Christmas Blessing by Donna Van Liere

Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere 212 pages I have seen this movie before and wanted to read the book. I usually read the book before I see the movie, but this time I did it backwards. Of course the book was so much better than the movie. The story was so insprirational and just right for the holiday. I recommend this to anyone who would like a light hearted Christmas story. It is the sequel to The Christmas Shoes, but even if you haven't read that book, this one will still make sense to you. In The Christmas Shoes, young Nathan Andrews was a child who lost his mother to cancer. Now his deepest wish is to become a doctor. When a stranger named Robert gave him the money to buy his mother a pair of shoes for her last Christmas, both Robert and Nathan learned the deepest lessons of love and giving. Now a medical student in his third year, Nathan realizes there are still things to be learned about faith, blessings, and sacrifice. Lessons he will learn from Meghan Sullivan-a young woman born with a hole in her heart that has not kept her from becoming a champion runner. And lessons learned from a young boy named Charlie, who teaches how to live a life of true courage. Together, they will help guide Nathan through the darkest period in his life. The Christmas Blessing is an inspiring story about hope existing in the darkest places, and love is always the greatest gift of all.

The Promise: A Christmas Tale by Ted Dekker

The Promise: A Christmas Tale by Ted Dekker-64 pages

This is a story about a mute boy named Reuben who is abandoned and abused by his "legal guardian" in a shepherds' camp in the time around Jesus' birth. He carries with him only his adoptive mother's shawl and her promise that he will someday meet a king in need of the shawl that will give him a voice. It is a story about how Jesus got his swaddling clothes and how the shepherds came to find and worship baby Jesus. I enjoyed reading it just as everything I have read of Ted Dekker's thus far. Dekker has been my favorite author for a while and continues to be. I have read many good and great books, but no author has captured my attention and imagination and made me think critically like he has.