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Making Spirits Bright
Merri's Christmas Mission
One woman's mission to conquer Christmas
Merri doesn’t want much from life–a job, healthy kids, a modest apartment, cheap fun…
And a LAVISH Christmas.
No, really. While other people save for vacations and cars, Merri saves every spare dime for her annual Christmas Extravaganza!
But when she loses her job three months before Christmas, survival means dipping deeper and deeper into the Christmas fund! What’s a Yuletide fanatic to do?
All Barney wanted was to win a pool table for The Mission, but watching a single mom’s dogged determination to win a great Christmas gift for her kids makes it hard to keep his eye on the needs of the mission instead of the shifting hopes of his heart.
A Christmas "noella."
Merri doesn’t want much from life–a job, healthy kids, a modest apartment, cheap fun…
And a LAVISH Christmas.
No, really. While other people save for vacations and cars, Merri saves every spare dime for her annual Christmas Extravaganza!
But when she loses her job three months before Christmas, survival means dipping deeper and deeper into the Christmas fund! What’s a Yuletide fanatic to do?
All Barney wanted was to win a pool table for The Mission, but watching a single mom’s dogged determination to win a great Christmas gift for her kids makes it hard to keep his eye on the needs of the mission instead of the shifting hopes of his heart.
A Christmas "noella."
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 29, 2018
51 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Chautona Havig
280 books1,871 followers**fingers skittle across the keyboard. Stop. Eyelids blink over the top**
Oh, was this bio day? Oops! I forgot. I was lost in my latest manuscript. Umm... bio. Yeah.
Hi! I’m Chautona Havig. (for those who care, that’s Shuh-TONE-uh HAVE-ig). Yeah. Just work with me here. I should have used a pseudonym, but when you grow up with a name like Chautona, it kind of sticks.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ~ Hebrews 10: 23–25
Those aren’t just words on a page for me–they’re why I write. I write to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ. The stories I create are to make people laugh, cry, question, consider.
They’re for you.
When the world screams for hope, I try to point you to the true Source of hope–Jesus.
Sometimes life in the church no longer seems a refuge from the pain of a self-serving world around us, but through my stories, I try to point you to the only Refuge that can truly help–the Father’s Everlasting Arms.
And sometimes we just need an escape from the monotony, the emptiness we see around us. We need joy, laughter–what I like to call “just the write escape.”
Christian fiction without apology or pretense–lived, not preached.
What does that even mean?
It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you.
But I do.
And I write for you. I sit in my little house in California’s Mojave Desert and I write to show you why one sister believes one thing, why a brother believes another. I write to show you how some Christians handle trials or triumphs–for you. So when you’re faced with something–good or bad, it doesn’t matter–maybe it’ll spark a memory. Maybe that memory will smolder until you pull out your Bible and see what the Lord said about it–about His great love for you. For YOU!
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll share that love with another hurting, confused, or blessed-with-more-than-she-knows-what-to-do-with soul.
I just happen to think that’s the most blessed giving anyone could hope to receive.
Oh, was this bio day? Oops! I forgot. I was lost in my latest manuscript. Umm... bio. Yeah.
Hi! I’m Chautona Havig. (for those who care, that’s Shuh-TONE-uh HAVE-ig). Yeah. Just work with me here. I should have used a pseudonym, but when you grow up with a name like Chautona, it kind of sticks.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ~ Hebrews 10: 23–25
Those aren’t just words on a page for me–they’re why I write. I write to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ. The stories I create are to make people laugh, cry, question, consider.
They’re for you.
When the world screams for hope, I try to point you to the true Source of hope–Jesus.
Sometimes life in the church no longer seems a refuge from the pain of a self-serving world around us, but through my stories, I try to point you to the only Refuge that can truly help–the Father’s Everlasting Arms.
And sometimes we just need an escape from the monotony, the emptiness we see around us. We need joy, laughter–what I like to call “just the write escape.”
Christian fiction without apology or pretense–lived, not preached.
What does that even mean?
It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you.
But I do.
And I write for you. I sit in my little house in California’s Mojave Desert and I write to show you why one sister believes one thing, why a brother believes another. I write to show you how some Christians handle trials or triumphs–for you. So when you’re faced with something–good or bad, it doesn’t matter–maybe it’ll spark a memory. Maybe that memory will smolder until you pull out your Bible and see what the Lord said about it–about His great love for you. For YOU!
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll share that love with another hurting, confused, or blessed-with-more-than-she-knows-what-to-do-with soul.
