I hope you saw the last BookNotes — you know the one the other day where the formatting got all bungled. Can’t say why that happened but the video came through. The good folks at the Christian Study Center called Upper House in Madison, Wisconsin, had me on their UpWords podcast for an hour chatting about Advent, Christmas memories, the Biblical vision of hope and a whole bunch of old and new Advent favorites. All the books mentioned there get a 20% off so if you’d like you can listen to that (on Spotify or Apple Podcasts) or watch us on YouTube and then use our secure order form at the Hearts & Minds website to place orders. We’ll be sure to write right back to confirm everything.

By the way, it’s worth watching a bit of that as you’ll see me unrehearsed, describing for the first time in public my friend Steve Garber’s forthcoming book, Hints of Hope: Essays on Making Peace with the Proximate. It releases officially in late January 2026 but we’ve been assured by Paraclete Press that we’ll have it in December. PLEASE CONSIDER PRE-ORDERING THAT NOW — I could even be an IOU sort of Christmas gift for his many fans. The official retail price is $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99.

There are so many great Advent reads and holiday books that I have described the last few years, I hate to skip over them. Why not go back to our website’s archives and revisit those BookNotes columns (use the search box and put in Advent) — the prices might have changed a bit but most are still in print and most likely readily available. Don’t miss my descriptions of books such as the excellent, literary A Radiant Birth: Advent Readings for a Brith Season edited by Leslie Leyland Fields & Paul Willis or the must-read The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope or the surprisingly good Rediscovering Christmas by A.J. Sherrill.

Here are twelve brand new ones.  All are 20% off. Read well, live in hope.

Waiting for Jesus: An Advent Invitation to Prayer and Renewal Rich Villodas (Waterbrook) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I hope you know how much we esteem Reverend Rich Villodas, a vibrant and powerful pastor in NYC. His church is delightfully multi-ethnic, healthy and sane, deeply evangelical with high regard for personal faith and Biblical fidelity who never fails to draw on the best of wise insights from other traditions. He’s rooted in the Bible and its grand, redemptive story but he quotes black poets and Latina scholars and calls us to live out our faith in gracious, embodied ways. I can’t say enough about his fine, approachable, provocative books of Christian living.

Waiting for Jesus is another to be added to his recent study on the Sermon on the Mount (The Narrow Path) and his powerful call towards the common good in Good and Beautiful and Kind. As you might expect from an Advent reader, it is concise and brief. It’s a trim, hand-sized hardback with 25 great reflections. The four weeks of reflections are shaped by the themes of Waiting, Peacemaking, Rejoicing, and Beholding. It’s a curious flow and I found it compelling. I highly recommend it.

By the way, at the end of each day’s meditation there is some guidance and prompts suggesting silence and preparation, a “prayer for presence”, a Scripture, a quote from another “guide” (from medial mystics to Thomas Merton, Bonhoeffer to Dallas Willard, often deeply prayerful) and a reflection question to ponder before a closing prayer. You will, as the title suggests, experience this as a call to renewal. Happy holidays, for real!

Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us Derek Vreeland (NavPress) $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

Some years in our annual Advent listing I try to give a nod to one of the great books in all of Christian history, the dense but seminal On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius. C. S. Lewis wrote the forward to the paperback edition from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press although other cheaper editions are available. Last year I highlighted my friend A. D. Bauer’s nice, short and useful book One of Us: Reflecting on the Radical Mystery of the Incarnation (Square Halo Books; $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59) which you should consider. 

This year, I’ll suggest this very nicely produced 8-lesson Bible study book, Incarnation by Derek Vreeland. It is part of a series NavPress is doing (including matching volumes coming next season on the crucifixion and on the resurrection.) Incarnation is ideal to study this season, but is, of course, foundational for any Christ-follower and would be good for any time. Best used in groups, I’m sure you’d enjoy it solo, as well. The Bible texts used are in The Message paraphrase, which is fun. God is with us, friend, and this study allows you to dive deep into this fascinating reality that the Creator God of the Universe came in flesh and blood and, as Engage Peterson colorfully put it, “moved into the neighborhood.”

