Characters Marlee and Jacob find themselves in an accident on the way to a lawyer’s office to dissolve their marriage. Marlee walks away from the scene, and with Jacob nowhere to be found, she ends up invited into a home with a door-knocker the shape of a wedding ring. The old man there claims the three golden pots on the hearth inside are used to restore marriages, so Marlee begins a journey through her past, present and future.
A Catholic Christmas
Christmas Jigsaw Book
Does God Celebrate Christmas?
A Log Cabin Christmas
Christmas Treasures
Remembering Christmas
The Christmas Shoppe
The Invention of Lefse
A Fruitcake Christmas
Christmas Story PowerPoint 
Christmas: On This Holy Night
Christmas Story Boxed Cards
Christmas in Diverse City
Joy—An Irish Christmas
Christmas Is Not Your Birthday
The Journey
, Hamilton travels with readers from Nazareth to Bethlehem, approaching the birth of Christ with thoughtfulness.About Christian Retailing | Contact Us | About Charisma Media
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| Christmas Focus |
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| Written by Production |
| Monday, 15 August 2011 09:56 AM America/New_York |
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New products releasing for the crucial holiday season In preparation for the important Christmas season, Christian retailers will want to have in stock key new products. Among the new releases for 2011 are some from best-selling authors and others likely to become children’s favorites. Gary Chapman—family therapist and New York Times best-selling author of The Five Love Languages—has teamed up with radio host and award-winning author Chris Fabry for the September release A Marriage Carol (978-0-802-40264-6, $14.99, Moody Publishers), a seasonal novella on what it will take to restore a dying marriage. Having previously joined forces to bring marriage principles to fiction in his “The Four Seasons of a Marriage” series (Tyndale House Publishers) with Catherine Palmer, Chapman now looks to the Christmas season for the setting in which he and Fabry take readers on a special imaginary visit.
In the gift book category and from a new publisher comes A Homecoming Family Christmas: Making Memories of Comfort & Joy (978-1-936-03451-2, $19.99, Sept. 27) from best-selling authors and artists Bill and Gloria Gaither. The full-color illustrated Worthy Publishing title brings the spirit of the Gaithers’ Homecoming music and DVDs into the Christmas season. Along with their Homecoming friends, they present a celebration of the Christ-filled holiday in words and pictures. The hardcover gift book is filled with heart-warming stories, recipes, favorite memories, photos and inspiration, organized in sections themed around the five senses. David Crowder Band makes a different kind of music than the Gaithers, but no less meaningful. Oh for Joy (5-09999-46365-5-0, $7.99, Oct. 4) is the GRAMMY-nominated and Dove Award-winning band’s first Christmas release, coming just as the group is to disband. Distributed by EMI CMG, this sixstepsrecords release features favorites “Joy to the World,” “The First Noel,” “Oh Holy Night,” “Silent Night” and more, and highlights the band’s creativity and originality. CATHOLIC Kathleen M. St. Anthony 978-1-616-36163-1 $12.99, July 15 This book explores the central Catholic celebrations of the season, including their history and traditions. The book reminds readers that the power of the Incarnation transcends all efforts to shield or dilute the good news.
CHILDREN’S Juliet David; Lion Hudson (Kregel 978-1-859-85888-2 $11.99, August The story of the first Christmas is retold with a simple nine-piece jigsaw puzzle alongside each page in this board book. David and Pitt relate the miracle of Jesus’ birth in a friendly, interactive way. Each puzzle is set within the page, with the finished picture underneath to guide little hands as they piece it together. Phillip W. Rodgers Bees With Flashlights 978-0-984-41763-6 $14.99, June Shopping for Christmas gifts leaves Bailey the bear wondering why he doesn’t see evidence of God at the mall. Bailey’s question gives his father an opportunity to explain the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of “God’s greatest gift of all.”
