A Modern Day Fairy Tale

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5 Unique Ways To Celebrate Advent {+ Save On the Illustrated Faith Monthly Devotional Kit: Advent} #IF_Advent #BibleJournaling

**Kit received as part of the Dayspring Illustrated Faith Launch Team. Post contains affiliate links. All thoughts are 100% my own. 
  • Help kids write Christmas lists.
  • Buy the gifts.
  • Wrap the gifts.
  • Trim the tree.
  • Clean the house.
  • Pack for trips.
  • Move the elf.

Do you ever feel like the Christmas season is just one big, long to do list?

Every time we cross off one thing, it seems we've piled on three more. They say it's the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the busiest by far. So busy in fact that at times it can be truly hard to find time to just stop and remember what it is we're celebrating. Sometimes, we just need a moment in the midst of the craziness to bring it back to God.

As Christians, I think this is why the season of Advent is so important.

Growing up, Advent was not something we celebrated. I grew up in a Christian home and went to church, but it wasn't something that any of the churches celebrated. To be honest, while I'd heard f advent, I'd thought this was merely a Catholic tradition. But after some research I realized that this tradition is truly a great way for EVERY Christian to focus their hearts and minds on Christ as the holidays approach. While the traditional lighting of candles might be a great tradition for your family, it is not the ONLY way to celebrate Advent. Today, I'm sharing a few quick ideas:

5 Unique Ways to Celebrate the Advent Season

  1. Set Up a Nativity. This is such an easy way to bring Christ into your holidays. Read the Christmas story as you decorate so that you can truly remember why we're celebrating. 
  2. Countdown With Books. This one is mostly for the kids, but can be great for the whole family. Leading up to Christmas, let your kids unwrap one gift--- a book with great messages about Christ's birth and the spirit of the season. You can make this once a week, the 7 days leading up or more... depending on your budget and the number of books you can find. 
  3. Do an Advent Devotional/Bible Study. There are many great options out there, so you're sure to find one that suits your needs. Spend a little time each day studying and reading.
  4. Pray Through Advent. Create a list of topics to pray for throughout the month. Pray about the church, your family, friends, the holiday itself. Pray for the community, those who are suffering this Christmas, etc. Try to pray for people/things that you might not throughout the rest of the year.
  5. Journal Advent. Of course, this list would not be complete without Bible journaling. Journaling can be such a fun and creative way to draw closer to God throughout the year, and the Christmas season is no different. Take a little time each week to journal through the holiday season--- you can even tie in the prayers and the Bible study in with your journaling as well.


Ready to start journaling through advent? The new Illustrated Faith Monthly Devotional Kit- Advent- is a fantastic starting point. Take a look:

In the Illustrated Faith 'Advent' devotional kit, Shanna and her friend, Ali, invite you to join them with eight advent devotionals to read and reflect upon throughout the first twenty-four days of December (one devotional every three days). After each devotional, record your thoughts in your journaling Bible, Illustrated Faith praise book, or personal journal.  And, as Shanna suggests,"Grab some hot cocoa and your Bible and let's rejoice in this season together!"



My first year journaling through the Christmas I found myself journaling the more common Christmas verses. The gospel recollections of Christ's birth, etc. This was great of course, and I still enjoy rereading these every year, but if you've not yet worked through one Bible, you'll find that in the year(s) to come, there's only so much room to do so. What I loved about this kit was that it took a look at some verses that I had never really thought of as appropriate for the holiday. It has helped me to expand my Bible reading to beyond the obvious to grow even closer to God as the holidays draw near.






This month, we have a little change in that the kit features 8 devotionals, with no journaling cards. Personally, I really love this. While I do appreciate the journaling cards in most kits, I also find that I prefer to journal straight into my Bible instead, so we still get the same number of gorgeous designs, but more reading to go with them. Personal tip: these make great tip ins! Typically, I use washi to apply them either to the same page I'm journaling, or the opposite page. This allows me to easily flip open to re-read what inspired that journaling. For some pages I just use these as bookmarks, though there's always that chance they could fall out this way.





Aside from that, it is the same format as in recent kits featuring a small stamp set, 2 sheets of stickers, washi and die cuts. The designs are fun and festive--- ornaments and mugs. Now, these mugs may say cocoa and tea, but the coffee girl in me likes to think of them as coffee anyway. This might in fact be my favorite washi yet! This kit also coordinates beautifully with the existing advent collection so you can mix and match and really have fun with it!



I for one am really loving this kit and look forward to counting down to Christmas through journaling. Advent is available to purchase now at Dayspring.



AND from now through November 26th, you can get 30% off SITEWIDE with code FRIDAY17! Talk about an amazing deal! Hurry over before the deal ends.

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