The Christmas Bonus by Patty Froese

Patty Froese

My son announced to his Kindergarten teacher that Santa wasn’t real. I got a distressed email from the teacher, asking me to make sure that he doesn’t tell any of the other children, lest their Christmas magic be ruined.

I fully understood, and I didn’t want to ruin the fun for the other kids, so I had a talk with my son about playing along with the Santa Claus game. I certainly didn’t want to be the Scrooge! And our family is big on Christmas–the tree goes up right after Halloween!

But it got me to thinking. A lot of these kids were being raised without any belief in God, and in public school, even mentioning God is frowned upon. Yet there is such a protective instinct around the idea of Santa, wanting this little ones to hold onto the possibility of Santa for just a couple more years…

Santa… He knows when you’re naughty or nice. He loves you, and he knows the desires of your heart. He adores children and he wants you to be good. He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. You aren’t alone when there is Santa Claus.

The parents know that one day their children will no longer believe in Santa, but they don’t want to tear that away. Not yet.

I didn’t feel the need to tell my son that Santa was real. As Christians, the sparkle and mystery doesn’t vanish after the tree comes down. Christmas lasts all year when you believe in God. Miracles, angels, God dipping down and touching Earth… We live in the sparkle of Christmas magic every single day!

Merry Christmas to all of you! May your Christmas be filled with sparkle and the possibility of miracles around every corner.


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A Christmas Bonus
When Millie’s boss asks her to work over Christmas, she’s hesitant to give him any more overtime. She has plans for her life that include quitting this job and starting her own photography business, and she promises herself to quit by New Years. 

Andrew Holmes has no desire to go back to his tiny hometown for the holidays, but his manipulative grandfather gives him an ultimatum that he just can’t refuse. So in order to get the last project of the year finished in time, he asks his assistant, Millie, to make the trip with him. 

With a disgruntled brother, a sister-in-law struggling with infertility and a little boy who shows up claiming that one of the Holmes men is his father, Christmas is about to get complicated…


Want a peak into A Christmas Bonus? Sure you do…

“So, Millie says she’d like to stay,” Andrew announced.

“Good.” Louise shot her a smile. “Do you like fruitcake, Millie?”

“I think so.” Mille sank into a seat next to her boss.

“Me, too…” Louise disappeared into the fridge, her voice meandering out from the chilly depths. “Except I always hate the fruit in it. So I just make the cake. But the cake is rather dry.”

“It’s more like a Christmas cracker,” Andrew murmured, and Millie repressed a laugh.

The dense, dry confection that landed with a heavy thud on the tabletop looked nothing like the fruitcake she’d seen in the past.

“Guests first.” Louise announced cheerfully, and when Millie shot Andrew a “help me” look, he pointed under the table.

“Give it to the dog,” he mouthed.

The dog? So far, Millie hadn’t seen a dog in the house, and when she slowly raised the plastic tablecloth to peer under the table, she was met with the biggest canine face she’d ever seen in her life. Stifling a yelp of shock, she turned her ashen face towards Andrew.

“That’s Edgar,” Andrew said.

“Edgar?”

He nodded. “Get used to him.” When she turned her attention to the plate deposited in front of her, Andrew leaned in and murmured in her ear. “Thanks for coming, by the way.”

Patty Froese writes from Alberta, Canada, where the winters are long and cold. This suits her just fine, since it gives her plenty of time to write and she can enjoy the snow from the right side of the window. She has her degree in English Literature and has written in other genres, but she particularly enjoys writing romance. 
Patty also writes for Harlequin Love Inspired under the name Patricia Johns. http://pattyfroese.com 

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Image courtesy of Bing.com

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good; his love endures forever. Ps 106:1 NIV



Isn’t it amazing that the Creator of the universe loves us? That He loved us with such a deep, abiding love that He died for us? God is so good, so gracious and merciful.

I pray that my words, whether they pour from my lips or fly across the keyboard, will continually praise the Lord and point others to Him.

Thank you, dear friends, for joining me on this wonderful journey called life. I’m blessed and encouraged by your sweet friendship.

Wishing you a joyous Thanksgiving Day!

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Relaxing!

Purchase
Sugarplum Homecoming
by Linda Goodnight

Nothing relaxes me more after a stressful day than curling up in front of a glowing fireplace with a great book. Sugarplum Homecoming by Linda Goodnight fit the bill this week. Check it out…


About the book:
Widower Davis Turner doesn’t need to hear his children’s whispered wishes for a new mom to recognize that new neighbor Lana Ross is a beautiful woman. But he worries that his feelings for the former bad girl could put his family at risk for small-town scandal. Lana knows she should steer clear of Davis. Yet she can’t resist spending time with the handsome single dad, even if the truth might soon tear them apart. Though Lana has turned over a new leaf, her secrets have followed her to Whisper Falls. Secrets that could destroy her hope for a future with Davis.


My thoughts:

“The jig was up. She’d prayed to get settled before her tainted past charged in with all guns blazing. Apparently, God, Who’d brought her this far, expected her to face her fears head-on.”

Sugarplum Homecoming features a reformed bad girl, and I enjoyed the twist from the typical bad-boy hero in most inspy’s. Lana has returned to Whisper Falls hoping to give Sydney a stable home, but she worries that the small town won’t let the past stay there. And Davis? Considering his children’s welfare, the single dad’s not all that happy Lana moved into his neighborhood. And he definitely doesn’t welcome the tug of attraction to the beautiful singer, the one that left his small town, hoping to make it big in Nashville. But she’s changed.


“You’re not Lana Ross, the drunk party girl. You’re Lana Ross, child of the Most High, cleansed by a sacrifice far greater than singing in front of hundreds of people.”

Don’t you just love that? You see, Lana suffered from stage fright, believing that the only way she’d been able to sing on stage in front of an audience was after downing a bottle of gin. When an opportunity arises to raise money for a surgery that Davis’s nephew needs, she must decide if God is bigger than her fears.


Sugarplum Homecoming is a fast read, the perfect size to curl up with on a lazy evening after holiday shopping or a stressful day on the job. The plot’s not too complicated, and the gentle message warms you all the way to your tummy. In one word, relaxing. 🙂

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Harlequin Love Inspired and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of Sugarplum Homecoming. The opinions expressed here are my own, and I received no compensation.


What about you? How do you relax during the holidays?
What book have you relaxed with recently?
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