Advent: Day One

Happy December! In our house, the first day of December signals the first day of our Advent devotions, using the devotional book, The Advent Jesse Tree, by Dean Meador Lambert. We were introduced to it probably in 2000 or 2001 by some women at church, who organized an ornament swap to create a set of 25 ornaments to go along with the book. If you go to Grace, you probably have a set of these or have at least heard about it. I think I saw signs of the ornament swap happening this year, which is great, since there are so many new families coming to our church.

This year, I had an idea that I might blog about each day and sometimes share some thoughts of my own about these ornaments and the scriptures from that day. Now, given my recent bout with procrastination, and my busy schedule, that idea might prove to be a dream, rather than reality, but we'll see how it goes. Also, I'd love to hear how others have used this book and ornaments and any stories you have from those experiences.

Day One: The Light of Creation. The year I participated in the ornament swap to get our set (I've done it a couple of other times to get sets to give as gifts), this was how the ornament was done. The symbol of the world coincides with the key verse for the day: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen.1:1)" I think it's very appropriate to start at the very beginning when thinking about the Christmas story. After all, Jesus was there with God when the world was created (John 1:1-4). And how awesome to think that because Jesus is our Light, there is light in the world and we can know Him and love Him and praise Him! (p. 14).

Thank you, God, for creating the world and everything in it. Thank you for sending Jesus to be the Light of the World and to bring us from darkness into the light! Amen.