Women in the Bible are often forgotten about, but Marina Hofman is bringing women front and centre in her new book, Women in the Bible: Small Group Bible Study.

Marina has a powerful story of God rescuing her life after a serious car crash and delivering her from anxiety. She says the women in the Bible helped her overcome the challenges she faced following that incident.

In each chapter of her book, Hofman examines one woman's story from a fresh and positive perspective and addresses faithfulness, redemption, justice, friendshipand triumph through adversity.

"Before the accident, I studied women in the Bible in scholarship. I was publishing articles," Hofman explains. "But after the accident, when I revisited these stories, I saw other dynamics."

"I realized these women were in situations so much like my own. They were desperate and faced major limitations. In a sense, many of them are broken. I found such incredible inspiration, and in time, when I got much better and was able to write again, I thought, I want to share these stories with other women because they so encouraged and inspired me."

Now in the Christmas season, Marina is shining a spotlight on Mary.

"We are all familiar with the story of Mary. She is part of Christmas culture, even in secular society," said Hofman.

Hofman says the angel calling Mary is a phenomenal event in the gospels, and even though it may be hard to believe, she says we can relate to Mary's encounter with the angel.

Today on Connections, Dr. Hofman shares how we can relate to Mary in more ways than we think.