Focus on Christmas with Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Please welcome Jennifer Hudson Taylor to my blog today for my focus on Christmas series. I read Jennifer's latest book and the review is in the previous post. I have enjoyed getting to know Jennifer. Check our her books for gift ideas for Christmas.

Firstly thanks for coming to my blog to focus on Christmas. 

1.    What do you most associate with Christmas where you live?

 The spirit of love and giving. Here in America, people are commercializing Christmas way too much, but my family works hard to remember the reason we celebrate Christmas and that is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

2.    Do you have any special family traditions you do at Christmas time?

My mom always gives us a keepsake ornament each year. My daughter and I usually read at least one Christmas novel or novella together. We pick at least one night and go look at Christmas lights. We watch Christmas movies all month.

3.    Do you have a favourite Christmas Carol and if so do you know why? 

 O Holy Night. It touches my heart and I feel the spirit of Christ through that song. (Jenny here this is a song thats special to me also)

4.    If you could spend Christmas anyway you could how would you celebrate?

Maybe on a vacation up north where there is actually snow during Christmas. We used to have colder weather at Christmas in North Carolina, but in the last few years, we don’t get Christmas weather until January or February and by then the season is gone and the cold weather is just a nuisance. 

5.    Do you have any special memories of Christmas?

One year we had a white Christmas here in North Carolina. I was a small girl, but I remember it. We lost electricity, so my parents piled us in the car and took us to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I remember wondering, how would Santa know we’d be at Grandma’s? I couldn’t understand it and I fretted all night. Eventually I fell asleep. When I woke, all our gifts were under Grandma’s tree just like it would have been if we were home. That year was special because we got to share Christmas morning with both my grandparents. They’re gone now, but I cherish that memory.

6.    What is a typical Christmas eve and or Christmas day for you.

We spend Christmas Eve with my husband’s family and have a big Christmas meal, but this year things will feel like someone is missing, and I expect we’ll be a little sad. My father-in-law died two months ago and it will be our first Christmas without him. Christmas morning we open gifts with my husband and daughter. We read the story about the birth of Christ and when my daughter was little, we would sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then we get ready and drive to my parents’ house and have Christmas with them and a big Christmas lunch. At some point, someone will turn on the TV and we might watch a Christmas movie or the Christmas parade. If I could change anything about this day, it would be to eliminate the TV.

7.    Do you have any Christmas movies or Christmas books you like to see or read each year?

I love The Christmas Carol. It doesn’t seem right if I don’t watch that movie at least once. Another one that I’ve come to enjoy is A Season of Miracles by Hallmark. I also enjoy the classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. There are usually some new Christmas novels or novellas out and I buy a couple of those and read them.

8.    Do you have a Christmas message for my readers?

Forget the TV and all the hype about gifts and Santa Claus. Bring Jesus back into the picture and make Christmas simple again. We would all be better off with one special gift per person, than with all the junk we collect at Christmas that only ends up cluttering up our homes. 

Highland Blessings is the story of a highland warrior who kidnaps the daughter of his greatest enemy and clan chief to honor a promise he made to his dying father. Bryce MacPhearson, a highland warrior, kidnaps Akira MacKenzie on her wedding day to honor a promise he made to his dying father. While Akira s strength in the Lord becomes a witness to Bryce, she struggles to overcome her anger and resentment when he forces her to wed him, hoping to end a half-century-old feud between their clans. While Akira begins to forgive, and Bryce learns to trust, a series of murders leaves a trail of unanswered questions, confusion, and a legacy of hate that once again rises between their families. Clearly, a traitor is in their midst. Now the one man Akira loves no longer trusts her, and her own life is in danger. Can Bryce look beyond his pain and seek the truth? Will Akira discover the threat against her before it s too late? How will God turn a simple promise into bountiful Highland blessings?

A Sanctuary of Secrets . . .
Gavin MacKenzie, a chieftain heir who is hired to restore the ancient Castle of Braigh, discovers a hidden village of outcasts who have created their own private sanctuary from the world. Among them is Serena Boyd, a mysterious and comely lass, who captures Gavin's heart in spite of harboring a deadly past that could destroy her future.

The villagers happen to be keeping an intriguing secret as well, and when a fierce enemy launches an attack against them, greed leads to bitter betrayal. Then, as Gavin prepares a defense, the villagers unite in a bold act of faith, showing how God's love is more powerful than any human force on earth.