Happy Advent Church Family,

I remember as a child growing up, as soon as we finished cleaning up after Thanksgiving, our family began shuffling all our Christmas decorations out of storage and out into our home. It was a physical way to prepare our space for the season. As we have witnessed the “Christmas Creep” year after year, watching decorations being sold earlier and earlier, maybe we should be spending a little more time preparing our spiritual spaces for the real meaning of Christmas.

This year, I invite you to more intentionally journey through Advent with this devotion guide. Each day will focus on the characters within the Christmas story and remind us, they were people, too. Their lives brought about the first Christmas, and as disciples of the one we call Jesus the Christ, we must more intentionally prepare our spirits to give thanks for why this season is here in the first place.

My prayer for all of us this year is that we can journey through this Advent with open minds and hearts to allow God to reveal something fresh and new during a season of busyness. May we slow down and prepare our spirits to celebrate the birth of the one who is Emmanuel, God with us.

Grace and Peace,