Showing titles in Holidays

Sal Lizard was in his 20s when his beard and hair turned completely white. Today, he appears everywhere from malls and parades, to schools and hospitals. And from his custom-made red velvet suits to the mistletoe that hangs from the rearview mirror in his Santa-mobile, he is Santa Claus, 365 days a year.

In The Gift of Jesus, beloved pastor and teacher Dr. Charles Stanley takes a deeply personal and inspiring look at how God gave us Himself through the birth of Christ. Discover that Christmas and Advent can be so much more than a busy season to get through and instead a season of joy and renewal.

After a lifetime of putting his body on the line to entertain his dozens (and dozens!) of fans, the Hardcore Legend is paying the price - physically and emotionally. When the final bell on Mick's career tolls, not in the ring, but in a neurologist's office, his future seems far from merry and bright. Until Mick is given the chance to become Santa Claus - not dress up, not pretend, but become Santa - allowing him to rediscover the joy of performing. Fully committing to his new mission, Mick details the drastic measures he takes to keep the Christmas magic alive.

Join Welch as he takes you deeper into the nuances of this timeless story by Charles Dickens. From the stinginess of Scrooge to the innocence of Tiny Tim, the biblically based devotions in 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol will inspire you to live for what really matters--not only at Christmas, but all year long.

You’ve heard the Christmas story time and again. Perhaps it seems there’s nothing new to discover. Take another look, a closer gaze, at the details that reveal God’s love in the gift of a baby who would forever change the world. Six beloved Christian authors - Max Lucado, John Maxwell, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, David Jeremiah, and Rick Warren - share from a unique perspective and help you hear afresh the message God wants to whisper to your heart during this holiday. God loves you. God is with you. God is in every detail of your life.

In the beginning months of World War I, a very strange thing happened. After the fierce trench warfare of November and December, on Christmas Eve, 1914, the fighting spontaneously stopped. Men on both sides laid down their arms and came to celebrate Christmas with each other. They shared food parcels across the lines, sang carols together, and erected Christmas trees with candles. They buried the dead, exchanged presents, and even played soccer together.

For some, Christmas is a time of excitement, celebration, and family, while for others it is a time of loneliness, grief, and loss. No matter what this season holds for you, the promise of Christmas will bring you a lifetime of hope. Christmas begins what Easter celebrates. The child in the cradle becomes the King on the cross. Because of Bethlehem, we have a savior in heaven. These are the heart shaping promises of Christmas. Long after the guests have left, the carolers have gone home, and the lights have come down, these promises endures.

From his beginnings as a humble carpenter to his all-important role as the earthly father of Jesus Christ, Joseph's place in the nativity story is sometimes overlooked but contains valuable lessons for all of us. Join Adam Hamilton as he examines Christmas through the eyes of Joseph. Absent from much of the biblical narrative, Joseph never spoke a word, but his courageous actions were crucial to the birth of Christ and God's salvation plan for humanity.

His parents gave him the name Jesus. But the prophets, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels addressed him by other names. They called him Lord, Messiah, Savior, Emmanuel, Light of the World, and Word Made Flesh. In Incarnation, best-selling author Adam Hamilton explores the meaning of these titles and what they tell us about the child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. Join him and reflect upon the significance of the Christ-child for our lives and world today!

More than any other time of year, Christmas brings with it an undeniable sense of wonder and awe. The Advent season gives us the opportunity to delight in the promises we celebrate at Christmas: the HOPE that Jesus will return and make all things new; the JOY that comes from worshiping Him today and for eternity; the PEACE we experience with God today and we long for our world to experience when it is redeemed; and the LOVE of a God who sacrificed His own Son to be in relationship with us.

Whether it is your first, tenth, or ten thousandth time looking up at the cross of Christ, you can trust New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, to wrap an arm around your shoulder, come alongside and walk with you as a fellow pilgrim headed in the same direction and answering the same question: "What will I do with this man, Jesus?"

9-year-old Nichole and her parents are evicted from their home because both of her parents are addicted to heroin. With nowhere left to turn, they are now homeless. In order to survive they must dig through dumpsters, beg, and steal. While living on the streets, Nichole struggles to understand why people treat them differently.

For centuries, Christians have turned to the story and message of John the Baptist in the weeks leading up to Christmas. In Prepare the Way for the Lord: Advent and the Message of John the Baptist, bestselling author and pastor Adam Hamilton explores the Advent themes of John's life and ministry, and how John calls all followers of Jesus to prepare our hearts for his coming.

From Lewis Black, the uproarious and perpetually apoplectic New York Times best-selling author and Daily Show regular, comes a ferociously funny book about his least favorite holiday, Christmas.

Before the charismatic John Duval Gluck, Jr., came along, letters from New York City children to Santa Claus were destroyed, unopened, by the US Post Office. Gluck saw an opportunity and created the Santa Claus Association. The effort delighted the public, and for 15 years money and gifts flowed to the only group authorized to answer Santa's mail. Gluck became a Jazz Age celebrity, rubbing shoulders with the era's movie stars and politicians.

Rachel Price’s one happy memory from her childhood is of playing outside with her father, Mitch, on a cold and snowy day. In that moment he took her hands in his and called her his angel. She felt safe, loved, and protected. Rachel’s mother dies in a car crash a few years later - a sudden and unresolved ending to a complicated relationship. Mitch’s reaction to certain realities surrounding the death pushes Rachel away and confirms her fear that Mitch never truly loved her at all. Years later, Rachel’s daughter, Lily, is the only light in her dark life.

A visit home for the holidays rekindles a childhood crush in this sweet, small-town Christmas romance.Celebrity country western singer Willa Morgan receives a gift from a secret admirer that ultimately leads to a long overdue visit home for Christmas. On her first day back, she encounters Angel Castellano, a cocky blast from her past who's been bragging since they were kids that he’s going to marry her someday. All too soon, her annoying childhood nemesis is wrangling her into serving as the interim entertainment director at his dinner theater, baking her one tastebud-exploding dessert ...

A snowstorm leaves me stranded at a cozy, remote ski lodge, and the charming owner might just be the festive joy my heart has been longing for. After finishing my residency, I needed a restful escape, not an unexpected holiday romance. Nate, the laid-back owner of the lodge and my best friend’s older brother, is nothing like I anticipated—he’s fun, adventurous, and charming in a way that contrasts my meticulous, all-business attitude. Snowed in together in a quaint cabin during a winter wonderland, Nate introduces me to the warmth of spontaneity, festive cheer, and maybe even a ...

Karen Anna Vogel's 3 bestselling Christmas books all in one bundle, along with dozens of authentic Amish recipes baked or cooked in the stories. ***Love Came Down at Christmas: Ranked Amazon's #1 Christmas book 2014 Twelve year old Lexi Remington has a Christmas wish: to get out of foster care and be adopted. She gets it into her head that she can take the place of Matthew Yoder, her shunned Amish neighbor, and be part of the huge Yoder clan. A stray white dog, fixing a manger set with her foster dad, and a homeless man all show Lexi an important lesson about the love of God...which ...

An Advent devotional for Christmas that will stir hope and inspire worship. As dawn broke on that first Christmas morning, the sun rose on a new era: God's king had come to Earth to bring about his kingdom. Join Sinclair Ferguson as he opens up the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel in these daily devotions for Advent. Each day’s reflection is full of insight and application, and will help you to arrive at Christmas Day awed by God's redeeming grace and refreshed by the hope of God’s promised king.