Each year, Grace hands out free Advent Boxes to our families, full of ways to add meaning and spiritual memories to your holiday season. Each box includes
- Daily, beautiful countdown cards for anticipating Christmas Day
- Devotions designed for little kids and big ones, too
- Directions and supplies for weekly family activities
- Advent candles to light throughout the month
Pick up a box starting Sunday, November 18th! Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:
SAMPLE DAILY DEVOTIONAL
Read Scripture: Psalm 113
Preschool Devotion: Our God is so Big and so Mighty and yet He loves you! You may not feel like you are very important, but you are important to God. He loves you so much that He gave you the best gift possible…Jesus! We remember to have hope at Christmas because Jesus came to save us.
Family Devotion: As you read this scripture, light the first purple candle, which represents hope or expectation in anticipation of the coming Messiah. Do you ever feel like God is far away from you? Or like He is so big and powerful that He would never notice a little child like you? Our verses today in Psalm 113 talks about that very thing. You see, God is big and powerful. Our verses say, “He is seated on high.” Imagine someone on a very big throne looking down on everybody else, thinking important thoughts, and doing important things. You probably think that someone so important doesn’t care about unimportant, little kids; but, you see, our God is different. Our verses say that God takes the most unimportant people and raises them up to sit with all the princes. God really does see you. God really does love you. As we get close to Christmas, we are going to see that God loves us so much that He gave us the best gift possible. He gives gifts to the people that most everybody else wouldn’t even bother with. God gives gifts to us because He loves us, not because we are big and powerful.
SAMPLE WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
This week, we focused on the prophecy of Christ’s birth. We have hope because God always keeps His promises. He said He would come, and Christmas reminds us that He did show up, just like He said He would. He came in human flesh as a tiny baby.
For this week’s activity, we’ll be doing a scavenger hunt, which will remind us that God keeps His promises. He told us that something would happen and sure enough, it happened! After you read your devotional, hand your children a piece of paper that tells them where to find the next clue. For instance, look in dad’s shoe, look under the table, etc. At the end of the scavenger hunt leave them with a small gift, a piece of candy or an outing for ice cream. For older kids, consider making riddles for them to figure out.
Take a moment at the end to ask simple questions, if you have time.
How did you know where to find the next clue?
Why did you believe that the paper was telling the truth?
Link this activity to our trust in God. You trusted that mom put the papers where she said they would be…you believe her because she is trustworthy. How much more trustworthy is God! He never lies and never fails. He always keeps His promises.
