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The Shoe Box
Copyright © 1995, 2010 by Francine Rivers. All rights reserved.
First printing by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., in 1999 under ISBN 978-0-8423-1901-0.
Cover illustration of shoebox and interior illustrations copyright © 2005 by Linda Graves. All rights reserved.
Cover frame art copyright © by RoselynCarr/iStockphoto. All rights reserved.
Interior illustration of red ornaments copyright © by Hakan Dogan/iStockphoto. All rights reserved. Interior illustration of holly ornaments copyright © by Maljuk/iStockphoto. All rights reserved.
Interior illustration of frames copyright © by RoselynCarr/iStockphoto. All rights reserved.
Author photo copyright © 2003 by Phil Fewsmith. All rights reserved.
Designed by Beth Sparkman
Published in association with the literary agency of Browne & Miller Literary Associates, LLC, 410 Michigan Avenue, Suite 460, Chicago, IL 60605.
âThe Shoe Boxâ was originally published in the anthology Christmas by the Hearth , under ISBN 978-0-8423-0239-5, copyright © 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authorâs imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rivers, Francine, date
   Â
The shoe box / Francine Rivers.
      p. cm.
    âThe shoe boxâ was originally published in the anthology âChristmas by the Hearth,â copyright © 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers.
    ISBN 0-8423-1901-8
    I. Christmas by the hearth. II Title.
    PS3568.I83165S46      1999
813â².54âdc21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 99-34161
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Revision first published in 2010 under ISBN 978-1-4143-3888-0.
Printed in the United States of America
16Â Â Â Â 15Â Â Â Â 14Â Â Â Â 13Â Â Â Â 12Â Â Â Â 11Â Â Â Â 10
7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6Â Â Â Â Â Â 5Â Â Â Â Â Â 4Â Â Â Â Â Â 3Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
How This Story
Came to Be
When I first became a Christian, one of the hardest things for me to do was give my burdens to the Lord. I would worry over all kinds of things. I remember a friend talking about putting prayers in a lunch bag, and that got me thinking. One of the many jobs I had held was that of a secretary, and I remembered the in- and out-boxes. From that memory came the idea of a âGod box.â I took an ordinary cardboard container with a lid and covered it with beautiful wrapping paper. Then I cut a slot in the top. Whenever something wasbothering me greatly and I couldnât let it go, I would write out a prayer about it. Then I would tuck the written prayer into the God box. Sometimes my husband and my children would write prayers and tuck them into the box as well. It was