“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’”

Luke 1:30-33

Advent season is a time of preparation and anticipation.  Yes, Christmas is an occasion for celebration; of lights and decorations, gift exchanging and enjoying great meals in the company of loved ones; but more importantly it’s a time of preparedness.  We prepare for so much each Christmas, don’t we?  We decorate our homes & trees, we prepare wonderful food and baked goodies, we spend time creatively wrapping gifts, we schedule time for concerts, parties and programs. But do we spend much time & intention preparing to receive Christ?  

I love the simplicity of the story told in Luke: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  This story has been told so many times that I think we lose the awe and majesty of it.  And I wonder if I’ve become like one of the many people in crowded Bethlehem at that time.  Am I bustling around so much preparing to celebrate Christmas, that I’ve missed seeing the Messiah.  I’ve left no room for Jesus in the Inn either; I’ve allowed my life to become so crowded with stuff and activities that I’ve not allowed myself to slow down and look for Jesus.

I admit that through the years He became almost a second thought in our home each Christmas; just a piece to set in the Nativity scene.  I would allow the outward trappings of the holiday to distract me from the reason we celebrate. There are so many things to plan for and check off our to-do list, that Jesus sometimes got lost in the holiday hecticness. The most commonly asked question at this time of year is “Are you ready for Christmas?”.  It’s a question that I would dread because a sense of overwhelm would engulf me and my answer was usually “No! I need more time to prepare!!”  The deeper question that I had to ask myself is, “What am I preparing for?”  Over the years I have learned the beautiful gift of Advent; and I’m reminded that the preparation that I need to focus on is the preparation of my heart for Jesus’ birth.  My answer to this question should always be “Yes, of course! I’m always ready to celebrate Jesus!” 

I think about that first advent; when God was readying the world for the appearance of His Son. Go back and read the Christmas story in the book of Luke, chapters 1 & 2.  I’m sure that Mary prepared for the birth of her first born in the same manner that all expectant mothers have over the centuries; making sure that the new baby would have shelter, clothing and a warm place to lay his head. I’m guessing that she and her mother and sisters had a birth plan figured out for when the time came.  Preparation for the birth of this baby was similar in many ways to how we mothers have prepared for the advent of our own children… And yet the preparation that she experienced was so very different from any other woman in the history of mankind.  

God didn’t leave young Mary unprepared or clueless about Who it was that she was carrying; the visiting angel left no question when he gave the news that she would be carrying the Son of God, the coming King, the long expected Messiah. How would she have prepared for this baby?  Mary wouldn’t have experienced a time of nesting because she and Joseph were forced to travel at the last minute: “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.” (Luke 2:4-5.)  Her time to prepare for the birth of her child was spent riding a donkey for 90 miles. I think that any woman at the end of her pregnancy would agree that this is not how you want to prepare for a birth!

And yet, I bet that she was less concerned about the physical, tangible aspects of preparing for this child than she was about the spiritual implications of what carrying the Son of God meant; processing that she would be the mother of the One that set the stars in the night sky was probably more than she could fathom. How does a mother prepare for that?  

How do we prepare for the advent of that same Jesus?  What steps can we take to ready ourselves for His presence into our lives, our families, our homes, our relationships and our activities?  I want Jesus to be more than just a piece that we place in our nativity scene; I want Jesus to be the center of our Christmas and the focus of why we celebrate. How can we give Him more than just a passing thought as we go about our usual Christmas traditions and celebrations?  

1. Read the story of Jesus in each of the gospels often during this season:

My favorite thing to do during Christmas is getting up early, way before the sun comes up, and sit near the lit Christmas tree with a cup of coffee and my Bible.  I know, I know, not everyone is a morning person.  But if you want to experience the beauty and power of Christmas, reading from the Gospels in the early morning silence with the lights of the Christmas tree shining is a great incentive to get up when the sky is still dark!  The Book of Luke tells the most detailed story of Jesus’ Birth.  It’s a short read but so full of the beautiful mystery of God’s plan for all of mankind.  But don’t discount the other gospels as well!  All of them, with the exception of Mark, tell something of the advent of Christ (Mark begins with Jesus as an adult at the beginning of his years of ministry on Earth.)  I think that the way that Jesus’ advent is told in the first chapter of John is especially beautiful when you read about the Light of the world near the lights of your Christmas tree. 

If you absolutely aren’t a morning person, use Christmas Eve as an opportunity to read the gospel outloud to your family, maybe even letting each member take turns in reading the story of Jesus.

