Comfort and Joy: Nine Stories for Christmas »

Kirk H. Neely is the senior pastor of Morningside Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree in pastoral counseling and psychology of religion from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a former Merrill Fellow at the Divinity School of Harvard University, where he did postdoctoral study. He has been a pastor and counselor for over 40 years. His other books include When Grief Comes: Strength for Today, Hope for Tomorrow. He lives in Spartanburg.

A tow-truck operator with a hardened heart spends Christmas on the icy interstate and unexpectedly lends a hand in a holiday miracle. A fisherman struggling with the death of his wife plants a memorial to her in a special place. A family on the edge of financial ruin unloads its prized possessions at a Christmas yard sale only to have a mysterious, bow-tied stranger answer their prayers.

Kirk Neely's nine odes to the redemptive power of Christmas hark back to O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." Along the way, he introduces us to Sara Williams, a young woman who carries on the family legacy of sweetgrass basket making but whose life has gone off track into drugs and prostitution. The story "Joe's Tree," follows a Christmas tree on a miraculous journey from a child's grave to a frat house to a children's shelter. And together with schoolteacher Mary Alice McCall, readers learn how slaves once used handmade quilts as beacons of hope.

Against all odds, the transformative power of Christmas works its way into the lives of these characters, bringing meaning, insight, and joy. This collection of holiday stories is a powerful reminder of why people celebrate the season of Christmas.