I hope you recall our promotion of Vreeland’s wonderful 2023 book Centering Jesus: How the Lamb of God Transforms Our Communities, Ethics, and Spiritual Lives. He knows his stuff and this handsome, new study has lots of reading, Biblical exploration, reflection questions to discuss and application points to ponder. As with any diligent study of Scripture, you will be drawn closer to Christ and challenged into deeper discipleship. Happily, there are fine closing prayers to help us all not just learn more, but live well because of it. Perhaps even a bit incarnationally.

The Advent Tree: Meeting Jesus in God’s Big Story Kara Eidson (WJK) $17.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60

When we first opened our store over Thanksgiving weekend of 1982 local folks seemed glad that we had Jesse Tree ornaments and resources. We both grew up knowing of this custom which decorated a tree with symbols of God work in the Older Testament, showing the thread of redemptive promises throughout Scripture. The custom seemed to wane and over the years we’ve had fewer people ask about Jesse Tree resources. And now — hooray! — we have a brand new book with an upbeat and fresh take on this great, seasonal tradition.

Kara Eidson is a pastor who is a fine communicator (we used her DVD Stay Awhile in our own church last year) and we’ve appreciated her Lenten study,  A Time to Grow: Lenten Lessons from the Garden to the Table. Now, we’ve got an intergenerational resource (or a fine book to read on one’s own) that offers daily reflection, creative symbols, and engaging insights. It’s more than a devotional (and with the book there is free access to digital resources (wjkbooks.com/AdventTree) to enhance yours of the book during worship, group study, or family time.)

Her United Methodist colleague Magrey DeVega says,

Edison reminds us that as we make our way to the manger, we ought to lean in and listen. There, among the stars and the shepherds, we will hear the voice of our spiritual ancestors, joining us in celebrating the fulfillment of a story generations in the making. To truly commemorate Christmas means to remember all that led to the coming of Christ. This book shows us how.

I love that quote. Read it again.  Well put, isn’t it?

Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas Sherah-Leigh Gerber (Herald Press) $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

There have been a number of good resources of late inviting us to care well for those who aren’t up for a joyful Christmas and who recoil from the trappings of the festive America holiday cheer. I am sure some of you reading have lost loved ones in recent months, have gotten a horrible diagnosis, are fearful of losing a job, are distressed by abusive memories and alarmed by the grave threats to our democratic order daily promoted by our current political regime. Who can rejoice in times like these?

Unhappy Holidays is asking the question “how can we hope when not all is merry and bright?” Ends up, this honest collection of fascinating stories and tender words are just what many of us need.

Besides the honest, good reflections there are some appendices, good stuff on adapting this for a small group, some about using the material in communal worship, a set of sensitive Advent candle-lighting litanies, and a plan for a Blue Christian service.  Very useful.

For other resources (which we’ve highlighted, among others, in a special Blue Christmas BookNotes list last year) don’t forget Blue Christmas: Devotions of Light in a Season of Darkness by Todd Outcalt (Upper Room; $14.99 // our sale price = $11.99), A Weary World: Reflections for a Blue Christmas by Kathy Escobar (WJK; $16.00 // our sale price = $12.80) and Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us, Then, Here, and Now by Scott Erickson (Zondervan; $19.99 // our sale price = $15.99.

The Art of Living in Advent: 28 Days of Joyful Waiting Sylvie Vanhoozer (IVP/formatio) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

What a lovely little book this is! You will be sure to find it literate and thoughtful, beautifully done and, dare I say, both unique and profound. It is a sure, solid, resource that you will revisit often, making it one of the best new resources of the year.

The Art of Living in Advent is not drawn from but is similar to her previous year-long daily devotional The Art of Living in Season. That year-long one followed the church calendar and its theme or motif was drawn from the author’s girlhood in Provence, France, a region known for extravagant, multi-figured creche sets including workers, peasants, gardeners, merchants, and farmers galore, all crowding around the nativity. Her memory of these unique, expansive creches included insights about how they incorporated common folks and daily life, all caught up in the redemptive project begun in the manger. Somehow common life was dignified and all manner of townspeople played a part in this cosmic drama. What a beautifully illustrated and poetic set of reflections she offered in that volume last year.

