Joanna Weaver: An Interview with the Author of Lazarus Awakening

Joanna Weaver

I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend, author Joanna Weaver! Over the past few months, it has been such a blessing to get to know her more while serving on the launch team for her latest companion DVD Bible study, Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God. Filmed in Israel, it releases July 21, 2015.

I was already familiar with one of Joanna’s earlier studies that I completed years ago,

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. I absolutely loved that study! You can read my review here: Mary Heart. 

It is such a joy to find that Joanna is so genuine, and I have loved getting to hear the longings of her heart as they pertain to her relationship with her Lord and with her friends and family. 

Joanna is sweet, humble, and passionate about God's Word. She's the real deal! 

I hope you enjoy this interview and that it will inspire you to check out her other books…especially her latest book and DVD Bible Study: Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place In the Heart of God. 

Be sure to read to the bottom of this post to find out how you can win the Giant Bible Study In a Box!

Let's get to know Joanna a bit more. 

Here's a quick Bio...

Please welcome author, Joanna Weaver. 

She is the author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, which has sold over a million copies. Other books include Having a Mary Spirit, Lazarus Awakening, and a devotional, At the Feet of Jesus. Her books and companion DVD Bible studies have been used by hundreds of churches as well as home groups and individuals.

Joanna speaks at conferences and retreats around the country and internationally as well. Her passion is to see women experience the incredible love and grace of God so that they can become all He created them to be.

Joanna’s articles have appeared in publications such as Focus on the Family, Guideposts, and HomeLife. Awards include: Platinum Award for Having a Mary Heart in a World; Reader’s Choice Award finalist for Lazarus Awakening; and a Silver Medallion Award for With This Ring, a wedding gift book. She was also named Mount Hermon’s Christian Writers Conference “Most Promising Writer” and chosen for the Guideposts Writer’s Workshop. Joanna has been the guest on many national radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Midday Connection, HomeWord and Harvest TV.

Joanna’s greatest joy is found in being a wife and mother of three, as well as serving the Lord beside her husband John in full-time ministry. The Weavers reside in the beautiful “Big Sky” state of Montana.

The Interview...

Where did your love and passion for the Word come from?

I wish I could say I always had a passion for God’s Word, but to be honest, it wasn’t until I was 28 years old that I really learned how to read the Bible in a meaningful way. Though I’d grown up in the church knowing I was supposed to have a “quiet time,” I’d never learned how to do it.

A Navigator’s 2:7 discipleship class changed all that. As I learned how to study God’s Word, really thinking about what I read and responding to it, my passion for the Bible grew.

I once heard Greg Laurie say, “Spiritual hunger is different than natural hunger. When we’re hungry in the natural, we eat and we’re satisfied. But when we’re hungry in the spiritual, it isn’t until we begin to eat that we realize how hungry we are!”

That’s been true in my life – the more time I spend in God’s Word, the more I want!

In your studies, you encourage women to take time to pray and journal as they read the Bible. What about this process do you find so important?

Prayerful journaling helps us to slow down and absorb what we’re reading. For so much of my life, when it came to reading the Bible I was like the man of James 1:23-24 who “listens to the word” but immediately walks away forgetting what he’s heard.

But when I learned how to journal about what I’d read, God’s Word began to come alive. Rather than reading the Bible through in a year (like I assumed every good Christian was required to do!), I began reading less so I could meditate more. It’s a method I still use today.

I read scripture slowly, asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate truth to my heart. When something stands out, I write out the verse(s) in my journal and a response to what I sense God is speaking and ways that I can apply the truth to my life.   

I’m excited about sharing this process in all of my new DVD Bible studies because I believe God wants to speak to us all. But we have to slow down and listen. Learning to journal our journey with God really helps us do just that.

Many women struggle to find time to do a study or engage with the Bible in the midst of marriage, a career, raising children, and more. What advice or words of encouragement would you offer to women attempting to balance time spent with God with the demands of a family and other responsibilities? 

