Yes, There is Hope - with Guest Sandra Ardoin

Dear Editor,
I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in the Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? 

Evidently, right after her eighth birthday in July of 1897, Virginia O’Hanlon decided to take her question to her father’s idea of the ultimate authority. She wrote to the New York Sun. It seems kids back then struggled with the same disbelief as many today.

We all know the famous answer Francis Church provided in his editorial of December 21, 1897: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

While using totally mythical examples like Santa and fairies, Francis Church’s answer to Virginia was one of hope—the hope of things unseen. God, the ultimate authority, says we have that hope through our faith. (Hebrews 11:l)

Dear God,

I am (uh-uh)-eight years old. Some of my friends say there is no salvation in Jesus Christ. My Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Please help them to see the truth.

God doesn’t need to write a newspaper editorial. He wrote THE book.

Confession: I love everything Santa! Though I sometimes get carried away with the whole decorating scheme, as a Christian, I know that Christmas isn’t really about Santa Claus and the secular hoopla that accompanies the holidays. Christmas is and always should be the celebration of God’s love for us through the birth of his son, Jesus Christ.

In whom do you place your hope?

If you wonder why Sandra Ardoin has written about Christmas in October, it’s because her Christmas novella released today, and her heroine secretly delivers food to the poor in the middle of the night (like Santa). She’s known as The Yuletide Angel.

Sandra Ardoin is a multi-published author of short fiction who writes inspirational historical romance. She’s the married mother of a young adult and lives in North Carolina.

It's Christmastime in 1890s Meadowmead, and someone is venturing out at night to leave packages at the homes of the needy. Dubbed The Yuletide Angel, no one knows the identity of this mysterious benefactor.

No one, except Hugh Barnes, a confirmed bachelor who finds himself drawn to the outwardly shy but inwardly bold Violet Madison, a young woman who risks her safety to help others.

When Violet confesses her fear of eviction from her childhood home, Hugh longs to rescue her. His good intentions are thwarted, however, when Hugh's estranged brother shows up in town ... and in Violet's company.

But Violet faces an even bigger threat. A phantom figure lurks in the shadows, prepared to clip the wings of The Yuletide Angel.