Stories Behind the Great Songs and Traditions of Christmas

Barbara Rainey has finally combined two of her favorite things:  Christmas carols and ornaments to create “Adore Hymns,” a set of ornaments embossed with some of the world’s most memorable Christmas hymns. Barbara tells how she designed these ornaments so that families could learn of the rich history of these traditional carols while decorating the tree. Author Ace Collins joins in too, explaining the origin of some of these hymns.   

Barbara talks about her resources featuring Jesus' royal names while Ace explains the hymn "Angels We Have Heard on High." View Show Notes →
Barbara talks about her new resources, while Ace Collins reveals the meaning behind "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." View Show Notes →
Author Ace Collins also tells us about one of his favorite carols,"O Holy Night." View Show Notes →
Joining Barbara is author Ace Collins to tell us about the history of the Christmas tree. View Show Notes →
Barbara tells how she designed AdoreHymn ornaments so that families could learn the rich history of these traditional carols. View Show Notes →

Meet Series Guests

Ace Collins

Citing his Arkansas heritage, Christy Award winning author Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. In that capacity, Ace has authored more than seventy books for 25 different publishers that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, children’s works as well as books on history, culture and faith. He has also been the featured speaker at the National Archives Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted a network television special and is the play-by-play voice for Ouachita Tiger basketball.

In 2015, Ace released two new novels, Hollywood Lost, a mystery from Abingdon Fiction set against the backdrop of the motion picture business in 1936. and The Fruitcake Murders, a comedy/whodunit set in Chicago in the days just after World War II. Beyond these Abingdon offerings, Elk Lake continues to release new episodes of In The President’s Service, a groundbreaking series that first hit the market in 2014.

One of Ace’s most talked about books was released in late 2015. The Color of Justice earned the Christy Award winner for Best Suspense Book. This novel is a courtroom drama examining racial prejudice in 1964. Also in 2014, Abingdon released Ace’s Man’s Best Hero at the Book Explo of America. This nonfiction book earned the IndieFab Book of the Year Winner and Christian Retailing’s Gift Book of the Year, as well as generating interest well beyond the dog community.

Ace’s publishing history includes the novels Farraday Road, Swope’s Ridge and Jefferson Burke and the Secret of the Lost Scroll for Zondervan, The Yellow Packard from Barbour, Reich of Passage for Bay Forest, and The Christmas Star for Abingdon.

In nonfiction, Ace has scored bestsellers with The Cathedrals, Lassie A Dog’s Life, Turn Your Radio On, The Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Father Does Know Best, and The Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas. His books have been made into two network television specials and a CBS movie. The Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas hit #3 on the Amazon bestselling list for all books and #1 in several other categories and still continues to sell well more than a decade after its release. Ace’s books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German and Indonesia (Mayla).

Beyond books, Ace has penned more than 2000 magazine features, appeared on every network morning television show, as well as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox.  Ace is married to the Chair of the Department of Education at Ouachita Baptist University, Dr. Kathy Collins. The couple lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and has two sons.

Barbara Rainey

After graduating from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, Barbara joined the staff of Cru® in 1971. With her husband Dennis, whom she married in 1972, the Rainey’s cofounded FamilyLife®, a ministry committed to helping marriages and families survive and thrive in our generation.

Barbara is a frequent speaker and guest on FamilyLife Today®, FamilyLife’s award-winning nationally-syndicated daily radio broadcast. She is the author or coauthor of more than 35 books, including Moments Together for Couples and Moments With You marriage devotionals; Growing Together, a series of books for families; A Symphony in the Dark; and her most recent, Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife.

After faithfully served alongside Dennis, both in ministry and at home, Barbara launched a new endeavor called Ever Thine Home®. This line of home décor with interactive content helps families express faith at home in a way that is both biblical and beautiful. Her heart for Ever Thine Home is based on the familiar Old Testament instruction:
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, ESV)
Dennis and Barbara live near Little Rock, Arkansas and continue to serve with Cru, FamilyLife’s parent organization. They have six children and an impressive number of grandchildren.