Restoring Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti

In Restoring Christmas, Cynthia Ruchti tells the story of Alexis Blake who is an interior designer who has a shot at fame and an enviable career that is above ordinary if she can get a home remodeled in just eight weeks. Alexis Blake working with an unknown video-grapher who has a point to prove, and trying to please the aging homeowner is no easy thing as they all are hindered by self-doubt and fears.

As the fall turns into the blistering winter and snow covers the small town of Algoma, Wisconsin, the inevitable deterioration of the old home only seem to expose the hurts and disappointments of the owner. Even if Alexis can repair the floors of the old farmhouse, can she really repair and restore the hope of those people who are counting on her? To read on, get a copy of Ruchti’s Restoring Christmas this season!

Ruchti is the award winning author of more than eighteen books and a speaker at women’s ministry events. She serves as the Professional Relations Liasion for American Christian Fiction Writers, helping retailers, libraries, and book clubs discover good books and connect with authors. She lives with her husband in Central Wisconsin.

First Words of Jesus by Stu Epperson

"The One she carried in her womb would one day carry her cross and come out of the tomb” writes Stu Epperson in his latest book, First Words of Jesus: From the Cradle to the Cross. The author provides meditations this Christmas season on what Jesus’ first recorded words meant for those seeking Him including Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Herod, Anna, Simeon, and others. Epperson gives 10 excellent contrasts between the cradle and the cross:

Cradle	Cross
1. Roman law led to His traumatic birth in a cattle trough	1. Roman law sentenced Him to His traumatic death on a wooden cross
2. Born in Bethlehem, the city of bread	2. The bread of life was broken at Golgotha
3. The good news of the Gospel first came to the lowly shepherds	3. The good news of the Gospel was last given to the lowly thief
4. Mary’s pain in childbirth	4. Mary’s pain in her child’s death
5. Marked by the brightness of a star at birth	5. The morning star was covered in oppressive darkness at death
6. Blessing by the giving of gifts from wise men	6. Cursed by the taking of His clothes for gambling by fools
7. The first cry of birth	7. The last cry of death
8. Accepted and embraced in love and care	8. Rejected and forsaken in judgment and wrath
9. Blessed and worshiped	9. Cursed and mocked
10. Born inside a stable and clothed	10. Died outside in the open air and stripped of clothing