The Christmas Journey

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A high-powered executive reconsiders her priorities when car trouble leads her to Christmas Valley, a town in love with Christmas. A quirky love story revolving around the unexpected wedding and unconventional married life of a year-old widow and her late husband's brother, a handsome year-old cardiologist. Two schoolteachers take their rivalry to a new level, while they scramble to win a holiday baking contest and the affections of a handsome single father.

A corporate agent is sent to a small town to buy a cookie company and shut down its factory. When she starts falling in love with the factory's owner, the town's Christmas spirit over takes her. A holiday wedding brings no joy to the bride's cousin, who was literally left by the groom right at the altar. Miranda is flying back to Vermont from her home in Seattle to reconnect with her family over the holidays -- and to see Ian, a local handyman she fell in love with on her last trip to the A widow of a war hero takes in an injured soldier who has just returned from Afghanistan.

Together they help each other heal and find true love. In town for a wedding, Mattilynn runs into an old flame at her father's mechanic shop and is torn between staying and returning to the big city.

Jordan Donavan, a photographer in New York, is so disappointed when after five years of going steady Edward Morgan offers her not marriage but just to move in with him, that she accepts the While mourning the loss of her husband and daughter, recently widowed Ellie King Natalie Hall visits her brother Aaron Davis Greg Vaughan and his children for Christmas. Ellie does her best to enjoy the holidays, making new friends with Mrs. When Aaron travels out of town to purchase land, Ellie agrees to watch his children, but the season's festivities are threatened when Aaron goes missing.

The Christmas Journey

My wife somehow managed to get me to watch this unbelievably horrible film. Four hours of ridiculous scenery and props, terrible acting, awful dialog, and amateurish directing. Whatever is worse than "mailing it in," this is it. Where does one start?

All the male characters are idiots.

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They do things that no self respecting man would do. The sheriff is the archetypal pansy. The family lives on a massive ranch outside of town -- with no livestock. We are to believe that the boy, raised in the wilderness, has never been taught about the deadly poisonous berries that grow locally, yet his aunt knows that a certain purple flower that happens to grow nearby is the antidote. At least 45 minutes of this monstrosity is characters exchanging goofy looks while smiling at each other. Tightly edited from four hours down to 90 minutes, this might have been watchable.

I usually trust Hallmark to produce entertaining family fare. But this stinker was worse than water boarding. In fact, if the U. Easily the worst movie I have ever seen. Visit Prime Video to explore more titles. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet!

Enjoy unlimited streaming on Prime Video. There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. Published November 9th by Macmillan Audio first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Christmas Journey , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Christmas Journey. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. A more detailed and narrative version of the classic nativity story. Reviewed for THC Reviews So much can get lost in the commercial hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday that it's nice to take a step back and remember the real reason for the season.

The story of the nativity is familiar to millions worldwide, but nativity scenes have become so sweet and perfect, how often do we really think about that arduous journey that Joseph and Mary undertook?

This book begins with Reviewed for THC Reviews So much can get lost in the commercial hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday that it's nice to take a step back and remember the real reason for the season. This book begins with the biblical passage from Luke that recounts this journey, and then Ms. VanLiere gives her own take on it. Written from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, it takes a look at how they must have felt and what it must have been like for them.

The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem could have taken up to a week, and Mary endured it on the back of a donkey while nine months pregnant. Even before the trip, Mary had likely dealt with disdainful looks if not outright hostility because her of perceived indiscretion, and despite receiving messages from the angels, both prospective parents may have been frightened or feeling inadequate at the thought of caring for and raising such a special child.

Then of course, there was the fact that Mary had to give birth in a lowly and probably dirty stable with no one to attend her but her husband. This little book drives home the unvarnished truth of Joseph and Mary's experience on that blessed night, and it's all presented in a lovely way.

The story is beautifully illustrated by Michael Storrings and laid out in a very pretty design. However, I should point out that anyone who is expecting one of Donna VanLiere's typical novels should be aware that this is a short story, more akin to a children's picture book, although written for a slightly older audience. The Christmas Journey is more of a gift book that would make it a great present for this or any holiday season and something that can be shared with the family as a Christmas tradition. Nov 17, Greg rated it liked it Recommends it for: Christian families with children.

Interesting take on the traditional Christmas story. We believers don't often consider the details of what it must have been like in reality for the teenage Mary, young mother of the Savior of all mankind. In the Jewish society of her day, it would have been a terrible thing indeed to be unmarried and pregnant. Most of her village neighbors would likely have judged immediately that she had broken God's laws of morality Two things I didn't care for about t Interesting take on the traditional Christmas story.

