"What can I give him?"

Growing up in her native Provence, in southern France, Sylvie Vanhoozer learned about the traditional Provençal crèche. These nativity scenes were peopled by santons—"little saints"—each bringing their unique gifts to the baby Jesus. As her own life took her around the world, to England, Scotland, and the United States, she kept up the tradition of her native crèche in her own home, adding to it souvenirs from each new place where she found herself.

In The Art of Living in Season, Vanhoozer invites readers to join this communion of little saints and to follow them not only at Christmas but throughout the whole year. Each chapter introduces a new santon and opens up another aspect of our annual pilgrimage toward Christ. Structured as weekly reflections and illustrated with Vanhoozer's own botanical illustrations, this book invites us to follow Christ in our own places and seasons of life, beginning by keeping in step with the rhythms of nature and the church calendar.

The Art of Living in Season is a companion for everyday saints who wonder how they can follow Jesus—and what they can give him—wherever, whenever, and whoever they are.



Kevin J. Vanhoozer (PhD, Cambridge University) is Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author of many works, including First Theology, The Drama of Doctrine and is coauthor with Daniel Treier of Theology and the Mirror of Scripture.







Sylvie Vanhoozer was born and raised in Provence, France. A certified botanic artist, she currently focuses her attention on her writing and art, partly inspired by the places in which she has lived. She is the author of The Art of Living in Season: A Year of Reflections for Everyday Saints and The Art of Living in Advent: 28 Days of Joyful Waiting. She and her husband, Kevin, live in the Chicago suburbs and have two adult daughters and one son-in-law.



Foreword by Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Introduction: A Seed Is Planted: A Child's Christmas in Provence



Part One: Everyday Saints in the Special Seasons

1. Advent: The Art of Watchful Waiting

2. Christmas: The Art ofGiving

3. Epiphany: The Art of Welcoming the Stranger

4. Candlemas: The Art of Remaining Alight

5. Lent: The Art of Self-Pruning

6. Easter: The Art of Rejoicing

7. Pentecost: The Art of Pouring Out Essential Oils



Part Two: Everyday Saints in Ordinary Time

8. On the Land: The Art of Growing in Place

9. At the Table: The Art of Providing Restauration

10. Round the Garden: The Art of Beautifying

11. In the Marketplace: The Art of Making a Living

12. With the Children: The Art of Seeing Afresh

13. Alongside the Elders: The Art of Passing Down Heirlooms

14. The Feast of Christ the King: The Art of Coming Home



Epilogue: Everyday Advent: The Art of Reengaging

Acknowledgments

Glossary of French Terms

Notes

Further Reading