I just happen to think that’s the most blessed giving anyone could hope to receive.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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December 22, 2022How does she doooo it? It never matters if I'm intrigued by the synopsis or even think the story or cover seems interesting at all, if it's Chautona Havig I love every minute of it. Best romance I've read in a really long time. Also hilarious.
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July 1, 2020Review: Mrs. Havig’s books are ones I always look forward to … Even when they cover subjects I would normally stay clear of, such as a single mother … Because they are so honest, so good, so well written, and have so much faith. Merri’s Christmas Mission is no different, it is another need to read Christmas noella.
Rating: 5 stars.
Recommendation: 18/19 due to mentions of an unwed mother, the word sex is used … Long story and yet it’s kind of all right, not used in a bad way but you’d have to read it!
Verse: 1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. (King James Version.)
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book from the author, I did not have to write a review, even a honest one but hey, I did because it’s that good.
Rating: 5 stars.
Recommendation: 18/19 due to mentions of an unwed mother, the word sex is used … Long story and yet it’s kind of all right, not used in a bad way but you’d have to read it!
Verse: 1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. (King James Version.)
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book from the author, I did not have to write a review, even a honest one but hey, I did because it’s that good.
April 20, 2022
I didn’t expect this book to be so humorous! The children kept me laughing all the way through, and Merri’s determination to just do what was best was inspiring. I was looking for a light, easy read that was preferably easy to put down and easy to get into again, but the first criterion didn’t quite work…I got sucked in near the end and finished it in a few back-to-back reading sessions. A light, delightful read. I can easily see myself rereading it one day!
July 1, 2018
“Merri’s Christmas Mission” by Chautona Havig
What a joyful and entertaining read that has several life lessons written throughout it. They are subtle, but they are there and they make the novella so much stronger.
Mary has always had a big and extravagant Christmas for her children. This year it won’t happen. They want one specific thing for their mother and nothing major from her. She doesn’t understand what has happened to her children and to the large Christmas days they have always have had.
What she learns along the way, as do the children, is doing things together is more meaningful, as is having the right people in one’s life. How that all works out is the fun part...
Rating: 4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨
What a joyful and entertaining read that has several life lessons written throughout it. They are subtle, but they are there and they make the novella so much stronger.
Mary has always had a big and extravagant Christmas for her children. This year it won’t happen. They want one specific thing for their mother and nothing major from her. She doesn’t understand what has happened to her children and to the large Christmas days they have always have had.
What she learns along the way, as do the children, is doing things together is more meaningful, as is having the right people in one’s life. How that all works out is the fun part...
Rating: 4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨
November 19, 2021
Merri is an unemployed single mother of mixed race children by different fathers. Merri’s wealthy parents have rejected her family because she had the children out of wedlock. The two older boys are part African-American and her young daughter is white like herself.
Her cousin Chris pays for the children’s private school. Merri spends her day at the free wi-fi coffee shop, entering contest, looking for coupons and jobs. Finally she gets a part time job at the coffee shop. She is participating in a daily entry for a pool table. Her closest competitor is an African-American named Barney, who runs the Mission.
Barney hires Merri to be the fundraiser for the Mission. In one day, she surpassed the former fundraiser annual donations. Barney and Merri are attracted to each other, but he must change her parenting style and relationship behavior with Christian scripture.
A touching Christian novel that doesn’t preach, but teaches through actions.
Her cousin Chris pays for the children’s private school. Merri spends her day at the free wi-fi coffee shop, entering contest, looking for coupons and jobs. Finally she gets a part time job at the coffee shop. She is participating in a daily entry for a pool table. Her closest competitor is an African-American named Barney, who runs the Mission.
Barney hires Merri to be the fundraiser for the Mission. In one day, she surpassed the former fundraiser annual donations. Barney and Merri are attracted to each other, but he must change her parenting style and relationship behavior with Christian scripture.
A touching Christian novel that doesn’t preach, but teaches through actions.
January 21, 2023
I really enjoyed the character's interactions in this story. The kiddos are great, and they realistically show the hierarchy that can take place when the oldest steps into the place of pseudo-parent. Barney is wonderful. I loved how understanding and compassionate he was with the children. He stepped into the role of "father" or maybe "uncle" without being asked, only he didn't just carelessly assume the role. He took the children's respect of him seriously. I had a hard time during parts of the story with Merri, when it seemed she fought truth just due to sheer stubbornness. Even when faced with the positive results of the opposite beliefs/actions, still she held tight to the point that she even sounded a bit bitter when her children seemed to take that different outlook. But then again, don't we all hold onto things we shouldn't? Maybe it's that reflection of ourselves, myself, that makes me cringe. And she does grow throughout the book.
