Our Jesus Tree

I can't begin to express just how excited I am about a new tradition we started this year. My Uncle Mike gave us a set of Proclamation Ornaments for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago; and to be honest, I really hadn't given them much thought before now. I found them as we were unpacking Christmas decorations & was amazed at what I found inside the box. You see, our church is celebrating Advent with A Calendar of Devotions for families to read throughout the month leading up to Christmas. Growing up in a Baptist church, this is the first time I've actually participated in Advent and really focused on preparing for the Christmas celebration daily. The Proclamation Ornaments (which are apparently no longer being produced) include 25 ornaments designed to help us remember that the Jesus who has come is the Jesus who is coming again. The Scripture on each ornament shows an Old Testament promise and how it is fulfilled in the New Testament in the life of Jesus. Each ornament's design represents what we have in Jesus. The heart speaks of His great love for us. The cross speaks of His death for us. And the star speaks of the hope we have in our ascended Christ. The culmination of the ornaments, the Jesus Banner, is royal blue and speaks of His heavenly origin.




Our "Jesus Tree" is located just inside the living room, and each night before bed Abi hangs that day's ornament on the tree, Terry reads the Scripture & I read the devotional followed by nightly prayers. Even though the kids are young, and don't really understand what's going on; it thrills me to know that we are laying a foundation for them to understand the real reason for the season while establishing a meaningful Christmas tradition our family can carry out for years to come.