It's that time of year when we fill shoeboxes for various charities - we are supporting Operation Christmas Child but there are others such as Blythswood and Rotary, and in the past I've been involved in filling shoeboxes for homeless adults in the UK.

In this week's Baptist Times there is a very moving letter from a young woman now working as an au pair in the UK who as a child received a shoebox.  She speaks of her delight in finding in the box a little teddy bear, and her father telling her that someone must love her to send such a gift; all these years later she still has her teddy bear...  It costs us so little to fill a box with little gifts that bring so much joy and hope to others.

Sometimes, if we're honest, we groan at yet another appeal for yet another charity, but this letter is a reminder of the difference even a small toy can make to a child who has very little.

I always find it fun going out and choosing things to put in the shoebox and daring to imagine someone opening it and finding something in there that proves a little bit special. Be it a teddy bear, be it a toy aeroplane, be it a hat, be it toothbrush... hope and love in a box.... bit like a baby in a manger really.

In the last week I've spotted a couple of recent publications that should make for entertaining reading.

This one is described as satire and evidently includes cartoons by people such as ASBO Jesus, Naked Pastor and others.  Sounds fun - I may well buy a copy to wile away the hours on my drug-induced lethargy days!

This one is the latest collection of Dave Walker cartoons, published in August.  If you like line drawing cartoons and like laughing at the antics of church life then it's worth contemplating.

Maybe you could buy your minister one or other for Christmas to brighten and lighten her/his world?!  It might go down better than yet another calf-skin gilt-edged chain-reference red-letter Bible... ;-)