52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol

Just in time for the Christmas season, Bob Welch has released this amazing and beautiful Christmas inspirational book, 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol. In it you will find those fond moments in the movie A Christmas Carol and how we can use those moments to impact our lives and those around us to help draw people closer to Christ in ways like never before. Most people have watched the movie The Christmas Carol and can identify with the them of the restoration and forgiveness and renewal Ebenezer Scrooge experiences in the course of one evening through the four spirits that visit him. He gets the opportunity to make amends before his life ends and therefore condemning him to the same fate of his partner Bob Marley.

The story of Ebenezer Scrooge probably stands out in all of literature as the one of the most redemptive - a hopeful portrait of a life radically remade and one that will inspire us all to take into consideration the little life lessons that can be gleaned when watching A Christmas Carol or perhaps reading it this Christmas in a whole new life and light. Bob Welch reminds us that if there is mercy for Scrooge, there must be deliverance in equal measure for all us in this heartwarming book.

For example in the Lesson 6 "It's About More Than Christmas" we are given a quote at the beginning of each chapter from Charles Dicken's classic novel, A Christmas Carol, and in this case, "The only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely." ~ Scrooge's Nephew, Fred.

"When you think about it, it'd odd that the world selects a particular time of year when everyone is supposed to be nice to everyone else. The unspoken inference is that you should feel no particular responsibility toward others the rest of the year. Oh, sure, children might be told their Christmas cache is dependent on whether they've been naughty or nice all year long, but the overriding message is that this is a special season of kindness.

"Dickens was particularly fond of the Christmas season, and he expressed that fondness in A Christmas Carol through Bob and Fred, the latter of who makes an impassioned defense of Christmas: " a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their hearts freely." Hear! Hear! But shouldn't we amortize such spirit all year long instead of offering only a lump-sum payment come December? The point isn't to deride such others-oriented thinking, but to remind us all that that's how Scripture suggest we should live: All year long, 24/7. Every day. In good times and in bad times. In sickness and in health. Joyfully. With others in mind. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit," says Philippians 2:3. "Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." At Christmastime. and not at Christmastime. All the time." (except from Lesson 6, page 19-20).

I received 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol by Bob Welch compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This would make a great gift for anyone who loves Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol or simply looking for a great inspirational book for Christmas that they can reference any time. There is so many great quotes and life lessons that you can't help but want to review the book or movie once again and see it from a different perspective. This would even be a great resource to incorporate into small groups Bible Studies or for youth or church lessons as well. There is so many great aspects you can glean from this book and it makes for a perfect book to begin 52 days before Christmas to put you in the right frame of mind. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and has found a permanent home with my Christmas collection.

For more information about 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol, Bob Welch or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol by Bob Welch 

You can find Bob Welch on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest books.

To read more reviews on 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol, please visit Thomas Nelson's website. 

The Christmas Candle

What I love most about any of Max Lucado's books, is that they follow you wherever you go. The message you are bound to find will undoubtedly find its way into your heart and soul. What I have discovered is the perfect gift for those that love a great book just in time for Christmas. One that you can incorporate into your family devotions as well as a late night reading for your family next to a warm fire on a snowy night. The best part is that this is finding its way into being made into a movie so that it can enjoyed in a multitude of ways for Christmas.

In The Christmas Candle set in the late 1600's in Cotswald, England, we meet when the story originated with a candle maker and his wife. They are awakened in the middle of the night by a heavenly angel that appears and touches just one candle before disappearing, ensuring that the candle maker knows just which one was touched. The candle is then given to a woman who is desperate for food. She has no means to find money to help her children out and the candle maker instructs her to light the candle and pray to God for help. The next day at church service in St. Mark's the widow informs the church of the Christmas miracle that happened when she did just what the candle maker told her to do. She was given a farm by a wealthy uncle she didn't know so she can live in it and provide for her children without payment.

Now the legend continues in the small town that whenever the church service begins each 25 years, a Christmas miracle occurs by whomever the candle is given by the candle maker's family. This year however much has changed. Will the miracle of the Christmas candle still work in the hearts of the people living in the town of Gladstone? You'll have to pick this one up and find out. The best part is that this is coming to the big screen on November 22nd to a theater near you.

I received The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This is such a wonderful and heartwarming story that I can see it becoming a Christmas tradition much like the reading of The Christmas Story or the Night Before Christmas. It definitely opens up the conversation around what happens in the book and compels us to look deep inside our hearts to see how wonderful the birth of Jesus Christ was so many years ago and how even today, that miracle still works the lives and hearts of those that believe in Him. Hands down a perfect 5 out of 5 stars! What a life-changing book this would make as a gift for someone this Christmas!

For more information about The Christmas Candle, Max Lucado or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado

You can find Max Lucado on Facebook to stay up to date with all his amazing books.

To read more reviews on The Christmas Candle, visit Thomas Nelson's website.

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Reprint edition (September 24, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401689949
• ISBN-13: 978-1401689940
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.9 x 1 inches

Paper Angels - Giveaway and Review

Kevin Morrell is a forty-three-year-old husband and father who runs a successful design and marketing firm that's crashed into the suffering economy. Attempting to navigate the chaos of the mall at Christmas, Kevin is humbled when he stumbles across The Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. Later his wife insists that he take a paper angel from the tree.

The name on the ornament is that of Thomas Brandt, a fifteen-year-old still reeling from the implosion of his family - from years of verbal abuse from an alcoholic father to a mother who finally left him behind, only to find herself and her children penniless and struggling. The only thing that has allowed Lynn to survive is her faith. Thomas shares that faith, but he also wonders why God has seemingly abandoned them.

This is the bases for the inspired true story told in a fictional account about a man and a boy one December: a man whose life is changed by a simple expression of kindness, and a boy who takes that expression of kindness and shows the true meaning of Christmas in the novel Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher. I received this book compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review and found myself receiving the most unexpected gift in return. It's a gift that can't be measured in a dollar amount or even exchanged for something better, because it is priceless. Its the gift that God gave us when He provided His son for the ultimate gift of grace and salvation on a beautiful and blessed night so many years ago.

This story will move you in the most unexpected ways. You can see yourself on both sides of the story. You get to feel the pain and loneliness of Thomas when he arrives at school with only the clothes on his back. Rejected by the basketball team since being a new transfer, he is unofficially "benched" til next year. However when a bully from the team, Vic West, finds Thomas' clothes and lack of food something to tease him about in front of the entire school, the tables will be turned in the most unexpected ways. I would rate this story a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and wish everyone could pick up a copy of this book just in time for Christmas, just to see what a difference it would make in everyone's heart. For more information about this book, the authors and where to pick up a copy of this book, click on the links below:

Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher

To learn more about the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program click here. Jimmy Wayne: Started his Meet Me Halfway campaign in January 2010 to raise awareness for youth who "age out" of the foster care system and face serious life problems such as homelessness and poverty. Please visit www.project.MMH.org to see how you can help.

Thanks to the generous folks at Howard Books, they are offered a gift in the form of a giveaway copy of this book to one lucky follower of my blog. Here are your guidelines to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. Tell everyone you know about this, Tweet It, Blog About It, Link It, even Facebook it. The more that learn about this book, the better we'll all be in the end.

3. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address and remember No P.O. Boxes please.

4. Leave me a comment, telling me what winning this copy would mean to you along with your email address. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

The giveaway will end on November 30th and I will notify the winner at that time via email. In addition, a copy of this book will be provided to a homeless shelter in hopes that it will bless the lives of those that read it.