Blog Tour: Treasured/God Gave Us Christmas/God Gave Us Love (+ winner!)

I didn't take long to RSVP for this blog tour when I saw the titles and the books involved. Just two years ago my church started a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers). I still remember the leader pulling out this first book and reading it to all of us moms. It was such a sweet story & I've been eying the book ever since to add to our collection.

If you've ever struggled with the question of "who is Santa" or if you've tried to figure out how to explain it all to your children in a way they will understand and at the same time strengthen their faith - I would recommend this book. The story stars a polar bear family with the youngest asking on the first page, "Who 'vented Christmas? Was it Santa?" The rest of the story shares how the Mama Bear shows how it was God who "'vented Christmas." I loved this book & it will be read a lot during this Advent season.

Publisher's Summary:

God Gave Us Christmas: As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder… “Who invented Christmas?” Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that… Jesus is the best present of all.

This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.

You can buy a copy of the book HERE.

I was also happy to see another book by the same author called God Gave Us Love.

This is another great character building, sweet story for children. Little Cub struggles with why we must love everyone and where does that love come from. This time his Grandpa Bear helps him figure out the answers. I struggled a bit, but I ended up donating this to a mom and her children who recently left a domestic violence situation with only the clothes on their back. I struggled because I wanted to keep it! However, I'm praying it is a blessing to her and her children during this time of uncertainty.

Publisher's Summary:

God Gave Us Love: As Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, the young polar bear begins to question why we must love others… even the seemingly unlovable.

In answering her questions, Grampa Bear gives tender explanations that teach Little Cub about the different kinds of love that is shared between families, friends, and mamas and papas. Grampa explains that all these kinds of love come from God and that it is important to love others because…“Any time we show love, Little Cub, we’re sharing a bit of his love.”

This sweet tale will warm the hearts of young children as they learn about all the different sorts of love, while the gentle explanations of each provide a valuable opportunity to encourage children to share with others a “God-sized love.”

You can buy a copy of the book HERE.

Author Bio:

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Lastly, I was given a copy of Treasured: Knowing God by the Things He Keeps by Leigh McLeroy.

Honestly, I've said it before, I don't particularly care for non-fiction. I tend to struggle with it. Not this book though. I'm really enjoying it a lot. The author does a really great job interweaving real life stories (typically her own) with biblical truths. She takes well-known & well-loved Bible stories and shares attributes of God. I'm only half-way through but plan to actually finish this non-fiction book - that's saying something from me!

Publisher's Summary:

Cigar boxes. Refrigerator doors. Scrapbooks and sock drawers and top shelves. These are the places we store our treasures–the keepsakes that tell the story of whom and what we’ve loved, how we’ve lived, and what matters most to us.

God is a collector, too, whose treasures are tucked securely into the pages of his book: a golden bell here, an olive leaf there, a scarlet thread, a blood-stained cloth, a few grains of barley. Each of these saved artifacts reveals a facet of his heart and tells the story of a Father whose most precious possession is…us.
In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides us in discovering evidence in our own lives of his attentive love.

You can buy a copy of the book HERE.

Author Bio:

Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.

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And for the winner of the last book giveaway I did for White Picket Fences...De'Etta! I need your new address...

Disclaimer: I am not paid for these book reviews. I am given copies of the books to read in exchange for my review. Of course, this arrangement works well for me since I love to read!