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Christmas can get soooooo crazy and take the JOY out of our lives. But it's not supposed to be this way. God didn't intend it to be this way. My friend, Maria Hurty, found this to be an extreme problem for her as she approached Christmas Day in the past. She writes in her new book, Christmas Crazy to Jesus JOY: An Advent Devotional: Not so very long ago found me on Christmas morning exhausted, angry, hiding in a closet and wishing that my family would just do Christmas without me! I was actually known to admit that I hated Christmas yet continued to work myself to a frazzle attempting to give my family the "perfect Christmas." So what is Christmas all about anyway? Yes, Jesus was born, yes - we do gifts, family, extravagant Christmas dinners, trees, decorations, cards, stockings, fudge, lights, and shopping 'til we drop. But, does it have to be so hectic? Does it have to be exhausting and expensive and stressful? I think not. If you're dreading the coming month, you're doing it wrong. See the photo, below, that shows the back cover of Christmas Crazy to Jesus JOY? Ha! That just about says it all, doesn't it? Are you finding yourself stressed out by Christmas planning and activities like Maria used to do? 
In the Bible, Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light." 
This isn't a time-consuming book to slog through each day; it's a precious gift of 10 minutes or less that you'll give to yourself as you learn how to treasure every day of December!
Come join Maria as she inspires us with God's words from the Bible in twenty-four short Advent devotionals intended to warm your heart and count down the days until Christmas! Today, you have the opportunity to win a free copy of Christmas Crazy to Jesus Joy by Maria Hurty! Knowing that Maria had just released her new Advent book, I asked her if she would be interested in having it reviewed and could offer one copy as a giveaway. She said, "Yes!" This is a very quick giveaway, being that we're already in the midst of the Advent season, so please enter to win your copy of Christmas Crazy to Jesus Joy by Thursday, December 15 at midnight (Pacific)!
And now, for this beautiful Christmas Advent giveaway!
Enter below, using the Rafflecopter form, for your chance (or several chances) to win a copy!
NOTE: Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will randomly select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form). Note: I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several giveaways I've hosted, multiple winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thanks!
This post was originally posted on http://www.JoyInOurJourney.com
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