simple blessings of Christmas - on sale now

The past two years, The Simple Blessings of Christmas, a gift book with 30 seasonal meditations I wrote and packaged for Simple Truths, has sold out by the end of November.

So consider this my reminder that if you are interested in purchasing a copy (or copies) for you and for others, now is the time to order.

The publisher has added a free card to go along with the free DVD "movie." It will be available through the Simple Truths website and there is a promo code to purchase it at a discount.

Enjoy and be blessed!

Christmas Teaches Us Gratitude

From the Simple Blessings of Christmas
Published by Simple Truths

Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both.

 - Phillips Brooks

 There is a simple attitude that determines in our own minds whether we are rich or poor, blessed or cursed, and fundamentally positive or negative about life. To make that enormous of a difference, that attitude must be incredibly powerful. And it is. That attitude is gratitude.

One person gets a job and is thrilled to be a contributing member of a team—and to be paid for it to boot. Another person gets the same job with the same company and with the same pay and benefits and feels cheated. One person literally has a great job and the other has an equally crummy job. Why? The difference is an attitude of gratitude.

One teen looks under the Christmas tree, finds a simple and thoughtful gift from her mom, and knows she is loved; all that another teen can think about as he tears the glossy wrapping paper from the box is the new cell phone model he didn’t get. She had a great Christmas morning and got absolutely everything she wanted; he had a lousy Christmas and didn’t get anything good. Again the only difference was gratitude.

After a long pregnancy that generated more questions than congratulations; that nearly led to a marriage ending before it started; that included a painful and arduous journey; that culminated in her son being born in conditions fit for animals but not for humans, how did Mary respond?

Luke tells us that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (2:19). In Bethlehem, among the animals, she found joy. She could have complained that God was doing nothing good for her, that her husband was a lousy provider, that the innkeeper should be put in prison for denying her a bed in the house, but instead she declared the “great things” God had done (Luke 1:49).

This central Christmas story—and the joys and challenges of our modern holiday—remind us that gratitude changes everything. Whether there are gifts stacked to the ceiling with your name on them or you aren’t sure anyone is going to give you anything, stop and give thanks to God, the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. You’ll receive a special blessing in your spirit and discover you have everything you need.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17


the simple blessings of Christmas - already?

No - this isn't another article on how early Christmas decorations go up in retail settings.

I would like to give a quick promo to a book of 31 Christmas devotions I wrote a couple years ago. If you want a book of daily readings that focuses on the Advent season, this might be just what you are looking for.

And I would quickly add it has sold out the last two years by the end of November. I'm not confident it will be available to order in December.

It is available directly from Simple Truths, the publisher (a free gift card is included if sending as a gift), as well as Amazon and other online retailers.

Click HERE to enjoy a short inspirational "movie" that is on a DVD included in the book.

Christmas reminds us of the joy of hospitality

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.Washington Irving

 History and literature brim with accounts of the wonderful gift of hospitality. In Charles Dickens’ immortal and beloved A Christmas Carol, it is the rich man with the big house, Ebenezer Scrooge, who locks his door and heart tightly to others, content to count his gold and silver coins. It takes an ethereal ghost and the fear of what the afterlife—chains and all—might hold for him to awaken Scrooge to the soulless and cruel miserliness of his ways. Soon after he sees the light, he is welcomed into the humble home of Bob Cratchett, where the air is cold but the hearts are warm, where he sees with his own eyes the responsibility and richness of opening one’s heart and home to others.

But my house isn’t very big and my furniture isn’t very nice. We get so tired out by the holidays. We just want some down time.

Not sure about your gift of hospitality? First of all, if you have a smile, a warm heart, and a few kind words, no one cares about how grand or simple your house is.  It was the investor Charles M. Schwab who said:  Money will buy you a bed but not a good night sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend. 

Second, you are wise to pace yourself over the Christmas season and not fill every square in your December calendar with activities. You need not feel guilty for that down time you’ve been looking forward to.

But the simple truth is that hospitality is good for the soul; it allows you to connect with others and is a tangible expression of your care for them.

Two thousand years go, an unnamed innkeeper, his guest rooms already filled, opened his heart and what accommodations he could muster to a young couple with nowhere else to turn. His home was the site of the greatest miracle in the history of mankind.

Shepherds and angels may not appear at your front door when you invite the neighbors over, but a special blessing awaits you and them!

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

From The Simple Blessings of Christmas by Mark Gilroy