Merry Christmas!
I really want to keep all the warm, toasty, sparkly, wonder-filled awe of Christmas centered in Christ. Who he is and what he did for us is so beautiful, but it can get lost in all the busy and rush of the holidays.
One lovely way to keep the focus on Jesus is to celebrate Advent. Every night in December we read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible. Each story from the Old Testament tells how it ties in with Jesus. For example, in the story of David and Goliath, it doesn't teach:
So trust God and be brave like Daniel. That's a fine thing to take away from that story, but it's not the
main thing to take away. The JSB points to Jesus, who, like David, would one day take on the enemy of God's people and rescue them. On Christmas day, we'll read the one where he's born.
Last year we read the stories in order in December and it was simply lovely. The stories are so beautiful, that I find my voice catching and my eyes filling as I read them. I think you would be blessed by reading these stories leading up to Christmas, no matter what age you are!
This year, I found
this blog which had small circular pictures of the stories in order and with a small number at the bottom, and I thought I could put them on ornaments. Then I found
this tree (at Homegoods, so even cheaper!), which had magnetic ornaments just the right size and shape. I painted the ornaments, leaving the gold "hook" on top unpainted, and part of the base. Then I cut the story pictures out and modge-podged them onto the ornaments. My crafting skill level is LOW, so this is an easy one! (It's also inexpensive. I used paint I had on hand, two 50 cent foam brushes (one for paint and one for modge-podge) and the tree ($15ish). You also need the Jesus Storybook Bible, but I already had that and it's totally worth it if you need to buy it!)
This is what we started with:
Here's the finished product:
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| Christmas! |
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| The ornaments up close. |
I love it! Lucy has enjoyed this special story time we spend together so much! She likes looking for the number of the ornament that comes next. She finds the right one and we read that story. We also light a candle for our story and then blow it out at the end. I'll definitely be using this year after year, and I wanted to share it because it's a (cheap, easy) fun way to celebrate Jesus all through the month.
Happy celebrating, and Merry Christmas!
