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Lazarus Awakening
Finding Your Place in the Heart of God
We all know Jesus loved Mary – look how she worshiped. And we can understand why He loved Martha – after all, look how she served. But what about those of us who don’t know where we fit in the heart of God?
For many of us, moving the truth of God’s love from our heads to our hearts is a lifelong process. As we consider our inadequacies or grieve our shattered dreams, we find it difficult to believe that God cares for us personally.
About Lazarus Awakening
In this life-giving book, Joanna Weaver shows you how to embrace the truth that Jesus loves you apart from anything you accomplish, apart from anything you bring. Just as He called Lazarus forth to new life, Jesus wants to free you to live fully in the light of His love, unbound from the graveclothes of fear, regret, and self-condemnation.
Combining unforgettable real-life illustrations with unexpected biblical insights, Lazarus Awakening invites you to experience a spiritual resurrection that will forever change your understanding of what it means to be the one Jesus loves.
Testimonials
“I absolutely was captivated by the attention to detail and how the author seems to really get into the minds of the characters. So often, I find myself clawing through a book longing for some treasure. There was no clawing here. The treasures were plenty. Mrs. Weaver’s insights are inspiring. She opened my mind to new ways of thinking.”
“Joanna Weaver is more than just a gifted writer, she is a truly dedicated seeker of God and she does it with transparency and a whole heart. I cannot possibly give this book enough stars. It will point you to God and His word in a way you never could have imagined.”
“We have lived far too long in caves we do not belong. You will enjoy every moment as God reveals the areas of your life where you have been sleeping for far too long. You will find yourself awake and keenly aware of the realization God has been calling out to you, from the beginning of time, and even in your darkest hour.”
“The thoughts that Joanna has put into this book is profound. I highly recommend this book for women who are in need of some ‘awakening.’ I imagine we all could use some of that whether we realize it or not!”
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The Backstory
I never planned on writing a trilogy about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the siblings from Bethany that we meet in Luke’s and John’s gospels.
In fact, when I wrote Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, I was fairly certain it was the one and only book to be found in those verses. But God surprised me six years later, and Having a Mary Spirit was born.
The thought that there might be a third book never crossed my mind until I shared an interesting premise with a few friends who are writers. It was a teaching point I’d hoped to fit into Having a Mary Spirit but never quite found room.
“We all know Jesus loved Mary,” I told my friends. “After all, look how she worshiped. And we can even understand how Jesus loved Martha. Look how she served. But what about those of us who don’t know where we fit in the heart of God?”
The question hung in the air before I continued.
“The only thing of significance that Lazarus did was die. And yet when Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was ill, they said, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’ ”
Somehow my words seemed to have extra weight as they floated between us. Extra importance. Even I felt their impact.
After a few moments my friend Wendy broke the silence. “That part of the story didn’t make it into the book because it is a book.”
I can’t adequately explain what happened when she said those words, except to say it was as though a giant bell began to sound in my soul. Its reverberations sent shock waves through my body as I tried to change the subject.
The thing is, I didn’t want to write about Lazarus. I wanted to write a different book. I was ready to move on, to explore other subjects.
But God wouldn’t let me. And so Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God was born.