Advent

It's not too early to be thinking about Advent.  What do you do in your home to keep Christ central in your Christmas celebrations & preparations? 

We have enjoyed this Names of Jesus paper chain in past years (link here).   

The children are very excited to do a Jesse tree this year.  (I ordered this one, though I'm sure you could make your own or find free printables.)

Our church's suggested resource this year is the book, Unwrapping the Names of Jesus.  A companion website is here.  If you provide your email, it opens a link to all sorts of resources ... bookmarks, prayer/ journaling pages for the names of Jesus, the weekly family Advent guide, and even Jesse tree ornaments!

Five Advent books I pulled off our shelf to peruse this year are:

Immanuel: A Daily Guide to Reclaiming the True Meaning of Christmas, by Ann Spangler 

"Drawing from her bestselling books Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus, Spangler selected six names or titles—including Immanuel, Yeshua, and Bright Morning Star. Each name offers a week’s worth of devotions focusing on God, the miraculous birth of his son, and the promise of his return."

Come Let Us Adore Him, by Robert J. Morgan  

Stories behind 30 of the most cherished Christmas hymns, and includes a CD.

The Nativity Collection, by Robert J. Morgan

Six stories that share the smiles, the heart, and the hope of Christmas. "Each story centers around a different Nativity, and how it impacts a family's legacy." 

Hidden Christmas, by Timothy Keller 

"a profoundly moving and intellectually provocative examination of the Nativity story."

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, edited by Nancy Guthrie

"a collection of 22 short readings drawn from the works of classic and contemporary theologians and Bible teachers that help readers to focus on and enter into the wonder of the incarnation of Jesus and the story of his birth."

 

Do you have certain books or devotionals you read each year at Christmas time?  My first year blogging, I wrote about what I was reading at Christmas (link here).