Advent, Advent! There are so many wonderful things I could say about this favorite season! I always feel like every effort focused on waiting* and preparing for Christmas is a little victory that will help my family better celebrate the birth of Christ.
Whether you light a candle each evening, read a book set aside for the season**, or change up your family’s prayer time a bit, Advent offers lots of opportunities to grow in faith!
The devotion I’d like to mention today is an ancient tradition that helps us recall the long, long wait for the arrival of the Savior. It’s called a Jesse Tree (from the promise in Isaiah 11:1-4) and simply involves recalling a little piece of salvation history each day throughout Advent. From creation to the manger, presenting this long wait as chapters in a single story is an immensely valuable way to give your family an abiding sense of God’s love and His plan for us!
A beautiful way to do that is with the ornaments created by Jane and Angie at Jesse Tree Treasures. Not only are they heirloom quality, but they are kid safe and come with the Scripture references you need to make this a successful prayer and story time throughout the entire season. If you would like to put together a custom set to match your favorite children’s Bible, they’ll help you with that. If you would like to extend the tradition with additional sets, they do that too.
Advent starts on December 3 this year so this would be the best time to order to make sure you’re ready to go.
Family Formation 