How to Work with Jesus in the Transforming of Your Soul

How to Work with Jesus in the Transforming of Your Soul

  

Reading Time: 3 min 49 sec

 

Do you ever wonder how you can work with Jesus in the transforming of your soul? Are you hungry and desperate for God? Are you doing the foundational stuff (see this blog post) but just can’t seem to figure out how to go deeper?  Let’s dive into how we can work with God in becoming more like Jesus.

 

“A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do.”  Dallas Willard

 

Have you ever reacted in such a way, whether it be an argument, an emergency, or after a long day, that made you cringe? Where after seeking forgiveness, (for the thousandth time), you throw up your hands, and wonder how on earth you are ever going to cultivate patience, kindness, service and actually, utilize it in the heat of the moment no less?  How do you develop life as a disciple of Jesus; someone who actually demonstrates in word and action a life lived in surrender to God?

 

Galatians 5:22-23 gives us a vision for what the surrendered life looks like: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

 

So how do we develop the fruits of the spirit in our own lives?  How do we never give up, care more for others than ourselves, develop humility, patience, honesty, trust, etc.?  How do we intentionally be present with Jesus in our everyday lives?

 

Today, we are going to be answering that question by diving into some practical tools that Christians have been using for centuries. 

 

  1. The Purpose of Spiritual Disciplines

2. What are Spiritual Disciplines?  

3. How do I Apply Disciplines in my life? 

 

 

1. What is the Purpose of Spiritual Disciplines? 

 

The purpose of Spiritual Disciplines is to provide practical tools that allow us to work with God in the transformation of our souls.   The Life with God Bible says it this way, “Spiritual Disciplines involve doing what we can to receive from God the power to do what we cannot. And God graciously used this process to make us the kind of person who automatically will do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.”

 

Bingo!

 

Practicing Spiritual Disciplines are a crucial part of developing a deep and transformed life. The tools in and of themselves are nothing special, they are just that… tools. But they give us a super helpful and practical framework to work with the Holy Spirit.  Spiritual Disciplines allow us, through God’s grace, love, and the power of the Holy Spirit, to take an active role in saying yes to work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

 “A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then the natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain…This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines – they are a way of sowing to the Spirit… By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.” -Richard Foster

 

The disciplines are not meant to be a rigid rule of life but as a grace-filled, Holy Spirit initiated practice that grows and changes throughout the season of your life.  

 

 2. What are Spiritual Disciplines? 

 

So, what exactly are spiritual disciplines? Here is a list of inward, outward and corporate disciplines taken from Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline.   

 

Inward Disciplines:

Prayer–with God not just at God

Fasting

Meditation

Study– Not just for information, but the transformation of your soul

Outward Disciplines:

Simplicity

Solitude

Submission

Service

 

Corporate Disciplines:

Confession

Worship

Guidance

3. How to Apply Spiritual Disciplines in Your Life? 

 

We need to understand that participating in spiritual disciplines is a life long journey. It is not about instant transformation, but about learning to be present every day with God, in the ongoing transformation of our souls.  It is not meant to be one more thing to do, but as a willing response born out of our love relationship with him.  

 

“God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.”Richard Foster

 

So how do you actually choose what discipline to practice in your life?

Here are some Suggestions for Getting Started:

  1. Ask yourself, what are you drawn to? What would practicing that discipline look like?
  2. Pray and ask God about what discipline to practice
  3. Start with one discipline at a time
  4. Operate out of grace. God loves you unconditionally and you don’t have to earn his love.
  5. You must be intentional. And it can (and will) be challenging.
  6. You are Not Alone!  The ever-present God is with you.
  7. The practice will look different for everyone.
  8. The disciplines will change as you enter new seasons of life

 

Are you hungry and ready to experience a deeper life with God? Join our community of moms who are hungry for more Jesus in their lives and in the lives of their families.  

Grab your free Deeper Life Beginners Guide (get it below) to help YOU get started on your journey to a thicker life with Jesus today!  

 

What about you? What is your biggest challenge when it comes to practicing spiritual disciplines?  Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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How to Have A Deep Life Changing Relationship With God

How to Have A Deep Life Changing Relationship With God

  

Reading Time: 4 min 44 sec

Have you ever felt frustrated at the lack of depth in your relationship with God? Have you ever wondered if this is all there is?  Have you read the stories of people like Bonhoeffer, Lewis, and Mother Theresa and wondered how did they get there?

