The New Perspective on Mary and Martha gives Mary and Martha a total makeover. No longer is this familiar passage about prioritizing spiritual pursuits over the tyranny of the practical. The results of a close reading of the text and careful exegesis of the Greek has Martha escaping the kitchen and Mary is not even in the house! Martha is still overly worried, not about housework, but over the much more understandable concern about her (younger) sister. Mary, who is out of the village, follows her call, ministering on the road with Jesus. Luke 10:38-42 is about discipleship, ministry, trust, and the new family of Jesus.

We all face stress and tension in our daily lives. We might even wonder why our God of abundant goodness doesn’t remove the everyday struggles we face. Jesus’ interactions with Martha and Mary in the Gospel provide us the key to understanding how God shows us his love by allowing tensions in our lives. As we follow the sisters’ transformative journeys through their own struggles, reflecting on what transpires between Scripture verses, we see their initial tension become the catalyst that drives both Mary and Martha to the feet of Jesus — the place where all discover peace. Grace in Tension explores the areas where stress arises in our own lives. Each chapter ends with a thought-provoking prayer to inspire us to go to God with our problems, followed by questions for reflection to help us see all the ways he’s working for our good. God doesn’t create any of it, but he does show up amid life’s difficulties, ready to lead us through. No matter how big or small our struggle, when we seek him out, he reveals what we need to do to resolve our tension, transforming it into grace. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Claire McGarry is the founder of MOSAIC of Faith, a ministry for mothers of infants to school-aged children to explore their faith through motherhood. She contributes regularly to CatholicMom.com and blogs at ShiftingMyPerspective.com. She is the author of Lenten devotional With Our Savior, and her work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Keys for Kids, These Days, and Focus on the Family magazine. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

'Mary and Martha: Women in the World of Jesus' focuses on women as portrayed in the Johannine Gospel--the nature of their lives and their relationship to Jesus.

A fresh retelling of the biblical story of Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus, shows her strength, character, and vulnerability as she serves her family and her Lord.

When He came to earth, Jesus Christ was rejected in every quarter in which He stepped. The Creator was rejected by His own creation. “He came to His own and His own received Him not,” said John. For this reason, Jesus Christ had “no where to lay His head.” There was one exception, however. A little village just outside of Jerusalem named Bethany. Bethany was the only place on earth where Jesus was completely received. God’s Favorite Place on Earth is a retelling of Jesus’ many visits to Bethany and a relaying of the message it holds for us today. Frank Viola presents a beautifully crafted narrative from the viewpoint of Lazarus, one of the people who lived in Bethany with his two sisters. This incomparable story not only brings the Gospel narratives to life, but it addresses the struggle against doubt, discouragement, fear, guilt, rejection, and spiritual apathy that challenges countless Christians today. In profoundly moving prose, God’s Favorite Place on Earth will captivate your heart with its beauty, charm, and depth. In this book you will discover how to live as a “Bethany” in our world today, being set free to love and follow Jesus like never before.

(Foreword by Vickie Kraft) A revolutionary, biblical approach to life-changing women's ministries in churches, on campuses, and around the world.

Every one of us has some distance to go when it comes to our relationship with Christ. As twenty-first-century women, it often seems that the challenges of our modern lives make it even more difficult to live an authentic friendship with him. Thankfully, we have the lasting examples of women in the New Testament to show us how to draw close to Jesus, no matter what our circumstances might be. At His Feet is written for the woman who desires to rest in the peace of the Lord. This Bible study, specifically designed for women, helps us surrender to God’s will and, in doing so, find the true freedom that only our Savior can offer. Like us, the New Testament women featured in this study knew what it meant to struggle with the burdens of life and with their own sinfulness. But when they encountered Jesus, their lives were changed forever. Like the women of the New Testament, we can bring Jesus our burdens and receive his healing, his love, and his grace. We, too, can experience the life-changing power of drawing close to him and resting in his love. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Born and raised in Turkey, Derya Little rejected her family’s Islamic faith and became an atheist after her parents’ divorce. During her stormy adolescence, she tried to convince a Christian missionary that there is no God but was converted to Christianity instead. During her doctoral studies in England, she entered the Catholic Church.