Books about Wintertime from Amazon.com

Phyllis Tickle, among the most respected authorities on religion in America today, is one of many modern Christians who observe the ancient tradition of praying the Divine Hours, also known as the Daily Offices. This final volume in paperback, The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime, provides four sets of offices—morning, midday, vespers, and compline—for every day from October through January. Each includes prayers, psalms, and Bible readings for each day of these two festive seasons which include the Feast of All Saints, the Season of Advent, the days of Christmas, and the Epiphany.

Making primary use of the Book of Common Prayer and the writings of the Church Fathers, The Divine Hours is also a companion to the New Jerusalem Bible, from which it draws its Scripture readings. It blends prayer and praise in a way that respects and builds upon the ancient wisdom of Christianity—yet it is extraordinarily fresh and vibrant..
Price: $10.69 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"This is the story that I tell my grandchildren at Christmas I hope that this book will bring the tradition of sharing history to families all across America "

-- Lynne Cheney

Christmas night, 1776, was a troubled time for our young country. In the six months since the Declaration of Independence had been signed, General George Washington and his troops had suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the British. It looked as though our struggle for independence might be doomed, when Washington made a bold decision. He would lead the main body of his army across the Delaware River and launch a surprise attack on enemy forces.

Washington and his men were going against the odds. It seemed impossible that the ragtag Americans could succeed against the mightiest power in the world. But the men who started across the icy Delaware loved their country and their leader. Under his command they would turn the tide of battle and change the course of history.

Best-selling author Lynne Cheney tells the dramatic story of the military campaign that began on Christmas night in 1776. When Washington Crossed the Delaware will teach the young about the heroism, persistence, and patriotism of those who came before them..
Price: $2.86 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle draws on the Book of Common Prayer and the Church Fathers, as well as the New Jerusalem Bible, to provide daily readings and prayers (for morning, noon, vespers, and complin) for every day between October and January. Tickle's book of hours modernizes the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer, as originally practiced by the Jews ("Seven times a day do I praise you" [Psalm 119:164]) and adapted by early Christians. The book's introduction provides a short history of this tradition of prayer, whose centrality in Christian worship was cemented in the sixth century, when St. Benedict fashioned the rule of his community according to the schedule of fixed-hour prayer. The introduction also encourages readers to experiment with sung and chanted prayer (the encouragement includes the tantalizing observation by Saint Augustine that "Whoever sings, prays twice"). The discipline described by The Divine Hours is demanding, but the rewards, as Tickle describes them, are great. Christians who practice fixed-hour prayer "find themselves filled with a conscious awareness that they are handing their worship, at its final 'Amen,' on to other Christians in the next time zone. Like relay runners passing a lighted torch, those who do the work of fixed-hour prayer create thereby a continuous cascade of praise before the throne of God.".
Price: $143.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime: Christmas in a Mellow Mode is a 75 pp book paperbound of minor-mode tunes with standard musical notation, mountain dulcimer tablature and portable hammered dulcimer chord shapes for 32 tunes from around the world and is the third in the Dulcimer-Friendly Worship Series. The goal of this series is to make the hymns and carols of the church available and accessible to dulcimer players. Each tune in each volume is thoroughly researched (author, composer, translator) and the volume is composed of ecumenical and multi-cultural tunes which are indexed. This collection of minor mode tunes originates from multicultural Christmas traditions, but is fitting for all phases of the winter moon and spans genres from jazz waltz, shape-note tunes, English, French and German dances, to African-American spirituals and blues.   Recommended for dulcimer players with a basic level of playing experience who wish to expand their repertoire to include hymns of faith; dulcimer teachers whose students want to play the hymns and songs of their faith and pastors / church musicians who seek to expand the congregation's experience of workshop, recapture and enliven the cultural traditions of the congregations, so they can appreciate the new cultural gifts from other people in our midst; and whose who seek to include other instrumentalists and voicing in the congregation's worship. Several of the arrangements in this collection have been recorded on the accompanying recording 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime. (also available at amazon.com).
Price: $18.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]