Chicken Soup for the Soul the Book of Christmas Virtues : Inspirational Stories to Warm the Heart

by Canfield, Jack, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780757303142
• ISBN10: 0757303145
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781453274934
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-13
• Publisher: Hci
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Perfect for adults and children, this uplifting book is a wonderful celebration of the season. Designed as a gift book or family keepsake to be used as a holiday tradition, this beautiful hardcover features seven virtues that are traditionally associated with Christmas. Each one is discussed in a short inspirational essay then illustrated by four to five all-new heart-touching stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul, bringing the magic of the season to light. Each section ends with a one-page suggestion on how to start your own holiday tradition, from baking cookies to charity ideas that reflect the spirit of the virtue. Perfect for adults and children, this uplifting book is a wonderful celebration of the positive aspects of a season too often consumed by lights, cameras and material pursuits.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Reflections	xiii
Value from Virtues: How to Use This Book	xvii
Joy
Finders, Keepers	3	(3)
Homestead Holiday	6	(4)
Margaret Lang
With Gladness and Glue	10	(2)
Nancy B. Gibbs
Decking the Halls with Balls of Jolly	12	(3)
Woody Woodburn
The Debut	15	(3)
Mary Kerr Danielson
Music to My Ears	18	(3)
Margaret Middleton
I Wonder	21	(3)
Mary Kerr Danielson
Gone Logo	24	(3)
Simplicity
Simply So	27	(3)
Tending the Home Fires	30	(3)
Jim West
Bringing Christmas	33	(3)
Toby Abraham-Rhine
A Hush in the Rush	36	(3)
Ann K. Brandt
Whittle-ed A Way	39	(3)
Carol McAdoo Rehme
Bottomed Out	42	(3)
Margaret Kirk
Secret Ingredients	45	(4)
Jane Zaffino
Common Sense	49	(4)
Love
Between the Lines	53	(3)
Sweets for the Sweet	56	(3)
Emily Sue Harvey
Nickled and Dimed	59	(3)
Binkie Dussault
Fair Game	62	(4)
James Daigh
Nothin' Says Lovin' Like...	66	(4)
Isabel Bearman Bucher
Chords of Love	70	(3)
Margaret Lang
Charlie's Coat	73	(4)
Robin Clephane Steward
Flashing Back	77	(3)
Kathryn Beisner
It's So Lover-ly	80	(3)
Kindness
Mounting Evidence	83	(3)
Drawn to the Warmth	86	(3)
Marion Smith
School of "Hire" Learning	89	(3)
Edmund W. Ostrander
Surprise Santa	92	(2)
Henry Boye
In the Bag	94	(4)
Sheila Myers
Stroke by Stroke	98	(3)
Margaret Lang
A Slice of Life	101	(5)
Carol McAdoo Rehme
Sealed with a Kiss	106	(3)
Gratitude
Steeped in Gratitude	109	(3)
St. Nick's Note	112	(3)
Pamela Bumpus
Mother to Mother	115	(3)
Annette Seaver
Chilly Today, Hot Tamale	118	(2)
Ellen Fenter
A Piece of Themselves	120	(3)
Carol McAdoo Rehme
Angels and Angst	123	(4)
Sharon Whitley Larsen
It's in the Mail	127	(4)
Faith
By Leaps and Mounds	131	(3)
Everybody Loves Santa	134	(2)
Robert H. Bickmeyer
Presence and Accounted For	136	(2)
Vickie Ryan Koehler
Let's Get Real	138	(3)
Charlotte A. Lanham
Ho, Ho, Hope	141	(3)
Angela Hall
Away from the Manger	144	(3)
Stephanie Welcher Thompson
The Family Tree	147	(3)
Carol Keim as told to Tamara Chilla
Going Global	150	(3)
Wonder
Wonder Full	153	(3)
A Place of Honor	156	(4)
Mary Kerr Danielson
The Lone Caroler	160	(2)
Bonnie Compton Hanson
The Right Touch	162	(2)
Steve Burt
Christmas Derailed	164	(3)
Armené Humber
Troubled	167	(3)
Woody Woodburn
'Twas the Night	170	(3)
Charlotte A. Lanham
Let It Snow!	173	(4)
Carol McAdoo Rehme
Suitable for Flaming	177	(2)
More Chicken Soup?	179	(1)
Supporting Others	180	(1)
Who Is Jack Canfield?	181	(1)
Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?	182	(1)
Who Is Carol McAdoo Rehme?	183	(1)
Contributors	184	(5)
Permissions (continued)	189

Excerpts

With Gladness and Glue While Christmas shopping in a jewelry store, I discovered a clearance table of gilded ornaments. Detailed and delicate in design, each had a personality all its own. I sorted among the hundreds of filigreed masterpieces, picked out a few and took them home. Deciding they were much too pretty to disappear among the clutter of a Christmas tree, I used them instead to decorate small eight-inch wreaths. When I stood back to admire my handiwork, a thought crossed my mind: Wouldnt some of our family and friends like these, too? I raced back to the jewelry store to discover that the stack of ornaments had been reduced even further. This time I bought dozens as I thought of the many people who might enjoy one for the holidays. Armed with a glue gun and bright ribbons of every color, I eagerly began my creative project. The wreaths multiplied like measles and dotted every flat surface in our house. For days, my family tiptoed around, elbowed their way through and slept among the miniature masterpieces. While I tied dainty bows and glued golden ornaments, my mind wandered to Christmases past, and I pondered how special each had been. I thought about others perhaps not so fortunate. Some people in our community didnt have a family to share the joy of Christmas. Some didnt bother with holiday decorations. Some never left their homes to celebrate the season. I nodded my head in determined satisfaction. They would be at the top of my list to receive a little wreath. My husband joined me in the plan, and we set out together to put it into action. We visited the aged. We visited the widowed. We visited the lonely. Each one was thrilled with our cheery stops and immediately hung our small giftsoften the only signs of celebration in their homes. After several days, I realized we had made and given almost two hundred wreaths. Decorated with love and delivered with delight, they filled many homes and hearts with the joy of Christmas. And I came to the simple realization that we were actually the ones who received the greatest blessing that year. We had found our Christmas spirit in the doing. -Nancy B. Gibbs (c)2005. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Soul Book of Christmas Virtues by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen with Carole Rehme. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

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Excerpted from Chicken Soup for the Soul the Book of Christmas Virtues: Inspirational Stories to Warm the Heart by Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.