A young shepherd girl stays up late to tend sheep with her father and follows the star to witness the birth of baby Jesus.

An evocative retelling of the nativity story, in which a shepherd's daughter joins the throng of shepherds who journey to the manger.

The world is walking past Hannah, and she can only watch it from a distance. Her family lives in a small home with the only well along the main roadway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The road between the bustling city and small village is filled with merchants, foreigners, and families. Tending her family's small flock of sheep in the desert, the young shepherd girl yearns for a closer encounter with the travelers. Most are travelling because of the census. Under the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire, Emperor Caesar Augustus wants Israel's entire population counted. According to Hebrew law, every man and his family must go to his place of birth for the census to be done properly. Hannah tends the sheep so her father, Micah, can work near the house. Her mother, Rebecca, is still very sick following the recent birth of Isaac. Micah and Miriam, Hannah's younger sister, stay behind in case Rebecca suffers another collapse. Everyone is very worried about her. A brief but severe desert storm brings unexpected visitors to Hannah and her family. Caught in the harsh storm, a young couple seeks shelter inside their home until it passes. The husband and his pregnant wife have walked from Nazareth because of the census. Bethlehem is their destination. Micah and Rebecca welcome them. Later that evening, two occurrences happen--one happy and the other strange. The second leads Micah and Hannah on their own journey to Bethlehem. Their guide is a bright star in the sky.

2019 Best Book Awards, Winner in Religion: Christianity 2018 Catholic Press Association, 3rd Place in Scripture: Popular Studies 2018 Independent Press Award, Distinguished Favorite: Religion Non-Fiction In Jesus Approaches, Elizabeth Kelly shares vivid stories of New Testament women whose encounters with Jesus freed them to flourish in life. The stories are supplemented with moving accounts from her own life, and from the lives of women like you, to demonstrate that sometimes the best way to find healing, strength, and wholeness in Christ is, ironically, to lead with vulnerability and openness. Ultimately, Jesus Approaches teaches that finding the fullness of life for which you were created begins with bringing your brokenness to the Lord.

Yeshua of Nazareth has two sisters: Damaris, married to a wealthy merchant's son, and Pheodora, married to a simple shepherd from Bethlehem. When Pheodora's husband suffers an unexpected reversal of fortune and is thrown into debtor's prison, she returns to Nazareth, where she pins her hopes on two she-goats who should give birth to spotless white kids that would be perfect for the upcoming Yom Kippur sacrifice. In the eighteen months between the kids' birth and the opportunity to sell them and redeem her husband from prison, Pheodora must call on her wits, her family, and her God in order to provide for her daughters and survive. But when every prayer and ritual she knows is about God's care for Israel, how can she trust that God will hear and help a lowly shepherd's wife?