Finding Christmas: Stories of Startling Joy and Perfect Peace [Hardcover]

James Calvin Schaap (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

A gift. The baby. The pageant. The parties. The worship. The afterglow. The story. These are the elements of almost every Christmas. In Finding Christmas, award-winning author James Calvin Schaap takes a look at each of these elements through seven stories that show how imperfect people can find joy and grace in an imperfect world.

His eyes turn on an outgoing bus driver, a passionate mother, a daughter reluctant to return to church, and even his own assumed-mediocre performance at a Christmas pageant. Along the way, readers see how the amazing message of Christmas can be found in the oddest of places. This heartwarming read is both moving and magical and will help readers usher in a joyful Christmas season even amidst the howling winds of winter.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

That I wholeheartedly agree with Kathy Simpson about oversentimentalizing Christmas does not change the fact that Ms. Simpson is not my favorite human being. She gets her way by sheer force of character. She's great to have on your team. Oppose her, and you lose.

"There's an awful lot of silliness connected to Christmas celebrations already, and we don't want to add to them," she said. She held forth at the end of Christmas pageant practice, and she had all the kids--shepherds, wise men, Mary and Joseph, the whole works--in the first two pews for her address. "Animals singing and all of that? It only sentimentalizes the real story: that Jesus came for us, for sinners." She barely paused for breath. "Did he cry? Well, of course he did. He was human. Humans cry. Case closed. So this foolish little line, 'No crying he made,' is just ridiculous, sentimental hooey."

I knew how my daughter would take that remark. For most of her thirteen years, Angela has considered The Lion King the greatest story ever told.

"Jesus was born in a barn because, quite literally, there was no room in town." Kathy pointed in the air. "Have any of you ever not found a motel? It's awful. Jesse and I were in Athens, Ohio, once, years ago, and we couldn't find a thing, but that's another story."

Thank goodness, I thought.

--from "First Cry in a Stable"

From the Back Cover

Christmas is everywhere . . . even where you least expect it.

Join award-winning author and storyteller James Calvin Schaap as he uncovers the grace, joy, and love of the season through seven heartwarming tales of miracle moments in a messy world. This beautiful and inspiring collection of contemporary Christmas stories will remind you what grace looks like--and where to find it.


"Jim Schaap knows our lives. He re-fires our memories. He draws us into settings familiar. He causes us to inhabit the worlds of plain folk struggling with the problems of an ordinary life--and he makes it all so very, very important. . . . Schaap writes sacred mystery into our common lives."--from the foreword by Walter Wangerin Jr.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Revell (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800719395
• ISBN-13: 978-0800719395
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,404,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James C. Schaap teaches literature and writing at Dordt College in Sioux City, Iowa, and is an award-winning author.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very different collection of Christmas stories, December 21, 2009

By 

Anne (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Finding Christmas: Stories of Startling Joy and Perfect Peace (Hardcover)

You might think that this will be just like every sweet Christmas story you've read. It's not. This collection of short stories about Christmas, in my opinion, is very out of the ordinary. I loved it, but I want to share a few things with you so you can be prepared for a startling book that is worth reading.

Often when I read a Christian fiction or "inspirational" fiction book, my husband will see it sitting around and roll his eyes at me (good naturedly). This book defies what typical Christian fiction is like. There is a realism and honesty to how Schaap writes about the human heart, about the characters in each story. The lack of such honesty and realism is why my husband often rolls his eyes at other books. But, back to Finding Christmas...often, I would say, the tone of the short stories is cynical--but that is the way our society is today though you don't often find that cynicism in Christian fiction. As you read the stories, you may be prone to a critical spirit towards the characters--"How could they feel that way? How could they act that way? How could they be that way?" But, when we really face the sinfulness in our hearts, we are all that way (maybe not all of us--but I know there have been times when I have struggled and thought a few of the things some of the characters in the stories thought.) Yet, amidst that sin, is Christ. The startling joy of Christmas. He came to save us from our sins. That is the very best gift of Christmas and it is the gift that James Schaap shares in this book with those who choose to read it. I hope you will...

One last note, I think this is an unusual book that both men and women would enjoy reading.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short story collection will put readers in the Christmas spirit, December 21, 2009

By 

Christina Lockstein "Christy's Book Blog" (Oconto Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Finding Christmas: Stories of Startling Joy and Perfect Peace (Hardcover)

Finding Christmas by Jacob Calvin Schaap is a collection of short stories that display the real meaning of Christmas in surprising ways. Schaap finds the Christmas spirit in unusual places: a talkative cowgirl bus driver, a teenage daughter's unexpected pregnancy, and a church pageant so hardcore it has manure! The stories are filled with humor and real human emotion: expectation, fear, frustration, and sadness. Readers will find themselves laughing and crying as the characters find Jesus in places surprising and heart-breaking. It's a quick read to help get your heart in the right place this holiday season.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart-Warming Read, October 22, 2009

By 

BookBargainsandPreviews.com "www.bookbargains... (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Finding Christmas: Stories of Startling Joy and Perfect Peace (Hardcover)

What a wonderful book to begin reading early in the Advent season. The heart-warming stories will touch your heart and fill you with Christmas spirit. Each year I look for a book to read at the beginning of the Christmas season to help me focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Finding Christmas does the trick!