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus

The story of Veronica is an encouraging story for women who are hurting after having an abortion. The story vividly shows that Jesus still loved Veronica after her abortion. Not only does he offer Veronica healing from her physical scars left from the abortion, but he forgives her, he loves her, and restores her life. Jesus restores her family and brings them deliverance and healing as well.

From the Author

I have been writing fiction as a hobby since I was eight. I've written as a ghostwriter for national magazines and websites. I have been a Christian believer in Jesus Christ for more than thirty years and began writing Christian fiction as a way of sharing Christ's love and to share with others the talent he gave me to write. I strive to write in a way that glorifies Christ first of all and to show in my writings his divine love and mercy.

Giveaway

Enter our exclusive giveaway for a chance to win one of two paperback copies of Veronica by Lucinda Weeks (US only).

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Tate Publishing

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