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Three Wonderful Things About Christmas

Excerpt from a book forthcoming early in 2018; more info to follow and HERE.

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

 Luke 2:11; John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 9:15

One statement seems to crop up repeatedly each Christmas season—“This is going to be the best Christmas ever.” Another form or variation of goes like this: “This Christmas is going to be perfect.”

Every Christmas has to be better than the last one. We are always on the quest for a better Christmas. Everything must be perfect! Nothing must be out of place! Nothing must be allowed to cast a shadow over our celebration!

I want to ask those who toss “the best Christmas ever” around to explain what it is that they’re after. What is it that would make this Christmas better than all those that have preceded it? Do we mean that this Christmas we will get the best of all gifts? Do we mean that this Christmas we will see the best of all decorations? Do we mean that we will pull off our contacts with family members and friends without a hitch? Do we mean that we will laugh more? Do we mean that we will eat more? Do we mean that we will go to more Christmas parties?

I’m certainly not opposed to people having an enjoyable Christmas, but I’m not quite sure how to process this endless quest for the best Christmas ever. I wonder if our craving for the “best ever” is really a manifestation of the discontent that has plagued us since Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden. We had the perfect once, but we lost it. And we’ve been trying to get it back ever since. In other words, I wonder if our yearning for the best Christmas ever really amounts to us saying about ourselves what the Bible says about us.

When I hear “the best Christmas ever” mantra, I want to say: “Give it up! You’re too late—two thousand plus years too late!”

The best Christmas ever has already occurred, and it was such a great Christmas that it can never be surpassed. I’m referring, of course, to the very first Christmas, that Christmas without which there would have been no other Christmases.

The first Christmas was the best Christmas because the best of all persons came to this earth to do the best of all things so that we can enjoy the best of all ends.

The best of all persons? That would be the Lord Jesus Christ. Out of all the billions who have occupied planet Earth, there is no one like Him. He alone qualifies for the title “God-man.” God in human flesh! And He came to this earth, not as a full-grown man, but rather as a baby. Who would have thought that God could be held in such a tiny package?

And the best of all things? That would be the work of providing salvation for sinners. That work required Him to live in complete obedience to God (by which He provided the righteousness sinners lack), and dying on the cross (in which He received the wrath of God for sinners). All who believe in Christ rejoice in Him providing the righteousness we don’t have and paying for the sins we do have.

What are the best of all ends? It is getting back into the paradise we lost! The theme of the Bible is this: paradise lost through sin and regained through Christ. It is the account of our access to the tree of life being denied because of our sin (Gen. 3:24) and that access being restored through the redeeming work of Christ (Rev. 22:2).

Each Christmas season, we also hear people telling us Christmas is “all about.” Some say it’s giving, others say it’s family, and yet others say it’s having fun. But this is what Christmas is all about: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Is there anything wrong with people desiring to have a better Christmas? No, but the way to make this Christmas better is to think less about it and more about the first Christmas, which was “the best Christmas ever.”

Arriving Early in 2018

We’re delighted to announce the soon-coming arrival of

The Day the Milk Spilled
. . . And 30 Other Bible-Based Meditations

I can’t tell you how this saying came about, but I do recall a day when I saw someone crying over spilled milk. The someone wasn’t a child. It was my dad. And the milk wasn’t the small amount in a glass. It was a lot of milk.
For years my parents tried to scratch a living out of a hardscrabble little farm near Mulberry Grove, Illinois. There wasn’t much money to be made from farming in those days, at least not from farming on our scale. . .

Enjoy these easy-to-read short devotions by Roger Ellsworth—and a good cup of coffee at the same time!

An Error on the Cover–Oh No, Really?

The uploading process usually goes pretty smoothly and I have learned to appreciate managing the hoops and hurdles to jump through (and over) in preparing a new book for publication. So it was a bit of a surprise to get a note from the printers advising me of a cover design error, especially as I had already had a prototype printed anyway, and my inspection copy looked pretty good.

“I’ll check it out anyway,” I told myself quietly as I opened the graphics program. I reviewed the check-marks and, sure enough, the main title was just a fraction too close to the edge of the page.

How thankful I am for quality checks, especially printing pre-flight checks. They may take us out of our comfort zone and seem to be a nuisance, but they make us review something that could otherwise be catastrophic. In this case the word “Hope” in the title string “Fading Lines, Unfading Hope” was just too near the edge of the page for safety.

In ten minutes I had the problem fixed, another file uploaded, and the show was back on the road.

