WaterBrook Press celebrates the sale of more than 1 million copies of Joanna Weaver’s Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. The book also has been honored with a Platinum Award for sales from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Originally released in 2000, Weaver’s CBA and Publishers Weekly best-seller reflects on the sisters of Bethany—Mary and Martha—and has become an oft-used resource for women’s Bible study groups.

Weaver’s book is an invitation to the feet of Jesus for women who feel they aren’t godly enough, loving enough or doing enough.

“It all began with the desire to write biblical fiction,” Weaver said. “I’ve always been fascinated by the story [of] Mary and Martha in Luke 10, but as I looked at the rest of the story found in John 11 and 12, I realized that there was much more than just a novel in these two sisters from Bethany.”

Weaver said she experienced a year of insomnia and “living in a wind tunnel of words” while writing the book. She prayed two things as she wrote: “Oh Lord, let it make sense!” and  “Somehow, use it for your glory.”

Stephen W. Cobb, president and publisher of WaterBrook Multnomah, said the book “just resonated with women.”

“We knew from the start that we had something special with this title and with Joanna,” Cobb added. “We’re proud to see it reach such a significant milestone and that the book is as meaningful to women today as when it came out 14 years ago.”

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World became the first in Weaver’s “Bethany” trilogy. She went on to write the additional best-sellers Having a Mary Spirit (2006) and Lazarus Awakening (2011). In 2013, the series was repackaged with new covers, and WaterBrook released a new 10-week DVD and companion study guide of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. The resource is also available in a gift edition.

The new DVD curriculum and study guide for Having a Mary Spirit released in October, and the video series and study guide for Lazarus Awakening will be available next June.

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