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Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Sunday, November 30, 2014

12 Days of Christmas Stories That Will Keep Your Family Focused on Jesus

Christmas Stories


If you're like me, you look for ways to keep your family's focus on Jesus during the Christmas season. A great way to do this, especially if you have kids, is having an assortment of Christmas books to read to your children in the days leading up to Christmas. Today I'm so excited to share with you my 12 Days of Christmas Stories That Will Keep Your Family Focused on Jesus!

If you're looking to add new titles to your Christmas stories list this year, look no further than these 12 Christmas stories I've found for you that will be a great addition to your home as you seek to keep the focus of Christmas on Jesus for your family! He is the reason we celebrate, after all!


12 Days of Christmas Stories 



HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS




God Gave Us Christmas





J Is for Jesus: The Sweetest Story Ever Told




The Christmas Star




The Nativity Story (Candle Bible for Kids)




The Christmas Story




Christmas in the Manger




The Christmas Story: The Bible Version




The Story of Christmas




A Star for Me




Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale





Itsy Bitsy Christmas: You're Never Too Little for His Love



I hope you enjoy looking through my list of Christmas stories to help keep your family focused on Jesus! Let me know if you'll be adding any of these titles to your family's Christmas stories list!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie

Monday, November 3, 2014

If He Had Not Come ~ A Christmas Book Review

Christmas Book Review


If He Had Not Come is a beautiful Christmas story sharing about the importance of Jesus' birth and what life would be like if He had not come. This classic Christmas story written by Nan F. Weeks is being reintroduced by David Nicholson to a new generation. The absolutely beautiful illustrations are done by Charles Jaskiewicz.

I was told this story is best for children ages 6 and up, but I think younger children would even enjoy listening along with their older brothers and sisters. Children are never too young to start learning the true meaning of Christmas.

You can purchase the hardback book for $18.95 or get the e-book for only $3.99. I received the hardcover book and it is absolutely beautiful - you'll definitely want to purchase the hardcover copy!

In If He Had Not Come, young Bobby discovers what life would be like if Jesus had never come into the world. Bobby goes to bed on the night of Christmas Eve just like any other real life child does - thinking of all the presents he'll get to open on Christmas morning. Only in this story, when Bobby wakes up things aren't as they should be. Everything that was once a familiar part of his life is missing. Even Christmas!

Walk through the pages of this wonderful Christmas story with your children to see how Bobby discovers that the very best Christmas present ever given was not packaged with wrapping paper and bows and left under the tree, but was a baby named Jesus, Who lived and died for the sins of the world, Who offers the free gift of salvation, and Who lives inside his heart.

If He Had Not Come is different from other Christmas stories in that it actually addresses the question posed from the title of the book. What would life look like if Jesus had not come to Earth? In addition to the Gospel message that you'll find inside this book, there are also the story's end notes and discussion questions and activities that will make a wonderful resource for parents, grandparents, and Sunday School teachers seeking to enrich the Christmas experience for children. This book can be pulled out at Christmases for years to come! I know it will be a part of our Christmas tradition each year now. What better way to keep the focus on Jesus?!

My son and I read If He Had Not Come one day in our homeschool as a reading activity. There was one part in the beginning of the story when it said, "Bobby didn't like going to bed.", and Caleb shouted out, "Amen!" I couldn't help but to stop and laugh!

When we finished, I asked him what he thought of the book. Here is his response:

Jesus is showing us how it would be without Him. The world would be in chaos. -Caleb, 14 years old
That is so true. Yes, the world is pretty terrible even now, and it is only going to get worse in my opinion. That is why I am so thankful that Jesus DID COME and that HE LIVES IN MY HEART. I'm so thankful that He lives in my husband's and children's hearts too. We can shine His light in this dark world until He returns for us. We have this precious gift of salvation available only from Jesus that we can share with others.

Let's help others discover the true meaning of Christmas like Bobby did in If He Had Not Come. It will be the best Christmas present they will ever receive!

You will find a special gift from David that you can use to help you with your children who are ready to accept the most precious gift they will ever receive. Receiving this most special gift is as easy as A-B-C! I would love to hear if your child accepted this free gift, so please leave me a comment below!

You'll definitely want to add If He Had Not Come to your Christmas reading list in the month of December as you help your children to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.