FICTION Barbour 978-1-616-26478-9 $14.99, Sept. 1 In A Log Cabin Christmas: 9 Romances of American Pioneer Christmases, readers will relive a pioneer Christmas with its challenges and delights, as penned by best-selling authors, including Wanda E. Brunstetter, Jane Kirkpatrick and Margaret Brownley. Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer Berkley (Penguin Group USA) 978-0-425-24356-5 $25.95, Nov. 1 A new hardcover Cape Light novel from the Painter of Light Kinkade and co-author Spencer, Christmas Treasures sees Reverend Ben in need of heart bypass surgery after ignoring his health. Interim minister Isabel Moran is assigned to the congregation during the pastor’s six-week recuperation period, during which time Ben begins to think about moving on to a new phase of life. Dan Walsh Revell (Baker Publishing Group) 978-0-800-71979-1 $15.99, September Rick Denton lives life on his own terms, so when his mother calls on Thanksgiving weekend begging him to come home and help at the family’s bookstore after his stepfather has a stroke, he is reluctant to go. But when he does, the little bookstore with its quirky patrons—and a lovely young woman who works at his side—begin to reveal to Rick the truth about his family, his life and the true meaning of Christmas. Melody Carlson Revell (Baker Publishing Group) 978-0-800-71926-5 $15.99, September The small town of Parrish Springs is not quite ready for Matilda Honeycutt. She buys an old building on the town’s main street and opens a new shop the town wants to close before it has a chance where the customer service cannot be described—it has to be experienced. Larry Woiwode Crossway Books 978-1-433-52736-4 $12.99, Sept. 30 Woiwode brings readers into the simple rhythms of life for a Norwegian farm girl in the first decade of the 20th century. Christmas Eve falls in the midst of deprivation as Mette’s family prepares to journey to her grandparents’ farm. The family combines their meager resources to create an unexpected marvel of a meal.
DVD Thomas Nelson 0-23755-41519-6 $9.99, Oct. 4 Food is scarce in the garden around Christmas, and two roaches won’t share the piles of nuts and berries they have saved. But when Hailey and Bailey invite them to a fruitcake party, they are inspired to share. A Fruitcake Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All from Max Lucado’s “Hermie & Friends” line is a way for kids to discover that Christmas is not all about receiving gifts, but that God inspires us to share His love by giving. Rose Publishing 978-1-596-36458-5 $39.99, July The story of Jesus’ birth and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies are presented in a PowerPoint that can be used at Christmas or as a Bible study during Advent. The presentation of more than 100 slides uses traditional wording from Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, and full-color art. It also includes suggestions for Advent celebrations and traditional readings.
GIFTS
Thomas Nelson 978-1-400-31840-7 $12.99, Oct. 11 In this collection, verses from Luke’s Gospel are intermingled with quotes from influential Christians, past and present, including C.S. Lewis, who said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God,” and Christina Rossetti: “Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, love divine. Love was born at Christmas; Star and angels gave the sign.” Pumpernickel Press 6-76944-29024-3 $19.50, April Christmas Story boxed cards feature a Willow Tree design based on one of Susan Lordi’s popular sculptures. With detailed sculptured embossing and enhanced with gold foil, each card measures 5 3/8 by 8¼ inches. Each burgundy presentation box contains 12 cards and envelopes.
MUSIC
TobyMac ForeFront Records (EMI CMG Distribution) 5-09996-32610-5-9 $9.99, Oct. 4 Featuring the No. 1 radio hit “Christmas This Year,” Christmas in Diverse City showcases GRAMMY-nominated and Dove Award-winning TobyMac mixing rock, pop, soul, hip-hop and urban flavors into songs with a Christmas spirit. Keith and Kristyn Getty Getty Music Rooted in the festive, traditional sounds of the Gettys’ homeland, Joy —An Irish Christmas features five new Christmas selections by Keith Getty, including “Joy Has Dawned,” holiday standards as “Joy to the World” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and the children’s carol “Jesus, Joy of Highest Heaven.”
NONFICTION
Michael Slaughter Abingdon Press 978-1-426-72735-1 $12, August With overspending, overeating, materialism and busyness robbing many of their peace and joy at Christmas, Slaughter encourages readers to experience the peace of knowing that God is with us, the joy of giving sacrificially and the love of a Savior who gave everything. Adam Hamilton Abingdon Press 978-1-426-71425-2 $18, September In The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem |
