When my oldest saw the Christmas displays at retail stores in late October, he wanted to know how long it was until Christmas. He continues to ask about Christmas on and off. With more retail stores, shopping centers, and homes setting up Christmas displays, it is more obvious sign that Christmas is nearing. Now that my son is 4 1/2, he can understand a lot, sometimes more than I give him credit for, and I really want him to understand the true meaning of Christmas. No, the true meaning of Christmas is not about giving, like what the media tells us year after year. Nor is it, as my youngest ones think understandably, colorful light displays. The true meaning is the coming of Jesus, the Christ, a savior for sinners.

Even though my extended family gathers together on every Christmas day, I feel that that celebration in itself is not enough. I wanted something more. When I came across Ann Voskamp’s The Glorious Coming: A Jesse Tree Advent Celebration, I knew this was something I wanted for my family. This book contains devotional readings (Nov. 30 – Dec. 25) and instructions on how to make ornaments. You can purchase the ebook for immediate download and use for your family via the link. We commenced with the first reading tonight. My oldest really understood the devotionals of how God created the world to the fall of mankind, whereas my younger one enjoyed hanging the ornament on the Christmas tree. Of course, my third in line watched with amusement. Last, but not least, the baby was asleep. Evers also improvised the reading to adapt to our oldest child’s comprehension level. I feel it is important to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Christ before the actual Christmas day. Reading these short devotionals is a great way of preparing ourselves for this Christmas season. I look forward to more readings for the coming days and I’m sure the children will also look forward to it too, but not without the privilege of hanging the ornaments.

Here’s a photo of Evers with the children and our first two Jesse Tree ornaments from tonight’s readings: