A few book suggestions:
Something Is Coming to Our World: How a Backyard Bird Sees Christmas
White As Snow: A Christmas Story
The week before Christmas is a good time to read and meditate on these poems of praise, adoration, and celebration of the Christ Child. In her fresh, almost breathless style, Mary Harwell Sayler has designed the title as the first line in most of her PRAISE! POEMS. She employs sometimes startling images and reversals. Enjoy!
Depending on what part of the country/world you live in, you may have already winterized your home by “backing out” the sprinkler system, cutting back perennials in the garden, mulching roses, bringing in or covering patio furniture, checking insulation around windows and doors, etc. Here in Colorado we have done some of those things. Days are mostly warm still, but night temperatures can plummet. Maybe you live in the southern hemisphere and you’re preparing for summer. You may want to read this post six months from now. More northern parts may have already seen snow as in the photo above. Brrrrr.
Christina Slike has advice for those who are preparing for shorter, colder days and for spending more time indoors:
The season is just around the corner, but there’s still time to prepare. Here’s how you can get through the extra-long dark evenings and nights:
While waiting for your new reads to arrive, I recommend you have a blanket, hot drink, and a comfortable, well-lit lounge area ready.
Congratulations. You’ve winterized your home! When the Cladach books arrive from:
Open, read, and enjoy!
We wish you well in your preparations for winter.
–Christina
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Just the right GIFT for a loved one?
More MEANING in every part of the season’s celebrations?
The same PEACE that the angels proclaimed to the Shepherds?
Elusive JOY that Christmas seems to promise but that seems to get buried in the hustle and bustle?
In Donna Westover’s story, The Crimson River, Charlie’s descendants are looking for a treasure that Charlie hid many years ago. They have a map and Charlie’s diary for clues. In the twists and turns of their search, Jake, Larran, and Emma, with their various personal motives and conflicts, cling to hopes of uncovering something that will help them reconnect with lost riches and heritage. What they find is the true heritage left by Charlie, their uncle and grandfather: FAITH.
Admittedly, it is unusual to give away the last chapter of a book; but that’s what Cladach is doing here. And we are calling it “Charlie’s Treasure.”
Enjoy the short read. And may the Christ of Christmas help you find and experience the treasure He has prepared for you, buried within the season, flowing like a Crimson River from generation to generation.
Merry Christmas!
Click the cover image to access or download and read the story. Enjoy!