Glad and Golden Hours: an Advent book to bring rest to weary hearts

I’ve never been to my friend Lanier Ivester’s home at Christmas—or any other time of the year—despite having known her since 2005. (Our only in-person visit was a brief weekend many years ago, which included swapping farming stories with our husbands over dinner at an Italian restaurant.) 

But I feel like I have peeked into her kitchen and glimpsed her bountiful table. I’ve spied the Advent wreath and the Christmas tree ornamented in gingerbread men. I’ve even seen the way she bedecks the barn for her beloved goats. Because every Christmas, for so many years, Lanier has shared online stories and photos of her Christmas festivities.

In the early 1900s, American poet Henry Van Dyke wrote: 

“There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.”

Lanier keeps Christmas faithfully. From the first day of Advent all the way through to Twelfth Night. She’s kept it with joy and anticipation. She’s kept it through tragedy and tears. But most of all, she’s kept it in honor of Christ.

I’ve long enjoyed Lanier’s delicious descriptions of food, whether following her directions for making tea or trying her Thanksgiving menu items. (I can almost smell the cranberry conserve over the internet!) Her stories of Christmases past and present have inspired me to make the effort, no matter what the end result looks like, to keep Christmas in our home and in our hearts.

When I heard Lanier’s first published book was to be about Christmas, I was not surprised—she’s a veritable queen of Christmas, after all. I knew Glad and Golden Hours would be bursting with all the delightful tastes and traditions that make up Ivester Christmases. But I didn’t know it would be such a fitting book to read after a year of grief upon grief.

Glad and Golden Hours is a companion for Advent, but it’s also a companion for the seasons of grief and longing that occur all year long. Lanier’s words, though often wrestling with suffering, are infused with beauty and grace. 

Interspersed with Lanier’s essays are recipes and meal plans for holiday feasts, plus beautiful illustrations by Jennifer Trafton that make Glad and Golden Hours as much coffee table book as cookbook. It’s a book to savor. It’s a book that will bring rest to a weary heart.

“And if you can keep it for a day, why not always?
But you can never keep it alone.”

(Henry Van Dyke)

In the five years Lanier Ivester wrote for Kindred Grace (2006-2011), many of us came to consider her not only a friend, but a mentor. Someone who faithfully encouraged us to hold fast to our ideals, but let go of our expectations (a lesson which is appropriate for so many seasons of life, is it not?). Now let me introduce you to a few of our friends here at Kindred Grace who are eager to share why they love Lanier’s book Glad and Golden Hours…

A tender and generous book, equally companionable in sorrow and in joy.
–Elisabeth

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, and I’ve found a kindred spirit in Lanier. When I first cracked open Glad and Golden Hours, I knew this would be a book I return to season after season. This delightful companion for Christmas time immediately enchanted my daughter and I as we exclaimed over the beautiful poetry, crafts, recipes, and illustrations within the pages. My favorite part has to be Lanier’s memories of Christmases past and how she recreates the magic and meaning. I’m inspired anew to approach this sacred time of year with an appreciation for the significance of the season—as well as eagerness to try my hand at several crafts and recipes within, starting with that cardamom hot chocolate!
–Rachelle Rea Cobb

I’m sure I’m not the only reader whose holiday traditions include plenty of the written word. Some of my favorite ways to settle into the Christmas season involve books. I enjoy selecting a new Advent devotional every year to focus my thoughts during the busy weeks of December. We pull out our large collection of Christmas picture books before any of the festive décor. I always spend a couple of hours at Barnes and Noble with stacks of holiday magazines, sinking into ideas and recipes I may never use but that give me joy nonetheless. So it was a delight to crack open Glad and Golden Hours and find so many things I look forward to wrapped in one lovely package. The stories are full of cheer and beauty and heart. Ideas and recipes abound. The illustrations are a simple luxury. Lanier has succeeded in crafting a book that “makes present the astonishing fact of God-with-us.” What a gift.
–Emily C. Gardner

This Advent “companion” is a devotional, recipe collection, and treasure trove of simple whimsy for winter home life, introspection, and seasonal celebrations.
–Kristy Lynn (click to read full review)

When I received Lanier Ivester’s Glad and Golden Hours, I immediately loved it. The pages are delightful to flip through with pictures, craft ideas, and recipes that feel like Christmas is dripping off the pages into your lap—and when you pause to read the stories, the depth of truth and beauty feeds your soul as well. And perhaps the best and sweetest thing of all is how my five year old is enamored with it. A book about Christmas? A book with craft ideas? A book that Mama loves to read and it has pretty pictures? Every time I pick it up, she’s at my elbow with her eyes peeking over my shoulder to see what delightful part we’re examining today. I can tell this book will become part of her favorite Christmas memories of her childhood and it makes my heart smile just thinking about it. What a gift Lanier has blessed us with!
–Natasha Metzler 

When I opened Glad and Golden Hours, it felt like Christmas in book form: lavish illustrations, wonderful stories, and even craft instructions and recipes.  Lanier has opened her heart and offered us the hospitality of true Christian fellowship as she weaves threads of joy and sorrow into a beautiful vision of the longing of Advent and the joy of Christmas.  It’s a companion that will deepen and enrich your understanding—and celebration—of Christmas for years to come.
–Jeannie Pederson

Glad and Golden Hours is like a treasure chest, bursting with all the loveliness that makes up the Advent and Christmas season. As one who did not grow up celebrating Christmas, I’m feeling a little wistful reading about Lanier’s bountiful family traditions—and I’m inspired to put more effort into cultivating meaningful memories for my own children (this book is the perfect manual for such!). I appreciate that the author holds space for the hard seasons of life as well as the joyous, and emphasizes that a simple and restful holiday can often be the better choice. Of course I’m also savoring the beauty that fills every page, with full-color illustrations and gorgeous lettering throughout. I intend to keep my copy on the coffee table and enjoy a chapter in the cozy light of the Christmas tree each evening—it is a true delight!
–Abigail W.

“And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!”

(“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” by Edmund H. Sears, 1849)