2. Talk to your children about the story of Christ’s Advent as you are baking goodies:

Use these extra moments with your kids in the kitchen to share the story of Jesus’ birth.  You tell them the story, or let them tell you!  Then use the opportunity to discuss that this is more than just a good story that makes a great Christmas program at church or the subject for favorite Christmas Carols, but that the story of God coming down in human form as a baby is the greatest gift that we could ever receive.  Don’t miss the occasion of Christmas to share the gospel with your children; here’s a link for Nativity cookie cutters that you could use as you bake cookies and tell the story of Jesus:  https://www.amazon.com/International-Christmas-Nativity-Cookie-Cutter/dp/B08GL4JBYP/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAwrf-BRA9EiwAUWwKXneY4LUHed8u76X14TucS

3. Sing Carols or Contemporary Christmas songs that tell the story of Christ’s birth beginning to end:

We all love those traditional Christmas carols, songs about Rudolph and Frosty, Chestnuts roasting on an open fire and sleigh rides, trust me, my family sang some of them at the top of our lungs when we were hunting for our Christmas tree this weekend.  But what if you chose a day to only sing or listen to those songs that tell the story of Advent?  Here are some of my favorites:

• The Angel Gabriel – All Angels
• O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Jaci Velasquez
• For Unto Us – Point of Grace
• Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) – Amy Grant
• O Little Town of Bethlehem – Natalie Grant
• Labor of Love – Jill Phillips with Andrew Peterson
• Mary Sweet Mary – Selah Featuring Plumb
• Silent Night – Jo Dee Messina
• Mary, Did You Know – Kenny Rogers & Wynonna
• Angels We Have Heard on High – Nicole C. Mullen
• The First Noel – Josh Turner
• Noel – Lauren Daigle 
• O Holy Night – Joe Nichols
• Go Tell It On The Mountain – Zach Williams
• Little Drummer Boy – For King and Country
• For the Beauty of the Earth (Nativity Version) – BarlowGirl
• The Virgin’s Lullaby – The Nativity Voices, Featuring Mike Weaver of Big Daddy Weave, Natalie Grant, Todd Smith & Allan Hall of Selah, Michael Farren of Pocket Full of Rocks, David Phelps and Point of Grace

4. Watch a movie that tells the Advent story:

Along those same lines, we all have our favorite Christmas movies, and there is a never ending supply of those, especially if you are a Hallmark Movie buff!  I try to make sure that intermingled in those traditional family favorites we also take time to watch movies that tell the deeper meaning of the holiday.  Here are a few suggestions:

• “The Star” “
• “The Nativity
• “The Nativity Story”
• “Saving Christmas”
• “Christmas Child”

5. Start a Jesse Tree as a way to celebrate Advent:

Several years ago our Pastor and his wife shared with us their tradition of the Jesse Tree.  This is a wonderful way to share the gospel from the beginning to the end, telling the story of Jesus’ family tree and why Jesus came to earth.  The Jesse tree is rooted in Isaiah 11:1, “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” You can use anything for a Jesse Tree, it can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be; you could simply make & tape paper ornaments in the shape of a tree on a wall, find a small artificial tree or if you’re handy you could build a small wooden tree with dowels.  We’ve just always gotten a smaller extra tree to put our Jesse tree ornaments on.  And you can do anything from downloading, printing and coloring ornaments to go along with the devotion, make clay ornaments, or do as we did and just look around your house and through your own ornaments for items that can be used as symbols to go along with each story.  If you would like to learn more about how to start a Jesse tree, here is a great link that I shared with my Advent Facebook Group:

6. Perform your own Christmas Pageant with your family:

If you have young children in your home, a Church Christmas Program of some kind or another might be something that is usually on your agenda for the season.  No question that this is a crazy and abnormal year dealing with a virus that has forced many of our Christmas traditions to either be canceled or drastically changed; the yearly Christmas Pageant at your church might be one of those events. Why not come up with a creative way to use the members of your family and what you have around your home to come up with your own Christmas pageant? One of my most precious memories is of my brothers, cousins and I performing a last minute Nativity play for my mother when I was about 8.  You might be limited to how many actors you have in your performance, but dolls and stuffed animals make nice fill in characters!  Anything to get those little imaginations thinking about what it was like when that little baby came into the world.  And I bet that this is an activity that will be etched in their brains through adulthood!

These are some ideas that I have come up with over the years.  What traditions that celebrate the advent of Jesus have you established in your own families or hope to begin?  Please share with me, either here in the comments  or join us at my Advent Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1240867702936660

My hope for you is that you are able to look beyond the traditional celebrations and hype of Christmas and really take time to focus on preparing for the advent of Christ into your heart, your home and your families. This year more than ever I think that we need the light, hope, peace, comfort and love of Christ emanating into and out of our lives.