Christmas is coming!

... and from Advent to Epiphany, Holy Mother Church calls to mind the practice of giving gifts.  From St. Nicholas' feast on December 6th, to the Nativity of Jesus on the 25th and the arrival of the three Kings on January 6th, we have many opportunities to exchange gifts ... and especially to remember and be grateful for the greatest Gift ever given ... God's own Son, Jesus!

In keeping with the spirit of the season, we want to encourage you to consider giving a gift subscription to The Voice of Valor to a friend, relative, school or youth group in your area.  Help them fight the good fight all year round with the inspiration and support found in this new magazine.  It is a gift that will reap benefits long past the Christmas season! And, it's easy to give ... just click on the link in the side bar, and your gift will be on it's way.

Wishing you a blessed Advent!

Almost there!

Today we printed proof copies of the December issue, and handed them off to our dedicated proof readers.  With a little bit of luck we should have the final issue ready by early next week ... maybe not on the first of December, but close!  Thanks to all who participated in the survey and who sent in letters ... we really appreciate it!  God bless you,

Did you notice?

Over at the right ... the PayPal button?!   We're trying something new ... making it possible for our readers to purchase print copies online,  thus eliminating the wait time involved in sending in postal orders.  But this is our first time ever using a Pay Pal account ... so we're sending up a prayer that things are set up correctly and your purchasing/order experience will go smoothly.  If you find glitches in the process, please let us know by sending an email.  We really want to make it work!  Thanks.

And speaking of "thanks" ... wishing all our readers a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.  We have so MUCH for which to be grateful!  God bless you~

Another little preivew...

This weekend we hope to take the last photos for our December issue, and then it's just a matter of final layout and proofing ... soon you'll be able to read a copy online, or receive one in print.  But until then, here's another little preview of the Vox Populi article:

COMMERCIALIZING CHRISTMAS

 In the recent centuries it seems there is a new aspect to one of the many wonderful holidays that we enjoy each year. This new aspect, the commercialization of Christmas, is one in which money, buying presents, or having the best decorations, is at the forefront. Many of the businesses today rely on Christmas profits to get them out of the red for the year.  On average, about half the money that goes into advertisement for the year is spent during the Christmas season or on Christmas related advertisements. Another part of the commercialization of Christmas is the significance of giving gift cards and what it implies. So is Christmas really about buying and receiving presents, or is there a deeper, more solemn purpose?

Interesting!

We are getting ready to publish the results of our Christmas survey and one thing we found interesting was  the replies for the question about your favorite Christmas Song.  There were 19 different songs among the responses!  The winning title (so far) is only ahead of the second place song by a single vote!  If you haven't voted yet, your vote could change things!  Encourage family and friends to cast a vote, too!  And then watch for the results of all the survey questions in December.

Maybe you are wondering ...

... wondering about what will be in our December issue?   Good things!  Here is a sneak preview of the article for the Mary's Militia column.

 Innocence

 Christmas is a season that should bring out the best in us, but for some people it brings out the worst. If we consider the true meaning of Christmas, I’m sure everybody would see past the gifts and focus on true virtue. Innocence is a virtue that is closely associated with Christmas and it should be more promoted today. Innocence is defined as freedom from sin or moral wrong. Is this what it means to you? When people mention innocence do you think about innocent people, like the infant Jesus or the Virgin Mary? They are perfect models of purity and innocence...