I love Christmas. I love the magic of it. The way it brings families together, puts smiles on faces, and creates traditions that last a lifetime. We love presents and blessing our boys like everyone else. The Marlin boys wake up anticipating gifts like children all over the world. But a few years ago, we tried to change our focus so that we were more intentional about the Christmas experience in our home. One can easily get caught up in mysterious elves that appear each morning, magical reindeer, and a jolly old soul that delivers presents to good little boys and girls! But if you throw in a little extra effort, I think our kids can walk away from the holiday season with a renewed sense of Christ and the tiny, yet majestic Savior that made His Bethlehem debut so many years ago.
So how do we do that? I find myself to be easily bored with routine. I can't seem to force myself to do the same thing every year, so we've consistently changed our celebrations the last few years... partly out of choice, and partly because we moved around the world. So if you are looking for some ideas to spice up your holidays, here's a look backward and forwards at some of the things we've done along the way!
The first year, I was in Lifeway and saw a kit called What God Wants for Christmas. You can see an old blog post on it here, but here's the overview. The kit includes a series of ornaments that you open. The ornaments are different characters that help tell the Christmas story. It was very poetic, so I had to do LOTS of revamping. But it got us started and the boys seemed to like it.
The second year, we moved to India, we barely managed a tree with a few presents, and we just "made it through" our first holiday alone. (the honest truth)
The third year, I came across a link called Truth in the Tinsel. We loved it. I ordered the eBook which gives you a short Scripture to read together, explicit directions to make an ornament as a reminder of the story, a way to talk about the story further, and something fun at the end to help apply the story. Although I did have to gather the supplies for each ornament, I found it easy (even in India) to substitute missing items for things I had and the results were equally as fabulous. And it's only $7.99. I would certainly be willing to use this kit again, but this year I just needed something a little simpler.
So that brings us to the present. We won't actually be at our house this Christmas. We are traveling to Thailand a few days before to await the arrival of these babies. But I didn't want to the boys to miss out on an advent countdown. I searched for a few days and considered quite a few things.
First, I ran across the Jesse Tree. There are lots of options out there. One of the most widely known was created by Ann Vonskamp. It's based on a scripture found in Chapter 11 of Isaiah:
Basically, the point of a Jesse Tree is that you trace the life of Jesus back to the very beginning of Creation, read portions of stories that lead up to the Christmas story, and color or cut out an ornament to place on your tree each night. Ann Vonskamp is a beautiful writer, so descriptive and colorful, but for my two boys, it was just a little too wordy. I wanted something that I didn't have to change and reword each night.
I also found a few other options by googling "Jesse Tree," and I found that I liked so many different pieces from different kits, so I just decided to create my own.
We love The Jesus Storybook Bible. It's beautifully written and every story really does lead towards the coming of our Savior at Christmas. We've already read through it twice, but it's been a year or so. So it was the perfect base for us to use. I found a kit that offered some free printable ornaments that somewhat match up with the stories in The Jesus Storybook Bible, and for the ones I'm missing, I'll just make up a quick, simple picture for the boys to color.
So here's what we are doing each night. We read the day's corresponding story from The Jesus Storybook Bible. Following that, we talk about what we can learn from the story and one of our family members prays a specific prayer that I have outlined. And finally, we color and attach an ornament on our tree for the evening. It doesn't take much time, much preparation, or much thought. But I have two boys who are anxious to read the next story each night, are seeing how they all weave together, and are anticipating the night when we see that Baby make His way into the world!
A look at our plan:
And the ornament pictures I'm using came from the following link:
Healthy Family Website
There are so many fun ways to celebrate the holidays, and these are just a few ideas. When asked to name the characters in the nativity scene this week, Max quickly identified "Baby Jesus" and "MOseph!" So I have my work cut out for me. Children will keep you on your toes and show you why being intentional is so important!
So how are you celebrating? Found any great ideas on the web? I hope this is your most memorable year yet!
So how do we do that? I find myself to be easily bored with routine. I can't seem to force myself to do the same thing every year, so we've consistently changed our celebrations the last few years... partly out of choice, and partly because we moved around the world. So if you are looking for some ideas to spice up your holidays, here's a look backward and forwards at some of the things we've done along the way!
The first year, I was in Lifeway and saw a kit called What God Wants for Christmas. You can see an old blog post on it here, but here's the overview. The kit includes a series of ornaments that you open. The ornaments are different characters that help tell the Christmas story. It was very poetic, so I had to do LOTS of revamping. But it got us started and the boys seemed to like it.
The second year, we moved to India, we barely managed a tree with a few presents, and we just "made it through" our first holiday alone. (the honest truth)
The third year, I came across a link called Truth in the Tinsel. We loved it. I ordered the eBook which gives you a short Scripture to read together, explicit directions to make an ornament as a reminder of the story, a way to talk about the story further, and something fun at the end to help apply the story. Although I did have to gather the supplies for each ornament, I found it easy (even in India) to substitute missing items for things I had and the results were equally as fabulous. And it's only $7.99. I would certainly be willing to use this kit again, but this year I just needed something a little simpler.
So that brings us to the present. We won't actually be at our house this Christmas. We are traveling to Thailand a few days before to await the arrival of these babies. But I didn't want to the boys to miss out on an advent countdown. I searched for a few days and considered quite a few things.
First, I ran across the Jesse Tree. There are lots of options out there. One of the most widely known was created by Ann Vonskamp. It's based on a scripture found in Chapter 11 of Isaiah:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
I also found a few other options by googling "Jesse Tree," and I found that I liked so many different pieces from different kits, so I just decided to create my own.
