1st Day of Advent

Today would mark the first day of advent. Advent is the time or days leading up to the very day we celebrate Christmas as Christ's birth. Each year our family makes a real effort to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It is soo easy to get distracted and busy ourselves at this time of the year when we start getting anxious about buying or making the perfect gift for everyone and trying to live up to our expectations of what our homes should look like with all the decorations.

One tradition that we like to to instill is incorporating the 'Jesse Advent Tree' activity into each day leading up to December 25. In the bible Isaiah prophesies the birth of Jesus, our Messiah..."A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah 11:1 And again Isaiah says," The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in Him." Romans 15:12
There are many variations to this activity and this year I chose to cut out a big tree so there are enough branches to fit the symbols we will be taping to the tree. I will glue the tree to a bigger piece of paper as a background and each night after dinner the children will take turns reading the scripture and taping the corresponding symbol to a branch, such as a rainbow or the coat of many colors (that I will have drawn in advance for them),for that day. I will post a picture of our creation in a few day's!

If you would like to join us, or would like to make your own variation of the Jesse Tree, feel free to follow the scripture's and symbols that I will be posting for each day.

DAY 1: December 1st:

Scriptures

Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-5

Special Verse

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:1

Questions

* What did God create? (Name some things God created.)

* Who was with God in the beginning?

* Who is the light of men and our light? (Talk about traditions and decorations that symbolize God's creations and Jesus, our light.)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are so great and good. You made the world and everything around us. Thank You for showering Your love to us in creation and in Jesus, our perfect light! As we see Christmas lights this season, may we be reminded of the true and perfect light which lit up the world that first Christmas. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree Ornament

Rising sun on horizon with rays of light