52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol by Bob Welch ~ Book Tour

Publisher's Description:  


Gold Medallion Award-winner Bob Welch crafts 52 nuggets of Bible-based wisdom from one of the most popular novels of all time, A Christmas Carol. "For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself." "No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused." "God bless us, every one." The lessons and stories from the beloved novel A Christmas Carol point to bedrock values we all share. Award-winning author Bob Welch takes readers deeper into the nuances of this classic by Charles Dickens. From the miserliness of Scrooge to the innocence of Tiny Tim, 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol will inspire readers to live for what really matters, not only at Christmas, but all year long.

My Thoughts:
First off, I just want to say, is that not the lovliest artwork on the cover?  That alone would have made me pick up this book.  I really like that old fashioned type detailed and coloured type of artwork!

When I saw this come up on BookLook Bloggers for review I could hardly wait to nab it!  I have the book 52 Little Lessons from It's a Wonderful Life, reviewed here, and I loved it so I knew this was a no-brainer to order.  And I wasn't disappointed!  Bob Welch again takes values and lessons to be learned from a beloved story and makes a years worth of weekly lessons out of it.  Put into easy readable chapters that can be read in one short sitting, it is chock full of obvious and sometimes not so obvious lessons from Dicken's classic tale.  The author pulls us out of a surface reading or watching of the various movie versions and takes us into Dicken's intentions of waking us out of our stupors of lives devoted to our own selfish pursuits and causes us to take a look at our hearts and how we treat those less fortunate.   Bob Welche's hope by the books end is that "we will know ourselves better" (pg. xvii).  He states in the Author's Notes:

"But perspective on ourselves is critical.  It's easy for believers to see themselves as Peter during his bold confession of Christ, but not as Peter when he cowardly denies Christ.  Likewise, it will be easier to see ourselves as, say, Bob Cratchit or the kind-hearted nephew, Fred, in A Christmas Carol than as Scrooge.  We like to think the best of ourselves.

But doesn't Scripture suggest we all have a touch of Scrooge in us (Romans 3:23)?  And can't we all benefit from reexamining who we've become in our own life stories?"

                                                                                          pg.  xvii            Author's Notes
                                                                                          52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol

Bob Welch skillfully takes us through the contrasts in the life story of Scrooge and builds on lessons to take into our own lives today and breathes in a fresh perspective showing us that an old classic story can still be relatable to us now.  Though Scrooge is not your typical "hero" of a story, he has much to teach us both with his selfish life and with his redeemed life.   Chapter titles such as:

     - Context Clarifies a Story,
     -Misery Loves Company,
     -It's About More Than Christmas,
     -You Make The Chains That Shackle You,
     -You Can't Wish Away the Uncomfortable,
     -Death is A Comma Not a Period,
     -Grace Changes Everything,
     -Seeking Forgiveness is a Sign of Strength,
     -Life is Best Lived When You're Awake

...just to name a few, draw the reader right in.

 "52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol is tinted with a fair share of how-not-to-live lessons as well as how-to-live lessons. We learn from both.  Scripture is filled with both.

Dickens understand this, for he wrote a story that reaches us from both perspectives and is leavened with the author's faith."

                                                                                         pg.xiv               Author's Notes
                                                                                         52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol

In short, I loved this easy to read but chock full of good stuff book.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for supplying me a copy of this book for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.


Also linked to Semicolon Saturday Review of Books