Overextended and Loving Most of It: The Unexpected Joy of Being Harried, Heartbroken, and Hurling Oneself Off Cliffs

Rarely are the terms "hilarious storyteller" and "theological scholar" used in the same sentence, much less used to describe the same person but then again, Lisa Harper is anything but stereotypical! She's been lauded as a compelling communicator, whose writing and speaking emphasize that accruing knowledge about God pales next to a real and intimate relationship with Jesus. Her style combines sound biblical exposition and exegesis with engaging anecdotes and comedic wit.

Pastor Max Lucado calls Lisa one of the "best Bible tour guides around," and author/actress Priscilla Evans Shirer adds, "Her God-given ability to not merely teach the Word but package it in a way that stirs the heart and calls to action is incomparable. When she speaks, ears perk up!"

Lisa's vocational resume is comprised of 30+ years of church and para-church ministry leadership, including 6 years as the director of Focus on the Family's national women's ministry where she created the popular "Renewing the Heart" conferences, which were attended by almost 200,000 women, as well as a decade of touring with "Women of Faith," where she spoke to over a million women about the unconditional love of God. Her academic resume includes a Masters of Theological Studies from Covenant Seminary, and she recently completed her doctoral studies at Denver Seminary and is now working on her thesis.

She's been featured on numerous television and radio programs and is a regular on TBN's globally syndicated Better Together show. She's spoken at hundreds of national and international women's events, as well as in churches around the world. She's also invested locally and has been leading the same weekly neighborhood Bible study for 15 years. And if you can't find her teaching, studying, hiking, or riding her motorcycle, she's probably in a coffee shop sipping a mocha and typing away on her computer because she's also had 14 books published - including the recent best-selling devotional, Life, and has written and filmed 6 well-received Bible study video curriculums, including Job: A Story of Unlikely Joy and How Much More: Discovering God's Extravagant Love in Unexpected Places.

However, when asked about her credentials, the most noticeable thing about Lisa Harper is her authenticity. During a recent interview she said, "I'm so grateful for the opportunities God's given me but don't forget, He often uses donkeys and rocks!" She went on to describe her greatest accomplishment to date as getting to become Missy's mom through the miracle of adoption. Because in 2014, after a difficult journey and several adoption losses, she finally got to bring her daughter home from Haiti and she's been smiling even wider ever since!