Best Christmas
From pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller comes the perfect gift for the Christmas holiday—a profoundly moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Keller achieves his pastoral goal of teaching Christmas’ most important message—‘God alone has the life, truth, and joy that we lack and cannot generate ourselves’—and in doing so, provides solace for those who seek it.” —Publishers Weekly. Praise for Timothy Keller and his other books: “Tim Keller’s ministry in New York City is leading a generation of seekers and skeptics toward belief in God. “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”. — Christianity Today.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I’ve read a few, not all, of Keller’s books. Hidden Christmas is the gospel presentation you’ve been waiting for."
"Hidden Christmas has all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from Keller."
"This amalgamation covers the breadth of the Christmas story beginning with its roots in the Old Testament, as the Israelites yearned for the freeing savior King promised to them. And I think that’s really the strength of this book: Keller covers so much that there’s bound to be something in it that will give you pause to consider what Jesus’ birth in a manager means. We take the ability to talk to, to pray to, to approach God ourselves for granted today and the Christmas story should remind us of how incredible this is. Key Quotes: “Such in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which science presents for our belief... That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the débris of a universe in ruins—all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. “The [Bible’s] lesson is that the medium is not the message, that we must not ignore uncomfortable truths just because they come through an unimpressive messenger.” (104). “Thy word is like a deep, deep mine;//and jewels rich are rare//are hidden in its mighty depths//for every searcher there.” (107). “The manger at Christmas means that, if you live like Jesus, there won’t be room for you in a lot of inns.” (119)."
"My small-group bible study selected this book for our most recent book and, as with previous Tim Keller books, I loved it."
This true story about the power of random acts of kindness will warm the heart, a beautiful reminder of the miracles of Christmas and the gift of family during the holiday season. "The book's simple prose and profound message will fill even the Grinch-iest hearts with Christmas spirit while affirming the age-old adage, it really is the thought that counts." Joanne Smith deftly reconciles the difficult terrain that ranges between the Christmas we all want and the tragedies of life that sooner or later beset us all. As a veteran devourer of Christmas stories short and long, fictional and true, I mistakenly assumed I'd encountered every conceivable plot variant in the genre. Joanne Hurst Smith's wondrous story hit me from so many directions, playing on the strings of so many emotions, that it left me limp at the end Quite simply, it is a masterpiece .” -- Joe L. Wheeler, Ph.D., author of the bestselling Christmas in My Heart ® series. "For readers of Richard Paul Evans and Greg Kincaid comes The 13th Gift , a heartwarming Christmas memoir about how a random act of kindness transformed one of the bleakest moments in a family's history into a time of strength and love." She earned a bachelor's degree in English at Wright State University and worked as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is a wonderful, heartwarming, true story of how the Lord and the generosity of others help a family in their time of need!"
"A straightforward, easy read that still manages to pull the heartstrings hard."
"I try to read a Christmas book around the holidays each year, as I find it helps to put me in the Christmas Spirit."
"This book is a wonderful read and I would hope that Hallmark or someone would come out with a movie about this. I was extremely captivated and moved by this story and could not put the book down until I read all of it."
"Everyone deals with tragedy in their own way and this book does well at explaining how each of the family members were affected differently, and how they consciously or unconsciously used their own particular strengths to help each other."
"The author/ mother shares how these small gifts helped the family function better & how the "true friends" blessed them & made it possible for them to pull together as a family again."
"I loved this book!"
"You will have your heart stolen by hopeful, peace-making little Megan, your sympathies aroused by middle-child Nick's dogged struggle to put the awful images of the night his father died behind him, and your gut twisted by the rawness of 17-year-old Ben's angry grief."
“If we could but mix just a small measure of the child’s naïveté with an intelligent appreciation of the traditional Christmas symbols, myths, and images,” Moore asserts, “we might be surprised at the profundity.” The enchantment of Christmas is a taste of what is possible if human beings could really love each other. Thomas Moore is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, Care of the Soul , Soul Mates , and twenty other books on deepening spirituality and cultivating soul in every aspect of life.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love all Thomas Moore's work and this is no exception."
"This is a most thoughtful book."
"I was inspired with this book."
"I am sure this is a book that I will read every Christmas season to remind me of what is truly important during Christmas."
"It explores the spirit of mankind and its necessity to share, join with others, celebrate, and oh so much more."
"But after reading this book and feeling in my heart the metaphor behind Christmas, my view changed and I can hardly wait this year to buy my tree to decorate it with light and love."
"Explains the higher meanings of the seasons special myths and truths."
Best Children's Holiday Books
The #1 bestselling Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids series heads back to school with a collection of brand-new jokes that will have the whole class in stitches!
Find Best Price at AmazonBest 30-Minute Biography & Memoir Short Reads
Travels with Charley in Search of America is an intimate look at one of America's most beloved writers in the later years of his life—a self-portrait of a man who never wrote an explicit autobiography. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper. “Pure delight, a pungent potpourri of places and people interspersed with bittersweet essays on everything from the emotional difficulties of growing old to the reasons why giant sequoias arouse such awe.” The New York Times Book Review “Profound, sympathetic, often angry . Travels with Charley is animated by Steinbeck's attention to the specific details of the natural world and his sense of how the lives of people are intimately connected to the rhythms of nature - to weather, geography, the cycles of the seasons.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"What I didn't know about John Steinbeck is that he is always engaging. Certainly he was a charming man."
"It felt like I was riding along in the cab with Charley!"
"This was a great way to read Steinbeck!"
"One of those books that lets you turn the world off and just kick back and enjoy the trip!"
"Exactly as advertised."
"One of my favorite reads and includes several memorable quotes about Montana."
"My children were required to read The Grapes of Wrath, so I read parts of it when they did."
"I started this while on a journey myself and was not disappointed."
Best Easter
Adam Hamilton believes that some powerful answers are contained in the Apostles’ Creed, an early statement of foundational Christian beliefs. God Jesus Christ The Holy Spirit The Church at the Communion of Saints The Forgiveness of Sins The Resurrection of the Body. Adam Hamilton is senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Another brilliant book by Pastor Hamilton."
"Highly recommended and an easy read."
"Adam Hamilton did it again!"
"The author is able to write in a way that enables me to understand big concepts and profound truths such that I am able to translate my learning into simple faith steps as a follower of Christ."
"A must read for all who are Methodists and believers."
"This book was used as a Lenten study at our church."
"This book made me more aware of the Trinity & what the words in the Creed actually mean."
"Hamilton helps bridge the gaps between those who doubt, and those who believe."