Bethlehem's Gift

Growing up in a home deeply influenced through both her parents'' love of Jesus and her mother''s love of literature, educator Teri Marcos began to enjoy writing Christmas poems for family and friends describing the Savior''s divinely appointed purpose for the world. Teri fondly remembers her mother joyfully gathering her and her siblings for regular visits to the La Verne Library, where, at five years old and for many years to follow, she sat at the colorful, kidney-shaped tables, "sized just right for little people." She marveled at the number of books there were to read (including the big people''s section) and set a very early goal to read them all by the time she grew up. Children''s literature became a passion, second to her love of Jesus, which is central to her life. Saved in her sixth-grade year, at eleven years old, Teri Marcos envisioned a career in teaching that would honor and glorify Christ. Her love of history and her passion for writing poetry featuring themes of Jesus'' birth and subsequent first-century walk and ministry throughout the Holy Land combine to fulfill this vision. Bethlehem''s Gift, written in poetry form, is inspired by the Holy Spirit and presented factually through biblical accounts from the Gospels.