God's Greatest Gift: Economiser Publications

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Steve Economides had a gift for athletics long before he discovered he had a gift for stories. That gift took him from high school gymnastics to a scholarship at Arizona State University, where his team won two conference championships and finished second in the nation. Then came two decades of advertising work with clients like Motorola, Intel, and Best Western, building skills that would serve him again, in a very different way, starting in 2003.A floor exercise specialist, Steve competed against Olympians Bart Conner and Kurt Thomas, missing the Illinois state title in that event by .05 points in 1975 and the AAU national championship by .05 points in 1978. He went on to earn All-American honors at Arizona State, placing sixth and later fifth at the NCAA championships. He didn't take home gold, but those near-misses taught him that persistence is a gift too-one he's carried into everything he's done since then.In 2003, Steve stepped away from advertising to launch a newsletter-the HomeEconomiser-putting those marketing skills to work pitching local and eventually national media on the family's stories of frugality. An appearance on Good Morning America in 2004 opened the door to writing his first book, published in 2006 as America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money, a New York Times bestseller.All five of Steve and Annette's kids (John, Becky, Roy, Joe, and Abbey) were homeschooled. During the high school years of the three youngest, Steve would drive each to community college classes, then wait in the computer lab writing newsletter articles and book chapters. Those hours became three published books.Despite struggling with dyslexia, Steve has always loved reading fiction and non-fiction. He's spent thousands of hours listening to audiobooks and carefully reading physical books. This love of stories turned into countless bedtime readings with his children, where he discovered a knack for character voices.These days, Steve has seven grandchildren, a fresh audience for his storytelling: Stark, Hootie (Hudson), Jason, Missy (Artemis), Fizzy (Felicity), Hannah, and Sammy (born on Easter Sunday).This Christmas book was born from a simple desire: to share the wonder of Jesus's birth with his grandchildren in a way that would be meaningful, fun, and interactive. Sitting in church one December morning, with two grandchildren arriving in a week, Steve half-listened to a sermon on Luke chapter 2, wondering how he could make it more understandable to a two- and four-year-old. By the time the sermon ended, he'd stopped taking notes on the message and started making notes on a book. Forty to sixty hours of writing, reading aloud, and reworking phrase by phrase later, this book came to life.Steve worked with illustrator Linta Komal to create these warm and inviting illustrations, and he hopes this book will become part of families' Christmas traditions: one of those precious moments when everyone cuddles up by the fireplace or under a warm blanket, reads the story together, and imagines they were there.Sometimes when life gets overwhelming, Steve still kicks into a handstand to get a different perspective. Maybe that's why this story resonates so deeply-God turned the whole world upside down too, sending the King of Kings to be born in a stable instead of a palace. The greatest gifts aren't always obvious. Sometimes you need a different perspective to see them at all.Steve lives in Arizona, where he continues to write, read, and share stories with young ears.