God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Due to the Holiday season being upon us, I plan on sharing books related to the season for the next several weeks. After all, it is my favorite time of year. I have more than enough books to share with others that will cover this wonderful Holiday season! I'm really very excited. It is highly likely that there will be more than one book shared a week this month. (That is if I have time. It is also a busy time of year!)

Today I want to share a book that I discovered just last year; God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren. (Author of God Gave Us You, and other books in the God Gave Us series.) Last Christmas was a rough one for us. It was my son's first and, like many American families, we were dealing with a deployment that meant our family would be worlds apart for the holiday season. I don't mind admitting that I was having a hard time getting into the Holiday spirit, no matter the reason for the season.

While out shopping for Christmas presents for my son (we planned on celebrating when Daddy got home which ended up being the tail end of January) I often ended up browsing through the book isles and stores here locally. This book caught my eye and I picked it up and began to flip through the pages. I was familiar with God Gave Us You and God Gave Us Two, two other books by Lisa Tawn Bergren, but had never heard of this Christmas themed edition. I had apparently been missing out. By the end of my browsing I was standing in the center of the isle crying and thanking God for this simple, sweet reminder of the gifts God had blessed the world with. (Even if I did have to celebrate my son's first Christmas with his Daddy over a jumpy web cam.)

In God Gave Us Christmas Little Cub asks her mother who it was that invented Christmas. When informed that God gave us Christmas, Little Cub seems a tad confused, so Mama Bear and her cub set out on a journey to find God and learn how he gave us Christmas. During their journey Mama Bear shows her Little Cub the beauty of God in every day things, and in these every day miracles, tells the story of God sending us his only son as the ultimate Christmas gift. This story is a wonderful way to help children understand the reason behind the season and to learn how very much God loves all of us.

Beautifully written and illustrated, God Gave Us Christmas is a wonderful book to share with your family over the holiday season! Books are one of the main gifts given in my family for holidays, so I love the opportunity to pass such a gem on to others. A warning though: if you are having a hard time in your life, maybe don't stop and read this in the middle of the store. Unless you don't mind people looking at you like you have lost your mind when you start crying in the store. ;0)

If you are interested in learning more about author Lisa T. Bergren and her books, life, and beliefs, please check out her personal web page! If you would like to see more beautiful work by illustrator David Hohn, he has a wonderful web site to visit! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!