December 31, 2025
What a delightful story to read around the Christmas holiday. It was such a sweet tale of a mom who just wanted to provide a memorable Christmas for her children, but couldn’t do it like she thought they wanted. And in walked a guy with a tender heart, willing to show them all God’s love.
This fun book by Chautona Havig was a delight. There were so many interesting twists and turns. I enjoyed the banter and drama between the two main characters and also with the children. What fun moments!
Chautona Havig is a talented author, and when I hear there's a new book out, I’ll make sure to read it because I know I’ll be blessed in the end.
This story features wonderful characters who are believable, fun, and very interesting, never dull. Chautona Havig always knows how to create clean reads with wonderful characters and settings.
This fun book by Chautona Havig was a delight. There were so many interesting twists and turns. I enjoyed the banter and drama between the two main characters and also with the children. What fun moments!
Chautona Havig is a talented author, and when I hear there's a new book out, I’ll make sure to read it because I know I’ll be blessed in the end.
This story features wonderful characters who are believable, fun, and very interesting, never dull. Chautona Havig always knows how to create clean reads with wonderful characters and settings.
July 28, 2020
Unemployed for 23 weeks, Merri has never forgotten that Christmas is coming up and she has to make it special for the children somehow. Then, Barney enters the plot. Working at the Mission, Barney reveals the true meaning of Christmas to Merri. What's more, her three kids consider him to be the best father candidate for them! Great character development and easy to read. The most enjoyable were the children's characters.
Yes, the plot is typically Christmas-themed, but the author brings in her special touch to the whole story.
Yes, the plot is typically Christmas-themed, but the author brings in her special touch to the whole story.
November 26, 2019
It definitely was a Merri Christmas
I loved this book! The characters were real. I loved how it was real life-there were obstacles to overcome and issues were dealt with but Chautona showed the true love that shown through because of Christ and how it changed people. I love Barney and the mission. You will enjoy this book if you like a happy ending and a storyline around Christmas!
I loved this book! The characters were real. I loved how it was real life-there were obstacles to overcome and issues were dealt with but Chautona showed the true love that shown through because of Christ and how it changed people. I love Barney and the mission. You will enjoy this book if you like a happy ending and a storyline around Christmas!
December 5, 2019
23 weeks of unemployment, and not one seconds has she forgotten.
Loving Christmas big time, how to celebrate, and for her kids.While kids are at school, she looked for jobs, then scrolling any sweepstakes, contests she could find. Beautiful story of realizing the beauty of family and doing things
together makes the holiday special. Always lessons to learn that are woven into her stories to make them special to read.
Loving Christmas big time, how to celebrate, and for her kids.While kids are at school, she looked for jobs, then scrolling any sweepstakes, contests she could find. Beautiful story of realizing the beauty of family and doing things
together makes the holiday special. Always lessons to learn that are woven into her stories to make them special to read.
December 14, 2022
The Perfect Story for Christmas
This is such a beautiful story! Barney shows us just how loving, forgiving, and redemptive God is. Christians are far from perfect, but this story reminds how God reaches out to us and heals us
I loved the characters. Their personalities are very thought out and fit into the story so well. I don’t always enjoy romance stories with kids written in, but the author did so well that you fall in love with each of them.
Lovely Christian fiction!
This is such a beautiful story! Barney shows us just how loving, forgiving, and redemptive God is. Christians are far from perfect, but this story reminds how God reaches out to us and heals us
I loved the characters. Their personalities are very thought out and fit into the story so well. I don’t always enjoy romance stories with kids written in, but the author did so well that you fall in love with each of them.
Lovely Christian fiction!
November 23, 2019
As of now, my favorite
As of this moment, this has been my favorite Christmas romance! Merri has three children, she has lost her job and doing all she can go provide a huge Christmas for her children.Enter Barney, from the Mission, who tries to show Merri what Christmas is truly about and three kids who think e is a perfect father candidate! What a story.
As of this moment, this has been my favorite Christmas romance! Merri has three children, she has lost her job and doing all she can go provide a huge Christmas for her children.Enter Barney, from the Mission, who tries to show Merri what Christmas is truly about and three kids who think e is a perfect father candidate! What a story.
August 1, 2020
Good story,
Enjoyed reading. I like this author. I will read more of her work. The children were interesting. A fun read. And I always enjoy a Christmas romance.
Enjoyed reading. I like this author. I will read more of her work. The children were interesting. A fun read. And I always enjoy a Christmas romance.
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August 25, 2020I'm still trying to decide how I want to rate this because I did enjoy it, but I need more time to decide. Also, review to come probably closer to Christmas time.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews