Ten Christmas Stories

 
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If you love stories that center around the Christmas holiday, this is the post for you! 🎄🎁❄️ Take a look and maybe choose one or two to try for yourself! ☃

  "Enchanted" by Melissa Tagg
Visit Maple Valley—one of my favorite fictional towns!—and meet the Renwycke siblings, each with a Christmas story of their own. There's Drew the carpenter, Colin the restless searcher, and Leigh the recovering addict looking for a place to belong.

  "Restoring Christmas" by Cynthia Ruchti
Alexis is this close to getting her own home renovation TV show, but she has one final test to pass. Issues with her crew and a secretive homeowner make for one headache after another. Her dreams hang in the balance as Christmas approaches.

  "How Gretchen Stole Christmas" by Tracy Joy Jones
Gretchen left her large family to pursue her education halfway across the country. In this funny tale she asks the age-old question: Is it ever too late to come home? If you read through the whole Mayberry Family series, there's another Christmas story in there, too!

  "The Christmas Heirloom" by Kristi Ann Hunter, Karen Witemeyer, Sarah Loudin Thomas, and Becky Wade
This collection of four novellas span one family's legacy across nearly 200 years. Each story, written by a different Christian fiction author, features the family's heirloom brooch as it is handed down from mother to daughter.

  "An Endless Christmas" by Cynthia Ruchti
Imagine traveling to rural Minnesota to spend Christmas with your boyfriend's large extended family—and then turning down his marriage proposal on the first day of the trip! 😲 How will the rest of the week go after that introduction to the Binder family?

  "One Royal Christmas" by Melissa Tagg
One weary European king takes a vacation to Tinsel, Vermont, where he holds fond memories of the library he visited as a child. A sweet story dealing with calling, family issues, and the desires of one's heart.

  "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
I would be remiss if I left off Charles Dickens' classic tale! Who can help but be touched by Scrooge and his midnight visitors? This story will always remind me of what is truly important during the holiday season.

  "Like a Winter Snow" by Lindsay Harrel
Those of you who visited Port Willis, the charming seaside Cornwall village, in Harrel's The Secrets of Paper and Ink will be thrilled to come back at Christmas for another heartwarming tale.

  "Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale" by Amanda Dykes
This enchanting novelette delves into the miracle of second chances, the gift of God's healing redemption, and the joy of the unexpected. I'm reading and discussing this with friends next week!

  "Mistletoe Menagerie" by Janine Rosche
2020 debut author Janine Rosche invites you get get a first peek at her upcoming series with this prequel novella. Get it free by signing up for her e-mail newsletter here.

Find more Top Ten Tuesday posts at That Artsy Reader Girl.

"God, You, & Sex" by David White

David White explores sex from a Biblical perspective, addressing it theologically, relationally, socially, and so on. This is not a how-to book, but an exploration of the deeper meaning of sex as God intended it, specifically as it relates to Christ and the church.

I do not consider myself that old, but as a never-married woman in my upper 30s who remains committed to abstinence before marriage, I do not have many peers. I was drawn to this book because I have been increasingly aware of my own sexual brokenness in recent years—single sexuality a very difficult thing, especially as hormones change and the biological clock starts ticking. I want to honor God in this, and while I have zero desire to change my beliefs, I have every desire for a marriage that includes intimacy in every form.

When I took a look at the Introduction through Amazon's Look Inside feature and saw that the author has a heart for singles, and is "most eager for you to read this and be encouraged by God's heart for you," I was all in. I can only address this book from my own perspective, but I found the author compassionate, sensitive, and vulnerable in sharing from his experience, both from his personal life as well as his career as a pastor and counselor.

I appreciated the care he took in presenting such an important issue from a Biblical worldview. Not everything will be what people want to hear, but he speaks with grace and love. While I am not sure I agreed with his every theological point when it comes to sex, overall this is a book I would not hesitate to recommend for someone interested in learning more about these issues, or even just how to speak about them to a world with such different sexual ethics. I found I got more out of the book the further into it I delved, with the last chapter being especially encouraging.

Thank you to Read With Audra and New Growth Press for my copy of the book. All opinions in this review are my own.

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