Celebrating Advent, Books for Advent

 Some Advent/Christmas resources for children

Mary's First Christmas

Song of the Stars (All Creation Has Been Waiting)

A Christmas Story

Good News of Great Joy

Papa Panov's Special Day (Tolstoy's 'Where Love Is, God Is')

Room for a Little One (especially for very little children)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (read it to middle schoolers)

The first Sunday of Advent is a week from today, on November 30. For the next four Sundays and then Christmas Eve, we will ponder the prophecy of a promised Redeemer and fulfillment of that prophecy in God coming to rescue His people.

^"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Why celebrate Advent? Taking the time to sit down with the family and read the Scriptures in the weeks preceding Christmas keeps us focused on what exactly it is that we are celebrating. As Christians, we could complain that consumerism has hijacked Christmas and have nothing whatsoever to do with it, but why would we not want to contemplate the Creator and Savior of the world who loved us enough to become one of us, to save us?  Why would we not want to be reminded, once again, of the message of the prophets and the fulfillment found in Jesus? He is our Light, our Hope, our only Savior.

 My new favorite this year:

 Unwrapping the Greatest Gift

A Book for Families by Ann Voskamp

The Jesse Tree, December 1 - 25 readings about the lineage of Jesus.

Not only a wonderful book for Advent, but beautiful artwork and printed on quality paper.
(If you're like me, you notice that kind of stuff.)

From the Preface:

'If we want our Christmas tree to really stand wondrous and full of meaning, the tree we really need to understand and be astonished by is the family tree of Jesus Christ. Because this is our story - your story.

God doesn't cut off all the big cheaters, bad liars, weaselly sneakers, battling brothers, fighting families, and brokenhearted from His family tree - He makes families just like these perfectly His! He adopts all the messy and broken and imperfect people into His tree and His story and His heart, and He gives us His family name. He gives us His absolutely perfectness and makes us alive and fully free.'

A few more resources for Advent

which I've used over the years

Come Thou, Long Expected Jesus by Nancy Guthrie and R. Kent Hughes

God Rest Ye Merry by Douglas Wilson

Family Celebrations for Christmas by Ann Hibbard

Christ in Christmas - A Family Advent Celebration by various authors

Along with those pictured above, I also have, on my Kindle,  G.K. Chesterton's Advent and Christmas Wisdom and Dietrich Bonhoffer's God is in the Manger, Reflections on Advent and Christmas.

"There is a place in one of Martin Luther's Nativity sermons where he asks something like, 'Do you know what a stable smells like?  Do you know what that family would have smelled like after the birth when they went out into the city? And if they were standing next to you, how would you have felt about them and regarded them?' He is saying, 'I want you to see Christ in the neighbor you tend to despise, in the political party you despise, in the race you despise, in the class of people you despise.

'Christmas is the end of thinking you are better than someone else because Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you..." - T. Keller, from Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Check out a prior blog post about making an Advent wreath 
and celebrating Advent.

Why did I post this a week early? Just as a reminder to gather your resources, and so that I could share some of my favorites, with which you may not be familiar. I encourage you to celebrate Advent. It will transform your Christmas season and perhaps even transform your life.

I am thankful for excellent Christian writers who help me better celebrate Advent.

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties:  Amaze Me Monday and Inspiration Monday and Mosaic Monday and The Barn Collective and    Treasure Box Tuesday and Vintage Bliss Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Our World Tuesday and Tuesdays at our Home and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Vintage Inspiration Wednesday and Ivy and Elephants Wednesday and Adorned From Above  and Artsy Corner Thursday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Saturday's Critters