I LOVE December for many reasons. There is something in the air, literally that just makes it one of my favorite months. All the shopping, festive lights, trees, carols, baking cookies for Santa, it’s all just so much fun!
That said, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the real meaning of the “season”. It is important to our family to remember why we celebrate this holiday and to teach our children just that. It’s not about how many Christmas parties we can go to, or how many gifts we receive, it’s about the greatest gift of all, Jesus!
My friend Maggie Bokros has written an e-Book called “Celebrating The Season: An Advent Study”. I am amazed by the amount of content and ideas this e-Book has in it. You can tell she’s put a lot of hard work, prayer, and thought into creating this and it definitely shows!
Some have no idea what Advent is. What is Advent? As Maggie puts it: “Advent means “coming” or “arrival”. The purpose of the season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the anticipation of his return. For individuals this season can be a symbol of their own personal spiritual journey in acknowledging that Jesus Christ did come, He’s present in the world today, and He will come again. The season of Advent is a season of preparation, marked by prayer, as we await the redeeming light of our Savior.”
She refers to a Jesse Tree in this e-Book and again, many aren’t aware of what that is. Again, Maggie easily explains that a Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots.” It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected Messiah (for example, Jeremiah 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God. “
The e-Book is broken down into age groups. So, if you have young children or older children, it has something for everyone – even parents! I don’t’ want to give away what is included in this e-Book but it’s everything you could possibly need to help guide your family through the REAL meaning of this season.
We will be going through this study together as a family beginning on December 1st. There will be a few days that we are away from our children in December so we’ll either get a head of the days or catch up once we return, but we will have our last lesson be on the 25th no matter what.
You can purchase this e-Book on Maggie’s site by clicking here. Stop by again and check out our updates from “Celebrating The Season” and how we’re teaching our children (and we as parents are learning too!) about the true meaning of Christmas.
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