Category: Book Information

The Kentucky Book Festival will be held on November 12-17, 2018 and culminates with the 37th annual Kentucky Book Fair on Saturday, November 17th at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.  My True Love’s Gifts will be featured at the Kentucky Book Fair.  Stay tuned for more information on how you can participate or visit the Kentucky Humanities Council at www.kyhumanities.org. 

The PNC Christmas Price Index was released recently.  For over 30 years, the folks at PNC have tracked the cost of each of the gifts in The Twelve Days of Christmas.  This year, the cost of giving each gift in the song just once would be $34,558.65.  That’s a 0.06% increase from last year.  The least expensive gift on the list is the eight maids a’milking, which will only set you back by $58.  But if you want seven swans a’swimming, be prepared to pay over $13,000.  Swans are in high demand these days.  If you were to give every gift that is given in the song (e.g. a partridge and a pear tree times twelve, eleven pairs of turtledoves, etc.), the total cost of Christmas would be $157,558 according to PNC.  Wow!

The PNC Christmas Price Index tracks the literal cost of Christmas, but we know that the actual cost of Christmas is much greater.  In My True Love’s Gifts, we find that the partridge and the pear tree is symbolic of Jesus Christ on a cross.  The only gift given on every day of the traditional Christmas season is the Savior of the World who came to be offered as a sacrifice for sin.  That’s an expensive gift.

And how much would you pay to know that God’s power is immeasurable and that His promises are always kept?  What’s the value of having generations of faithful Christians who have come before us, preserving and sharing the faith?  What sort of a price can you put on being able to walk on the streets of heaven one day?  Clearly, Christmas is about God’s loving generosity and, when we understand the symbolism behind each of the gifts in The Twelve Days of Christmas, we are reminded just how fortunate we are to be the recipients of the True Love’s real gifts.

It’s for this reason that Paul writes in Ephesians 3:17-19, “And I pray that you…may have power, together with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” At Christmas we see quite clearly that God’s love is priceless.

Kirkus Reviews, the publishing industry’s leader in providing thoughtful critiques and analysis of new books has published its review of My True Love’s Gifts, calling it “a thought-provoking guide to a spiritually charged holiday tune.”  The review compliments the author’s writing style, stating, “Samford writes clearly and informally, carefully explaining both the song and its biblical references. This is not a scholarly study…but it still achieves exegetical seriousness.”  Check out the full review of My True Love’s Gifts and order your copy today!

Hello! Welcome to My True Love’s Gifts: Rediscovering God in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.  Isn’t it ironic that, at one of the times of the year when we most want to feel God’s presence in our lives, we are often too busy to do so.  But here’s the thing.  Christmas is about so much more than decorating, or gifts, or even the traditional nativity scene.  Christmas is all about God’s loving generosity.  This simple reality hit me in a place where I didn’t expect to find it – in the words of a 400 year old Christmas carol that we all know and love.  It seems there is a profound message in the gifts given in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  Over the next few months, we will see how this song blesses us personally and how My True Love’s Gifts will help bless others.  Let’s make this Christmas the best, most meaningful Christmas ever!