Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

I'm one of those people that puts up their Christmas decor before Thanksgiving. It's not because I love Christmas more than other holidays, but it's because I want to be able to really enjoy the entire month of December. Those days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are so easily filled with parties and dinners and gifts and travels.  I wanted to really slow down and prepare for Christ's birth this year. I wanted time read to the kids and help them (especially Hudson) to anticipate the celebration of Christ's birth.

I also was kind of whining to the Lord, telling Him that I needed another hour in the day to just sit in the living room and prepare my heart for Christmas. And, in a weird way, the Lord answered the prayer. I am not a morning person, but Nora has decided to start getting up an hour and a half earlier than the rest of the house. So, the Lord gave me an extra hour (even though that's not how I would have answered that prayer!) to sit in the living room with the Christmas lights sparkling. I'm reading an advent book and trying to use that time to slow down and prepare my heart.

The words from a song we sang on Sunday keep playing over and over in my mind. It's not a Christmas song, but it is ministering to me this season.

There's nothing worth more that will ever come close

No thing can compare, You're our living hope

Your presence, Lord

I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves

When my heart becomes free and my shame is undone

Your presence, Lord

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord

Let us become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness

And that is my prayer - that the Holy Spirit is welcome in my heart as I celebrate this Christmas. I want to be so aware of His presence and His goodness. 

I want to pass this concept on to my family. A simple advent calendar is the tool that I have chosen to use this year. 

My best friend cut me 25 wood slices from a tree branch. I sanded them and cleaned them up. Stencils and black paint created the bold numbers that I was wanting. My husband drilled a small hole in the top of each ornament and baker's twine finished up the project. 

We are going to use the Jesus Storybook Bible for our readings. I wrapped the cover in Christmas paper, just like I used to wrap my text books in high school. There are 24 stories (including the birth of Jesus and the wisemen) and I love that each story (even Noah and creation) point to Jesus and His coming to earth. 

After we read the story, we will place a numbered ornament on the little Christmas tree in Hudson's room. 

Hudson has loved helping me prepare the ornaments. He was quick to remind me today that we were going to read and put up the number 2. 

My hope is that this daily activity will help us to prepare our hearts and "become more aware of His presence." 

PS. Next year, before December, I hope to have some advent ornament sets (like this one and other variations) to sell in CoveyCreations. Be on the lookout! 

DIY Advent Calendar Kit

For the Christmas Tea last week, I needed favors for my table. I thought about chocolates. I thought about ornaments. Finally, I decided on DIY Advent Calendar Kits. 

I simply cut flags from cardstock. I used two different shaped flags so that I could get the most use out of my cardstock. 

Each kit also got 10-ish feet of baker's twine and 25 clothespins. I purchased a large amount of this baker's twine over a year ago. I use it all the time - wrapping gifts, etc. and I still have so much left. It was a good investment, to be sure. I measured how much string would be needed to hang all 25 flags - across a doorway top, along the top of a hutch, or even just on the wall.

I stamped each flag using my date stamp. These stamps are pretty inexpensive and I use mine all the time. 

I hoped that the guests at my table could take this home and use it to count down to Christmas. They could write on the tag what Scripture they plan to read. Or clip a 3x5 card to each dated flag with an activity or scripture reference. They could even clip an ornament for each day, hanging them on a little tree as the days pass. 

I packaged the kits in plain brown lunch sacks. 

I thought I had come up with a fabulous way to make easy tassels. I figured it made a cute bow, added color and could be later used as an ornament. But alas, someone else had already thought of my cool idea.  I ended up making two tassels from one skein of thread.

This was a fun and simple favor to make. I hope it helped a few of these ladies as they count down to Christmas. 

PS: Hudson and I are reading the Jesus Storybook as our Advent reading each evening. And I am using She Reads Truth. There is a free app and you can buy the advent pack. I, however, have just been reading it all on the website directly for free. 

What are you reading? How are you counting down to Christmas? 

Preparing for Jesus - An Advent Wreath

I like to be prepared. I am a list maker. I fear the unknown. I need a plan.

With Christmas coming, I knew that I wanted to make another Advent Calender this year. I enjoy reading daily Scriptures and devotionals that help me prepare for Christmas, Christ's birth. 

It is much easier to prepare for the visible parts of Christmas. The decorations. The lights. The nativity (out of my two year old's reach because it does look like a toy). The wrapping of gifts ( also out of my two year old's reach). 

Preparing my heart and mind, though needed, often gets neglected. And so, I love taking the twenty four days before Christmas to read and ponder the miraculous birth of my Savior. 

Twenty five little match boxes hold my Scripture references. 

After emptying the boxes of their matches, I wrapped each sleeve in a bit of wrapping paper. 

On small pieces of paper, I wrote the day and coinciding Scripture. 