“Start small, but begin” – that’s what the Puritans used to say. We’ve got to set aside our all-or-nothing tendencies and simply accept the invitation Mary enjoyed when she sat at Jesus’s feet listening to what He said. It’s helped me to remember that God isn’t looking for perfection, He longs for relationship. So I’m learning to invite Him into my day. 

Before I get out of bed in the morning, I pray: “Lord, come take the throne of my heart. Lead and guide me, interrupt me if you wish. I don’t want You to be a part of my life – I want You to BE my life!”   

But I also try to prioritize time in the Word. Even if it’s just five minutes, I look for a scripture to meditate on so that I can think about it through the day.

How has Christ challenged you personally as you’ve written and developed Bible studies?

God rarely allows me to write about things I feel an expertise in. Instead, He asks me to be a learner – and in a sense, a fellow struggler with those who read my book – as He teaches us the message He’s laid on my heart. 

Because writing is the hardest thing I do, the process makes me absolutely dependent on the Holy Spirit! While working on Lazarus Awakening, I went through an extended period of writer’s block. My head was absolutely quiet. I’d sit down and literally couldn’t put a single word on the screen. 

During that time, I discovered that Jesus’s words are true: “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). That’s a difficult but wonderful lesson to learn – especially when our helplessness makes us turn to God.

How do you go about developing a new book or study?

Writing a book or study isn’t something I decide to do on my own. Instead, God slowly lays a message on my heart until it comes alive to me. Each book has been a little different (you can read the backstories at my website), but the inspiration usually comes in layers of repeated themes and confirmations. 

Finally, God gives me a sense of knowing that this is the book He wants me to write. After brainstorming content and sketching out chapters, I write a proposal which my agent takes to my publisher. 

After the book is accepted, I enter an intense season of study and research – which I love! Only after that do I begin to write. While I have a strong idea of what the book is about, in a very real sense, I write to find out. Which means there are a lot of twists and turns, detours and backtracking required before reaching the finished product. 

It isn’t a pretty process, but it’s mine. One I’ve learned to appreciate because of the utter dependency on God that it produces.

As a writer and Bible teacher, what themes or characters in the Bible are you interested in studying and writing about next?

For years, I’ve longed to write a book about trusting God – over a decade, in fact! In my opinion, there’s nothing more important than this pivotal question: “Will I trust God?” It’s not “can I?” or “should I?”…it all comes down to this: “will I?”

When something bad happens and I’m tempted to fear – God whispers, “Will you trust me?” When my hopes and dreams seem derailed – “Will you trust me?” And on those days when my strength is gone and my to-do list goes unfinished, I hear Him say, “Will you trust me with that as well?” 

So I’m hoping one day I’ll get to write that book. But first, God is asking me to trust Him by taking a sabbatical of sorts to focus on my family and our church for the next six months to a year.

“Trust in me, Joanna,” I hear God whisper. “Rest in Me.” So that’s what I plan to do.

 Joanna, where can we find your books and more about you?

Thanks for asking! You can find my books and DVD studies at my website www.joannaweaverbooks.com. You can also find them on B&N, Amazon(see links below to purchase), Parable, Christianbook.com, and possibly other independent books stores. The new companion DVD Bible study for Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God releases on July 21, 2015. Filmed in Israel, the video sessions feature Joanna teaching about the halfway life too many of settle for, even as Christians. “It’s time to step out of our tombs and shed the graveclothes that have bound us far too long,” Joanna says. “It’s time to ‘come forth’ into abundant life Jesus came to give!”

 Joanna, it has been such a pleasure to have you on the blog today!
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You can also follow Joanna on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+.

Grab Joanna's books here:

Be sure to enter  the “Giant Bible-Study-in-a-Box Giveaway”!! (contest is over)

Just head over here and enter to win! 

It features everything needed to host a study for 24 people, including DVDs, books, and study guides – this grand prize drawing takes place July 21st at 8:00 pm MDT.

Oh…and please leave a comment below! What has helped you spend more quality time with God? I'm sure Joanna would love to hear from you. I would too!