Giving a Gift to My Bank. . .

And I am thankful to say that the book is now well and truly in print; I ordered some from the printer just to be sure. And already I have found homes for several copies. They make excellent gifts. A year ago, I shared the book “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with staff in my local bank. A couple of weeks ago, one of the tellers there said, “Mr. Holmes, are you going to be giving away more books again this year?”

“Of course,” I responded. “This time it will be a different cluster of books, all in the same series, all by the same author. And this time, you will get to choose which book you would like. There are four different titles, and there are nine of you, so you can fight over who takes which.” There was laughter.

But more than laughter, there was appreciation when I walked in this afternoon with a card to express my family’s thanks and best wishes to the nine staff-members there and with a handful of attractively produced books. I spent a few minutes with the manager and his assistants just to say how much I appreciate their work and to wish them well over the Christmas and New Year season. There were waves of appreciation and a chorus of thankyous as I walked out of the bank… off to give another few samples to someone else interested in the series.

I’m so confident that these gospel-centered daily devotional books may be consumed by anyone–Christian or non-Christian–that I am encouraging you to make a point of trying it out for yourself. It’s the right time of the year… we’re just days away from 2018. Buy one for yourself, and one to give away. You will be so glad you did!

Almost in Print!

Good news is that the mailman just delivered the prototype copy of Fading Lines, Unfading Hope, fourth in the series of My Coffee-Cup Meditations books.

We think–in fact we feel sure that–you will like this beautifully produced book of easy-to-read devotions!

Producing These Books . . .

The way these books are produced involves not only the author prayerfully considering the topics for inclusion, but also working from biblical passages and thinking in light of illustrations that will connect and resonate with ordinary readers. It’s important, too, for the word count to be watched carefully so as to ensure that the text fits within the allocated pages!

This involves the exchange of several emails between author Roger Ellsworth and editor Jim Holmes, the generation of numerous PDF copies, and then, when we feel we are “almost there,” we like to get a couple of prototype books printed to, as it were, test drive the book ourselves and to check out for any as-yet unresolved typographical errors or other inconsistencies.

Once we are done with that, we send off the file to the printers, and, guess what, within a couple of days the book is available around the world.

Check it out and order your copy. Buying links will soon be posted at the link HERE.

Please enjoy this delightful series, and also please let us know what you think of them. You may contact us HERE.

Pictured: Roger, left; Jim, right

Tell Us What You Think. . .

It’s always interesting to think about how best to design new covers.

What one person likes, another person might feel rather differently about.

So we thought we would ask you to tell us which of the two covers here you prefer–and the titles, too. Option A, the one on the left,  (A), Heaven’s Cardboard Sketches, (browns and beiges) or (B) Fading Lines, Unfading Hope (purple).

We’re well on the way to having the next thirty one readings ready for publication, and we’d love to hear your opinion on which you most prefer.

Let us know via Facebook or on the Contact button.

THANKS!

There’s Nothing Like Sharing a Nice Pot of Coffee!

You know what it’s like–you, a friend or two, sharing things close to your heart while you enjoy the rich, aromatic taste of well-brewed coffee.

There is something very intimate about the atmosphere; you feel more relaxed, as you sip from your cup or mug and you banish other concerns from your mind.

Moments such as these are very precious, very important…

Using the My Coffee-Cup Meditations books has something of the same character as drinking well-brewed, aromatic coffee. You might like to share a reading with a friend or family member–it only takes a few minutes to read one aloud; or you might like to give the gift of one or more of these inspirational books as you move toward the holiday season.

There are several special offers for when you buy these books to use as giveaways. Check out the Free Coupons page HERE and the Shop HERE to get the best deal possible on these wonderful books!

Books Unique for Your Ministry

Do you wish to order customized copies of these books?

Then we’re glad to help you!

(A) Customization of the Back Cover

You may order 50 or more copies of a book with a special feature to mark it as uniquely associated with you and your church’s (or organization’s) ministry.

Customization gives your copies of a book a distinctive identity, associating it with you and what you stand for. Customized books make for great giveaway items and can make your service or ministry stand out in a unique way!

Customization generally involves the inclusion of text and graphic content on a part of the back cover and may include

(a) Your ministry name or a term of your choosing;

(b) A logo or graphic relevant to your ministry;

(c) A website or phone/address string.

(B) Customization of an Internal Page

You may order 100 or more of a book with a special text feature on one or more internal page, subject to design and space constraints.

Contact us HERE for further information and for price offers.