 

We read our Bibles, we pray, we journal, we attend church, small groups and prayer meetings. We run from workshop, to retreat, to conferences hoping for something (a blinding light and a voice from heaven would work) transformative that would allow us to have a depth of relationship with God instantaneously.  Why? Because we know we were created for a deep relationship with Jesus. We just have no idea how to build it.  

 

Have you ever met those people who glow? Who through one conversation you can almost see the love of Jesus just pouring off them? I have met and read about a couple of those people throughout the years and I yearned for what they had. How did they get to where they are? 

 

Here is what I found out, after many conversations and studying great men and women of faith, a deep life-changing relationship with God:

1. A Relationship With God: Is an Investment

2.  A Relationship With God: Is a Priority

3. A Relationship With God: Is a Journey

4. A Relatioship With God: Is Life Changing

 

 

1. It’s an Investment 

 

Your relationship with God is an investment both in time and energy. We sometimes tend to think that if we spend ten minutes here or there we are suddenly going to have this super deep relationship with Jesus. 

Brian Regan, in his famous sketch, demonstrates this concept: “You can microwave a Pop Tart. That just blew me away that you could microwave a Pop Tart. How long does it take to toast a Pop-Tart? A minute and a half if you want it dark? People don’t have that kind of time? Listen, if you need to zap-fry your Pop Tarts before you head out the door, you might want to loosen up your schedule.”

 

 We are trying to zap fry our relationship with God before heading out the door, and let me be honest, it just doesn’t work that way, in any relationship, human or divine.

 

If you want a deeply intimate, life-changing relationship with God you are going to have to invest time in the relationship. You need to know the sound of His voice, experience His overwhelming love for you, and discover how to find your identity rooted and grounded in God. To find out more check out this article How To Pray When You Are Out Of Words.

 

2. It’s a Priority

 

The relationship of Billy Graham, Susanna Wesley, Corrie Ten Boom, among others, didn’t just appear overnight, they made their relationship with God their number one priority. They still had jobs, families, and commitments, but they invested their time wisely and poured into their relationship with Jesus.

 

I have a 3×5 card on my bathroom mirror that serves as a daily reminder of my priorities. My time with God trumps everything else, my relationship with my spouse, kids, personal goals or to do’s. When I can start to get wrapped up in other things I just mentally think of my card, and I make sure that whatever else gets done, I spend time with Jesus. 

 

Dallas Willard, author of Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God captures the need with this quote,

 

“Few people arise in the morning as hungry for God as they are

                                for cornflakes or toast and eggs.”

 

Like anything worth doing, you are going to have to say no to some things so you can yes to a deeper relationship with Jesus.   That might look like getting up earlier, or spending your lunch break or kids nap time with Jesus.

 

The sacrifices are worth it because you get to experience a life-altering relationship with God. Let us become people who wake up hungry for God.

 

 3. It’s about the Journey

Investing in a relationship with God takes patience and the understanding that you are on a journey. Even on the days when you feel like you are taking one step forward and two steps back you need to step back and remind yourself that its not about your speed, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. 

 

We can get so focused on getting to heaven that we lose sight of the fact that we are on a voyage with Jesus. We were not designed to grit our teeth and hold out for heaven, but to fully embrace what God has for us today, a love relationship with Jesus. 

God is using literally everything in your life, the joy, the pain, and the mundane to draw you to himself.  As you walk through everything that life throws at you, you have a choice, will you surrender and allow God to do his good work in you; or will you resist and stubbornly try to go your own way? Our time on earth is our metamorphosis, a time where we learn how to turn from our selfish desires, surrender our will and say yes to Jesus.  The relationship, the transformation, the journey makes the end result (heaven) so much richer.  

Surrender is the key to the journey. 

 

4. It’s Life Changing

The time, energy, and sacrifices pale in significance to encountering a deep relationship with God. It’s like a whole new world opens up to you, and you are shouting (at least I was) “where has this been my whole life?”

C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity says it this way, “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not 

surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

 

As you grow closer and deeper in your relationship with God, you begin to experience, not just know, the love of the Father, and your life is truly transformed.

 

Paul writing to the Ephesians says,“And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.”Eph. 3: 17-19

 

When you invest, make God your priority and understand that you are on a life-long journey you come to discover and experience the breadths, lengths, depths, and heights, to God’s love. Your life will never be the same.

 

Are you hungry and ready to experience a deeper life with God? Join our community of moms who are hungry for more Jesus in their lives and in the lives of their families.  

