Memorable Monday #35

Posted December 24, 2018 by thebeccafiles in / 1 Comment

Happy Christmas Eve!

The purpose of memorable Monday is to showcase a book that you’ve read in the past and share how/why it has stuck with you.

This week I’m featuring:

I really wanted to be able to come up with some Christmas story to share this week but when I say I don’t read Christmas stories I really wasn’t kidding. I like if Christmas is present but not the main focus of a book. So sorry, I couldn’t think of anything Christmas-related to share.

So after thinking for a bit I remembered a book I read several years ago:

Why do I share it? Because it’s a Christian Fiction story that imagines what the life of the “woman at the well” might have been like until she encountered Jesus and it changed everything. Isn’t that what Christmas is about? Yes, it’s about Jesus coming as a baby–but more importantly it’s about encountering Jesus and having that encounter lead to a saving faith. The woman at the well’s life changed not just because she saw him, but because he saw her and that changed everything. Her heart was transformed and she realized a worth she never realized she had. She recognized Jesus for who he was and it was the most important decision she ever made in her life.

So while this isn’t a Christmas story, it’s about an encounter with Jesus and his ability to change lives. This was absolutely a Biblical fiction story that has stuck with me over the years and I consider it well-worth the read.

About the Book:

One of the most well-known and loved stories of Jesus’s ministry is the encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Now the creative mind of Diana Wallis Taylor imagines how the Samaritan woman got there in the first place. Marah is just a girl of thirteen when her life is set on a path that will eventually lead her to a life-changing encounter with the Messiah. But before that momentous meeting she must traverse through times of love lost and found, cruel and manipulative men, and gossiping women.

This creative and accurate portrayal of life in the time of Jesus opens a window into a fascinating world. Taylor’s rich descriptions of the landscapes, lifestyles, and rituals mesh easily with the emotional and very personal story of one woman trying to make a life out of what fate seems to throw at her. This exciting and heartwrenching story will fascinate readers and lend new life to a familiar story.

About the Author:

A winner of the “Writer of the Year” award by the San Diego Christian Writer’s Guild, Diana Wallis Taylor has been writing since the age of 12 when she sold her first poem to a church newspaper. She has completed four novels of Biblical Fiction for Revell, two novels of Biblical Fiction with a third in production, and a Halloween book, “Harmless Fun or Risky Business” for Whitaker House.

Her fourth book, Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate, was nominated for ACFW’s Carol Award. She won first place in the San Diego Book Awards for her short story “Phipps and the Jay”; First place in Christian Romance for her book Smoke Before the Wind; First place in Christian Fiction for her e-book, House of the Forest; Second place for Martha, First place for her manuscript for A Distant Mountain (now Shadows on the Mountain); all in Reader’s Favorite Book Review and Award Contest. Her collection of poetry, Wings of the Wind came out in 2006. Her writing contributions appear in various compilation books and magazines. Diana wrote the words and melodies for an Easter cantata called “Glorious” recently completed with her fellow collaborator, Carolyn Prentice, who did the orchestration.

Diana lives with her husband Frank in San Diego, California. Between them they have six grown children and nine grandchildren. She enjoys speaking and sharing her heart with women of all ages.