For families who yearn for Christmas to be a true celebration of Christ's birth on earth, the Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader provides daily readings that are biblically-based and culturally rich. With intriguing stories explaining well-known Christmas customs, each reading features a different portion of the libretto from Handel's Messiah and offers a spiritual insight that links the story to an important principle. The book also includes a CD with portions of Handel's Messiah to enhance the experience.
DONNA W. PAYNE, a biomedical researcher formerly on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is a writer whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the Chicago Tribune. The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she is a graduate of Wheaton College (B.S.) and the University of North Carolina (Ph.D.). Donna lives in Columbia, MD, with her husband and two children.
FRAN LENZO, the researcher for this advent reader, works in a large Christian bookstore and co-owns Real Life Designs. A former leader in Community Bible Studies and other ministry groups, she attended Lake Forest (IL) College, L'Universita per Stranieri (Perugia, Italy), and business school in Boston. Fran lives in Comubia, MD, with her husband and three children.