Christmas anticipation!

As a mom of 4 boys (10 and under), there is great excitement and anticipation as we near Christmas. My boys make Christmas wish lists, see boxes arriving on the porch from gracious grandparents and... and Amazon ;) While we decorate our tree, string lights on our home, and unpack our treasured nativity sets, I want to help my boys see and savor the real reason for our celebration. As we were driving in the van yesterday, I heard the song, "Mary, Did You Know?" on the radio and while I've heard this song dozens of times before, this line captured my attention and my heart leapt with the magnitude of this truth...

"Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.",

The same Jesus who spoke creation into existence, who had perfect fellowship with God the Father, and was constantly praised and adored by angels, chose to step down from His throne in heaven and join us on earth in the form of a babe. Wow! That's amazing LOVE! I want my boys (and myself) to stand in awe of Christ, this season and every day. Here are some of the books, devotions and traditions we do every Christmas season to open our eyes to the mystery and majesty of God coming down to us, in Christ's birth.

“Because some years you desperately don’t want a Christmas that can be bought,

or a Christmas you have to produce.

You want a Christmas you can hold.

A Christmas that holds you,

remakes you, revives you.

You want a Christmas that whispers: Jesus.”

-- Ann Voskamp

Ann Voskamp, author of 1000 Gifts, writes the most awe inspiring words. Her book, The Greatest Gift, truly unwraps the full love story of Christmas. These daily readings walks through the lineage of Christ with Scripture, prayer and devotions that help us set our gaze on Christ as we prepare to celebrate His birth.

Our boys LOVE going through Ann Voskamp's Jesse Tree Devotional and putting one of the coordinating ornaments of the tree. The Jesse Tree also goes from Creation/Adam through the lineage of Christ. My boys LOVE this advent devotional and preparation for Christmas! I have a Jesse Tree devotional in a Word document and will happily send it to you! Just as I got together with group of about 30 women and exchanged Jesse Tree ornaments a couple years ago, I hope to get a group together to do this next year!

At a Family Ministry Conference 2 years ago, Josh and I heard from Sarah Cunningham, the author of The Donkey in the Living Room. This sweet children's devotional tells the story of each of the characters that were present at the birth of Christ and includes wooden characters to assist with storytelling.

Last year, we started reading The Biggest Story with our boys and were challenged by the in depth devotions and discussions in this beautiful book! Kevin DeYoung is one of Josh's favorite authors and he didn't disappoint in this book that helps kids' take classic stories and connect to Scripture’s overarching message about God’s glorious plan to redeem his rebellious people. Awesome book for everyone!!

Every Christmas Eve, we read several stories out of the Jesus Storybook Bible. There are even free videos to enjoy! Here are several other books and ideas for Christmas gifts in this post I wrote a few years ago.

The majority of our Christmas decorations revolve around nativity scenes... some from around the world (Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Nicaragua), as well as adorable kids' sets. Our boys enjoy acting out the Christmas story with the many nativity sets around our home. Their first and favorite was Veggie Tales nativity set! They enjoy playing with Daddy's old PlayMobil nativity set and the Little People set and I love hearing their sweet voices talk of the miraculous events that surround Christ's birth!

I would love to hear how you prepare to celebrate Christ's birth! What are your favorite family traditions?

Good reads

Many of you know that I am very intentional about what we put IN our bodies (organic/real food) and ON our bodies (essential oils, natural products), but I also realize there is much more to us than what we consume and touch. My boys are growing up quickly; my oldest devours a novel a day and wants to read anything he can gets in his hands! I want to be careful and intentional about the things we are putting in their hands and minds. We want the things they read, listen to, and watch to produce spiritual fruit, grow their minds and imaginations, and encourage them to follow Christ. Over the past few years, I have asked older and wiser parents for suggestions and help. Here are a few of our favorites...

Missionary biographies

The boys and I just finished Nate Saint's biography and all I can say is WOW! I've read several books on Jim Elliot and other missionaries, but to walk through that story with my boys was incredible! I loved seeing them on the edge of their seat wanting one more chapter, hearing their excitement as they built paper model airplanes, and seeing them process the missionaries' sacrifice of their lives. I pray the Lord will give my boys a heart for the nations to know Him, as we read these biographies!

Some may think it's too violent or sad for their kids to read stories of missionaries or martyrs. However, this generation seems to be old enough to process the battles in Star Wars and video games; let's give them examples of a real and worthy spiritual battle on the mission field. 

Hero Tales  and Missionary Stories with the Millers are great compilations of short missionary stories with great lessons!  Window on the World is a great book that discusses people groups and how to pray for each of them. We also like the Trailblazer books, by Dave and Neta Jackson. My boys are already excited to start reading about George Mueller next week! 

Bible

We want our kids' favorite story, to be the story of God's love and redemption in Christ! We desire them to know God, love and follow Him, So, we desperately need God's Word! Here are a few of our favorite Bibles, from infant to older boy.

Toddler - The Gospel Project Big Picture Interactive Bible for Toddlers, consists of two board book Bibles, an Old Testament and New Testament. My husband reads this Bible to our 1 and 3 years old boys each night. 

Preschool to Young Elementary - The Gospel Project The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook. My 7 year old loves keeping up with what he's learning in Sunday morning small group with this Bible! The Jesus Storybook Bible is a great Bible for a wide range of ages! We've read through The Jesus Storybook Bible several times and love it!

School age readers - NIV Adventure Bible My 8 year old loves reading this Bible on his own!

Books and CDs

My older boys have enjoyed Adventures In Odyssey audio stories for years. We love the Bible Eyewitness set that takes listeners back in time to experience each Bible story.

Jonathan Park is another great audio series for kids!

My oldest discovered the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station novel series last year and can't get enough! We love the books because they take him on a reading adventure back in time to different significant historical events. He's learning history while enjoying a great adventurous book! 

A few other favorite books are Little Pilgrim's Progress, Kingdom Tales, Chronicles of Narnia Series, and The Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse. Other fun books our sons have really enjoyed are: Origami Yoda series (Inspired by this series, my boys have made over 100 origami Star Wars characters!), Frog and Toad Series (lots of funny voices and laughs), I Love You, Goodnight, A to Z Mystery Series, God Found Us You, and Geronimo Stilton books and videos. We gave our oldest son The Dangerous Book for Boys for Christmas this year. 

I would love to hear about great books and resources 

you are using with your families!