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Zuno challenges you to count your blessings with Helen Haidle’s The Real 12 Days of Christmas. When this carol was composed, religious freedoms were restricted in England. Parents hid the symbols of their faith in songs like this one. Decode the carol and tell me which line is your favorite.

Little Things Big. Little. Which would you rather have? Big? Bigger is always better, right? God, however, has an eye for small things. David vs. Goliath Baby Moses in his basket vs. the Nile River and Pharaoh’s army Bethlehem vs. …well, name your city. Bethlehem, tiny, overlooked, overshadowed by its big sister city, Jerusalem. Even…

When their only daughter, Blair, heads for Peru and the Peace Corps, the Kranks just haven’t the heart for Christmas. Luther Krank takes the reindeer by the antlers and hatches a plan to skip Christmas entirely by planning a tropical cruise instead. His wife, Nora, makes a reluctant accomplice, as friends, neighbors, and co-workers try…

Friends don’t let friends sleep through Christmas. In Bear Stays Up, Bear’s friends make it their mission to keep their hibernating friend awake just long enough to celebrate. A sleepy, droopy-eyed Bear hangs in there through one job after another as the friends search for a tree, decorate it, hang up the stockings, and tackle…

Do You Hear What I Hear – An Internal GPS Isaiah 30:21 reads: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (NIV) Our car has a GPS. Helpful, yes. Always reliable, no. Like the time our destination…

Angel dreams and an old Christmas box filled with yellowed letters drive the mysterious storyline as the reader and the protagonist try to answer Mary Parkin’s question of “What is the first gift of Christmas?”. I love the work of Richard Paul Evans and his short novel, The Christmas Box, is first in his trilogy…

December. Furniture shifts to make room for the tree. Angels peer down from the fireplace mantle. Shiny balls cling to the tree as Zuno’s tail sends them swinging. He is heading for the kitchen with visions of sugarplums (or something edible) in his head—like a candy cane. Helen Haidle’s Candymaker’s Gift tells the legend of…

Great Expectations “Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, ‘What then is this child going to be?’ For the Lord’s hand was with him.” Luke 1:66 (NIV) What are you going to be when you grow up? You’ll hear this question many times until you finish school and get a “real” job. Then the…

Barbara Robinson’s Best Christmas Pageant Ever holds a top spot on my list of best holiday reads. Hilarity ensues when the six, out-of-control Herdman kids show up for Sunday School and decide to join the church’s annual Christmas pageant. Since all of the other kids are scared to death of the Herdmans, the Herdman family…

This holiday season, open the cover of a Christmas classic and step into the world of Ebenezer Scrooge. Treat yourself to reading Charles Dickens’s Christmas Carol and then enjoy the movie too. My husband loves the version with George C. Scott. I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol while I decorated the tree. Dickens’ witty dialogue cracks me…