The Jesse Tree

It's so hard for me not to get caught up in the fun yet craziness of the Christmas season: shopping, parties, busy schedules, crafts, baking, presents, family gatherings, material items, etc.. Whew~ All the sudden Christmas has come and gone and did I really enjoy it? Did I really focus on the TRUE meaning of Christmas? Did I really worship my Savior? Did I really set my heart on the glorious coming of Christ? It is only Christ alone who can make Christmas.

The Jesse Tree has really helped me to daily focus on Christ. It might possibly be my favorite part about Christmas. I love having family devotions each night and really focusing on the TRUE meaning of Christmas- Our Savior's Birth. What is a Jesse Tree? Good question! Its an Advent celebration of the symbolic, spiritual heritage of Jesus Christ. It traces the special people and events in the Bible that lead to Jesus' birth. We love to read and place the ornaments each day on the Christmas tree while learning about God's perfect plan.

I have visions of making a homemade Jesse Tree and using this new free Jesse Tree devotional with printable ornaments. But this year, I just threw something together with the help of online materials and I'm loving it. Here is a little less indepth devotional we are using this year.Andrew is coloring the ornaments and I'm gluing them on red construction paper then punching a hole in the them to make an ornament. He is proud of his work and loves seeing them on the tree. He proudly says, "I colored that" every night. Our tree is actually a branch or twig that Andrew and I found in the backyard while playing one day. I put it in a flower pot and tied a Christmas ribbon around it and ta-da we have a tree.

If you google "Jesse Tree" thousands or resources will come up. I want to encourage you to celebrate advent. The word, advent, comes from a Latin word. It means "coming".  Aren't we all waiting for Christ's coming? He is coming! Worship Him with me!