"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
What single words would
you choose to describe this special season of the year? Covenant
Communications offers a few suggestions in Words of Christmas:
Savoring the True Meaning of the Season One Word at a Time
(2015, 54 pages in hard cover, $14.99). The 25 words allow the book
to be used as a type of advent calendar or to be savored singly as we
rejoice and reflect on the birth of our Savior. It’s the
perfect time-out from the busyness of the holidays.
Some of those words are
ones that resonate with us every day — family, Christ,
love, kindness, celebrate — while others
like peace, miracles, shepherds, angel,
and Magi take on deeper meaning this time of year. Simple graphic
designs accompany the single word, while the opposite page offers
some reflection on the word in brief, poetic text, along with a short
scripture and reference.
No author is credited
with the beautifully written thoughts on each word, hinting that this
lovely little book was indeed a labor of love. “May we believe
in Him,” it pleads on the final page. “In His mission.
His Atonement. In His Resurrection. In all He has done for us. And
most especially in His invitation to come and follow Him. For in a
season of endless parties and get-togethers, His is the only
invitation that matters.”
To call It’s
All About Christmas nostalgic is an understatement. This is a
treasury of vintage illustrations alongside stories, carols, poems,
ideas, quotes, and other reminders of the season. Time-honored
stories (O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” Hans
Christian Anderson’s “The Little Match Girl,” Leo
Tolstoy’s “Papa Panov’s Special Christmas,”
among others) mingle with newer ones, including Jerry Borrowman’s
“One Christmas Eve,” Michele Ashman Bell’s “Candle
in the Window,” and Lyman Hafen’s “On a Cold
Winter’s Night.”
Each is just right for
reading aloud to the family.
The pages include
Clement C. Moore’s 1822 classic, “A Visit from St.
Nicholas,” curiously uncredited here and titled “Night
Before Christmas.” Did-you-knows, recipes, international
traditions, trivia, and brief explanations of symbols of the
Christmas season are sprinkled throughout the 232 matte-finish pages
of this attractive hardcover book (Covenant 2015, $19.99).
Another seasonal book
that deserves mention here Charles Dickens’ beloved tale of
Ebenezer Scrooge and the life-changing visitations of ghosts from
Christmases past, present, and future, as told in a 2013 publication
by Deseret Book. Artist J. Kirk Richards abridged and illustrated A
Christmas Carol in a lovely hardcover book featuring his
sepia-toned paintings that grow brighter as the story unfolds and
Scrooge’s heart is changed.
Even abridged, it
contains substantial verbiage, but broken into the five “staves”
of Dickens’ original, it makes a suitable read-aloud over a few
evenings. I missed this gem the first time around but am glad to
discover it now (48 pages, $24.99, now available at a large
discount).
Laurie
Williams Sowby has been writing since second grade and getting paid
for it since high school. Her byline ("all three names, please")
has appeared on more than 6,000 freelance articles published in
newspapers, magazines, and online.
A
graduate of BYU and a writing instructor at Utah Valley University
for many years, she proudly claims all five children and their
spouses as college grads.
She
and husband, Steve, have served three full-time missions together,
beginning in 2005 in Chile, followed by Washington D.C. South, then
Washington D.C. North, both times as young adult Institute teachers.
They are currently serving in the New York Office of Public and
International Affairs
During
her years of missionary service, Laurie has continued to write about
significant Church events, including the rededication of the Santiago
Temple by President Hinckley and the groundbreaking for the
Philadelphia Temple by President Eyring. She also was a Church
Service Missionary, working as a news editor at Church Magazines,
between full-time missions.
Laurie
has traveled to all 50 states and at least 45 countries (so far).
While home is American Fork, Utah, Lincoln Center and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art have provided a comfortable second home.
Laurie
is currently serving a fourth full-time mission with her husband in
the New York Office of Public and International Affairs. The two
previously served with a branch presidency at the Provo Missionary
Training Center. The oldest of 18 grandchildren have been called to
serve missions in New Hampshire and Brisbane, Australia.
