Some Suggestions for Christmas Inspiration

Looking for a bit of cheer and inspiration for now and for the 12 Days of Christmas coming up?

Why not check out the novel "The Christmas Room" and these 2 short stories, "Christmas on the Freedom Train" and "The Winter in the Woods."  You can find them here. 

Also, there's the intriguing (and free) compilation, "Making the Most of Christmas" which you can find on the Vital Signs Ministries website right here. There you'll find 43 pages with poems, quizzes, recommendations for reading and movies, devotionals, a link to free downloads of Patrick Osborne’s exquisite Winter Night CD, and more. Happy Christmas!

And finally, there's the 1/2 hour audio file of my reading of "The Christmas of the Talking Animals." That's right here.

Happy Christmas!

Behind the Scenes with Demons?

For the next Vital Signs Book Brunch (April 12, 10 AM, at the Hartford home in northwest Omaha), we have selected a classic, Lord Foulgrins’s Letters by one of our favorite contemporary authors, Randy Alcorn from Eternal Perspective Ministries. The book has been one of our favorite Alcorn titles ever since it was published in 2000. In fact, I remember a lively discussion of the book with Randy on one of the “Weekend Vital Signs” radio interviews back in the day. But we will expect no less of a delightful, meaningful conversation with all of you on the 12th.

The book can be obtained for less than $10 at the EPM site itself. That’s a terrific price. And though you might find a used copy a couple of dollars cheaper somewhere else, when you purchase it through EPM, 10% goes to maintain their excellent work with the other 90% going to a variety of other Christ-centered ministries around the world. The link that you’ll need is right here.

But don’t just take my word for it regarding the excellence and provocative nature of the book. Listen in on these testimonies:

“Lord Foulgrins’s Letters is a welcome addition to the world of Christian fiction. Randy Alcorn provides a needed reminder of just what it means for Christians to be engaged in battle with principalities and powers not of this world.” (Chuck Colson) 

“If you are interested in gaining a better understanding of Satan’s schemes, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters is a must read.” (Tim and Beverly LaHaye)

“One of the most unusual and important inquiries into the demon mind since The Screwtape Letters, Alcorn rivets our attention. This book will disturb, stimulate, and enlighten.” (D. James Kennedy)

Of course, RSVPs are of very important help to us as we plan for the Book Brunch, so if you plan on joining in the fun, please let us know as soon as you can. Thank you!

"The Christmas of the Talking Animals" (Audio)

If a quiet 1/2 hour ever comes along in your hectic holiday schedule, you might enjoy this Christmas short story I wrote several years ago. This is an audio version that KGBI used to play on Christmas morning back in the mists of time.

"The Christmas of the Talking Animals" is a story about a 9-year old boy with a lively imagination who experiences a most remarkable Christmas when he visits his grandpa's Missouri farm in 1952. 

I think you'll find "The Christmas of the Talking Animals" a winsome, wholesome story with a very old-fashioned ingredient; namely, a spiritual moral.

Lenin's "Grave" Mistake

The Thanksgiving Jar

In 2015 Claire and I attempted to significantly increase our gratitude attitude by keeping a Thanksgiving Jar on our kitchen counter.  And into that jar we dropped notes throughout the year — notes on which we had jotted down thanks for blessings given us by God. We wrote down encouragements, answers to prayer, deliverances, special moments of beauty and adventure.  You get the idea.

It was a very stimulating way to sharpen our sense of thanksgiving, to reduce complacency and complaining, and to deepen our appreciation of the constancy of constant God’s mercies to us. We started the project as a result of a New Year’s resolution and it turned out to be a niftier spiritual exercise than we had imagined.

We’re doing it again this year. In fact, we started on Thanksgiving Day.

But what of last year’s notes? How did we use them?

Well, they became a delightful new spice to our Christmas celebrations.  Every other night or so, Claire and I sat with cups of tea in the living room, basking in the glow of the Christmas tree lights while we pulled 5 or 6 of the notes at random out of the bowl. (The number of notes had grown so that we dumped them from the Thanksgiving Jar into a large bowl every once in a while.)  We then read through them one at a time and thanked God afresh for each of those blessings. They always stimulated conversation and related prayers as well.  It was very neat.

So there you have it. Perhaps you might consider making a New Year’s resolution to start a Thanksgiving Jar project for you and your family.  It will no doubt help make Thanksgiving a whole-year practice and will also provide an added bounty to your Christmas season.

About Those New Year Resolutions

Here are 3 of this past week's radio commentaries dealing with New Year
resolutions. Each KLCV program is just 60 seconds long so you've got time to give them a listen.

“New Year Resolutions? Bah, Humbug!”

“Writing Imprisoned Christians”

“3 Keys to Keeping Your Resolutions”