We started with a cross, wrote “Immanuel”, “Jesus” and “God with us”…

Folded it up, taped it and it’s a box! The box metaphor is kind of a stretch, but I decided to do it because it reminded me that God isn’t just “out there”, He’s tangible and close and “with us”!

(why yes, that is a walrus decoration on the side…)

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All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

Full of Grace – unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification – Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to grant merit where it is undeserved and to forgive debt that cannot be repaid.

Ephesians 1:5-8

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us…

The story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) is an amazing parable showing us God’s grace.  The message is simple: we should never be afraid to ask for forgiveness.  This parable can give us courage that God is nothing but gentle and loving when we repent.  God has unlimited grace for us no matter what we’ve done.

Lord, we are so thankful for Your grace!

What amazing power the King of kings has!  Lord over every authority on earth – throughout all time!

1 Timothy 6:15
…which He will bring about at the proper time–He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords…

Revelation 19:16
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ” KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

A crown fit for a king – imagine the crown that the King of kings wears!

We praise you, the King of kings!

Merriam Webster defines peace as a state of tranquility or quiet; freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions; harmony…  Jehovah-shalom means “the God of peace.” God could never give to others a peace that exceeds understanding if He Himself were not perfect, unfailing peace.

Judges 6:22-24

When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.”  The LORD said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.”  Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Isaiah 9:6
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!

“Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions” – we pray for God’s peace each time the boys awake with nightmares, each time they see something scary… and a dove has long been a symbol of peace and the Holy Spirit – God’s Indwelling Spirit that gives us His peace!

Thank you, Lord, for Your Peace!

Joseph’s pillow…hand “sewn” by Lydia!

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21

Jesus Christ is our Savior - the one who brings salvation!

Isaiah 19:20
It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them.

Isaiah 43:3
“For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”

Isaiah 43:11
“I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.”

Luke 2:11
…for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

John 4:42
and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Acts 5:31
” He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

1 Timothy 4:10
For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

Jude 1:25
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

A simple verse, proclaiming the birth of Christ – before He was even born!  God’s amazing plan for us included Christ from the very beginning – to save us from sin… to save us from ourselves.

We praise you, Lord, that you sent your Son to be our Savior!

I have been so loving Leigh’s advent ornaments and activities!What a great idea to focus on God’s attribues and qualities during this holiday season!

This year Lydia and I are making ornaments that showcase a different part of the Christmas story. I put a picture, sticker or object in our big advent calendar that corresponds to the Christmas story. She tries to guess what that sticker or picture has to do with the Christmas story. Then we read the section of scripture while she listens for that sticker. Finally, we make an ornament to go with it. We are supposed to be hanging these ornaments on a garland above the fireplace but we can’t get the garland to stay!

I posted days 1, 2 and 3 before I left for Disney World (see my blog for more details!) So, let’s do a little catch up on what we’ve done since then…

DAY 4: ZECHARIAH: LUKE 1:5-25

I know, this one is a little frightening. And the picture quality is grainy. That’s because my husband sent it to me via a text message. I set up three crafts for them to do while I was gone. This is the first one: Zechariah. His mouth is made from bubble wrap which Lydia popped to represent his non-talking status after his encounter with Gabriel!

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DAY 5: GABRIEL: LUKE 1:26-38

This is another one my husband and Lydia did. I gave them a few white and glittery pieces of crafty-type items and they came up with a very adorable angel if I do say so myself.

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DAY 6 & 7: MARY: LUKE 1:26-38

I wanted to do two crafts for Mary. One showcasing her obedience and the other her bravery. Instead, with my absence (and lack of pulling together another craft), my husband and Lydia made this very colorful Mary!

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DAY 8: MARY & ELIZABETH: LUKE 1:39-45

I know, they look like little pregnant Shrek dolls. We made little paper-doll cutouts, glued dresses and pregnant bellies (with scrapbooking pop-dot underneath) for the two women who believed God and received miracle babies!

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DAY 9: MARY’S SONG: LUKE 1:46-56

The CD is to remind us of Mary’s song. And on the bottom (yes, where you can’t see, because I didn’t take a picture of it) is a word Mary uses several times in her song: MIGHTY! There are so many great ideas online to make fun crafts with old CDs. We did puffy glitter paint because I don’t think you can get any more fun than that!

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I’m pretty sure you’ve noticed these ornaments are not the most beautiful things in the world. They aren’t going to grace our Christmas trees for years to come. They probably aren’t even worthy of your emulation. But what I want you to see as I post these everyday is that we are just unpacking the Bible story and highlighting special people, objects and events to help Lydia understand the story more. Reading these stories and making these ornaments is the highlight of her day!

You don’t have to do this every day. You could just sit down and make one or two of these crafts (or a better one if you have it!) to remind you and your children of the greatest story of all—the Christmas story!

So, what are you doing to celebrate advent?

Congratulations to Ashley, who won our God Gave Us Christmas book giveaway!  Take a look at her crafty blog (and her adorable daughter)!  Thanks to everyone who entered!

Now, since I’ve been doing our attributes of God Advent series on a daily basis, I’ve missed being chatty and rambling in a “normal” post… so I’m going to chat your ear off for a minute.

About the Advent posts I’ve been doing – would anyone like me to make a tutorial on how to make the wooden ornaments?  It’s something that could be adapted for any number of ideas…  If there is any interest, I’ll write up a quick tutorial.

Also, I’m “behind” on my Advent crafting… I wanted to make an Advent calendar like this one here to put all my ornaments and little craft/activity slips of paper in – but I’ve only gotten as far as purchasing the fabric.  Ehem.  This will probably get done in January… so I guess I’ll have to unveil it next year.

I’m also thinking that I might have to keep adding on to the list of names and attributes of God each year – there are so many more that I didn’t think when I made my list, and I already knew I was leaving so many off.  So I’m excited to see how this could grow each year – the boys might be able to add more as they get to know God more themselves, too!

Amanda’s back from her very exciting extended weekend… be sure to watch her blog for updates about her time at Disney!

So that’s kind of what we’ve been up to… how about you guys?  How has your December been?

Everlasting means enduring through all time, or eternal.  The One who created time cannot exist any other way – He lasts through all time!

Psalm 93:2
Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.

Psalm 117:2
For His loving-kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 118:29
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His loving-kindness is everlasting.

Psalm 135:13
Your name, O LORD, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.

Psalm 145:13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.

Isaiah 60:19
No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.

A simple  “evergreen” wreath made from Elias and Donovan’s handprints – plants like pine trees, holly, and ivy are called evergreens because they never die.  Advent is a time when we remember that death could not hold Jesus is His grave – and that God and all His attributes (goodness, love, mercy, truth…) are everlasting!

We praise our everlasting God!

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Comforter,” and Paul writes that the Lord is “the God of all comfort.”

Isaiah 12:1

Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O LORD;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.

Isaiah 66:13

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

John 14:1

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Revelation 7:16-17

They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

For our little ones, comfort is found in the hug of a loved one, in kind words, and maybe in a cup of hot cocoa.  I pray that they will learn the comfort of the Most High.

Thank you, Lord, for your comfort in our lives!