Grab your free Deeper Life Beginners Guide (get it below) to help YOU get started on your journey to a thicker life with Jesus today!  

Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

How to Choose Home Decor that Sparks a Love for Jesus

How to Choose Home Decor that Sparks a Love for Jesus

  

Reading Time: 4 min 39 sec

Have you ever walked into someone else’s house and knew what they were about with once glance? 

 

I will never forget when my husband and I went house hunting many years ago. We entered a home and in a couple of rooms, there were small crosses above the doors. They were small and not in your face, but you noticed them, and immediately you knew that faith was important to this family.

 

Whether it’s your favorite sports team, your children, miniature trains or the latest design trend, your house speaks volumes about who you are and what you value.

 

I have always resisted putting up “religious” décor in my house. For one, I was totally traumatized growing up in the era of glass figurines and sappy Christian art. I also didn’t want my house to feel dated and not fit my design “aesthetic”. Ha! So I totally dismissed “religious” art as a) something old people do and b) something I would never do… until two things happened.

 

1) My husband mentioned that he wished we had some art that reminded us of our faith in our home. That conversation went over well.  (SHOCK and HORROR were my reactions. Did I even know my husband?! )

 

2) We had kids… 

 

It’s amazing the lengths we will grow and stretch all for the sake of these helpless babies. I was reading a book on the spiritual development of children and a point the author made really jumped out at me.  She said that “Pictures have a powerful impact on children, and it is important for parents to know what they are seeing.” Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey.

 

Children are experiential learners, you can tell them what to believe and how to walk it out, but that advice only becomes formational through experience and the power of the Holy Spirit.  My thoughts were immediately drawn back to my previous conversation with my husband. 

 

What would it look like if the items in our home were a constant reminder to

turn our eyes towards Jesus? 

 

There are so many things that distract us from spending our time on the most important thing, a love relationship with Jesus.  I wanted my children to grow up  knowing from the time they were born that they were deeply loved by God AND experiencing his lavish love for them.

 

I realized that I could partner with where my children were at developmentally by intentionally choosing items that communicated our family’s values, and the importance of a relationship with Jesus in our lives.

 

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can begin the process of turning our homes into havens. A safe place where after a long day we can come and refocus our attention on Jesus.

 

What does a haven look like for you?

 

Shocker of shocker my life was transformed by having these little objects as reminders to STOP throughout my day and refocus my attention on Jesus.

 

As always, let’s get practical about how to make this happen in real life. We are going to be talking about how to:

  1. Intentionally Evaluate

 

2. Create Beautiful Empty Spaces

 

3. Make a Visual Spiritual Road Map

 

So let’s get started! 

1. Intentional Evaluation 

 

When I first started this process, I walked through my house and took a hard look at the general makeup of each room; what was on the walls, the decorations, the furniture etc.  

I asked myself these questions:

 

  1. What story does this room tell?
  2. Does that story align with our family values?
  3. Do I need to remove or add something from/to this room?
  4. Does this item/room spark joy or draw my heart towards Jesus?

 

You need to go through the process of asking yourself these questions otherwise you will be sending conflicting messages to your family and others.

 

What do the items in your home tell you

about your family values?

 

2. Create Beautiful Empty Spaces

I realized after walking through my home that I had bought a number of things just to fill a spot. The items were nice but they did not especially bring me joy, they were just …there. 

 

I am talking about the ascetics of a room not how many ice cream scoops you have crammed into that drawer.

 

Remove items that either:

a) Don’t fit your values

b) Don’t draw your heart towards Jesus

c.) Don’t bring you joy

 

Give yourself a pat on the back! Woohoo! You are that much closer to creating a space that is rich with meaning.   

 

Do not rush to fill those empty spaces, but practice patience by waiting to find the perfect item for that spot (or no item at all).

I actually had a number of bare walls (in my main living spaces) and spots in my house after completing this exercise.  It was actually a challenge for me to be okay with having an “unfinished” space. 

Prepare yourself to have conversations with friends and family who want to know if you are redecorating? 🙂   It is always a fun conversation to talk about how you are in the process of creating a haven for your family.

 

 3. Make a Visual Spiritual Road Map

The word curate as a verb means to, “to collect, organize, select and take charge of”.  I encourage you to see yourself as the curator of a gallery, lovingly choosing each work of art with care.  These items do not fall into your hands overnight, it is a journey.  