We love The Jesus Storybook Bible. It's beautifully written and every story really does lead towards the coming of our Savior at Christmas. We've already read through it twice, but it's been a year or so. So it was the perfect base for us to use. I found a kit that offered some free printable ornaments that somewhat match up with the stories in The Jesus Storybook Bible, and for the ones I'm missing, I'll just make up a quick, simple picture for the boys to color.
So here's what we are doing each night. We read the day's corresponding story from The Jesus Storybook Bible. Following that, we talk about what we can learn from the story and one of our family members prays a specific prayer that I have outlined. And finally, we color and attach an ornament on our tree for the evening. It doesn't take much time, much preparation, or much thought. But I have two boys who are anxious to read the next story each night, are seeing how they all weave together, and are anticipating the night when we see that Baby make His way into the world!
A look at our plan:
Day 1- Creation (Genesis 1-2) Read pages 18-27
(Ornament: Earth/Creation)
Prayer: Thank you for making the world.
Day 2- The Fall (Genesis 3) Read pages 28-37 (Ornament: Fruit Tree)
Day 2- The Fall (Genesis 3) Read pages 28-37 (Ornament: Fruit Tree)
Prayer:
Keep us from doing things that You unhappy.
Day 3- The Flood (Genesis 6-9) Read pages 38-47
(Ornament: Rainbow)
Prayer: Thank you for keeping Your promises.
Day 4- Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) Read pages
48-55 (Ornament: Tower)
Prayer: Lord, thank you for making a Way for us
to go to
Heaven.
Day 5- The Promise to Abraham (Genesis 12-21)
Read pages
56-61 (Ornament: Stars in the Sky)
Prayer:
Help us to trust You to do what You say.
Day 6- Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) Read pages
62-69
(Ornament: Ram)
Prayer: Thank you for all the ways You provide
for us.
Day 7- Jacob, Rachel, and Leah (Genesis 29-30)
Read pages
70-75 (Ornament: Stalks of Grain)
Prayer: Help us to remember that You love us no
matter
what!
Day 8- Joseph (Genesis 37-46) Read pages 76-83 (Ornament: A
Rainbow
Coat)
Prayer: Help us be kind to everyone, even when
others aren’t kind to us.
Day 9- Moses and the Flee from Egypt (Exodus 3-13)
Read
pages 84-91 (Ornament: A Burning Bush)
Prayer: Lord, thank you for always providing for
us (ex.
Family, house, food, health, friends)
Day 10- Moses and the Red Sea (Exodus 14-15) Read
pages
92-99 (Ornament: The Split Waters)
Prayer: When we feel like we have no where else
to turn,
remind us You are there to lead us.
Day 11- The Law (Exodus 16-17) Read pages 100-107
(Ornament: Stone
Tablets)
Prayer:
Thank you for giving us rules to guide us.
Day 12- Joshua and Jericho (Joshua 3-6) Read
pages 108-115
(Ornament: Trumpet)
Prayer: Help us to trust Your plan for our life,
even when
we don’t understand it.
Day 13- David's Anointing (1 Samuel 16) Read pages
116-121
(Ornament: David the Shepherd Boy)
Prayer: Thank you for the special plans You have
for
each of our lives, no matter how young or old we
are.
Day 14- David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) Read
pages 122-129
(Ornament: Slingshot)
Prayer: Remind us when things in life seem too big that You are bigger and more
powerful than ANYTHING!
Day 15- David the Shepherd (Psalm 23, 51) Read
pages 130-
135 (Ornament: Lyre)
Prayer: Thank you for the Good Shepherd, Your
Son, to
watch over us and care for us.
Day 16- Naaman (2 Kings 5) Read pages 136-143 (Ornament: A
Heart)
Prayer:
Thank you for healing our bodies when we are
sick and our hearts when we disobey You.
Day 17- Isaiah (Isaiah 9) Read pages 144-151 (Ornament: Crown)
Prayer: Help us to tell the our friends and
family the wonderful plan that You have for them to go to heaven.
Day 18- Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6) Read
pages152-
159 (Ornament: Daniel and a Lion)
Prayer: Help us to trust You and love You more
than
anything else.
Day 19- Jonah (Jonah 1-4) Read pages 160-169 (Ornament: Big
fish)
Prayer:
Thank you that You never stop loving us!
Day 20- The Prophets (Nehemiah 8-10) Read pages
170-175
(Ornament: Party Hat)
Prayer: Remind us to celebrate You and all you have done for us daily!
Day 21- John the Baptist (Matthew 3) Read pages
200-203
(Ornament: John Baptizing Believers)
Prayer: Forgive us for the things we do that
displease
You.
Change our hearts.
Day 22- Mary and the Angel (Luke 1-2) Read pages
176-179
(Ornament: An Angel)
Prayer: Thank you that NOTHING is impossible with
You!
Day 23- Journey to Bethlehem (Luke 1-2) Read
pages 180-
181 (Ornament: A Donkey or a Stable)
Prayer: Please guide us wherever we go and in
whatever
we are doing.
Day 24- The Shepherds and Wise Men (Luke 2, matt
2) Read
pages 184-188 (Ornament: The Three Wise Men)
Prayer: Help us to find Jesus in this Christmas
season
and remember what He did for us!
Day 25- Jesus is Born! (Luke 2) Read pages 182,
190, 192-
198 (Ornament: Baby Jesus)
Prayer: Thank you for the most wonderful gift- Your Son!
And the ornament pictures I'm using came from the following link:
Healthy Family Website
There are so many fun ways to celebrate the holidays, and these are just a few ideas. When asked to name the characters in the nativity scene this week, Max quickly identified "Baby Jesus" and "MOseph!" So I have my work cut out for me. Children will keep you on your toes and show you why being intentional is so important!
So how are you celebrating? Found any great ideas on the web? I hope this is your most memorable year yet!
No comments:
Post a Comment