Sunday, December 25, 2011

advent reading day 25...He's here! Merry Christmas!

advent reading day 25

scripture reading: the birth of Jesus, from luke 2, JSBB pgs 182-191, 198*

symbol: baby Jesus!

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings
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merry christmas from our home to yours!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

advent reading day 24

advent reading day 24

scripture reading: the King of all kings: the story of the three wise men, from matthew 2, JSBB pgs 192-197*

symbol: the three wise men and the star

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Friday, December 23, 2011

advent reading day 23

advent reading day 23

scripture reading: the journey to bethlehem, from luke 1 and 2, JSBB pgs 180-181*

symbol: a scroll, representing the census that was taken

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Thursday, December 22, 2011

advent reading day 22

advent reading day 22

scripture reading: mary and the angel, from luke 1-2. JSBB pgs 176-179*

symbol: an angel

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

advent reading day 21

advent reading day 21

scripture reading: the story of john the baptist, from matthew 3, luke 1 and john 1, JSBB pgs 200-203*

symbol: a shell, a traditional symbol for baptism

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

advent reading day 20

advent reading day 20

scripture reading: get ready! God's people return from being slaves, from nehemiah 8-10, malachi 1, 3, and 4, ezra 7, JSBB pgs 170-175*

symbol: a party hat, to celebrate all the Lord had done

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Monday, December 19, 2011

advent reading day 19

advent reading day 19

scripture reading: God's messenger: jonah and the big fish, from jonah 1-4; hebrews 1:1-2, JSBB pgs 160-169*

symbol: the big fish

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Sunday, December 18, 2011

advent reading day 18

advent reading day 18

scripture reading: daniel and the scary sleepover: daniel and the lion's den, from daniel 6, JSBB pgs 152-159*

symbol: daniel and the lions

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Saturday, December 17, 2011

advent reading day 17

advent reading day 17

scripture reading: operation "no more tears!": the rescuer will come, prophecies from isaiah, JSBB pgs 144-151*

symbol: a crown, representing the king to come

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid friendly readings

Friday, December 16, 2011

advent reading day 16

advent reading day 16

scripture reading: a little servant girl and the proud general: the little slave girl and Naaman, from 2 Kings 5, JSBB pgs 136-143*

symbol: a beautiful heart, cured from the leprosy of sin

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Thursday, December 15, 2011

advent reading day 15

advent reading day 15

scripture reading: the good shepherd: david the shepherd king, from psalm 51, 2 samuel 7, JSBB pgs 130-135*

symbol: the lyre, representing the psalms written by david

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

advent reading day 14

advent reading day 14

scripture reading: the young hero and the horrible giant: david and goliath, from 1 Samuel 17, JSBB pgs 122-129*

symbol: the slingshot

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid friendly readings

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

advent reading day 13

advent reading day 13

scripture reading: the teeny, weenie...true king: samuel anoints david, from 1 Samuel 16, JSBB pgs 116-121*

symbol: david the shepherd boy

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

Monday, December 12, 2011

advent reading day 12

advent reading day 12

scripture reading: the warrior leader: joshua and the battle of jericho, from joshua 3 and 6, JSBB pgs 108-115*

symbol: the trumpet

*we are using the jesus storybook bible for our kid friendly readings

Sunday, December 11, 2011

advent reading day 11

advent reading day 11

scripture reading: ten ways to be perfect: moses and the ten commandments, from exodus 16-17, 19-40, JSBB pgs 100-107*

symbol: the stone tablets

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly reading

Saturday, December 10, 2011

advent reading day 10

advent reading day 10

scripture reading: God makes a way: moses and the red sea, from exodus 14-15, JSBB pgs 92-99*

symbol: the parting of the sea (don't you love my artistic interpretation in this one! ha!)

