Three Wise Women: 40 Devotions Celebrating Advent with Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna

by Dandi Daley Mackall

You are invited to spend the 40 days of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany in the company of Mary the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, and Anna the prophetess at the temple in Jerusalem.

Anticipate, celebrate, and marvel at Jesus' birth with  Three Wise Women,  a richly researched and faith-building new devotional by Dandi Daley Mackall. We don’t hear many details directly from these three women at the heart of the first Christmas, but Scripture, studies in biblical culture, and an open heart that asks “what if” allows readers to experience new revelations for the holy season that will encourage and strengthen you in becoming a wise woman of God. 
 
As bestselling author Dandi Mackall reflects on the events and lives of these  Three Wise Women , she encourages you   An award-winning author, speaker, and passionate scholar of the Scriptures, Dandi shares her heart for Jesus and her own faith journey through this inspired and timely devotional. Beautifully designed with a two-color interior,  Three Wise Women  is the perfect book to accompany all believers through this holy season of the year, a lovely early Christmas gift, and an excellent resource for women's Bible study groups.
 
“Dandi Mackall has done something important, and beautiful, and good, calling her readers to ponder anew this miraculous season when the gift of all gifts was bestowed upon us all, and to do so through the eyes of the blessed women involved. This is a wonderful book." —Bret Lott, author of  New York Times  bestselling book  Jewel  and  Letters and On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian  
 
Visit  for a study guide, journal, and more free resources to enhance your Advent devotions!
 

Genres: Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Christmas

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 27, 2022

About the author

A professional writer for over 20 years, Dandi Daley Mackall has written dozens of articles for popular magazines and published around 500 books for children and adults alike, with sales of over 4 million.

A frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, she lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, horses, dogs, & cats. Awards include the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery, the Helen Keating Ott Award for Contributions to Children's Literature; Distinguished Alumni Award from Mizzou; ALA Best Book; Christian Children's Book of the Year, Amelia Bloom, Mom's Choice Awards. Her YA novel, My Boyfriends' Dogs, is now a Hallmark movie.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful Advent devotional (December 1 -January 6) by a gifted author, THREE WISE WOMEN is about the birth of Christ from the viewpoint of Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna the prophetess. Each devotion has: a scripture; a reflection on a theme, such as hope, waiting, love, loneliness, promises, etc. from the experiences of these wise women; then self-reflection questions for the reader to meditate on. The author invites you to take time out of every day of the Christmas craziness season and listen to the voices of the THREE WISE WOMEN who lived through the miracle of the birth of Christ.

This ecumenical devotional should appeal to anyone, regardless of denomination, age, or gender. It’s a precious, reflective meditation for any time of the year.

[Sarah Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this advent read. I appreciated that it went all the way to epiphany … but I read the rest on New Year’s Eve …. Cause I needed to not have an unread book at the end of the year.

That being said the concept of this with Mary, Elizabeth and Anna was wonderful. Usually advent books focus just on Jesus but this really was all around Jesus with mentions of Him.

I would definitely read this again.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book that travels through Advent, Christmas & lastly the Epiphany, in the words of Three Wise Women. Mary, Elizabeth & Anna tell the story of their own personal journeys, leading up to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Highly recommend !!


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Mags · Rating 1 out of 5]

How is this book so highly rated? This is fan fiction at best. The scripture verses before each chapter are picked to go with the theme of each diary-like entry from each woman. How is this beneficial? How is this drawing me closer in my walk with Christ? How is this educational?
There is a chapter where Mary is literally talking about feeling a "rush of warmth" when Joseph puts her in his lap and being embarrassed. This felt like the author wanted to write Christian erotica and disguised it as a devotional.

I will not be finishing this book. I was disgusted.
If you are looking for a book to learn more about the season and is beautifully written I highly recommend Advent: the Season of Hope by Tish Harrison Warren.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this and see myself re-reading each Christmas season!

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different way to look at Advent, 40 days before Christmas with Mary, Elizabeth and Anna form the bible, and hearing their wisdom and stories. The book is a beautiful hardcover, which makes it a good coffee table book as well.

[Kayleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss+ for the advance copy.

I love a good devotional, but what makes one "good" is unique to each person and even, to each person's stage of life or place in their journey. So I endeavor to give you a feel for this one, to decide if it is what you need this season.

This book, as stated in its intro, views the Bible as "absolute truth" so how literally you believe the Bible stories are intended to be taken may sway your opinion.
The concept seems a little confused in structure. The subtitle claims 40 devotions celebrating Advent, but the devotions start on 1 December (not the beginning of Advent) and going until Epiphany. I am always the last one on my block to take down the decorations, as I believe in the 12 days of Christmas and leaving them up until Epiphany, but that isn't what the title would have you believe. By my count that includes 37 devotions. Maybe the title is a hold-over from Lent?

