Ever wonder where some of our unique and meaningful Christmas traditions come from? Why are red and green popular colors of the season? Why is exchanging gifts a family tradition? Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas reveals the people, places, and events that shaped the best-loved customs of this merriest of holidays and how they all point to Christ.
Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas includes insights about:
- Gift giving
- Christmas trees
- Caroling
- Nativity scenes
- Yule logs
- Stockings
- Advent wreaths
- Mistletoe
- Holly, and more!
This is the perfect gift to infuse your celebration with spiritual insights, true-life tales, and captivating legends to intrigue you and your family. Bring new luster and depth to your modern traditions while you celebrate Jesus' birth. The traditions of Christmas lend beauty, awe, and hope to the holiday, causing people all over the world to anticipate it with joy. Warm your heart as you rediscover the true and eternal significance of Christmas.
1964: Justice, Mississippi, is a town divided. When attorney Coop Lindsay agrees to defend a black man accused of murdering a white teenager, the bribes and death threats don't intimidate him. As he prepares for the case of a lifetime, the young lawyer knows that innocent or guilty, he will no longer welcome in Justice.
2014: To some, the result of the trial still feels like a fresh wound even fifty years later, when Coop's grandson arrives in Justice seeking answers to the questions unresolved by the trial that changed his family's legacy. When a new case is presented, again pitting white against black, this third generation Lindsay may have the opportunity he needs to right the wrongs of the past.
On the same night she discovers she is pregnant, twenty-eight-year-old nurse Meg Richards' husband is killed in an auto accident caused by a drunken teen. James Thomas, the teen, comes from one of the most influential families in the community. He's a star athlete and glamour boy at the local high school.
Angered by her senseless loss, Meg blames God for what has happened and considers a decision that could change her life even further-until the D.A. intervenes. The results of the brutal trial enrage Meg, leading her down a frightening path of retribution. When the opportunity for revenge comes unexpectedly, will Meg follow through? Or will the remnants of her faith lead her in a different direction?
Leslie Rhoads is a small town girl on the verge of becoming a supermodel in the Big Apple. The 24-year-old is chosen for the cover of Style magazine, starring in the controversial Passion Nights' perfume ads. But before she can step into the spotlight, Leslie is assaulted; disfigured with a broken scotch bottle.
Without her perfect face, she is lost and no amount of surgery can ever make her what she once was. Trying to hide her face from the world, Leslie encounters more trouble as she seeks to rebuild her life: unrequited love, thoughts of suicide, and her assailant out to finish the job. Can a young girl named Angel turn it all around, and show Leslie that love truly is blind?
Jefferson Burke and the Secret of the Lost Scroll is a mystery as old as the Christian church wrapped in a modern-day thriller.
Though an unwilling hero, professor Jefferson Burke's intellectual curiosity pits him against the powerful Bruno Krueger in a race to find a 2000-year-old scroll that calls into question the divinity of Christ and could shake the foundation of Christian faith, upsetting the balance of power in the modern world. Their deadly quest spans the globe, involving officials from the Vatican, CIA and FBI agents, British royalty, a Hollywood actress, and modern terrorists.
This classic battle of good vs. evil will hook believers and doubters alike. The uncertainties raised by the very existence of the elusive scroll will have every reader questioning the basis of their faith and wondering what would happen if certain fundamental truths suddenly were proven untrue.
Artfully and thoughtfully told, this is the kind of action-packed adventure story that will keep loyal Ace Collins readers---and increasing legions of new fans---coming back for more.
Much like The Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs Of Christmas, The Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas and More Stories Behind The Best Loved Songs of Christmas this new Collins Christmas book will fill a void in the book world. With a look at these secular classics, people who love the music of the season will finally have a source that gives the stories behind the creation of these wonderful songs, the way they found their way into the hands of those who made them famous and the reason they climb the charts.
The Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas is really a guide or a map that connects Christmas past with Christmas present. It will be a time machine that connect the past to the present and makes the experience of hearing Christmas classics even more special. Completed with thoughts of those who penned these classics, along with the artists, such as Brenda Lee, who made them famous, this will be a book that is sure to generate fan interest.
