David Meigs is a novelist with a background in youth outreach, specializing in ministry to at-risk youth and their families. Though his writing is enjoyed by all ages, his novels provide a unique, life-changing quality, critical for the youth of today. David and his family lives in Seabeck, Washington, where he serves his church as youth pastor.

Is it just me, or does Christmas come just a little bit sooner with each passing year? Not that I’m getting old or anything, mind you. Don’t let this gray hair fool you; I’m still young at heart. When I look in the mirror, I still see a young, fit and trim, thirty-something-year-old version of myself. It is only after I put on the reading glasses that come with these fifty-something-year-old eyeballs that reality hits me.

With each year that passes, I hurt in new places, adding to my ever-growing list of aches and pains. Oh the joys of getting older. However, growing longer in the tooth has its benefits. It took me a little longer than most folks, but I’ve learned a few things as I’ve put on the years. I seem to be finally learning from my mistakes and don’t appear to shoot myself in the foot as often as I used to. Praise God for that—I made some big mistakes when I was a young man.

As I sit here contemplating yet another Christmas, I ask myself what I would wish for if I could have anything. The answer came to mind without a moment’s hesitation. No, I didn’t wish for a new home to replace the one that burned down last Christmas.

What I want—what I really, really want is a miracle for my son with autism. In all of his seventeen years, I’ve never been able to have a conversation with him. He’s never been able to tell me about his hurts and pains, or what he dreams to be when he grows up. I don’t even know what his concept of Jesus is, beyond our nightly routine bedtime prayers.

I don’t know what you might wish for, but I can highly recommend two life-transforming novels with a special Christmas theme. Both books are sure to make the perfect gift for the loved ones on your Christmas list. While you are at it, be sure to pick up an extra copy for yourself. You will be glad you did.

The Christmas Glass  GuidepostsBooks (Oct 2009)

In the early days of World War II in Italy, Anna, a young widow who runs a small orphanage, carefully wraps her most cherished possessions—a dozen hand-blown, German-made, Christmas ornaments, handed down by her mother—and sends them to a cousin she hasn’t seen in years.

Anna is distressed to part with her only tangible reminder of her mother, but she worries that the ornaments will be lost or destroyed in the war, especially now that her orphanage has begun to secretly shelter Jewish children. Anna’s young cousin Filomena is married with two-year-old twins when she receives the box of precious Christmas glass.

After the war, Filomena immigrates to America, where the precious ornaments are passed down through the generations. After more than forty years, twelve people come to possess a piece of Christmas glass, some intimately connected by family bonds, some connected only through the history of the ornaments. As Christmas Day approaches, readers join each character on a journey of laughter and tears, fractures and healings as Filomena, now an eighty-four-year-old great-grandmother, brings them all to what will be either a wondrous reunion or a disaster that may shatter them all like the precious glass they cherish.

The Christmas Lamp  Zondervan (Oct 2009)

When the small town of Nativity, Missouri, loses its much-needed seasonal business, more than the economy suffers. Lifelong resident Roni Elliot clashes with the new outside consultant Jake Brisco, whose drastic budget slashing threatens the traditions and spirit of Nativity. However, as forgotten joys rekindle and new traditions emerge, Christmas once again becomes a season of hope.