One Christmas my parents didn't have any money. Actually, many Christmases they didn't have any money, but one Christmas in particular money was very scarce.
I only wanted one gift. A guitar. I had been taking lessons for a year and had outgrown the beginner's guitar my parents gave me on a whim the previous Christmas. I didn't expect to receive a new guitar, but come Christmas morning, there it was under the tree.
Forty-five years later, I still have that guitar. Recently I took it to a music store for some much-needed repair and the man admired it for an hour, claiming they didn't make guitars like that anymore. I walked out of the store feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, remembering how excited I was to receive it for Christmas decades earlier.
So what does that guitar have to do with books? There was only one other gift under the tree for me that Christmas, and it was a book. I don't remember the name of the book now, it's been too many years, but I remember the story.
It was a science fiction book and the plot was fascinating. The story began with an ordinary family living at about the time the book was written, back in the 1970's. The story ended about two or three hundred years in the future, where technology had taken over society and people were obsolete. I was fourteen at the time (okay, if you are trying to figure out my age, I will tell you, I'm 59). I wondered if that's how it would be in the future.
Through the years, I have thought about that book and wished I could go back and read it again. Some books stay with you for life because they make you ponder ideas, ask questions, or think about something differently. Whether you read nonfiction for knowledge or fiction to be entertained, books have probably impacted society more than any other creative activity undertaken by man. Reading good books has broadened my perspective on many topics and enriched my life.
Perhaps this Christmas you don't have a lot of money to spend on gifts. Have you considered giving books as Christmas presents? I'd be willing to bet they will outlast the latest iPhone or iMac computer. Ten years from now, those electronic gadgets will be in a landfill somewhere, long replaced by something bigger and faster. Stories last forever, like that book my dad gave me for Christmas when he hardly had a dime to spare. When is the last time you read a really good book anyway? Probably too long.
The John 3:16 Marketing Network has put together a list of Christian books and compared them to many, well-known secular books readers will recognize. Take a few moments and peruse the forty-five -plus books linked below for ideas that you won't find anywhere else.
Many hours went into putting these book comparisons together and most of the books have been deeply discounted. Many are in both Kindle and print version. All of them are linked to Amazon for easy purchase.
And remember, Jesus is the reason for the season.
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