To most making it through tough times is never financially easy. Those who got through the periods of 'Great Depression' did so with grit, determination, a can-do spirit and a lot of courage. Best of all, they came out stronger too! Those who survive those challenges and come out with a solid self-concept, a loving family and grounded faith ridded themselves of spiritual and mental baggage that would have otherwise destroyed them. They had a lean mind to go with a toned body. As we gaze at the hard days in front of us, it is time to look back on some time-tested examples of those who thrived in tough times as well as those whose mental baggage caused them to crash and burn. The lessons in this book involve not as much what each of us can add to insure survival, but what we can shed from our minds to keep out spirits high and our attitudes on an even keel. In trying times or even when things are great a fit, lean, positive mind is the key to being happy.
A quiet evening ends in murder on a muddy mountain road.
Local attorney Lije Evans and his beautiful wife, Kaitlyn, are gunned down. But the killers don't expect one of their victims to live. After burying Kaitlyn, Lije is on a mission to find her killer---and solve a mystery that has more twists and turns than an Ozark-mountain back road.
When the trail of evidence goes cold, complicated by the disappearance of the deputy who found Kaitlyn's body at the scene of the crime, Lije is driven to find out why he and his wife were hunted down and left for dead along Farraday Road. He begins his dangerous investigation with no clues and little help from the police. As he struggles to uncover evidence, will he learn the truth before the killers strike again?
September 12, 2001. Four members of the Klasser family are found dead outside Dallas, Texas. In the wake of 9/11, the Klassers' neighbor, Omar Jones---an American citizen of Arab descent---is convicted of their murder.
Could a sleepy hillside in Arkansas be the axis of international terror?
With only a month before Jones' execution, attorney Lije Evans searches for evidence that will prove the man innocent. But Evans' quest goes deeper than solving one crime. He is determined to find the secret behind the dark history of sleepy Swope's Ridge---and how it ties in with his wife's murder.
Interlocking mysteries lead Evans and his team to the dirt roads of Kansas and a rusty cargo ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, they discover a secret that offers the promise of great power---and the greatest temptation they've ever faced.
Racism, betrayal, and death-defying escapes compound an adventure that knows no bounds in this harrowing second book in the Lije Evans Mysteries series.
Christmas should be the most anticipated day of the year. But many people dread the shopping, financial strain, and extra activities they have to sandwich between the layers of their already too-busy lives.
Bestselling author Ace Collins is the perfect guide to help them navigate the stress of the holidays. As he shares twenty-six easy ways to revamp Christmas expectations, readers will relax, refuel, and readjust their attitude toward the season. Each upbeat chapter contains easy to apply ideas for taking a fresh look at a holiday tradition or task and making it positive and meaningful. Through a blend of historical stories, scriptural truths, and contemporary anecdotes, Collins creates a recipe for holiday happiness. He adeptly shows how to keep the joy of the season from derailing and helps readers rediscover Christmas as it was meant to be---holy, peaceful, and purposeful.
A glorious Christmas is attainable with Collins' timely wisdom and advice. Partly devotional, partly practical, and always thoughtful, Collins' book will help readers make this their best Christmas ever!
Master storyteller Ace Collins offers deeply personal narratives of sixteen men whose living faith has made a vital difference in the world. Stories Behind Men of Faith uncovers the influences, the turning points, and the surprising twists that have created icons of faith, past and present, who continue to inspire us to live better Christian lives and to witness to others.
Contemporary men such as Bono, Branch Rickey, Jim Valvano, and Fred Rogers and historical figures such as William Carey, John Newton, Albert Schweitzer, George Washington Carver, and Nicholas of Myra have inspired millions. They have led countless souls to follow in their steps and created legacies that have helped bring so much light into a dark world simply by courageously living their faith. Stories Behind Men of Faith will remind readers that with faith in God, anything is possible.