This new, pocket sized one, The Art of Living in Advent, is all new material, with new, tasteful but clever artwork, pastels just like in the bigger book. William Edgar calls it “exquisite” and Amy Peeler, an Anglican priest and Wheaton prof, says it is “a veritable feast of image, flora, story, and Scripture.” If. you have her previous one, I’m sure you’ll want this one. If you haven’t gotten that one yet, this is a great intro to her style, insight, and charm.

Praying with Saint Nicholas: A Christmas Devotional Matt Mikalatos (Tyndale) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

You might want to know that even before we’ve highlighted this here, now, it’s become our best selling Advent book this season. Folks from several locations are using it and Matt has been righteous enough to tell people to buy it from indie bookstores. Our name comes up — he orders from us himself — so followers of his have found us. What a blast sending out a handful here and there. We even pitched it last October at our annual Wee Kirk (small church) conference in Western PA.

You may recall that we featured his fabulous Praying with Saint Patrick early last Spring and while Irish folks are passionate about their flamboyant and storied saint (and who doesn’t love the true story of this converted slave who returned to teach his pagan captives to read and lead them to Christ.) This one has even wider appeal and is arranged nicely with readings and quotes and stories. Nicholas — who was a bishop in Myra, an outpost of the Roman Empire which is modern-day Turkey— was a man of great generosity, helped trafficked children, cared for the needy, and did all sorts of remarkable things, including crafting remarkable prayers (“for light in times of darkness” and “to be a blessing.” And yes, he got into a fight over the divinity of Christ in the famous dust-up (okay, he just up and punched him) with Arius at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. You gotta get this book!

The Star Still Beckons: Gifts of Presence at Advent and Christmastide Leonard Sweet (The Salish Sea Press) $27.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.39

This is a book for which we’ve waited for years (decades?) and I’m thrilled to announce it here. Sweet published it himself in his little, indie publishing outfit from Orcas Island (in the state of Washington) so you may not have heard of it. He’s a master wordsmith, an amazing reader, who, with his photographic memory, can draw on sources old and new, obscure and au current. That is, he’s a blast to read and I promise you that you will learn new stuff, be challenged to reconsider things you thought you knew, and be invited to live out this Advent journey in fresh and maybe even exciting ways.

Here is what is says on the back:

In the chaos of the Christmas clamor, The Star Still Beckons, invites unto pause, breathe, and journey back to the sacred heartbeat of the season. With his signature blend of rich theology, poetic insights, and cultural imagination, Dr. Leonard Sweet leads us through an Advent encounter — one that begins in a stable and ends in stardust. You’ll encounter wonder in wounds, dignity in dirt, and a God who chose not majesty but matter to declare: You matter.

Read that again and wonder about stables and stardust, not majesty but matter. Wow.

He would say that this is not just another devotional, but a “symphony of silence and song.” There are “donkeys and dancing, manger grime and divine glory.”

There are a set of six reflections here, all well-written, jarring and at times jubilant, first four for the Sundays in Advent. Then there are three more, one for Christmas Eve, one for Christmas Day, and one for New Year’s (in which he tells about the Scottish “Hogmanay.”) There is a detailed guide in the back, full of special “interactive” — more than discussion questions, but stuff to do together — and invitations to find sacred space and interact with the material alone and together. There are “prayerful ponderings” and more.

Somebody said “Whether you’re a Silent Night soul or a Jingle Bells spirit, these pages offer sacred space to rediscover the enchantment of Christmastide.” Exactly.