 

I would look for items that have a personal story, spark joy or draw your heart to Jesus. For instance, it could be a landscape that reminds us of God’s creation or my child’s artwork from Sunday school. Each piece will look different, feel different, but as long as it turns my/or my child’s eyes towards Jesus it accomplishes its goal.  When you do add pieces intentionally place them in high traffic areas around your house. 

 

Some Ideas* to get you started: 

*Etsy is a great starting place for finding specific and one of a kind décor.

  1. Pictures of Jesus with Children  (place in kids rooms)
  2. Landscapes
  3. Stars
  4. Toys
  5. Crosses
  6. Candles
  7. Photos or Mementos
  8. Rocks or Tactile Objects
  9. Wall Art

 

Over time you begin to create a visual spiritual roadmap in the rooms of your home.

I can walk through my house noticing specific items and reflecting over where I/or my family was in our journeys towards Jesus when I chose that item.  It’s a beautiful reminder of how God has been at work in the quietness and craziness of our ordinary days.

What about you? What are your favorite ways to curate an atmosphere of Joy and Jesus?  Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest

 

Want to Dive in Deeper? Check out these Resources:

 

  1. Liturgy of the Ordinary – Tish Harrison Warren

  2. Organized Simplicity – Tsh Oxenreider you try any of these activities, let us know! Leave a comment, and don

How to Unlock the Heart of Your Child with this Simple Activity

How to Unlock the Heart of Your Child with this Simple Activity

 

  Reading Time: 4 min 53 sec

 

We all want to raise Godly Kids, young men, and women who have thriving relationships with Jesus.  As parents we want close relationships with our children. We want to know what is going on in their hearts and minds, because we want to help guide them into becoming Godly adults.  But sometimes the end goal is easier said than done.

 

Have you ever struggled to get beyond a mumbled, “I’m fine” response from your teenager to the question “how are you doing?“  Do your preschool and elementary age children struggle to put words to their emotions?  Do you want to get past surface issues and uncover the heart of your child?  

 

Our lives are busier than ever before. Between school, work, soccer practice, dance recitals, and family commitments, we are stretched thin.  We struggle to make family devotions a priority when there are so many things demanding our attention.  

Our kids are inundated with a secular worldview

they desperately need our spiritual input in their lives.

 

There have been multiple studies stating that parents are the number one influence in a child’s life. YOU are number one as an influence your child’s life: not your children’s pastor, Sunday school teacher, or youth pastor but YOU. You model your family’s priorities and values. So how do you unlock the heart of your child and foster a love relationship with Jesus?

 

We are going to be exploring a reflection & prayer activity that has TRANSFORMED my relationship with my kids, and their relationship with God. The experience teaches children (and adults) how to be aware of God, their actions, emotions, events and, relationships that make up their days. It is amazing because not only is it simple, experiential but you get to engage in a prayer activity as a family. Creating deep relationships while drawing your family into a deeper relationship with Jesus, that’s a HUGE WIN in my book!

 

  1.  The Benefits for You and Your Child 

     

2. Tips for Getting Started 

3. The Reflection Activity 

 

  1. The Benefits to You & Your Child 

We live in a time of overstimulation where we rarely stop at all, let alone reflect back over our actions and the events of our day. We, let alone our children, can find ourselves in places we never intended to be because we never stop to reflect and realign ourselves towards God.

 

Richard Foster says it this way,“In our busy, hectic world, it is easy to run from one thing to the next without much thought of God’s presence and purpose in our daily life. By learning to give attention to God’s grace in our lives, we come to know and love Him more and more.”

 

Teaching our children to reflect over their day, paying close attention to their responses, motives and, feelings is an amazing discipline.  

 

Here are some of the amazing benefits to weaving this activity into the life of your child:

 

Benefits for You:

  1. You get to hear the good, the bad and the ugly parts of your child’s day.                                                                                                                                          
  2. You develop a deeper relationship with your child.
  1. You become aware of ways that you can partner with God in the life of your child.
  1. You get to see God at work in your child’s life.
  1. Your relationship with God deepens as a result of this daily activity.

 

Benefits for Your Child:

 

  1. It teaches your child to slow down, and to be present in the moment.
  1. It shows them how to live with intention. Reflecting on their actions of the day.
  1. It encourages them to acknowledge and name their emotions instead of burying those thoughts and feelings.
  1. It encourages an intimacy with God. They come experience for themselves that no thought, feeling or event is too small for God’s loving presence.
  1. They learn that they do not have to earn God’s love. That we all need God’s grace for every day.
  1. They are encouraged to acknowledge situations as they arise instead of sweeping them under the rug.
  1. They learn to live in awareness of God at work in the small and big moments of their lives.
  1. They experience God’s overwhelming, lavish love for them.
  1. They start seeing patterns of Gods faithfulness in their lives at a young age.

