Publisher, Simon & Schuster Audioworks (November 2010)

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For many, the Christmas season can be filled with distractions and anxiety rather than the joy and peace it is supposed to bring. In The Christmas Spirit, his first holiday book, Joel Osteen offers uplifting and inspiring stories of family and friends celebrating Christmas traditions that will help readers return to the essence of the holiday by practicing the principles taught by our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate that day. With these stories, Joel reminds us all of what is truly important in life. Filled with humorous and compelling holiday memories from Joel's family and friends, this heartwarming collection will inspire and amuse readers while enhancing their faith in God's goodness and eternal wisdom.

The stories in The Christmas Spirit reflect that this Christian holiday is a celebration of family: God's family, our own, and the diverse global family. Friends and families from near and far share faith and Christmas traditions: They laugh together. They grieve together. They support each other. They offer proof that the best way to overcome hurt and loneliness is to reach out to others who may be hurting and lonely, too.

Joel's unique stories and memories will encourage readers to savor their own Christmas memories, to share them with loved ones, and to create new memories and traditions that will be passed down for generations to come. For those feeling stressed, hurt, or lacking direction this holiday season, these heartwarming stories will serve as a healing balm and a guiding light to a more hopeful and peaceful holiday.

Over the past decade, Joel Osteen has been called the Most Influential Christian in America by numerous publications and, in 2006, was named one of Barbara Walters's Most Fascinating People.

Hailed as "America's voice of hope," Joel Osteen is one of the most respected pastors in America. Each week 43,000 people attend his worship services at Lakewood Church in Houston, and his weekly inspirational program is seen by more than 7 million television viewers across America, along with tens of millions more in 200 nations throughout the world. This new book of stories from family and friends about Christmas will be cherished by readers everywhere.

About the Author: Joel Osteen is a native Texan and the Pastor of Lakewood Church, which according to Church Growth Today is America's largest and fastest growing church with over 38,000 attendees. On July 16, 2005 after completing $95 million dollars in renovations, Joel moved Lakewood Church into its new 16,000 seat home -- the former Compaq Center which is now the largest regularly-used worship center in the United States.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Joel is the most watched inspirational figure in America. His weekly sermon is broadcast into television markets across the U.S. where it is viewed by seven million Americans each week and more than 20 million each month. His weekly broadcast is also seen in almost 100 nations around the world.

In 2004 his first book, Your Best Life Now was released by Time Warner debuting at the top of the New York Times Bestsellers List and quickly rising to #1. It remained on the New York Times Bestseller for more than 2 years and has sold more than 4 million copies. Most recently, Joel was named as one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2006" and he was selected as the "Most Influential Christian in 2006" by the readers of Church Report Magazine.

The son of John Osteen -- a highly respected minister of the Gospel and the founder of Lakewood Church -- Joel attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he studied radio and television communications. In 1982, Joel returned to Houston and founded Lakewood's television ministry where he produced John Osteen's televised sermons for 17 years until January 1999 when his father passed away.

For many years John Osteen encouraged Joel to preach, but he always declined preferring to work behind the scenes. In early 1999, Joel felt compelled to accept his father's invitation and he preached his first sermon on January 17th of that year. Little did anyone know that would be the last Sunday of John Osteen's life. Two weeks later Joel began preaching and later that year was installed as the new Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church.

Almost immediately, weekly attendance began to grow at an extraordinary rate and, in 2005 Joel moved Lakewood Church into its present location, the former Compaq Center, a 16,000 seat arena that was once home to the Houston Rockets professional basketball team. Now, with his wife Victoria and the leadership staff of Lakewood, this innovative church is poised for the new millennium.

Joel's extraordinary success can be found in his core message: That our God is a good God who desires to bless those who are obedient and faithful to Him through Jesus Christ. It is Joel's deepest desire that his own life be an example of that principle and that everyone who hears this message of hope and encouragement would choose to accept God's goodness and mercy and to become all that God wants them to be.