"The first Christmas was a simple one. So simple that it had all the makings of a first-class disaster. It's a miracle it turned out well at all. In fact, that's the whole point. It really was, and remains, a miracle--the greatest miracle of all time. And it really was simple."
-Mike Huckabee


Christmas has become synonymous with shopping, overindulging, competition, and stress. But according to Mike Huckabee (who was a pastor before getting into politics), that was never God's intention. Going back to the Nativity, Christmas is supposed to be about simple things: faith, love, family, and hope. The hard part, in today's crazy world, is remembering that those simple things are the most precious of all.


Now Huckabee recounts twelve Christmas memories--often funny, sometimes deeply moving--that range from his childhood in Arkansas to his years as a young husband and father to his time as a governor and then a presidential candidate. These true stories will help you smile, take a deep breath, and maybe slow down your own holiday treadmill. For instance:


As kids, Mike and his sister would sneak open their gifts before Christmas, play with them, then rewrap them so their parents wouldn't notice. The plan worked great for several years until one Christmas morning when young Mike unwrapped a brand-new football...that was covered in mud. That led to a powerful lesson about patience.


In 1966, like millions of preteens, Mike was obsessed with the Beatles. He dug in his heels, telling his parents that if they wouldn't buy him a guitar for Christmas, he didn't want anything at all. He was selfish, stubborn, and obnoxious, with no idea what it would take for working-class parents to find an extra $99. It took many years for him to understand the sacrifice they made for that life-changing gift--or how it connected to the Lord's own sacrifice.


Only a year after Mike and his wife, Janet, had gotten married, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the shocking age of twenty. That Christmas of 1975 was the most terrifying and upsetting they would ever know, as they wondered if they would ever get to share another one. But in retrospect, it's a Christmas they will treasure forever.


If you're looking for a little clarity, sanity, and inspiration at this insane time of year, you're sure to enjoy A Simple Christmas.