Advent starts on Sunday and I could not be more excited about the holiday season. All of it. Decorating the tree while listening to Folk Angel. Hot chocolate and Christmas lights and long drives. Home Alone and Elf and Die Hard. And woven through it all, teaching our boy the tradition of Advent as we gather together each night to celebrate who Jesus is and the beauty of His name.
Before Moses came home, I began looking through family Advent studies and just couldn't find one that matched what I was looking for. I wanted one that focused on the names of Jesus while at the same time had simple activities to keep my little one engaged and involved. I looked and found some things but never quite what I was looking for. Some focused solely on the names of Jesus while others focused solely on events and activities. Some required my money and my mad Pinterest skills, neither of which I felt excited about or capable of. And so, I decided to just come up with my own. That first year though? Moses didn't speak English so we didn't do anything more than settle into our new life as a family of three and pour our hearts and souls into helping our little one adjust. Then the next year happened. I planned our little study and hung it in Moses' room and we started off strong. But then Jones was born, I thought I was dying from some still unidentified illness, and I had to ship Moses off to my mom's for days on end while I recovered and cared for our newborn. So, it didn't happen again and the Advent chain hung in Moses' room until just 5 days ago when I finally took it down. But this year? This year I am determined and ready to celebrate Advent with my people.
Before I say more... two little shout outs. Funnily enough, this year an Advent study did come out that is
right along the lines of what I was looking for all along. Like, almost
identical. It's called Sacred Holidays and their little gem of a study
focuses on the attributes of God for the entire month leading up to
Christmas. It's simple, intentional, and fun and full of great devotions
for your family. I actually contributed to their study this year and think the work they are doing is great. Unfortunately, the Family Study is already sold out
this year, but be sure to check them out next Christmas. And second, 100 Days With Jesus over on Instagram. They study the names of Jesus for the 100 days leading up to Christmas and their feed greatly inspired my own little amateur endeavor. Both of these studies are great and should be considered if you are looking for ways to celebrate Advent with your family!
Below is my own little homemade version of the things I wanted to teach Moses about Jesus this Christmas season. Though it is written with my family in mind (and therefore includes some resources that we own and outings to places we live near), I wanted to post it just in case you other mommas out there are looking for something similar. What's mine is yours so feel free to take it and tweak it and adapt it for your family.
Here you go:
Sunday, November 27 | Baby | Talk about babies…What are babies like? What is Jones like? Talk about how amazing it was that God came to earth as a baby; that the Savior of the whole world left His glorious throne in Heaven to be born into a broken world among animals in a barn. Then read Luke 2:8-14 and act out the story using the Little People Nativity Scene.
Monday, November 28 | Immanuel | Read Matthew 1:23. Talk about the significance of names. Donald means “World Ruler”. Courtney means “Short Nose”. Moses means “Drawn Out”. Jones means “God is Gracious.” Talk about why we chose such significant names for our boys and then talk about how Immanuel is a name that was used to describe Jesus. It means “God with us”. Talk about how Jesus came to live with and among people and how He is always with us.
Tuesday, November 29 | Carpenter | Read Mark 6:1-6. Let Moses hammer some nails into a block of wood. Talk about how Jesus was fully God, but also fully man. He was a man just like daddy. He had a job and his job was a carpenter. He built and fixed things. Talk about how it was hard for Jesus’ family and friends to recognize Him as God because they only thought of Him as an ordinary man.
Wednesday, November 30 | Healer | Read Matthew 8:14-17. Talk about how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Talk about how Jesus has healed Moses’ itchy skin. Talk about how just like our physical bodies get sick and hurt and need to be healed, so too are our hearts sick with sin. Talk about how Jesus is the only one who can heal our sinful hearts.
Thursday, December 1 | Almighty God | God is Almighty- nothing is too hard for Him. Have DJ and Moses do a couple of strength games: arm wrestling, wrestling match, lifting contest, etc. Talk about how strong DJ is compared to Moses and then talk about how much stronger God is. He is the strongest one. Nothing is too hard for Him. Read Isaiah 59:1 (NLT) and talk about how the Lord is strong enough to save us.
Friday, December 2 | Servant | Read Philippians 2:7. Talk about what a servant is. Talk about how Jesus was both a servant and a King. Read The Servant and The King on page 286 in The Jesus Storybook Bible and then discuss ways that we can serve like Jesus.
Saturday, December 3 | Deliverer | Read Galatians 1:3-5. Deliverer means one that saves from danger or destruction. Firemen deliver people from fires. Policemen deliver people from bad guys. Doctors deliver people from sickness. Talk about how we are all in danger of death and eternal separation from God, but that Jesus died to deliver us!
Sunday, December 4 | Friend | Talk about friendship. Who are our best friends? Why do we like them? How do we spend time with them? The Bible says that God is our friend too. Read Exodus 33:11 and talk about how we can be friends with God. He wants to walk with us and talk with us and spend time with us. Read Friend of Sinners in Thoughts To Make Your Heart sing and/or John 15:13 to see the different ways that Jesus modeled friendship for us.
Monday, December 5 | Advocate | An advocate is someone who pleads on behalf of another. Show Moses pictures of when we went to court. He did not have to appear before a judge to ask for a family, because we did it for him! We went to the judge and advocated on his behalf; we fought to bring him into our family! Satan accuses us of our sin, but we do not have to appear before God because Jesus has already gone before us. Jesus advocated to the Father on our behalf and fought to bring us into His family.
