Our guest blogger today is Meredith Butler. She is wife to Cory Butler, Youth Minister at Heights Baptist Church and mom to 4-year-old Liam.
Meredith is among the growing number of women who are choosing to take their job as stay-at-home mom to a professional level. She does this by creating a home environment that nourishes her marriage and her son.
Wondering what she does to keep Jesus in Christmas? We did too. So we asked her. We loved the answer so much we are sharing it with you!
Meredith’s Christmas Tradition
On December 1st I gather Liam up into my lap and read the entire Christmas story from one of the many Christmas books we own. It’s good for everyone to remember the whole story. It helps us get right to the point of wonder and awe as we focus on the real reason for the season, Jesus and his birth.
After we finish the doorbell mysteriously rings (it’s really my husband Cory hiding) As Liam and I open the door we find a package wrapped in brown paper with Liam’s name on it.
Upon opening the package Liam discovers 2 figurines, Mary and Joseph. A letter is also tucked in the box. The letter explains that Joseph and Mary need our help to get to Bethlehem and the stable that was under our tree. Jesus is about to be born and they need to hurry.
Over the next 25 days Mary & Joseph traveled all over our house.
Each morning Liam would have fun finding how far they had gone on their journey during the night.
He would start at the place where he had last seen them. There he would find only a note or a scripture (from the Advent Reading Plan link below) from them to Liam. He then would have to discover how far they had gotten during the night. When he found their new resting spot we would write them a note to encourage them on their journey.
Each night we grab our Jesus Story Book Bible and look up what Joseph and Mary had left for us to read. And so it goes for 24 days.
On Christmas Eve we refresh the Christmas story into our hearts by watching “The Very First Noel”. It is an animated Christmas movie that captures the journey of the 3 wise men on their adventures quest to find the newborn King. We all go to bed excited and expecting Jesus.
The fun is completed on Christmas morning as Liam finds Mary and Joseph under our tree and Baby JESUS has arrived! He is there in the manager. Mary and Joseph made it in time and the world will never be the same again!
What’s your family tradition? Share it with us in the comment section below.
Advent Reading Plan
http://adrielbooker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/jesus-storybook-advent.pdf
“The Very First Noel” Video
http://www.amazon.com/Very-First-Noel-Voice-Griffith/dp/B000JMKKI6
so great! love this so much better than Elf on the Shelf!! Thank you!