Book excerpt: From the New York Times best selling author Donna VanLiere, three of her inspirational holiday novels that have become beloved modern day classics. The Christmas Shoes Robert is a successful attorney who has everything in life-and nothing at all. Eight year old Nathan has a beloved mother, Maggie, whom he is losing to cancer. A chance meeting on Christmas Even brings Robert and Nathan together, and in this one encounter, their lives are forever altered as Robert learns an important lesson: sometimes the smallest things can make all the difference. The Christmas Blessing Now a medical student in his third year, Nathan realizes there are still things to be learned about faith, blessings, and sacrifice. Lessons he will learn from Meghan Sullivan-a young woman born with a hole in her heart that has not kept her from becoming a champion runner. And lessons learned from a young boy named Charlie, who teaches how to live a life of true courage. Together, they will help guide Nathan through the darkest period in his life. The Christmas Hope Patricia and Mark Addison have long given up the hope of having a meaningful Christmas. But this year, Patricia's job as a social worker will lead her to a very special five-year-old. Through the presence of Emily in their house, and her penetrating questions about heaven, the Addisons learn that there is no sorrow so great that faith cannot help you find your way through. And Christmas will once more be a time of joy in their home.