Today is the first day of Advent.
A counting down the days to Christ's coming. A celebrating of Christmas - Christ with us.
As a family, we're following along with the beautiful new book by Ann Voskamp.
And early this morning, we snuggled in bed and began at the beginning.
"Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot -
yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him -
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord...
In that day the heir to David's throne
will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
and the land where he lives will be a glorious place."
Isaiah 11:1-2,10
We've picked out our Christmas tree, and most of our shopping is now done.
I also made an advent calendar from an old ladder and some muslin bags for Willen to follow along with.
Each bag has a few small bits of Lego in it. The point obviously isn't about the gift each day. But for a 5 year old, it's a little surpise to look forward to each morning, after our reading.
Our project for today, in light of the reading of the promised shoot, we were to plant some grass or wheat to watch grow over the next few weeks. I had purchased some Paperwhite bulbs at the nursery the day we picked out our Christmas tree, so we planted those to watch instead.
Some where potted in soil in antique pots.
Others are being forced in little vintage glasses.
They're tucked around the house to remind us of this beautiful promise.
And so begins our counting down to Christmas. I'm praying God uses this time to work in my own heart, and especially in the hearts of our beautiful boys. That this Christmas would be a celebration of our Saviour, and the great love he has for us.
You can follow this link above to read more about Unwrapping the Greatest Gift.
I love advent, Everything is beautiful as always!!
ReplyDeleteSo inspiring. thank you for sharing. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteEverything is beautiful Maria. I especially love the idea of reading each morn with the boys and then adding to the advent ladder.
ReplyDeleteBeing a local girl I think I know where you chose your tree. The red brick heritage house across the street just captured by your camera in the top left hand corner of the tree lot reveals its location. Seeing the end result with it all decorated indicates you made a perfect choice.
Take care...
Susan
We go there every year. Willen was dissapointed he didn't come with us (he had school), but it didn't last long when he found out that it was too early for them to have homemade cookies and warm cider. That's all he really cares about. And he had already picked out his own tree anyway.
DeleteA beautiful post, especially the last two lines you wrote. How true! I've just found your blog and look forward to exploring and reading more posts. I've also added you to my list of favorites. Your Pinterest boards are wonderful, too. Enjoy the Christmas season!
ReplyDeleteClaudia