This year, our hope was to put together a Christmas box of picture books. That did not happen, but in the process we came across some great Christmas books that we would love to share with you. We ended up with twelve books, so we get to do a "12 Days of Christmas Books" countdown.

To start us off is a delightful little book that shares the miracles of Jesus. The Lights in the Church by Marilee Joy Mayfield tells the story of two young children who wander too far away from their parents on a cold, winter evening. They follow some deer to a church, but the church was locked up tight. As they walk around the church, each large window tells one story about Jesus, starting with his first miracle of turning water to wine at a wedding. The windows are magical and move through the stories as the children travel around the quiet church.

This book did not turn out to be very much of a traditional Christmas book, but I enjoyed the perspective of looking at the life of Jesus through a window. The book also takes us into our legacy and how we can continue the work that Jesus started. It's simple rhyme and rhythm take us on a faith walk. As the boy and girl are reunited with their parents, they give thanks for what has happened and remember Jesus through their lives as we should, too. What a fun book to talk about some of the miracles of Jesus and how we continue the legacy that he started when he came as a baby.

Get it here!