Advent

Have you heard of or do you celebrate Advent?  I'd never even heard of Advent until several years ago. I was browsing through our local Christian bookstore in Topeka, KS when I spotted a book called A Family Advent:  Keeping the Savior in the Season by Thomas Nelson.

I was immediately intrigued, because I wanted my children to celebrate the "real" meaning of Christmas ~ when God became flesh ~ Emmanuel ~ God with us ~ His sole purpose to redeem us back to the Father.

We had a CHRISTmas tree ~ each element representing something about Jesus ~ but I wanted a special devotional to use for the Christmas season.  This little book was all I desired and more.

Upon perusing the introduction of the book, I eagerly purchased an Advent wreath from Michael's and the special Advent candles from Yankee.  I was ready, but I had no idea how much I would be blessed!

Advent is derived from the Latin adventus and means "coming".  It is the celebration of the coming, or birth, of Jesus our Savior.  There are 4 weeks of Advent, beginning the Sunday nearest November through midnight, Christmas Eve. Week 1 is the celebration of the HOPE that we have in Christ. Week 2 celebrates the PEACE we have as believers. Week 3 reminds us of the JOY we have because of Christ.  Week 4 closes to remind us to express the LOVE we ourselves have been given.

Each Sunday begins a new topic, and every evening, you light the candle(s) as a family.  For example, week 1's topic is hope.  You light a purple candle and read the scripture and devotional for that day.  Each devotion encourages a sharing time and a beautifully written prayer to read.  Every week includes "fun facts", activities to do together as a family, a "did you know?" section, and a Time Machine history lesson.

Weeks 2-4 continue the same way, the only difference is that you add a new candle to light for the next week.

On Christmas Eve, the family lights all the Advent candles, including the center candle ~ the white Christ candle.  As the family sits together in front of the Advent wreath with all the lit candles, you thank God for the gift of His Son ~ His great love that sent Jesus to save the world from our sins ~ for knowing us and carrying all our burdens ~ and choosing to celebrate Jesus and rely on Him to light our way out in the world as we share His love with others.