Two things I didn't care for about this book. First, I much prefer the beauty of the language in the King James version for the introductory part of the book, rather than the more modern language that the author employed.

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Second, it only took me 30 minutes, perhaps less, to read the whole book. I wish the author had explored her themes more deeply to describe the conditions of that time and the likely effects on Mary and Joseph. On the whole, though, it was a thought-provoking book.

And as short and simple as it was, it would be a terrific little book to read with children, followed by an age-appropriate discussion of it's ideas. This short book describes a little of what it must have really been like for Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem with Mary ready to give birth. Having had 5 children it made me appreciate the reality of what they must have gone through. Traveling eighty miles on the back of a donkey just days before having a baby, no thank you. What a miserable journey that must have been.

Dec 14, Cafelilybookreviews rated it liked it. Written as a narrative for a church banquet several years ago, The Christmas Journey by Donna VanLiere invites readers to break away from the consumerism and industrial marketing of Christmas. This simple yet profound book takes us back to the true meaning of Christmas and helps readers regain their focus as to what the season is really all about Beautiful illustrations accompany the lyrical text which retells the birth of Christ as recorded in Luke, Chapter 2.

Donna writes so vividly that I could almost smell the dank, musty manger and hear the crunching of the hay, as the animals settled in. This book would make a wonderful addition to any family library and while its simple enough for children to understand, I think that entire families reading it will be touched and reminded of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Make sure you have the tissues handy, if you watch it or read the book! It is a wonderful, heartwarming story as well. This is the retelling of the story of the birth of Christ. It is told in a manner to help us understand the discomfort and pain that Mary went through. The book gives the story from the Bible in the beginning then retells it in a more modern way. Sometimes it is easy to whitewash over the pain and the fact that Jesus was born in a barn.

This brings to life the reality part.

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The pain, the smells and the lack of simple comforts. I will remember this retelling of a very familiar story. So we are all familiar with the story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus but what version of this story are you familiar with? There is only one true story.

With Christmas being so commercialized like any other holiday, we may all sometimes forget the true meaning of Christmas. The Christmas Journey is the perfect story to share with everyone. The pictures were nice. Van Liere really brought to life the story of May, J So we are all familiar with the story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus but what version of this story are you familiar with? Van Liere really brought to life the story of May, Joseph and baby Jesus.

Dec 10, Loraine rated it it was amazing Shelves: Donna VanLiere always give us something for Christmas that is fantastic. The Christmas Journey is the retelling of the Nativity Story but with a much more realistic presentation. As she says, "No glamorized, sanitized, commercialized version". From cow patties to scratchy, smelly hay to an anxious, unprepared husband, accompanied by wonderful illustrations, this story tells of the birth of the Christ child with truth and reality.

It is a very short read about 30 mins , and I think would be a wo Donna VanLiere always give us something for Christmas that is fantastic. It is a very short read about 30 mins , and I think would be a wonderful family book to read aloud every single Christmas. This book was very short but sweet, story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of the Christ child.

Dec 06, Christie Brumley rated it it was amazing. A perfect book that depicts the true meaning of Christmas and what really happened on that holiest of nights in Bethlehem. This book isn't what I expected. I should have read the jacket a little closer before I started reading. If I had, I wouldn't have picked it up. I've no issue with her writing ability. The problem I have is with the story itself.

As a rule I don't read stories where someone takes a biblical story and 'enhances' it with narrative, emotions, and events that aren't recorded in the bible.

It feels very wrong to me. At the very least it's arrogant to think that we can know what happened or how people This book isn't what I expected. At the very least it's arrogant to think that we can know what happened or how people felt or were treated beyond the pieces of the story we are given. At the most it's blasphemous to add to a story that God had given us as a complete telling.

Maybe that's extreme, but I'll take my bible as is, without embellishments from anyone else no matter how well intentioned they are. Dec 03, Monica Guymon rated it it was amazing. What a great reminder that Mary DID deliver our Savior and felt the pains that we do through childbirth.

More so since she was in a stable on the floor instead of a bed somewhere with modern conveniences. I am so grateful for her and for Joseph who patiently and lovingly stayed by her side and helped as he could. Dec 08, Kelly rated it it was amazing. It puts the Christmas story in a much more accurate but less pretty light. God really inspired her to write this. This is a very touching and inspirational re-telling of the Nativity through the eyes of Mary and Joseph on their long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

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