 

 

  1. Tips for Getting Started 

If reflecting over your day is new to you, it can seem overwhelming to lead your child through the activity.  This activity does not have to complicated or super involved.  It can take between 5-10 minutes depending on the age and talkativeness of your child.

 

Practical Tips:

                              

  1. I would suggest doing this activity with your child after dinner or right before bedtime. It is amazing how a conversation with Jesus where they unburden their hearts, acknowledging the good and bad things of the day, thanking Him for how He is at work, and by talking about their concerns for tomorrow, calms them down and prepares their bodies for rest.

 

  1. Be intentional about setting aside time so that you won’t feel rushed, and are able to fully participate in this activity.

 

  1. Let your child know what to expect. Briefly explain the reason behind the activity, the activity itself, and your child’s role.

 

4. Prepare their hearts: Invite God’s presence and then allow a couple of moments of silence before starting the activity.

 

5. Utilize silence. This activity is about your child reflecting over their day and meeting with God. As the facilitator ask a question and then be silent. Allowing your child the chance to think and talk to God.  Your child should be doing a majority of the talking.  

6. Understand that you might practice this activity for a season or for the rest of their lives. You are giving them the gift of another tool for their toolbox. 

7. Optional: Try putting on simple instrumental worship music on in the background.

8. Optional: Light a candle to remind you that God is with you and in you.

 

Reflection Activity                                                                    

 

We want our children to know and love God deeply, and a way we can foster that relationship is engaging in the practical activity of pausing to reflect back over their day.  So, what does it look like to pause and reflect? 

 

1. Invite God into this Moment – Asking him to lead us back over our day, bringing to mind specific situations, helping us to pay close attention to our responses, motives and feelings.

 

2. Thank Him – I would ask “What brought you joy today? (Allow silence and space for your child to share). “Thank God for those special times.”

 

3. Acknowledge – Ask, “What made you feel sad today?” “Is there anything you want to ask God for forgiveness?” “Thank God for the times that you did listen to Him.”

 

4. Look Ahead to Tomorrow – Ask, “Is there anything about tomorrow you want to talk to God about? “Ask God to help you with the good and difficult things for tomorrow.”

Close by praying a blessing over tomorrow.

Allowing your child space to reflect over their day without jumping in with suggestions is necessary for this practice.  Some of the best most special times I have had with my child have been during this bedtime prayer

  •  

What about you? What are your Favorite ways to reflect and pray over your day?  Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

Interested in Going Deeper?

 

  1. Surrender to Love            By David Benner
  2. Death By Suburb -How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your soul    By  Dave L. Goetz

 

How to Be Present with Jesus this Christmas

How to Be Present with Jesus this Christmas

 

  Reading Time: 4 min 53 sec

 

Children learn experientially and as parents we need to provide ways for them to not only know about, but also to experience a relationship with Jesus. We are going to be talking about 20 Kid-Friendly ways your family can EXPERIENCE the heart of Jesus this Christmas.

 

We want our children to not only understand, but internalize the reason for the Advent Season, that it’s all about Jesus. His lavish love for his children, His humility as He laid aside His rights to come to earth as a baby, and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

Christmas Day is a culmination of the Advent season where we join together in celebration of the birth of Christ.  So how do we provide ways for our children to experience the birth of Christ? The foundation for experiencing God is all about the relationship, not the activities.

I would encourage you to enter this season with intention to spend time in God’s presence, not by doing, but just being. When you spend time with Jesus, you model your values and priorities instead of just talking about them. Your active relationship with Jesus is more powerful than any activity for your children. 

 

Traditions and symbols help remind us to look up

and notice God at work in and around us.

 

 The advent season can be supplanted by the hurry and flurry of activity but what I want to encourage you to do is to prayerfully create or participate in a couple (not all) of activities that focus turn your focus on Jesus. These activities are not just about making family memories, but its a way to actively engage in the heart of God.  

 

 Here are some practical ways to be present as a family this Christmas with the One who is ever present with us.

  1.  Visit a Living Nativity

Check your local parenting website/group for info on living nativities near you.       