A Child Is Born: A Beginner’s Guide to Nativity Stories Amy-Jill Levine (Abingdon) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

A Child Is Born four-session DVD $44.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $35.99 A Child Is Born Leader’s Guide  $15.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $12.79

Agree or not with this upbeat and opinionated and provocative New Testament scholar, Amy-Jill Levine is legendary for bringing her own expertise as a Jew to the study of the gospels. A (Reformed) rabbi and prof at Vanderbilt and nationally recognized scholar and teacher, she writes with passion and insight. This is another in a series of books offering introductions — for seasoned church folk or those unfamiliar with the basic historical gist — of Biblical stories. Here she asserts that the miraculous birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary stands in a tradition, starting with Abraham and Sarah. James Howell asks “Who else would remind us that Samson, Moses, and Hannah, too, are “the chorus rising in with their stories when we hear of Mary’s conception?” “Pondering our Old Testament stories of unexpected pregnancies and births illuminates what’s up in the stories of Mary and Jesus.”

Adam Hamilton calls it “a wonderful and inspiring book — a book to be savored.”  Even the contemplative Catholic writer Father Ronald Rolheiser weighs in, saying that A Child Is Born that Levine’s Judaism allows her to”highlight Jesus’s roots in Judaism in a manner that helps us understand him and his teachings more accurately and more in depth.”

One leader calls it “a masterclass” and “a literary ultrasound.”   Four chapters and an Epilogue. 115 pages.

With Heart & Soul & Voice: Advent Devotions on the First Christmas Songs Tim Chester (The Good Book Company) $14.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

Ha — what a great idea. It’s been done before but never so well: here Chester explores the Biblical songs sung in the birth narratives in the gospels. That is, there are meditative essays on Mary’s Song (The Magnificat), Zechariah’s Song (The Benedictus), the Angels’ Song (The Gloria) and Simeon’s Song (The Nunc Dimittis.)

There are seven readings on the first two of these songs; five for the next two. Each day includes carol lyrics, prayers, quotes from famous theologians old and new. I respect Tim Chester (who serves in urban London) a lot; in a way he reminds of the impeccable John Stott.

“So much of the joy and courage we need each day is carried in these life-giving songs” — Kristyn Getty

Everyday Gospel Christmas Devotional Paul David Tripp (Crossway) $7.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $6.39

Perhaps you have heard of Tripp’s mega-best seller, New Morning Mercies perhaps the biggest selling devotional in recent years (except for Jesus Calling.) We routinely stock the hardback and the nicer gift edition as well. Tripp has written bunches of books combining his astute, conservative Bible exegesis and his caring counseling insight, offering a gospel-centered and grace-based view of Biblical insight for living. His devotional captured (among other things) what Luther might have been meant he advised that we “preach the gospel to ourselves” each day.

Following that still popular New Morning Mercies devotional, Tripp release another called Everyday Gospel. It, too, is an intense and handsome hardback, offering Christ-exalting and personally transformative meditations, day by day, offering kernels of the gospel to transform everyday life.

This new, slim collection of 25 readings drawn from Everyday Gospel, shows that Tripp loves Christmas, and loves to connect its glorious truths with our everyday lives. As he reflects on Biblical events from Genesis to Revelation he shows us the historical redemptive insight about who Jesus is and why He came to be born in that Bethlehem manger.

After each reflection there is a poignant question to ponder and a rich prayer to enjoy and share.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus: An Advent to Christmas Pilgrimage Andy Langford & Ann Langford Duncan (Abingdon Press) $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

Andy Langford is a respected and vibrant United Methodist pastor from North Carolina and Ann Duncan is daughter, a graduate of Duke Divinity School and a United Methodist pastor serving in California. They both are writers (and collaborated on The Gospel According to the Hunger Games Trilogy.) I love the idea of a father/daughter book project and this one is both, or so it feels to me, both gentle and quiet and yet at the same time exciting and invigorating.

I think it comes across this way, with tones of contemplation and vigor, because it is working the metaphor of a pilgrimage. There’s even a map of ancient Palestine in the front, giving a sense that we are going someplace for real, down to dusty Earth, and, maybe, we will encounter thin places. We are ordinary folks trekking along but it is a sacred journey. This, they say, will get us to open our eyes to the goodness of Christmas.

