The advent season is almost upon us. Whether it's baking, shopping or decorating, I'm
sure many of us are already in the middle of preparations for the season. The excitement of this treasured time of year, celebrating the birth of our Savior, could easily be dimmed by the stress and anxiety of our circumstances.
I pray, though, as we begin to prepare our hearts toward advent, that we too would capture the innocence and joy of our children, our worries cast off, open to the time, and space for immersing ourselves inside the time of mystery and joy.
Sometimes, a help along the way is the companionship of a book, to guide our thinking and press our mind toward thoughts of Him. So, I'll recommend a few here for you to check out - not that I have read them all, but they come well reviewed.
Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp is a 21 day devotional with daily readings for the month to help you capture the wonder of the season.
Remarkable Advent by Shauna Letellier captures the imagination of the birth story of Jesus with reflections at the end of each short chapter. I've just started this one and am enjoying her gift for storytelling! (Note, the kindle edition is $0.99).
The First Days of Jesus by Andreas Köstenberger takes you, in 15 chapters, through the history, and prophecy surrounding Jesus' birth, with a devotional perspective to engage your own reflections on the biblical truth.
On The Incarnation by St. Athanasius is written by one of the early church father's of the Christian faith, Athanasius of Alexandria (AD 297-373). He spent most of his life writing with urgency to uphold the apostles's teaching of Scripture amidst rising heresies. This book addresses the purposes of God taking on human flesh to redeem us. (As a classic, this kindle edition is also $0.99).
The Advent Jesse Tree devotional is a book we have used for a few years with our kids, to walk through the story of Scripture. It goes through a chronological story of the Bible to help keep our perspective on the whole of the biblical narrative.
The Advent of the Lamb of God by Russ Ramsey is retelling of the Christmas story in 25 short devotionals.
Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp is a beautifully illustrated picture book, along the theme of the Jesse tree, tracing the story of the Bible culminating int he birth of the Messiah.
I hope that these will be an encouragement to you, as you begin preparing your hearts for the season of celebrating the birth of our Savior.
What's your favourite advent book?
Ann Voskamp, “The Greatest Gift” is my all time favourite and “Unwrapping the greatest gift” is a beautiful complimentary book to this one.