le mp Sa file Book of le file C hristmas Sa mp P rayer P r a y e r s and S t o r i e s That Bring You Closer to G o d During the H o l i d a y Edited by Susan B. Townsend Avon, Massachusetts Dedicated to the memory of my father, Robert David Armstrong (1923–2008). Copyright © 2009 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews. A Cup of Comfort ® is a registered trademark of F+W Media, Inc. Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc. 57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A. www.adamsmedia.com and www.cupofcomfort.com file ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0051-0 ISBN 10: 1-4405-0051-7 (paperback) ISBN-13: 978-1-44050-440-2 (EPUB) Printed in the United States of America. le J I H G F E D C B A mp Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the publisher. 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For information, please call 1-800-289-0963. file CONTENTS mp le Acknowledgments • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Introduction • Susan B. Townsend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Sa PART ONE ADVENT: DECEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 24 . . . . . . .1 Advent at Hall House • Cathy C. Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A Star Is Born • Alma Barkman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 A Holy Night in Jail • Molly Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 A Change of Perspective • Evelyn Rhodes Smith . . . . . 28 Great Expectations • Mary Gallagher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 The Faith of a Child • Cindy Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Something Unexpected from Santa • Jessica Collins. . . 53 The Christmas I Almost Missed • Gay Sorensen. . . . . . 60 Seven Camels and a Wobbly Manger • Jean Campion. . 67 This Little Light of Mine • Connie Sturm Cameron . . . 74 Another Name, Another Chance • Margaret Severson Brendemuehl as told to Laurie Klein . . . . . . . . . . . 81 A Matter of Faith • Marcia E. Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 The Gypsy • Katherine Ryan Craddock . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 iii Contents file I Can Give Him My Heart • Elsi Dodge. . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Russian Tarts • Susan B. Townsend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 An Old-Fashioned Christmas • Elisa Yager . . . . . . . . . 124 Michael’s Message • Penny Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 The Christmas Stranger • Gigi Adam . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 And a Little Child Shall Lead Them • Jean Kinsey. . . 147 The Christmas Story Tree • Katie Lovette . . . . . . . . . . 154 The Night the Sheep Got Sheared • Sandi L. Banks. . 163 The Magi Who Purred • Cindy Beck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Christmas Spirit—Lost and Found • Laurie A. Perkins. . 179 Gloria • Alma Barkman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 mp le PART TWO: CHRISTMAS DAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Prayer by the Sea • Linda Blaine Powell . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Sa PART THREE: THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. . . . . 207 The Lopsided Poinsettia • Sandi L. Banks . . . . . . . . . . 210 The Jelly Jar • Barbara Brady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 No Longer a Stranger • Kay W. Camenisch . . . . . . . . . 226 Kindred Souls • Valerie Kay Gwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Secret Socks • L. A. Lindburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 The Christmas of the Great Ice Storm • Gabriel Ricard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 John’s Gift • Richelle Putnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 A Legacy of Love • Susan E. Ramsden. . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 The Christmas Sacrifice • Sandy Cathcart. . . . . . . . . . 272 The Case of the Missing Gifts • Connie K. Pombo . . . 280 Why He Came • Renee Gray-Wilburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 iv Contents Sa mp le file PART FOUR EPIPHANY: JANUARY 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Gracias, Hallelujah! • Kenda Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 Scripture Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 v