Showing titles in Holidays

Part travel journal but mostly spiritual guide, Finding Jesus in Israel takes an unvarnished look at the Holy Land with an off-the-bus peek into the people and places that make Israel such an amazing destination. We are shaped and transformed by the oceans we sail, the deserts, mountains, and valleys we wander, and the people we meet along the way. And as any traveler worth his salt knows, the real trip happens within.

Based on the overwhelming success of The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp has expanded her presentation of the timeless Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree so families can celebrate together. Each day families can listen to the provided Scripture passage (which connects with the original adult book), engage with a special devotion to help children of all ages understand the Advent theme for the day, and participate in suggested activities to apply the theme.

Is there more about the story of Christmas you wish you understood or that you have specific questions about? In this storybook of biblical truth and history, Rick Renner takes you on the magical journey of Christ's coming to earth as a baby—and the purpose of his coming—in a way you’ve probably never heard it before.

"Lent is inescapably about repenting." Every year, the church invites us into a season of repentance and fasting in preparation for Holy Week. It's an invitation to turn away from our sins and toward the mercy and grace of Christ. Often, though, we experience the Lenten fast as either a mindless ritual or self-improvement program. In this short volume, priest and scholar Esau McCaulley introduces the season of Lent, showing us how its prayers and rituals point us not just to our own sinfulness but also beyond it to our merciful Savior.

Professor and cultural historian Michael Keane reveals much in this nostalgia-inducing book packed with original research and interviews. Keane compellingly shows that the ultimate broadcast of the Christmas special—given its incredibly tight five-month production schedule and the decidedly unfavorable reception it received by the skeptical network executives who first screened it—was nothing short of a miracle. Keane explains why the show, despite its technical shortcomings, has become an uplifting and enduring triumph embraced by millions of families every Christmas season.

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children - especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their "True Friends." As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family.

Think back to when you were a kid and someone you loved gave you a little wink across the dining room table, like Mom or Dad or Grandma. You didn't say, “What do you mean by that?” You knew. It meant: “Hey kid, I'm proud of you.” That's what a Godwink is: a message of reassurance from above, directly to you, out of seven billion people on Earth, saying “Hey kid...I have you on my mind! I love you. You’re never alone.” A Godwink can be an unexpected connection to someone you love, a mysterious pathway to a life-changing opportunity, or unanticipated income out of the blue.

Speaking at a day of prayer, Richard Rohr says, “Advent is not about a sentimental waiting for the baby Jesus.” He asks listeners to focus expectations and anticipation on “the adult Christ, the cosmic Christ,” the Lord who challenges us to empty ourselves, to lose ourselves, to surrender. This is the Jesus whom we invite to come into our hearts at Christmas and throughout our lives.

From the New York Times best-selling author of Circle of Friends and The Glass Lake comes This Year It Will Be Different, a stunning work that brings us the magic and spirit of Christmas in 15 stories filled with Maeve Binchy's trademark wit, charm, and sheer storytelling genius. Instead of nostalgia, Binchy evokes contemporary life; instead of Christmas homilies, she offers truth; and instead of sugarplums, she brings us the nourishment of holidays that precipitate change, growth, and new beginnings.

Krampus: The History and Legacy of the Mythological Figure Who Punishes Children During the Christmas Season examines the pagan and Christian influences of the yuletide villain and dives into the riveting and frightening history behind the creature. You will learn about Krampus like never before.

Fall in love this holiday season with heartwarming tales of Christmases past in A Christmas Courting, an enchanting collection of Regency romances.

Join Frederica Mathewes-Green on a guided retreat through an ancient Orthodox text. Regardless of your denominational background, First Fruits of Prayer will bring to life the prayer experience of first millennium Christianity through immersion in this poetic hymn, an extraordinarily beautiful work that is still chanted by Christians around the world each Lent. It weaves together Old and New Testament scriptures with prayers of hope and repentance and offers ancient ways of seeing Christ that still feel new today.

Open a window each day of Advent onto the natural world. The author reads 25 descriptions of wild animals of the northern hemisphere ingeniously adapting when darkness and cold descend. All of them reveal the ancient wisdom of Advent: The dark is not an end but a door, the way a new beginning comes. These short, daily reflections paint vivid, poetic images of familiar animals.

In prayer we need to be deeply conscious that God is the almighty one, the supreme creator, the ruler of the Universe, that he is infinite and eternal; we need to know that God is the underlying, unchangeable truth, "with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning". God as principle is the absolute good expressed in all creation. When we know God and "worship him in spirit and truth" we recognize him as this great goodness, which is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, ready and willing to guide, to bless, and to uplift.

The Ancient Origins of Modern Holidays draws from the Bible and Jewish sources on what has always been defined as paganism and idolatry. In this book, we learn which holiday practices are forbidden and which ones are not. The Dead Sea Scrolls record the origins of the festivals celebrated on the equinoxes and solstices and reveal why they are important for Christians today. Using these sources, Christians can easily draw the line on practices and celebrations. We learn how to nullify paganism and take back what God gave us, so we can be obedient to His commands.

When Eddie was 12 years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder - and money tighter - since his father died and the family bakery closed...Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning. What he got from her instead was a sweater. "A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.

Fasting is not just the physical practice of giving up food. Fasting can also be a way to combat our culture of endless distractions and busyness. Fasting is an act of letting go, of making more internal space to listen to the sacred whispers of our lives. Join Christine Valters Paintner, online abbess of Abbey of the Arts, on a spiritual journey through seven different kinds of fasts, including fasting from control, from our attachments, from our grasping, and more.

From the bestselling author and artist behind GraceLaced and Beholding and Becoming comes this gorgeous exploration of what it means to intimately experience God’s presence in our daily lives. Ruth Chou Simons welcomes you and your family to partake in a season of surrender as you discover the true miracle behind Christmas: that while we journey to grow in our relationships with Jesus, He has already come so He can be with us forever.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is an extraordinary thing to believe. Such a supernatural event is the stuff of make-believe, many think. Yet millions of Christians around the world believe that Jesus' resurrection was a real, historical event. Indeed, "if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" and Christians are "of all people most to be pitied." (1 Corinthians 15). In this concise book, respected apologist Rebecca McLaughlin outlines the evidence that Jesus really did rise from the dead and why it's the best news ever.

Christmas, of all seasons in the year, should be the time where true meaning can be found. However, by the end of December many attest to experiencing exhaustion rather than significance, stress rather than joy, and more consumer debt than spiritual abundance. Is this really what the Christmas story offers the world? Pastor AJ Sherrill does not think so. Rediscovering Christmas will help you discover there is more meaning and mystery to the Christmas story than we ever imagined.