Read more reviews of If He Had Not Come from the Schoolhouse Review Crew by clicking on the image below. Check out the book's Facebook page too!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie
 


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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Christmas Traditions

I love having Christmas traditions with my family! Today I'll be sharing some of my family's favorite Christmas traditions that we have enjoyed over the years and new ones that we are adding this year. I hope you will enjoy a peek into our life and find a Christmas tradition here that you would like to start this year with your family.

Messer Family Christmas Traditions
  • Christmas Eve Pajamas - Every year I go shopping for Christmas themed pajamas for me and my daughter. Last year I tried including my son, but he didn't seem that interested (just like his Dad...lol). This year I'll also be buying for my sweet son-in-law, Jonathan! Maybe he will want to join in on the fun of opening up pajamas on Christmas Eve...lol!
  • Happy Birthday Jesus Cake - Now this is a Messer family Christmas tradition that everyone enjoys! Every night on Christmas Eve we bake a cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday. Then on Christmas morning, we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eat birthday cake for breakfast. Super mom points every time!
  • Word of the Year Christmas Ornament - This is a Christmas tradition we began last December. We searched for a Christmas ornament to hang on our tree that described how we experienced God throughout the year. The ornament we chose last year had Peace on it because God had given us His perfect peace last year during our son's health issues and diagnosis'. We will be choosing a new ornament tomorrow that describes how we have experienced God as a family this year and hang it on our Christmas tree. It's a perfect opportunity to discuss how God's hand has been on our family throughout the year as we decorate our Christmas tree!
  • Grandma Matthews' Chocolate Meringue Pie - My dear, sweet Grandma Matthews always made the most delicious chocolate meringue pies. I miss her so much, and in remembrance of my Grandma Matthews, I make a Chocolate Meringue Pie as part of our Christmas meal.
  • Christmas Movie Nights - My family loves Christmas movies! We just watched our first one tonight, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We will watch a Christmas movie every night leading up to Christmas. Some of our favorites are Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Elf, The Santa Clause movies, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas with the Kranks, Arthur Christmas, and The Polar Express. This year I want to add The Nativity Story to our Christmas movie list.
  • Baking Christmas Cookies - This is a fun time in our kitchen! We usually make sugar cookies and then add red and green sprinkles. Yum!
  • Family Photo w/Chrismon Tree - Our church puts up a beautiful Chrismon tree every year in the sanctuary. We always take a family photo in front of the Chrismon tree. It's special to go back and look at how my kids have grown and changed over the years. My daughter got married this year; and we are thrilled that her husband will be joining us in our family photo in front of the Chrismon tree!   

New Christmas Traditions
I am very excited about our three new Christmas traditions we are adding this year!  
  • Advent Journey - Tomorrow we begin our Advent journey using Celebrate Jesus Light of the World: An Advent Journey for Families {affiliate link}. This is a beautiful ebook that provides an amazing assortment of ideas and a daily schedule to use in our home for our Advent journey. Yesterday we went to our local Christian bookstore and bought our Advent wreath and candles. 
  • Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt - We will hop in my mini van with hot chocolate and popcorn with Christmas music playing on the radio as we search for the items on our Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt list. There are a lot of lists you can find if you do a search online. Just pick your favorite list and print it off to take with you. I can't wait to do this!
  • Christmas Outreach Project - Yesterday we began this new tradition by serving for an hour at our church's Stuff the Bus Christmas outreach to collect toys for needy children. We had a wonderful time!
 
Here I am with my husband and son volunteering at Stuff the Bus Christmas Outreach

Well, I hope you enjoyed a look into our Christmas traditions! Do you have any family Christmas traditions? I would love to hear about them, so please leave me a comment below.



This post is a part of Inspired Holiday Traditions blog hop from the Inspired Bloggers Network. Click on the link provided to read more posts on inspired holiday traditions from some of my favorite bloggers. While there, be sure to add your own link for your family's holiday traditions!

Here's a few posts I have enjoyed from the Inspired Holiday Traditions blog hop...check them out!

  • Katie, at Paradise Praises is sharing about Christmas Eve Gifts
  • Linda, at Apron Strings & Other Things is sharing about her Family Traditions
  • Virginia, at Georgetown, MN is sharing her recipe for her family's Jesus' Birthday Cake! I can't wait to try that recipe for my family this Christmas morning!
Making Traditions,
Laurie