Christmas Story Hop

Grand Prize: $100 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Please join us in the celebration of our Lord and Savior, and rejoice with us our favorite Christmas movies and join us on a progressive Christmas story hop.

Here’s how it works:

1. Go to each blog in the order that is listed below.
2. Read the first section of the story. Then follow the link to the next section of the story.
3. At each blog, comment to get entered in both the Grand Prize drawing ($100 Amazon Gift Card) and to be entered in each author’s individual drawing. Your comments can be about the story. Or you can tell us your favorite Christmas songs or movies or books. You can also tweet and like us on Facebook to be entered multiple times.

Feel free to browse each author’s bookshelf.

Comment on this blog and you will receive a FREE autographed, paperback copy of "Beyond Hope" or a FREE e-book download of "Beyond Hope" from Smashwords, whichever you prefer! I love Smashwords because readers can download novels in multiple formats. 

Blogs to visit for the Progressive Christmas Story, "A Christmas to Remember", should be visited in the order listed below:

1.    Gloria Harchar
2.    Emerald Barnes
3.    Bonnie Blythe
4.    Anita Green
5.    Marian Merritt
6.    Rich Bullock
7.    Dawn Turner

My Favorite Christmas Songs

It's that time of year again. No matter where you go, there it is. Christmas music. If you're like me, by the time Christmas rolls around, you're so sick of most of it, you could puke. But I'll bet you're like me and have your favorites, too. Those songs you can listen to all year long and never get sick of them. (If only they were all so palatable over the long haul, eh? he he)

Two of my favorites are relatively new. The third is very traditional and has multiple renditions in several languages.

The traditional one that hits me deep is O Holy Night. I don't think anyone sings it as well as Nat King Cole did. What strikes me about this song is how beautifully it reveals what Christ came to do for us as well as how we should respond to His precious gift (fall on our knees and raise our voices in joyful praise).

The two songs I absolutely adore that aren't traditional Christmas songs but exemplify the meaning of the season are "Mary, Did You Know" and "Joseph's Song".

People have spent centuries speculating and talking about the kind of young woman Mary was that God chose her to be the mother of the Christ child. The Bible reveals her humble servant heart. The type of heart every single last one of us is supposed to have. Just think for a moment about the faith and obedience she showed.

But she wasn't the only one. And she isn't the only one I've often wondered about.

Have you ever thought about what kind of man God chose to raise His Son? Joseph was just as important in Jesus' life in many ways as Mary was. Think about the faith and obedience he exhibited, not to mention the love he must have had for Mary.

God worked through two humble, obedient people with incredible faith. It's amazing when you read scripture how often God chose the lowly of society to do incredible things. He chose a young virgin with a servant's heart to be mother to Jesus. He chose a humble carpenter to be Jesus' father. He chose a shepherd named David to be the king of His nation Israel. Jesus chose fishermen and tax collectors to share His message with a lost world.

As we think about the incredible gift God gave us by coming in the flesh to sacrifice Himself for our sins, how joyful and obedient is your heart? And who would He have you reach out to and share His love with?

So, what's your favorite song and why?

If you haven't yet read "A Christmas to Remember", check it out!

Participate in the Amazon gift card give away using Facebook or your email by clicking here December 13th through the 15th (be sure to leave a comment on this blog posting, too, to be eligible):

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