Celebrating advent.

In the church, Advent is traditionally a time to prepare for the coming birth of Jesus Christ. Advent calendars, wreaths, and other "countdown" type items are commonly used each day or week. There are lots of awesome ideas on Pinterest of how to do an advent calendar with verses, activities, or other Christmas items that get your family ready for Jesus' birth.

This year, my in-laws are doing their Advent wreath on Mondays so that Delaney can participate with them. Each week, they bring more items into one of their nativity scenes. On Christmas Eve, we'll put in the baby Jesus and read the Christmas scripture.

Celebrating Advent is one of my favorite times of the Christian year. Each year, it feels refreshing to prepare my heart for the Lord and take moments to be still in the midst of the hectic season. Our little family will be doing the reading and lighting the advent candles this Sunday at church. I am excited for Delaney to experience this with us, as this is the first time our family has been asked to participate!

I found this site, and it gives some great history on Advent, as well as the lectionary scriptures and some other personal reading suggestions for this time. I hope you can find it useful!

Does your family celebrate Advent? What do you do to make the holiday more meaningful?