God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas (Reader's Edition)

"This is our third year using this book as a family devotional guide to Advent. I have to say that each year I have looked more and more forward to going through this book again." -- 5-star Amazon review

Be prepared to think, ponder and allow God to open your heart anew to the gift of his Son, as you prayerfully go through this Advent devotional and Scripture readings.

The Christmas season is difficult to grasp and understand in all its spiritual richness. The sentimentality and commercialism that dominate the season tend to obscure the profound mystery at its heart: the Incarnation. God With Us provides the perfect way to slow down and reconnect with the liturgical and sacramental traditions that illuminate the meaning of the Incarnation and bring it down to earth.

Featuring daily meditations for the complete seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, contributors Scott Cairns, Emilie Griffin, Richard John Neuhaus, Kathleen Norris, Eugene Peterson, and Luci Shaw offer a tapestry of reflection, Scripture, prayer and history. These profound words are enhanced by classic and contemporary art masterpieces carefully selected by the editors. God With Us will make anyone's journey to the stable in Bethlehem and the child in the manger utterly unforgettable.

"The birth of Jesus, kept fresh in our imaginations and prayers in song and story, keeps our feet on solid ground and responsive to every nuance of obedience and praise evoked by the life all around us." -Eugene Peterson, from the Introduction

Greg Pennoyer was the Director of Faith in Canada 150, a Cardus program. Greg has a passion for igniting public dialogue on the topic of spirituality and the human condition. As Executive Director of The Humanitas Group, Greg co-lead the development of an art exhibition that probed the question of what it means to be human. He is cofounder of the Centre for Cultural Renewal, member of the Board of Directors for Image Journal, and co-editor with Gregory Wolfe of God for Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter.

His passion for civic renewal has lead him everywhere from Parliament, where he served as a Legislative Assistant, to publishing, as a board member of Image Journal, to journeying with others in the spiritual life through board membership on the Henri Nouwen Society and Prison Fellowship International. Greg holds a MA in Public Policy and a BA in Pastoral Theology.

Gregory Wolfe is a writer, teacher, editor, and publisher. In 1989 he founded Image—one of America’s leading literary journals, which he edited for thirty years. He was also the founding director of the Seattle Pacific University MFA in Creative Writing program, which he led for twelve years. He is currently the Publisher and Editor of Slant Books. Wolfe’s writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, First Things, Commonweal, and America. In 2005 he was a judge for the National Book Awards. His books include Beauty Will Save the World, Intruding Upon the Timeless, and The Operation of Grace. He is married to the novelist Suzanne M. Wolfe. They are the parents of four grown children and live in Richmond Beach, Washington.

Librettist, essayist, translator, and author of ten poetry collections, Scott Cairns is Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emeritus at University of Missouri. His poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, Image, Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, and both have been anthologized in multiple editions of Best American Spiritual Writing. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006, and the Denise Levertov Award in 2014.

Emilie Griffin is the author of several books on the spiritual life, including Clinging: The Experience of Prayer; The Reflective Executive; and Spiritual Classics, a collaboration with Richard Foster. She lives in Alexandria, Louisiana, with her husband, William Griffin.