Tuesday, December 6 | Indescribable Gift | Talk about all the presents Moses got for his birthday today. Have him describe his presents; what they are like and what he enjoys about them. Then read 2 Corinthians 9:15 and talk about how Jesus is the very best gift. He is so good that there are not enough words to fully describe Him!
Wednesday, December 7 | King of Kings | Talk about how a King is someone who is in charge of a whole country. Use the examples of Daddy being in charge of our family; a teacher being in charge of a class, and the President being in charge of our country. Some countries do not have Presidents, but kings who rule all the people who live there. Jesus is the King of Kings! He is in charge of every other king and of the whole world. He deserves our honor, respect, love, trust, and obedience. Read The King of all Kings on page 192 in the Jesus Storybook Bible and act it out with the Little People Nativity Scene.
Thursday, December 8 | Nazarene | Read Matthew 2:23. Look at the map and talk about where we are from. Just like Moses is Korean because he is from Korea, Jesus is called a Nazarene because he was from Nazareth. Point out Nazareth on the map and talk about what it is like there. Look at pictures online and eat pita bread and hummus as a snack.
Friday, December 9 | Light of the World | Go look at Christmas lights. Discuss John 8:12. Talk about light- how it lights up the darkness and helps us to see. Jesus is the light. He lights up the darkness of our sinful, broken world and helps us to see the Truth.
Saturday, December 10 | Everlasting God | Read Isaiah 9:6 and talk about what the word Everlasting means. Read Matthew 6:19-24 and talk about how nothing here on earth will last forever, but that Jesus alone is everlasting. Read God is Forever.
Sunday, December 11 | Living Water | Have a club soda date and watch Episode 3: The Water on Owlegories. Read John 4:7-14. Talk about how just like we cannot live without water and how it satisfies our thirst, so too can we not live without Jesus. He completely satisfies all our desires and needs!
Monday, December 12 | Bread of Life | Bring home hot chocolate and pumpkin bread from Starbucks and watch The Bread on Owlegories together as a family. Read John 6:35. Just like our physical bodies need bread (food) to live and be healthy and strong, so too do our spiritual hearts need Jesus to live. We eat food every day to survive; we should spend time with Jesus each day too! Talk about different ways that we can spend time with Jesus throughout the day.
Tuesday, December 13 | Savior | Recap what it means that Jesus is a Deliverer and talk about how a Savior is similar; Jesus saves, or rescues, us from our sin. Talk about what sin is and why we need to be saved from it. Talk about how loving, trusting and believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection is the only way we can be saved from our sin.
Wednesday, December 14 | Intercessor | Talk about prayer; what it is, the people and things we pray for, and why we pray. Read Romans 8:34 and talk about how Jesus prays for us too!
Thursday, December 15 | Sovereign | Point out Sovereign on The Attributes Of God Poster. Talk about how God is in charge of everything and how He uses all things, even the bad things, for our good. Talk about different ways we have seen God’s sovereignty in our lives.
Friday, December 16 | Creator | Go to Holidays at the Heard. Afterwards, talk about the dinosaurs and all the things we saw on the nature trail. Read Colossians 1:16-17 and talk about how God is the creator of all things.
Saturday, December 17 | Sinless | Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. Talk about how Jesus was sinless; he was never disrespectful, never unkind, never angry for the wrong reasons. Never, not even once! Think about what it must have been like to be around Jesus who knew no sin. Talk about the great exchange and how Jesus exchanged his sinless life for our sinful ones.
Sunday, December 18 | Rock | Talk about the differences between a big rock and sand. Then read The Wise and Foolish Builders on page 191 in The Gospel Story Bible. Jesus is our support, our foundation and our refuge; talk about how we can build our lives on Him.
Monday, December 19 | Prince of Peace | Read John 14:7. Talk about what it means to be at peace. Testify to times that Lord has given us His peace that surpasses all understanding.
Tuesday, December 20 | Comforter | Read John 14:16. Talk about the things that comfort us and how Jesus is the one true Comforter. Read Comforter on page 142 of Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing.
Wednesday, December 21 | Man of Sorrows | Read Isaiah 53:3. Talk about what it means that Jesus was a man of sorrows and why he was well acquatinted with sadness and grief. He knows what it means when we feel disappointed and sad. He understands when we feel that way and He can comfort us in our sorrow.
Thursday, December 22 | Consuming Fire | Turn on the fireplace and read Hebrews 12:29. Talk about times God appeared as a fire in scripture (Moses & the burning bush, leading the Israelites by a pillar of fire, etc). Watch The Fire on Owlegories.
Friday, December 23 | Exact Representation | Read Hebrews 1:1-3. Talk about how God the Father is a spirit; we can not see Him but we can look to Jesus to know what He is like. Jesus is all of God poured into flesh. He is the exact and perfect representation of who God is.
Saturday, December 24 | Gentle | Read Matthew 11:29. Talk about what it means that Jesus is gentle. Talk about times that Momma and Daddy have been gentle, and times that we have fallen short. Talk about how Jesus is perfectly gentle with us all of the time. He is strong but never rough. He is in charge, but never mean. He tells the truth, but is never ugly about it. He is kind and never harsh.
Sunday, December 25 | JESUS’ BIRTHDAY!
Much love and happy Adventing,
courtney
