A Better December: Proverbs to Brighten Christmas

Steven Estes captures the full gambit of feelings that accompany the Christmas season in A Better December: Proverbs to Brighten Christmas. Sage counsel from King Solomon's writing. Over the years I have experienced the same frustrations and the excitement of family Christmases Steven describes. I am grateful for a Christian heritage that shaped my values, attitudes and outlooks, especially as I face the Christmas season, with its commercialism, celebrations, traditions, and ceremonies. Steven Estes brings together a combination of comfort, humor, and hope as he illustrates eternal truths through the inspired proverbs of Solomon, guiding the reader into the blessed truth of God's gift, His Son, our redeemer. In this pre-Christmas season I am facing new personal challenges. Reflecting on the heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, stories included in A Better December has given me a new appreciation for the message of the season - the birth of Jesus, the promised savior.

Don’t look now but December is right around the corner. This time of year can be as stressful and frantic as it is enjoyable and memorable. And as the pace of life quickens for everyone, the stress and panic seem to outweigh the peace and quiet. Steven Estes has offered us a short but poignant book to help us have "A Better December." He looks to the Biblical wisdom expressed by Solomon in Proverbs as a cure for the holiday woes. In just over 80 brief pages, Estes provides an extended meditation on a Christian vision for this time of year. With poetic verse (at times), and personal stories, Estes crafts a masterful tale that is disarming, fresh and inspiring. Each of the brief chapters reads like an essay or reflection and the takeaways are direct yet unscripted. The book is short, gift-sized, you could say. It would adorn a coffee table if larger. The simple yet alluring sketches from illustrator Sarah Bland Halulko make this small book a joy to look at and page through. It is the perfect gift book for the non-reader and reader alike. It points the interested to a few additional resources at the end, and encourages us all to find true life in Christ. The book would make for a great evangelistic aid or conversation starter and brings Solomon’s wisdom to bear on the contemporary world with unequaled ease. The writing style will make the book accessible to all and a joy to page through. For those looking for some inspirational reading this Christmas, look no further than this truly unique offering.

I know I'm going to like a book when I read the introduction and smile, even chuckle a bit out loud when I'm all by myself. And it gets better from there. Estes has authored a delightful little book that uses the Proverbs of Solomon to help us think about Christmas. Yes, that's right: Christmas. He writes about gifts, contentment, children and perfectionism. The Proverbs speak into longings, disappointments and changes. I'm really quite taken by this short, well-illustrated book. It's probably one of those little coffee-table sized books, but it would make a great gift for Christmas. It's meditations can help prepare the heart to celebrate Jesus' birth, with such thoughts regarding contentment. All the while, Estes is masterfully working to get us to see Jesus. Because this is not only what Christmas is all about, it's what Proverbs is ultimately all about. The Women's Readers Group at Cornerstone EFC is going to be reading this in late November/early December. I look forward to hearing from them their thoughts. I know this, I can highly commend this book to you.

A BETTER DECEMBER is a unique approach to the holiday crazies. Who'd ever think of applying the Book of Proverbs by King Solomon to Christmas? But Mr. Estes did and we will have A BETTER DECEMBER because of it. King Solomon touched on overspending--or staying within our budget, being a bit over-zealous in our greetings, contentment, surprises, childrens, disappointment and more. Full of poems, proverbs, and wisdom, this book is a great gift for an unbelieving friend or neighbor (gently pointing to the Savior) or for your own coffee table for visitors to thumb through. It might even brighten your own Christmas.

I highly recommend "A Better December" for just about reader–Christian leaders, church members, and even folks who are not yet followers of Christ. As the book progresses, there is a narrative movement from Solomon to Jesus and the gospel is clearly and beautifully presented in an unique and disarming way. “What hath Proverbs to do with Christmas?” That was my initial question when I opened the pages of "A Better December: Proverbs to Brighten Christmas" by Steven Estes. The answer was surprising, “Quite a helpful lot!” In this little gift-sized book, Pastor Estes has taken the wisdom of Solomon in all of its brevity and sagacity and applied it directly to the blessings and perils of the holiday season. "A Better December" is easily my favorite book so far this year and the best book I’ve ever read about “doing Christmas” in faith. It’s More than a “Gift Book” "A Better December" is one of those short and squat “inspirational” hardbacks that people give to others at the holidays. But it’s not like any other gift book that I’ve ever seen. It is inspirational without being sentimental, warm and winsome without being sappy or fluffy. "A Better December" is full of deep, practical, biblical content presented in an imaginative, often wryly humorous, and engaging style. The best thing about "A Better December" is how Estes brilliantly smiths his words. There aren’t that many, but each and every word is carefully chosen for maximum rhetorical effect, making it a delightful read. Estes doesn’t just teach from the Proverbs, he writes like the Proverbs–concise, precise, incisive. I wouldn’t quite call his genre “poetry,” but it is definitely lyrical and sonorous. It’s a pleasure to read out loud, and it’s impossible to not be moved. Sarah Bland Lalulko has generously sprinkled her whimsical hand-drawn illustrations throughout the book, adding to the magical quality of the writing. As you can tell, I’m definitely a fan of this book. I’ve enjoyed Estes’ unique style of writing ever since he co-wrote "When God Weeps" with his friend Joni Eareckson Tada. I’ve listened to his sermons online, and I’ve been waiting for years for a new book. I never expected it to be about Christmas, but I’m glad that it is. Because I’m entranced by it, and because the book is so short, I don’t have many criticisms to offer of "A Better December." I can say that I don’t care for the cover image. It doesn’t encourage me to open the cover and see what’s inside, and I don’t think it properly conveys the content, but that may be just a matter of taste. Also a matter of taste, some readers may be turned off by Estes’ style. It is definitely not a book for someone who loves dense prose. A few times along the way, I took a wrong turn in my reading and didn’t understand where Estes was taking me, but a second, closer reading got me back on track. I often have that difficulty with more poetical type writing. In my opinion, it’s worth a few wrong turns to wisely weave in and out of the traffic of life like Estes does. "A Better December" may not be the book you thought you were going to read, but is probably the one that you need.