Can I Share Something?
A Confession ...
It was December 3rd and I had yet to pull the Christmas Bin from the basement closet.
Inside languished our wooden Advent Calendar: a festive red and white box with twenty-four numbered doors just the right size to stock with wrapped holiday candies. We would be three doors behind if I pulled it out today.
Every year I enter the holiday season with Grand Intentions: I will teach every Christmas Carol to the children! We’ll bake cookies every single day (and won’t gain an ounce)! We’ll read from a Jesse Tree devotional over a home-cooked dinner each and every night! We’ll watch all the Christmas movies, and celebrate St. Nicholas Day, and…
The days in December fly by in a blur of parties, events, obligations, and more opportunities for activities than we could possibly attend or accomplish. All good things, true. But each year I wish I’d given my children a more substantive understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.
I long for them to understand how Christmas has been celebrated in the past and what the traditions they know so well—like stockings and twinkling lights—actually mean. Every year I have ideas, links to recipes, crafts, movies, books, songs I know the children would love, but the busyness of daily life pushes them to every tomorrow’s to-do list.
Which leads me here. I began assembling The Joy of Advent website (and book!) years ago for myself and for my own family. I wanted to live each day of the Advent season with intentionality: to preserve our traditions, develop new ones, and provide my children (and myself) with meaningful holiday memories. I wanted to extend Christmas through Epiphany as did the early church. And I wanted my children to grow up knowing—and understanding—why we celebrate Christmas at all.
Now I’m absolutely delighted, in the true spirit of the holiday, to share our family’s celebration with you. I pray that you will be blessed as you join my family in celebrating the rich and meaningful holiday seasons of Advent and Christmas.
Scroll down for recent posts, all from my website, Joy of Advent. Thank you for sharing JOY with me this season!
Rebecca
What's My Secret to JOY this Advent?
This One Easy Resource
Every day during Advent and Christmastide for years my family has found joy and delight in the day's Jesse Tree figure with a reading, classic work of art, and stunning Christmas Carol curated from the hundreds of thousands on YouTube. Several years ago we began sending our celebration as an emailed Digital Advent Calendar to allow everyone to share in the JOY!
Join nearly 1,500 subscribers and simplify your celebration with this link, or tap below! All who subscribe TODAY will receive an exclusive Jesse Tree printable in our Thanksgiving Day email.
