Favorite Christmas Books

I've always been a book person. Someone who loves to read and talk about books. I find them both informative and a simple way to escape the mundaneness of daily existence. With a book I can immediately be transported to a different time and place. I can become engaged in the conversations of the high and low of humanity instantaneously. Christmas books, I think, offer a plethora of pleasures that can't be matched with the fare on film, be it television or the movies.

My first favorite is The Golden Christmas Book, circa 1947. The book has a picture of Santa with laughing, angelic children on his lap,and a paper Christmas tree on the inside cover that crinkled when I opened the book. It was filled with stories of elves, angels, and good boys and girls preparing for Christmas by trying to make things right.

Reading Christmas stories to my own children was also something I relished every year. Their favorites were A Velveteen Rabbit ; by Marjorie Williams; which is the story of how a stuffed animal becomes real because of the gift of love and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg which is the story of how a trip to the North Pole strengthens a young boy's belief in the reality of Santa Claus.

However, of all Christmas books (besides those of Matthew and Luke) my most favorite Christmas book, the one I re-read every year is by Max Lucado, a Christian author. It was originally titled, Cosmic Christmas in 1997, but later renamed An Angel's Story in 2002.

It begins in heaven and presents a picture of the war Lucifer wages against the eternal, steadfast and all encompassing love of the Father.

Lucado focuses on the angels and their part in the war. It pits God's army of angels, including Gabriel, Michael and some new ones named Paragon, Aegus and Sophio against Lucifer and his followers who try to thwart God's plan for a savior. Yes, Lucado admits that part is fictionalized, but for me it presents a strong picture of the battlefront where we all live, especially at Christmastime when everything and everybody wants to draw us away from the simple joys of the season.

So, if you're looking for an escape from the today's Christmas "battles" against goodies, gadgets and gobs of glee, pick up a copy of Lucado's story. It's a quick read and I can assure you that the warfare will subside and you will delight in the season's simplicity of God's greatest gift: His Son!

"For the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

What are your favorite Christmas books?

A New Visit from an Old Angel

As I watch the eyes of children bubble with delight at all the signs of Christmas, I'm flooded with my own childhood memories. The time I caught sight of my father in the gangway (only people who grew up in Chicago know what a gangway is), carrying a child's kitchen stove and refrigerator, made not of plastic, or tin, but corrugated cardboard. Yippee, I was getting my Christmas wish. Another Christmas memory involved a beloved book that had a green tissue paper Christmas tree in the inside cover. I loved opening that book and hearing the crinkle of the green tissue paper opening up the wonder of Christmastime stories. However, surpassing all other memories were the warm emotions endowed by the Angel that topped our Christmas tree each year.

Simplistic, yet ethereal, she was the embodiment of the Christmas season for me. She wore a blue dress and was kneeling on top of a glittering snow covered globe. There was a silver paper crown on her head, resembling the sun's corona, and silver paper wings that were stapled to her back. Her hands were clasped in prayer as she bowed in a humble, yet profound way to signal the birth of the Creator. Her presence on top of the tree seemed to assure that nothing would interfere with the celebration of Christmas. She was the protector of the holiday and nothing would move her. Christmas and all it's wonder and peace were unmovable under her watch. I don't remember what happened to her. Perhaps her wings became detached or she tumbled to the floor, breaking; or even maybe she was discarded for a more modern version. I don't remember. But recently she came back to me!

Of all places to find a memory of Christmas past was Target. Yet, there she was, my childhood Angel, with a few alterations. She is still kneeling in prayer on a white, frosted globe; though, now dressed in pale pink with a large crown of silver weave. Her silver paper wings have been replaced with wings of white feathers touched with iridescent glitter. Her demeanor is like my childhood angel, with an important difference. My childhood Angel was an adult; strong, steady, powerful, ready to take on anyone or anything that would interfere with Christmas. My Target Angel instead resembles a child. She is someone who is disengaged from daily battles and is pausing to pray. I believe that is the lesson for me today.

God sends us different angels at different times in our lives. He sends adult angels when we're children and need protection, and childlike angels when we're adults and need to be reminded that we should become more childlike, especially at Christmas. We, too, have to disengaged ourselves from the daily battles of work, traffic, and television news. If Christmas is to remain the turning point of human existence, really the turning point of our existence; we need to approach it like a child in prayer, humbly entreating the intercession of a Savior, like my pink, Target Angel.

Then he said to them, "I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3