I think of the U2 song about all that we can’t leave behind. I think of the burdens of this season, of this life. We need a transforming journey. We need to let some stuff go and head out fresh. We need this season to think about the Word becoming flesh.

There are five main chapters in this Advent pilgrimage, and with each they give a destination. The first chapter, reflecting on the lectionary text of the first Sunday of Advent, is called “An Early Prophet: Isaiah” and the journey’s destination is ancient Jerusalem and the first temple. The second chapter of this travelogue is called “Two Later Prophets: John the Baptist and John the Theologian” and the destination we head for is the Jordan River and over to the Island of Patmos. The third leg of our journey is to meet “The Mother of God and the First Disciple Mary” in Nazareth, while the last stretch for the Fourth Sunday of Advent we head for Bethlehem and the Second Temple in Jerusalem, in a chapter called The First Witnesses: Angels, Shepherds, Simeon, and Anna.” At pilgrim’s end we get to the First Sunday of Christmas and the title here is “The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas): Grace Born In Bethlehem.” The final afterword closes with a good piece saying that “our pilgrimage ends and continues…” The destination? The new Jerusalem and your local congregation. Nice, eh?

The messages of Come Thou Long Expected Jesus strikes me as solid, mature, thoughtful, common-enough stuff. It’s brought to life by the pilgrimage metaphor, I think, and by the good writing, preaching, storytelling, and the historical stuff in each locale. I hope you enjoy it.

(Although we’d have to order them (which we would gladly and easily do) I’m told there is a DVD and a leader’s guide. Let us know if we can help.)

All Is Calmish: How To Feel Less Frantic and More Festive During the Holidays Niro Feliciano (Broadleaf) $25.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.79

I will suggest this therapeutic book as a nicely written, often insightful, often energetic reminder of the stresses brought on by various seasonal holidays; the author mentions Thanksgiving, Diwali, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s, occasions which often “makes us frazzled and frantic. Stressed and stretched. Distressed and depressed.” She is a trained and certified psychotherapist and an expert on anxiety and relationships. Maybe you’ve seen her on the TODAY show or in the Oprah Daily. She is a first generation Sri Lankan American and is a popular writer and counselor.

I have dipped into this hardback in several spots and have been each time been engaged and entertained. I’m not sure it’s that brilliant — it’s mostly common sense stuff about connecting with others, letting go of perfectionists tendencies, reducing expectations, and finding the joy of simple pleasures. But they are taught with compelling stories and anecdotes, not preachy, spoken like a friend. She’s breezy and tells stories about leaving cookie-dough unbaked (her plans were, she tells us,”half-baked.”) She tells a funny story about getting a big Christmas tree off of her roof (“the closest I have ever come to wrestling an alligator.”) She has some helpful advice about gifts and gift-giving (which is not everyone’s forte) Okay.

If you like upbeat, even charming, writing with a bit about brain science and boundary-setting and the value of religious rituals even at our business, this winsome might be a fun companion for your harried season. As best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims (How to Raise An Adult) simply puts it, “Niro Feliciano gets it.” We do not have to “lose ourselves” in the process of striving for a meaningful holiday season. We really can — as Feliciano’s watchword puts it —“be times of connection rather than perfection.”

The book’s footnotes include fascinating summaries of research on mental health and resilience and pieces from journals like the Harvard Divinity Bulletin (on the value of silence) and Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience (on cortisol) and Studies in Psychology (on FOMO.) Yet, the final appendix listing suggestions for simple holidays are so banal (and upper class) I’d snip those out if I could. Otherwise, what’s not to love about a book called All Is Calmish.

We hope you appreciate these rather diverse sort of resources, curated for your reading pleasure. Don’t forget to check back to last year’s column (where I have convenient links to five other previous BookNotes seasonal lists.) Just jump on our website and see the archives of old BookNotes. We’ve got a whole lot of books here, so let us know how we can help you some right for you or your group. Thanks for your support this season.

AND NEXT ISSUE — coming soon — ADVENT BOOKS FOR CHILDREN & FAMILY.

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