 

2. Eat a Mediterranean Meal

While you are eating talk about what types of foods Mary, Joseph, and Jesus ate (Ideas: Lentil Stew, bread, fruit, olives, grapes, vegetables, beans, fish).

 

 

  1. Light an Advent Candle each  Sunday

Take time each week to gather everyone together to light a candle and pray.  This will become a meaningful tradition as your family experiences setting aside time to focus on the meaning of Advent.

 

  1. Play with the Nativity Set

This is HUGE! Play is the way children engage with the characters and internalize the truth of the nativity.

 

  1. Anticipate Christ’s Birth-Advent Calendar

Grab the directions to my favorite beautiful but simple advent calendar above. 

 

  1. Listen to Handel’s Messiah

  Listen to Handel’s Messiah part one, it is about Isaiah’s prophecies of a coming King and the shepherds hearing about the birth of Christ

 

  1. Read an Advent Picture Book Each Day

Wrap 24 books and place under the tree or in a basket. Have your child unwrap a different Christmas book every day.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones

2. Who is Coming to Our House – Joseph Slate

3. Mortimer’s Christmas Manger- Karma Wilson

4. The Little Drummer Boy –   Ezra Jack Keats

5. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey – Susan Wojciechowski

6. The Crippled Lamb – Max Lucado

 

  1. Craft a Shining Star

Hang the star in each child’s room as a reminder of Jesus’ birth. Grab cardboard, acrylic paint or tape, and glitter. This activity can be as simple or fancy as you desire. This is a very hands-on way for your children to interact with the story.

  1. Watch a movie of Christ’s Birth

Snuggle under some blankets and watch the story of Jesus birth unfold. Here are two of my favorite Christmas movies:

1. The King is Born

2.  Matthew:Visual Bible

 

  1. Learn about Christmas

Buck Denver Asks: Why Do We Call It Christmas? This film is a fun way to learn about the origins of Christmas traditions. I have shown the film to elementary through middle school students and they really enjoyed it.

 

  1. Reenact the Christmas Story

Grab some pillowcases, sheets, and rope and Voila! Let your kids get creative.

 

  1. Read some Christmas Poetry

 Drink some hot chocolate and listen or take turns reading aloud Christmas Poetry.  “The Nativity” G.K. Chesterton or Advent poems by Emily Dickinson

 

  1. Learn & Sing Christmas Hymns & Carols

This is another practical way for children to turn their eyes towards Jesus during the Christmas season. Unless we are intentional about teaching our children will most likely not learn the lyrics to Christmas Hymns and carols unless they learn it at church (which is only a couple times a year). Suggestions: Oh Holy Night, Silent Night, Gloria, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

14. Memorize Mary’s Song

  

Luke 1:46-55 is such a beautiful and joyful passage to memorize.

Mary’s Song

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior                                                                               

for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.

 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.” (NIV Translation)

 

 

  1. Reflect on the Advent Bible Passages

Start with Matthew 1, Luke 1, Isaiah 40:9-11.

 

  1. Create Pictures of the Nativity or Advent Symbols 

You can print off coloring pages (the internet has tons) or create your own masterpieces. (Draw, color, paint, or collage)

 

  1. Be Present with God

Spend some time in silence and reflection just being present with God, away from the chaos. Everything else flows out of time spent in God’s presence. Light a candle as a tangible reminder of Gods presence with us and in us.

 

  1. Collect Gifts for Others in Need

I love this super-practical way of opening my children’s eyes to the needs of those around them. Check out Compassion International, Operation Christmas Child, or Angel Tree for ways to show the love of Jesus to others.

 

  1. Bake Jesus a Birthday Cake

This tradition helps to refocus our attention on Jesus on a day when it could be all about gifts. My children discuss in great detail what kind of cake Jesus might like weeks in advance.  Let your children pick and prepare the cake for Jesus. You can light candles and sing happy birthday on Christmas day.  

 

  1. Hide Mary and Joseph

This is another fun way to interact with Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Move Mary and Joseph peg dolls to a different spot around the house each day. Your child will find great delight finding where Mary and Joseph have ended up each day. After your child finds the dolls, talk about what it must have felt like to be Mary & Joseph.  (You can buy a male/female peg figure for $2 at a local craft store)


What about you? What are your Favorite ways to gifts experience Jesus during Advent? Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

 

Interested in Going Deeper?

 

  1. The Season of the Nativity by Sybil MacBeth
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