Joy of Christmas

Book contents

Introduction
Why on Earth are those Angels on Earth?
Mary 1, Zechariah 0
Slowing Down
A Festive Nightmare
Santa Claus
Dreaming of a White Christmas?
Stand by your Woman
Gift Wrapped
Happy Birthday!
He Just Loves Saving
A Piece of Christmas Peace
Hope Full
I Wonder. Why?
Flames of Joy
Musical Goose Bumps
Born to Give us Second Birth
Goodwill, Pass it on
I Found Room for Jesus
Hold your Noses!
Promises, Promises
A Favorite Carol
In a Word
Like Father, like Son
When I’m Older
Eternal Joy
Spot the Star
The Foolish Wise Men
Over the Moon
Saying Thank You
And the Two Shall Become a Family
Coping with Disappointment
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Unwanted Presents
Just a Normal Baby
Read the Small Print
The Great Escape
Christmas II
The Birth of Love

Foreword

There’s something completely different about Christmas, isn’t there? Our ordinary selves seem to be taken over as the big day approaches. We get more and more frantic, our to-do lists burst at the seams, and we all rush around in ever-decreasing circles.

When the publishers asked me to compile a book of short readings and quotations on this great theme, I wasn’t sure I could do it justice. After all, this is this most amazing fact there ever has been: God took on our humanity. The message seems too good to be true. It seems too miraculous. And yet this message is meant to affect us not only at Christmas but also on every other day of our lives as well.

I began to list aspects of this great theme: giving, joy, family, worship, goodwill to all, celebration, hope, peace… I called on my good friend Andy Bianchi to help me explore what Christmas means, to unravel some of its wonders, to touch on its uniqueness. We hope that this little book, designed to be dipped into, will help us see afresh what Christmas is really all about.