December is here! Many of us consider the Christmas holiday to be the "most wonderful" time of the year--and for good reason. When we think "Christmas," our minds conjure a potpourri of images and ideas--nostalgia, creativity, brilliant lights, music, and joyful reunions all wrapped up in the wonder and innocence of children. And, mostly, the true story of the Child.
Nearly every year, I return to my favorite quote by Charles Dickens:
“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
As a guy with a lot of creative passion and projects, I love that Christmas gives "grownups" the license to use their imaginations... to become "makers" and dreamers again. I love that a humble home can be transformed into a sparkling Christmas cottage with the help of a creative vision and inexpensive materials. I still believe that it doesn't take a lot of money to come up with something wonderful.
My personal Christmas medley includes childhood memories--The Peppermint Candy Kids vinyl record, cheap felt Nursery Rhyme ornaments that hung on the lower branches of our tree, my mother's delicious sugar cookies, and so much more...
The fact that Christmas is such a tender time filled with memories and shared experiences also means that it can become an extremely difficult time when life "breaks"--when loved ones are lost or relationships are strained. Loneliness is a beast at Christmas. If this describes you, I hope that you will know, in a new way, how much you are loved by God. If it doesn't describe you, I hope you will find someone who needs to be shown kindness, and go out of your way to show them that kindness and generosity of spirit.
The older I get and more sensible I become (Ha!), the more I believe that the birth of Jesus Christ was much less theatrical than we envision (based on the many Christmas pageants we've witnessed.) But that doesn't change the stunning, mind-bending reality of it all... God in the flesh, born for us. How grateful I am!
As we Christmas lovers pirouette into the month of December (and you Bah Humbugs try to deal with it), I genuinely wish you a wonderful season filled with joy, family time, stories, food, and imagination. But mostly, I pray that we would all see the Christ child for the gift that he was and for the Lord that He is... and that we would be sure to reflect His glory in our lives. May we be marked with generous spirits and kind hearts.
I find so much joy in creating... and the past few months have been especially full of it. In case you missed it, here's a recap:
©Brent Vernon/Georgie IV Publishing
In October, I released a T-shirt and free mini comic featuring Audrey Amaka and her friends. I've wanted to try my hand at the comic book style for quite a while. Was I successful? You be the judge. Seriously, it was great fun to revisit Audrey as it's been a few years since the third Audrey book (The OkapiCat) was released. Would you want to see more comic book style adventures? Let me know. It's always helpful to get feedback.
Also in October, I released a fun art print based on one of my Countdown to Christmas sketches. It's called "Oh What Fun!" It really cracks me up.
©Brent Vernon/Georgie IV Publishing
November was a busy month with the re-release of my Santa Sam Christmas cards and my Nativity print "Welcome, Jesus" which has been so well received.
©Brent Vernon/Georgie IV Publishing
This month, I'm delighted to be releasing an adorable Christmas ornament based on Crumbly Dan from The Gingerbrood. I had the joy of working with an incredible sculptor named Scott Hensey to create this beautiful polyresin piece. If you're interested in purchasing one of these, feel free to pre-order today! I'm sure he'd love to grace your Christmas tree.
©Brent Vernon/Georgie IV Publishing
I'm ramping up for a wonderful 2019 with lots more travel and several cool projects. But we will talk about that another time. Thanks so much for reading and for caring. Your kindness and interest makes it possible for me to continue on.
Merry Christmas!