Gilliam Family 25 Days of Christmas: On This First Sunday of Advent

What a beautiful tradition in the christian church, the celebration of Advent.  A time we set aside to truly dwell on what "was" to come:  that the King that we have waited for was born, and He was called Emmanuel, because it means "God with us". 

As a part of our family Christmas this year we will take time each Sunday to light the Advent candles and read about how we can further experience the story of Jesus.  I'm especially excited about this new tradition as it is a liturgy that I find particularly beautiful.

We don't actually posses an "Advent Wreath", so I had to get a little creative...at the Dollar Store.  I tried to remember the general look of wreaths that I had seen before as I shopped, and I came away with a beautiful Christmas plate, a small wreath, a pack of votives (you need 4) and some votive holders, and a slightly bigger candle (of which you will only need 1).

The wreath had a small bow on it, which I removed, and then it was a simple matter of arranging.  I didn't go with traditional purple, but I love what we came up with and feel the importance lies in the meaning.

Tradition dictates that Advent be celebrated on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.  I found the weekly readings here, but you can find what works best for you and your family.  I love the emphasis on "waiting"--as a child it seems like it can take forever for Christmas day to come so that we can see what is waiting for us beneath the tree, but how much more expectant and hopeful is the wait for a Savior.

November 30- Waiting for the Shepherd

Psalm 80:1-7

In this Psalm, we join the people of Israel as they invite God their Shepherd to save and to restore them.

Isaiah 40:1-11

This passage looks ahead to the coming of the Lord, who will care for his people like a shepherd.

Revelation 7:9-17

Like God’s people before the coming of Christ, we also look ahead to the time when Christ, who is both the Lamb and our Shepherd, will finish his work and “God will wipe away every tear” from our eyes.

We are praying that our hearts will be pierced by His word, and that the Jesus will make Himself known to us even more richly during this holiday season.

Read about how the Gilliam Family 25 Days of Christmas came about here.