Last year our family began a new tradition of "celebrating" Advent after a guest speaker at MIA got me all excited about doing this. Our theme in our home last year was The Names of Jesus. It was wonderful to have the girls take turns most mornings of choosing a card like "Bright and Morning Star" and then read the scripture verse, pray and then make a craft that immediately got hung up on our kitchen cabinets. I purposely ignored the nagging voice inside my head that told me the kitchen was looking way too cluttered because each day the girls could just look around and be reminded that our Jesus is the "Wonderful Counselor" and so on.....We tried to do this for the full 21 days of Advent, but in reality we got about 16 days complete and that was good. Soooooo, now I am already thinking of what I can do this year and I can only come up with:
The Miracles of Jesus (I'm leaning towards this one since the girls have each begun their own prayer journals that we write in and pray for most nights)
Christmas Carols (study a different Christmas carol and the history behind it, as well as the meaning)
.
My challenge, as you may have guessed is keeping it engaging enough for an 11 year-old, but simple enough for an almost 6-year old. Has anyone got any other suggestions?
And, if you've never done anything like this before I highly recommend it! These activities reminded us of the real meaning of Christmas and our home was strangely peaceful during the holidays. Yes, it was our first year in a long time we didn't own a business that had us running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but I think this is what made the real difference. Jesus became more real to my kids (and, me!) last year and not just a cute baby in a manger. I'm anxious to see what He has in store for us all this Advent season!
4 comments:
It's funny you ask. Hubby just cleaned off our computer desk this weekend and my notes from that MIA meeting are right on top. I'm not sure why, but they are.
Anyhow, I did not do this last year because Princess was only one. But I may try something simple this year. I need to give it more thought.
The one I can't wait to do is the album. You ask family members, friends, babysitters, neighbors, anyone involved in your life (they don't even have to be a christian) to write a letter to your children that includes: favorite Christmas memory, a favorite Bible verse, etc. Then you read one letter a day and pray for that person. Then you put all the letters in an album and so you can reread them every once in a while.
Another one that looks good is "God's Christmas Wishlist". You do 24 things God would ask of us.
Thank you so much, Thrills! I forgot about those and they are both excellent ideas!
Last year, Bubba was due in mid-December so we decided to capitalize on making Scarlett feel special because she was the 1st born. I complied a list of all Biblical 1st borns, placed a scripture on the front of an index card and wheel of fortune/hangman lines on the back. We read the passage as a fmaily, then Scarlett had to figure out who was the first born and write it on the blanks. After that, we all wrote one fact about said character. It worked out really, really well.
Perhaps you could give them all a job. #1 could write down a few facts, #2 could draw the scene and #3 could color it. Just an idea. :)
If you weren't at MIA last week, e-mail TCC and ask her for the Advent idea she handed out. It was what she used last year and includes everything you'd need.
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