BART AT CHRISTMAS

Bart has been in church over Christmas. As you can see. In his festive Santa suit.

Yes, this is THE Bart who appears in 'A Christmas Calling' and even more significantly in 'A Spring Awakening'. He is a real bear. He belonged to my sons when they were young, but now remains here with us. 

He has now come home again to brighten up the house with his cheery and cheeky ways.

Usually, he doesn't wear anything!

But he is a very furry and fine bear.

THE FATHER'S SONG

I offer you this on this Christmas Eve, this blessed day, this day of wonder in many coats.

THE FATHER’S SONG

My Son.

My cuddly, lovely Son.

I’d swing him, make him laugh.

I held him, in my arms,

So warm to me.

And how he’d sit

Upon my lap,

All safe and cuddled up.

A kiss upon his lovely head,

And gently lift him into bed.

His smile, a beam of purest joy.

My own, my precious little boy.

The angels all adore him.

And, in utter wonder,

Fall before him.

He’s set upon a royal throne

The hope and praise of Man alone.

My Son.

My own, my heart,

My precious, lovely Son.

And shall I give him

Up to you?

Just, hand him over?

For you to do

What you like

With spear and spike?

To accuse

And roughly use?

To hit

And spit

And rail

And nail?

To cross, and kill?

Yes, I will.

For you,

I will.

My Son,

My precious, lovely Son.

For you

Are precious, too.

Chris Cottee 2010.

BYE BYE GRANDMA

This cheeky chappy is one of those Christmas toys that is animated and 'sings'. He rocks back and forth on his sledge and on a good, smooth surface he really gets energetic. His cheeks glow as he sings,
'GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER,
WALKING HOME FROM OUR HOUSE CHRISTMAS EVE.
YOU CAN SAY THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS SANTA,
BUT AS FOR ME AND GRANDPA, WE BELIEVE!'
It finishes with a deep voice saying, 'Me-e-erry Christmas!' which makes me laugh.
It's part of an old song. I love the subtlety of the words. Why do they believe in Santa? It could just be that they saw a reindeer on Christmas Eve. But there's more to it than that, isn't there? The subtle suggestion is that Santa has stepped in to rid them of the horrible old Grandma by striking her down in an apparent accident. They believe in Santa because he's come and delivered them this great deliverance! No more Grandma, and her mean, belittling and nasty ways!
I have to admit, the fact that the reindeer looks so happy rocking backwards and forwards on his sledge certainly adds to the merriment of the whole performance.
But let us all, at this festive time, take to heart the message of the piece - don't be someone's 'grandma'! ;-)

CHRISTMAS!

In the car, I'm listening to Justin Beiber, 'Under the Mistletoe'. Yes! That is just how much I LOVE Christmas! He sings 'Like the wise men follow the star, I must follow my heart.' Which makes me think, 'does that actually mean anything, Beibs? Or is it just a half-'starred' attempt at a still fairly poor rhyme? 
But it's CHRISTMAS! So who cares?
Also, the books came. 9 boxes of  'A Spring Awakening'. But you know, there's a time for everything like the wise man says in Ecclesiastes, so until after Christmas I've just piled them as much out of the way as possible. I haven't even opened one box to take one book out and hold it. I'll keep that to look forward to. You don't know exactly how it will look until you've done that. Or how it will feel. I remember being so impressed with the look and feel of 'A Christmas Calling'. 
But in case you've finished 'A Christmas Calling' and are champing at the bit, here's a teaser: Like the geography of many high points, many mountaintop views, in-between lies a valley. In between Christmas and Easter lies the valley of winter - for many a deep, long, dark valley - even the valley of the shadow of death. Easter is a time of promise, of spring, of future and of intense hope, but to get to it you still have to go from Christmas through winter-vale. That is the journey David and Angela have to undertake. Will they even survive it?

UNEXPECTED VISITOR

An unexpected visitor. It took him a good ten minutes to find his way out despite me opening all doors and windows and getting jolly cold! I took this picture,then I realized he was standing right in front of a booklet called 'The Christmas Poem'. Another 'unexpected visitor' who came in and stayed a while where He didn't really belong.
Or did He?

REVIEW THIS REVIEW!

Well, look at this! This fine fellow does reviews of books for Christians in Library and Information Services.

REVIEWS FAITH, FACT AND FICTION – 2 - A CHRISTMAS CALLING Chris Cottee Instant Apostle; £8.99, Pbk., 299p., ISBN 978-1909728707 “Christian fiction” has come of age in recent years, with a number of memorable titles emanating from Lion Fiction and SPCK’s Marylebone House. Instant Apostle, a small grass-roots publisher run by Manoj Raithatha, who also works for the Evangelical Alliance, has now emerged as an additional publisher of good quality fiction, alongside other areas of publishing. A Christmas Calling is very loosely based on Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol and tells the story of David Sourbook, a retired teacher of maths and physics, who finds spiritual and emotional salvation in the few days leading up to Christmas. Unlike Dickens’ character, Sourbook’s journey is inspired, in part, by Christians from a local church rather than an assortment of ghosts. David Sourbook does not have Ebenezer Scrooge’s aversion to the Christmas season, but he lives an isolated life with few obvious friends and a certain disdain for the wider human race. His life begins to change after a “chance” meeting with a public-spirited woman Angela (“was she a friend or was she an angel”) who persuades him to join her in clearing up litter from the streets and in delivering church newsletters to a tough housing estate. Later David is introduced to friends from Angela’s (very middle class) church and begins a journey towards Christian conversion and a recognition of a long buried traumatic experience that has blighted his life since childhood. The novel also touches on issues of social deprivation when David and Angela encounter a group of teenage delinquents from the housing estate. Part love story, part psychological exploration, part conversion story, A Christmas Calling makes enjoyable reading in the weeks leading up to the Christmas celebrations. I will look forward to reading future offerings from this writer. Graham Hedges, MCLIP, Hon. FCLIP, is Secretary of Christians in Library and Information Services.

The book is at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Calling-Voices-Sounding-Comes/dp/1909728705/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512653347&sr=1-1&keywords=a+christmas+calling+cottee

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Here is a revised picture of the cover of 'A Spring Awakening'. Apart from the fact that it's just the front, can you spot the difference?

It has daffodils! Instant Apostle Publishers kindly held up the printing for 48 hours to put those in!

And why? Am I just a daffodil nut? No. Are they essential to the story? No. Did I think the cover needed some yellow? Pass.

No, the fact is, they are significant in places in the book. As a sort of symbol, I suppose, of all the wondrous joys of spring.

Ah spring! Even with Christmas still to come, it draws me like a seasonal magnet.

SHOULD I TELL YOU THIS?

O my goodness! The next book has gone to print. Here's a pic of the cover

You'll be wondering, after the events of just one week in 'A Christmas Calling', what happens to them next. Well, here it is. On sale from mid-January. You can hardly wait! Believe me, you'll be surprised where it starts from, and where it goes to!