Then, I tucked the little packages into a lit wreath in my living room.  

I may end up using these little boxes each year. They can easily be re wrapped, filled with a tiny treat, or decorated more with bits of ribbon or string. 

This year, I will be reading Ann Voskamp's Unwrapping the Greatest Gift for my own Advent reading. 

We plan to work our way through the Jesus Storybook Bible as a family, since it is closer to Hudson's level. Each Bible story (even the Old Testament ones) point towards Jesus' arrival. I have enjoyed seeing the correlations myself. There are twenty five stories -including the Wisemen. It works perfectly to read one story each day of December. I love that Hudson recognizes baby Jesus this year. He does keep saying Baby Jesus is in a car seat instead of the manger, but in his two year old voice he says the name of Jesus so sweetly. 

I will always feel the "rush" the last week of November....Thanksgiving, shopping, Hudson's birthday...but I hope this Advent reading will help me to slow down and reflect. Christmas parties and crazy schedules fill the December days to come, but I want to make sure I am trying my best to get my heart in the right place. 

When a guest comes to my home, I like to make sure the house is clean, the floors are swept, the hall bathroom is ready and the snacks are prepared. I want to make sure my heart is prepared for the birth of Jesus. 

What are you doing to prepare for baby Jesus? 

A Simple Christmas Countdown

In order to keep my focus Christ-centered this December, I decided to make a little advent calendar. Advent simply means anticipating the arrival of a notable person, thing or event. In the hustle and bustle of the season, I need a daily reminder that JESUS is the reason we celebrate.

At the beginning, I thought I would make something super creative and super involved. However, in the end, I made a simple project with envelopes and paper. All I need is a gentle reminder to get in the Word each day. 

There are a number of advent reading lists out there. I combined a few - here is what I am using. 

Even if you are simply reading a verse or two of the Christmas story in Luke 2, I challenge you to find a way to Count Down to Christmas. 

Using plain white envelopes and some colorful tape, I simply wrote the date out 25 times. 

I then wrote the reference on a plain paper tag tied with baker's twine to put in each envelope. I left myself lots of room, because I want to journal a thought or even just a sentence as I complete each reading. 

Using a random slotted wooden box that I had on hand, I arranged the envelopes in a Christmas tree formation. 

To even up the lines, I actually had to put 26 envelopes into the slots. Maybe I can put my overall thoughts on the project in that envelope. 

I thought it would also be easy to add each journaled tag to a Christmas tree, as well. 

I am so excited each day to read the assigned passage. And since the passages are short, I am able to really focus on one important aspect pertaining to the coming of Christ. 

I pray that you will too find a way to focus on Jesus this season. A few of my blogging friends have joined me in this challenge. 

Amy (my sister), from Happy as a Howland used a coat hanger to make the cutest calendar. 

More projects should be coming soon!

Check out Jennifer from Home with a Purpose 

Katie from Radiance from Ruins

Joni from Minister Grace

and Lydia from Not Afraid of the Snow

I'd love to see your projects and ideas, as well! Comment with links or email me pictures! 

Countdown to Christmas: Reflections Day 1-3

I've challenged myself to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas this December. Even as I walked around the mall last night, it seemed so easy to focus on the gifts, the hustle and bustle, the decorations...but I want to make sure that my focus is JESUS. There are so many wonderful things to enjoy during this month of December. As we watched one of my favorite Christmas movies last night (White Christmas), I thought, "It is so easy to get caught up in the other "good" things about this time of year." And I don't think the movies, the treats and the lights need to be avoided - but I just need something to draw me back to the correct focus. And I need that daily.

So, (as I mentioned here), I've set up a few times each day to help get my mind in the right place.

As I feed Hudson his breakfast, we are listening to the stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible. We have the actual book, but for this purpose, I love the iBooks version that offers the read along function. Since there are 24 stories leading up to the visit from the Wise men, it is the perfect way to get little minds excited about the coming of Jesus (and Mommy can benefit from it too!). Even this morning, as we read about the first sin in the Garden of Eden, I was reminded that the story doesn't end with their being banished from the Garden - instead, it reinforces our need for JESUS, a Savior. I am thankful for a children's book that easily shows the need for Jesus, even in the Old Testament stories.

I have also been reading John Piper's Advent Book - if you hven't already, you can still get a free download of the book here.

And, my mom passed out a little reading list of Scriptures to her Sunday School class on Sunday. The passages are just 3-5 verses each day. I combined her list with some I had seen online. Since I haven't read all the passages yet for this year, I may change up the references used for future Decembers. But for now, here's what I'm reading. 

Dec. 1 - John 1:1-5
As verse 5 talks about Jesus being the light that shines in the darkness, I looked at all the Christmas lights differently. Even my beloved twinkle lights can remind me of the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. 