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Your Voice Matters

About two weeks ago I received a message in my Facebook inbox from a woman I had never met.   She was asking me how I created some of the pins I had posted on Pinterest for Mary DeMuth's book launch team.  (As I mentioned in my last post, I was blessed to be chosen to be on Mary's launch team for her latest book that is due out in October. The Wall Around Your Heart).

As it turns out, this woman was also an author, getting ready to launch a new book. So...being the book lover that I am and intrigued by the title of her book, I offered my graphic design services for peanuts and an advance copy of her book so that I could read it and mine the depths for great quotes.  She took the bait! ;-) Rats! I should have asked for chocolate!!

And the rest, as they say, is history...or rather her-story.  I have a  beautiful new friend that I want to introduce to you. Her name is Jo Ann Fore. I won't go into the details of her life but you can find out more about her here...Jo Ann's Story.  I now know her as a woman who cares deeply about her friends, new and old. She is a woman with a burning passion to reach out to those who are hurting and broken. Her heart is to see them healed and whole. I am so very thankful that God has allowed our paths to cross. 

Now I want to introduce you to her book When A Woman Finds Her Voice.  No...not the book itself, at least not yet.  But to the things within my heart that have been awakened in the reading of her words.  

I am now a part of a community of women who have a desire to use our unique voice, each one of us,  to usher in hope and healing in the lives of other women. Those women whose voices have been stifled...from shame, threat, pain, fear...or whatever has caused them to shut off a part of themselves to the world, to their own family and friends.  Many in this community want to reach out because we have found healing for ourselves. Healing for wounds that were buried...buried just beneath the surface for some, and very deep within the spirit for others...soul wounds. 

I haven't quite figured out exactly how I am going to participate in this particular journey...though I have been reaching out to women for many years sharing stories from my own past...stories of brokenness and redemption. I have experienced so much throughout my life...the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I witnessed the sexual abuse of my childhood best friend. No child should ever have to experience the betrayal and abuse that she endured...and as a young girl, I didn't even know how to put words to scenes I had witnessed.  I have experienced loss through the death of many family members and friends through the years...beginning with my father when I was just 10 years old, my very best friend in high school...and more death...continuing on throughout my life. My husband and I walked, cried, and prayed through two traumatic brain events with our son, almost losing him both times, and we are still traveling the road of recovery with him.   I have been married for 30 years...to the same amazing man, whom I love dearly and who continues to love me in spite of my quirks.  But I will tell you that not all of those years was he 'so amazing'...but then, neither was I.  

I guess you can say I have scars...lots of them from the hurts of life.  But....they are scars, not wounds. Scars are an indication that healing has taken place.  

I love to share stories of healing.  Jesus also loves healing and redemption. He loved us enough to share his wounds with us...those scars in His hands and feet.  The very proof that He understands us in our hurts. He understands rejection and emotional pain. He chose to walk the road that led to hurt, pain and rejection...even a cruel death on a cross for you and I. Oh how thankful that He walked that particular road so that we don't have to. He walked that path of woundedness so that we could find hope and complete healing...wholeness!

We all have scars of some kind. We live in a broken world; broken as a result of sin entering the world. But Christ came to give us life. To heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. Allow Him to heal your wounds, and let the scars that are left behind become the proof of the healing work of redemption and restoration in your life. When you begin to let that truth sink in...the truth of your worth to the God of all creation, the truth that you are loved beyond your wildest imagination, sweet sister...that is when the healing begins.  As Jo Ann says in her book,

Those thin places

where truth seeps through—

those are the places where Jesus walks, the places we find healing.

Won't you join us on this journey? Won't you find your voice?

God..."heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."                                                                                                ~Psalm 147:3

I am linking up with Jo Ann and other beautiful women every Wednesday to talk about finding our voices...sharing our stories.  Not to rehash the past...or to commiserate over our wounded-ness but with freedom and joy and purpose to share our hearts and allow God to use us...our voices...to make a difference, to help women find hope and healing.