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Friday, December 9, 2011

advent reading day 9

advent reading day 9

scripture reading: God to the rescue: moses and the great escape from egypt, from exodus 3-13, JSBB pgs 84-91*

symbol: the burning bush

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

advent reading day 8

advent reading day 8

scripture reading: the forgiving prince: joseph and his brothers, from genesis 37-46, JSBB pgs 76-83*

symbol: joseph's beautiful multi-colored coat

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

advent reading day 7

advent reading day 7

scripture reading: the girl no one wanted: the story of jacob, rachel and leah, from genesis 29-30, JSBB pgs 70-75*

symbol: stalks of grain, representing the years of work jacob did in order to marry rachel

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

advent reading day 6

advent reading day 6

scripture reading: the present, the story of abraham and isaac, from genesis 22, JSBB pgs 62-69*

symbol: the ram

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Monday, December 5, 2011

advent reading day 5

advent reading day 5

scripture reading: son of laughter: God's special promise to abraham, from genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6, JSBB pgs 56-61*

symbol: stars in the sky, representing God's promise to abraham to give him as many ancestors as there are stars in the sky

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

advent reading day 4

advent reading day 4

scripture reading: a giant staircase to heaven: the tower of babel, from genesis 11, JSBB pgs 48-55*

symbol: a tower

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

use your imagination when looking at our tower ornament, ha!  that's a tough one to make! :)
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so the other day, i mentioned that we had a surprise adventure to kick off our advent season with the boys this year.  a local church does this thing called "journey to bethlehem," where you join a "pretend" jewish family and go on a journey to bethlehem to be counted in the census.  it was quite a production.  we were in a group of about 40-50 people led by a jewish man, his wife and two children.  along our journey we encountered roman soldiers on horseback, three wise men, an angel proclaiming the birth of a savior, terrible robbers and thieves, a few beggars, more mean roman soldiers and finally the town of bethlehem.  we also saw camels (yes, real camels, 4 of them!), horses, sheep, goats, an alpaca, chickens, and a rabbit.  the city of bethlehem itself was quite impressive.  it was a walled fortress complete with an entire market inside.  the journey concluded with being turned away from the inn because there was no room for us to stay and then seeing joseph and mary in the stable with the baby Jesus.

despite the hour long wait for the journey to begin, it was a really fun family adventure that i am hoping will leave a lasting mark on burrito and noodle.  i wanted them to have a tangible picture of the sights and sounds that joseph and mary may have encountered on their journey.

it concluded with hot chocolate which may have been burrito's highlight of the night.

we are enjoying reading together this season.  it is so sweet for me to hear burrito do the reading each night.  so much has changed in the four years we've been doing this.

and i am so encouraged by all the friends that i have heard from who have chosen to join us this year.  i pray that this tradition becomes a sweet family memory for you too!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

advent reading day 3

advent reading day 3

scripture reading: a new beginning, genesis 6-9, JSBB pgs 38-47*

symbol: an ark or rainbow, a sign of God's promise that He will not destroy the earth with water again

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.

Friday, December 2, 2011

advent reading day 2

advent reading day 2

scripture reading: the terrible lie, genesis 3, JSBB pgs 28-37*

symbol: a fruit tree, representing adam's and eve's choice not to trust God and to eat from the forbidden tree

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd jones for our kid-friendly readings.
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so how do we do our advent readings?  well, we adjust it a bit each year as the boys get older, but we always do our reading following dinner.  we all pile on the couch under a comfy blanket and soak in the words of the reading for that night.  this year, we will have burrito read the story aloud and then have each boy take turns hanging an ornament on our advent tree.

this year we have a pair of trees we are designating for our advent ornaments.
we started off our advent readings yesterday with a little surprise christmas adventure that we've never done before.  i'll report on that soon!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

advent reading day 1

and so begins our advent reading and advent tree decorating for 2011. advent means "coming" and reminds us to reflect and think upon Christ's coming to earth for us. please join with us in reading God's Word as we look expectantly towards Christ's birth.

advent reading day 1

scripture reading: the story of creation, genesis 1 and 2, JSBB pages 18-27*

symbol: a dove, representing God hovering over the deep, silent darkness as he was making life happen