Dec. 2 - Isaiah 9:2-7
Oh, how precious are the names of Jesus - "Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." I love that there is a specific name of God for whatever I am going through. Sometimes, I need that Mighty God to show up. Other times, I am so glad that He is always my Father. Jesus came for us! 

Dec. 3 - Isaiah 11:1-10
Salvation came through David's family. I love the description of Christ's character in verses 2-5. I want to be a reflection of my Jesus. 

These little readings would take you less that 5 minutes each day. I hope to write a little reflection of each passage - something to focus on for that whole day.

These daily passages would be great to add to your advent calendar. Check back this weekend - I will be sharing my little DIY project along with a few easy ideas from some blogger friends of mine.

How are you counting down to Christmas? I'd love to know! Either leave a comment here, or come back this weekend to link up your Advent Calendar creation.

Counting Down to Christmas Challenge

It's no secret that I love the Christmas season. Hudson even is enjoying the trees and the lights.

 Last night, I just sat in the living room floor after Hudson went to bed. I love when the only lights on are twinkle lights.

I left our living room tree plain with just lights and grapevine. I put up our old tree (that almost didn't stay together this year) in the kitchen to hang all our ornaments on (out of the reach of a curious little boy). I've still got to figure out a topper and a tree skirt idea. I'm just not a fan of the fabric around the base of the tree that never seems to stay in place.

I love the soft glow that comes over the room from Christmas twinkle lights. I love adding Christmas items all over the house. A bow here...a tree there...I even have some decor in our hall bathroom.

But, Christmas is more than just getting the tree decorated and the cards mailed. It's more than twinkle lights and pretty packages.  It's Jesus.

This year, I wanted to emphasize the birth of Christ more. I wanted to try to implement some advent elements to our family traditions.

For a few years now, I've started to collect nativities. I wanted my decor to point to the birth of Christ.  It all started with my Willow Tree Nativity.

I also love my nativity puzzle.  Once you dump out the pieces, you can arrange the perfect little manger scene, complete with animals.

Last year, I even gave nativity sets that I made out of wood blocks.

And just the other day, my mother-in-love and I found a cute magnetic nativity at the Dollar Tree.

If you read any DIY blogs, you've probably seen the hundreds of different Advent Calendars that people make. Some are Christ centered with verses. Some are just counting down the days until Christmas with a little gift each day. For the past month, I've been on the hunt for a good idea for our family.

See, Advent means "the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event." There are so many ways to count down to the day that we celebrate the arrival of a very notable Person...JESUS.

For starters, I've wrapped all of Hudson's Christmas books individually. I plan to do this each year. Not with new books, but just as a way to choose what book we will read each night leading up to Christmas.

I realize this year that it is more for me than for him, but I wanted to go ahead and begin the tradition. He does love when I read to him, and I never know just what he is beginning to absorb.

If he knows to growl when I ask him what a bear says, He can learn about Jesus being the reason we celebrate Christmas. I am so excited about teaching him these things as he grows and matures.

I'm still deciding how to create my Advent Calendar and I've encouraged a few of my blogger friends to join me in this challenge. I would challenge you as well to look for a way to count down to Christmas.

Since Advent Calendars have been on my mind, I seem to run into cool ideas everywhere. Just yesterday I received another issue of this free magazine from Focus on the Family.  If you don't receive this magazine, you can subscribe for FREE here.

In this issue were Advent Readings from Adventures in Odyssey. You can get the activities emailed to you by signing up here.

John Piper has a free downloadable book of Advent readings that I plan to use for my quiet time for the month of December. You can download a copy here.

And I have plans to read daily to Hudson, as well. One of my favorite Bible story books is the Jesus Storybook Bible. Each story, even those from the Old Testament mention Jesus. It was so interesting for me to look into each story for the way that it would point to our Savior.

It just so happens that there are 24 stories from Creation to the Three Wise Men. You can find a printable chart here for the readings. Usually Lifeway runs a great deal on this book around Black Friday. If you don't have this book, I would encourage you to pick up a copy. Even as an adult, I was encouraged by the telling of these Bible stories. The stories seem to be the perfect length to keep Hudson's attention. And each page is illustrated beautifully.

I'm sure there are hundreds of other reading plans out there to point you towards the birth of Christ. I'd love to know your favorites.

I'd also love for you to join me in my Advent Challenge, this year. Around the first of December, I plan to post pictures of my Advent calendar. My blogger friends plan to do the same.

So, get thinking...even if you just put the Bible references you plan to read in envelopes and tape them on your wall in the shape of a tree...anyone can come up with a way to Count Down to Christmas.

Or, if you just want to wait and see some of the ideas posted and copy those...Go right ahead.
But whatever you decide, pray about how you will plan for the upcoming Christmas season.