Today we are thrilled to welcome Amy Waters, beloved friend and fellow homeschool mother. Many of you may have enjoyed Ann Voskamp’s free Jesse Tree Advent Devotional last year? Well, Amy, shares a fresh way of looking at it…
Last year I was contemplating what gifts to give my sister and her family. Should I give something to each of them or a family gift? They had recently moved in with Dad to regain their financial stability. So there was not a great deal of room and I didn’t want to contribute to the clutter. Not to mention, that we are trying very hard not to get ourselves into debt. Thankfully, the Lord sent me this scripture.
2 Corinthians 8:12
For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
But still, what to give? My nieces 6 months and 2 ½ years old, would, I knew, receive many expensive and space consuming toys from their grandparents. So, I decided to try a family gift for them all. And almost as I had made this decision, Ann Voskamp released her free Advent Jesse Tree Book! Don’t you just love her and her way with words? With The Word! We have a Jesse Tree at our house and love it. It really keeps us focused on the true gift and reason for Christmas. My sister had always expressed a degree of sadness about this season, based on childhood experiences. Tons of toys when they were little and less each year as they got older had led her to be disillusioned with Christmas. She wanted to be able to give her children more every year so that they would not have this experience. I was hoping to give her a tradition that lasted a whole season, instead of endless hours of shopping and overspending that culminated in an hour long frenzy of unwrapping and then the inevitable end. Again, The Lord supplied the wisdom in a verse. Continue reading »