Notes from the Cottrills – Themes
As many of you know, we have a quarterly newsletter. And at some point, we started having different themes for each letter.
I’ve often wondered what those themes would look like in a big long list. Besides, after dozens of letters, I’m afraid I might start repeating myself! So I thought I’d try listing all the themes here – maybe more for my sake than yours!
Pre-2003
The regular themes really started in 2003, although we did have themes before then, such as a focus on Russia (December 1999), the handwritten letter (December 2001), and “Basic Training” (September 1999).
The “Notes” theme came from two places. First, Shari was using the theme in her newsletters before we were married, including “Notes of Prayer” and “Notes of Praise”. The concept of actually having little “notes” – short segments of information instead of a long letter, came from our friends the Kortens. Except they have “slices” instead of “notes”. 😀
2003-2021
| Date | Theme(s) | Theme Verse(s) |
|---|---|---|
| May 2003 | “Building Partnerships, Creating Vision” | Romans 10:14 |
| August 2003 | “What’s missing?” A glass half empty | Romans 6:23 |
| November 2003 | “Regalo” – gift – Christmas stockings | Luke 14:28-29 |
| February 2004 | The tower – the cost of discipleship | |
| May 2004 | The Metro (Mexico’s subway/train system) | |
| August 2004 | “What we wish we could tell you” | |
| November 2004 | Hope/Esperanza – Anchor/Ancla | Romans 2:12; Psalm 42:5; Hebrews 6:19 |
| February 2005 | “7” – seven years as missionaries, 7 things we’ve learned, etc. | |
| May 2005 | (M)Expedition – explorers, antique map | |
| August 2005 | Diary | 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 |
| November 2005 | Archery Target (why Mexico is strategic for world missions) | |
| February 2006 | “Two sides of the coin” (still in Canada, getting ready to move to Mexico) | |
| May 2006 | “Transplanting” – classic flower prints (packing up for Mexico) | 1 Corinthians 3:7-8 |
| August 2006 | “From here on in” (living out of suitcases until we settle in Mexico) | |
| November 2006 | “Just the FAQ” | |
| February 2007 | “Learning Curve” | |
| May 2007 | Puzzle pieces | |
| August 2007 | Kids (Notes from Hannah and Nathanael) | |
| November 2007 | (Not so much of a theme, but talked about the Day of the Dead in Mexico) | |
| February 2008 | “Thank You” | |
| May 2008 | Compass/Maps/Moving (to Ixtapaluca) | |
| September 2008 | (no theme) | |
| November 2008 | Highway Sign (challenge to come to Mexico) | Luke 2:30-32 |
| February 2009 | Word art – “Pour forth the memory of His abundant goodness” | Psalm 145:7 |
| May 2009 | Epicentre! (earthquake and H1N1 flu) | |
| August 2009 | Footprints (no, not the poem) – “We walk by faith, not by sight” | 2 Corinthians 5:7 |
| November 2009 | Cross/Gospel | (a whole bunch!) |
| February 2010 | (no theme, but talked about the Chalco Flood) | 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 |
| May 2010 | “It’s Called Community” – the birth of a new church | Acts 2:42 |
| August 2010 | “Picture This” (mostly photos) | |
| November 2010 | “God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” | Romans 4:17 |
| February 2011 | “Changing Challenges” | Daniel 2:20; Psalm 102:25-28 |
| May 2011 | “Linking Worlds” (chain links) | Galatians 3:28 |
| August 2011 | Shepherd | Acts 2:28 |
| November 2011 | Highlights | Psalm 77:11-14 |
| February 2012 | “. . . and that your fruit should abide” (classic fruit prints) | John 15:16 |
| May 2012 | “Overwhelmed?” | |
| August 2012 | “School Days!” (Hannah had completed 5 years in Mexican schools, Nathanael 3.5 years) | |
| November 2012 | Light/sunshine – classic story | (a whole bunch!) |
| February 2013 | “Making Space to Make Disciples” | |
| May 2013 | “This I confess to you…” Paul’s confession in the face of those who called his religion a “sect”. | Acts 24:14-15 |
| August 2013 | One Baptism | Ephesians 4:4-6 |
| November 2013 | Instagram – “The Goal of the Gifts” … they are for God’s glory! | 1 Peter 4:10-11 |
| February 2014 | “Pressing On” – the municipality of Ixtapaluca and future goals | Philippians 3:14 |
| May 2014 | “What. A. Sunday.” (first Sunday at the new property for the church in Jesús María) | Ephesians 1:15-18 |
| August 2014 | FAQ | |
| November 2014 | Facebook (and some Christmas carols) | |
| February 2015 | Retro – typewriter | Psalm 96:3 |
| May 2015 | The Lord of Time (T.A.R.D.I.S.) | (various) |
| August 2015 | Old (good) Newspaper | Acts 14:15 |
| November 2015 | History – of Camino Global, and our ministry in Mexico “It started with prayer . . .” | John 17:17 |
| February 2016 | Prayer Calendar | |
| May 2016 | Finding direction / compass | |
| August 2016 | RESET | 2 Corinthians 5:21 |
| November 2016 | New Life (the poinsettia) | |
| March 2017 | “A time to every purpose” – the year of our Lord – clock | Ecclesiastes 3:1 |
| May 2017 | Thanksgiving | Revelation 7:12 |
| August 2017 | “Serving Together” (dirt and shovels) | Mark 9:33-35 |
| November 2017 | “EARTHQUAKES” – life interrupted. This newsletter had a section “torn out” in the middle. | Psalm 5:11 |
| January 2018 | Love/garden (art by Hannah) | Romans 5:5 |
| May 2018 | “flourish like the palm tree” | Psalm 92:12; John 12:13 |
| August 2018 | “Down the road” (Littlest Hobo theme) – animal warning signs | Philippians 3:20 |
| November 2018 | Lamp | Psalm 18:28 |
| February 2019 | “Radical Change” | Ezekiel 36:26 |
| May 2019 | Tour brochure for Mexico City “Camino Tours invites you to discover . . .” | |
| July 2019 | “What you need to know about . . .” (featuring baking classes) | |
| November 2019 | Entrust (relay race) (featuring institute classes) | 1 Chronicles 22; 2 Timothy 2:2 |
| January 2020 | Almond Tree “He who supplies seed to the sower . . .” (featuring Hannah’s Columbia Team) | 2 Corinthians 9:10 |
| May 2020 | “What God ordains is always good . . .” (hymn) (featuring Jim and Hannah’s verse cards) | |
| August 2020 | “Opening up/Reopening” (doorway to the outdoors) (featuring Sunday morning setup) | Psalm 139:7 |
| November 2020 | “Be still my soul” (hymn) – ship in a storm (featuring Hannah’s graduation) | Romans 8:6 |
| February 2021 | A ROCK (featuring panoramic view of Ixtapaluca) | Romans 9:33 |
| May 2021 | Fellow workers (architect) (featuring outdoor market) | Mark 9:37-38; Colossians 4:11; 3 John 1:8 |
| August 2021 | The Pillar (the local church as “a pillar and buttress of the truth”) (featuring baptisms) | 1 Timothy 3:15-16 |
I realized as I went through these that a lot of them had a “theme within a theme” – and who knows if I even remember them all! I almost missed the Instagram one, based on the Instagram logo at the time.
Anyway, there you are. I see I haven’t repeated too much – although there were some close ones (“light” and “lamp”). I did repeat FAQ more or less, but that’s a good one to repeat once in a while!
Thanks for putting up with this post. Now let’s see . . . what will the next theme be?