After that bit of OCD distractedness, I do like the structure. We begin with five days thinking about Mary, then five with Elizabeth, then three with Anna before becoming more random. And each day, all the way through, has a theme: Hope, Waiting, Love, Loneliness, Grace, Worry, Wonder...
But some are told in the first person voice of these women, which I also find distracting. Instead of, from Mary, "Only after the wise men departed did I ponder the gifts they left. I was so overwhelmed with the wise men's generosity, I failed to consider what each gift might mean," I would rather be led to my own imagination. "Do you think Mary immediately understood the symbolism of each gift?"
My pet peeve is going to a funeral and the eulogist tell us what the dead person is saying or thinking right that moment from Heaven. They can't possibly know. This collection strikes the same chord in me. It projects the authors abilities or prejudices upon these women. Maybe Mary had the presence of mind to know exactly what those gifts represented.
Overall, I really like the premise (even if the subtitle is misleading), but the presumptuous idea to write the devotions in the voice of these revered women is off-putting to me. I really really wanted to like this one, but it is not for me.

[Jennifer K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m using Dandi Daley Mackall’s new Advent devotional and the thing that I like most is the application questions! But first, the author includes an impressive daily devotional with Biblical context. She offers Scriptures that are fitting. I also thoroughly enjoyed the one line prayer to finish with as it left one point of focus for the day. Now back to the thought provoking application questions. Simply said, those questions were refreshing. Not only were they ones I hadn’t expected but ones I found myself really stopping to think about. They would be perfect for journaling and for me the application questions made this devotional stand out. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

40 Devotions celebrating Advent with Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading one entry each day through Advent. The scriptures were well chosen. The day's theme easily grasped, and I enjoyed being in the heads of these three women and pondering what they might have thought and felt with all the miraculous happenings surrounding the birth of Jesus.

I read the "ponder" questions but didn't often journal on them so that leaves me the opportunity to read this book again next year and learn even more from it when I put more effort into it.

It's hardback and well put together. A great early Christmas gift. Or, perhaps, even a book to read leading into Lent and the Easter season.

[Amanda Pascoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be one of my favorite Christmas devotions yet. I loved the author's daily Scripture selections, creative interpretation of key moments surrounding the birth of Christ, questions for personal contemplation, and thoughtful prayer. As another reviewer mentioned, it also continued beyond December 25th until Epiphany-a refreshing and Biblical choice for an Advent selection that I appreciated. Each day's reading was an appropriate length for study without being overwhelming or taking away from any additional studies to which one might be committed. The extra days beyond Christmas were an inspiring introduction for the new year. I've already recommended this book to friends and family for next year's Advent season.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always looking for a new devotional each Advent, and this one was intriguing as it was told through the women's stories. I like the structure of it - each day begins with Bible verses, and then a reflection told from each of the women's perspectives.

The stories themselves were a little jarring sometimes, as it tries to imagine what Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna would say and think during that time. With so little known of each of them, I have a hard time believing these interpretations of their thoughts. But it was a good guide through Advent, with reflection questions for each day.

[Annette Bourland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a poignant and wonderful Advent resource for all women. Scripturally based yet full of wondering moments and Bible references to read, it's a refreshing experience when awaiting Christmas. From young Mary to mature Elizabeth to matriarch Anna, this read has so much to say to every female believer. And it makes for a great Bible study or book club pick too! Goes from the first day of Advent through Epiphany--a full 40 days. Loved it!

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this daily devotional book for the Christmas season—from Advent to Epiphany. Taking one through this time in the thoughts and prayers of Mary, Elizabeth and Anna. I think I appreciated Anna’s words the most since I knew so little about her. Three Wise Women put this special season into their own perspective and left the reader to “ponder” their own understanding. I look forward to reading this book every year.

[Denisele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this through Advent and Christmas. I like how this helps put the reader in the Christmas story and consider new emotions and thoughts of these individuals we hear and talk about so frequently but for such a tiny portion of their overall story. The Anna pieces were hardest for me to connect with - I felt like I needed more historical background.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an advent to move you through the advent season and into early January the epiphany. It’s almost in my opinion written for a preteen or teenager. It talks about maybe wanting to be Mary the mother of Jesus did you ever wish to be Mary, the mother of Jesus?. I think it’s written in a positive tone for women, but there is one man and it mentioned two men really

[Mary Diebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used it in a faith sharing group. We started in Advent, but didn't finish until right before Palm Sunday. But the ended fit perfectly. The Pondering questions were very thought provoking and provided many ideas for sharing. The little stories by each of the women also were thought provoking. A good book.

[Jane Reeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely Advent piece powered my reflection of the season. The voices resonated with me and I loved putting myself in the shoes, hearts and minds of Elizabeth, Mary and Anna.

Pick it up for next Advent season and prepare to be cradled in conscious, caring thought!

[Wendy Nickel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I chose this devotional to read during the Advent season.

[Peggy Courtright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful resource for Advent reflections! Three of my favorite women of the Bible.

[Kadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't do it as an advent, but listened to this as I walked for Mary Miles. Anna's sections especially gave me lots of insights to ponder.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 - I didn't really give up. I am returning it to the library. Will finish it next year.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book that travels through Advent (the dates of December 1-January 6) Christmas & lastly the Epiphany, in the words of Three Wise Women. Mary, Elizabeth & Anna tell the story of their own personal journeys, leading up to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2023--I chose this again this year as my advent devotional-- I found it, once again, to be beautifully written and the daily reflection questions were meaningful for me this year.