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    As We Wait: A Family Advent Devotional
    As We Wait: A Family Advent Devotional
    As We Wait: A Family Advent Devotional
    Ebook66 pages36 minutes

    As We Wait: A Family Advent Devotional

    By Bethany Vitaro

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    About this ebook

    The Christmas season is one of the busiest times of the year for families. Taking time together to celebrate Advent, to focus on waiting, is a wonderful opportunity to bring you and those you love closer to God and to each other.
    These twenty-nine readings, one for each day of Advent, are a deep, yet practical exploration of the traditional themes of Advent; promise, light, love and hope. But the focus is more on what isn’t said than what is; giving you an opportunity to put yourself in the shoes of these characters, seeing them as human. While the themes may be traditional, this unique devotional has practical applications and incorporates scriptures from throughout both Old and New Testament, including many not traditionally read at Christmas.
    This devotional is designed for families with children middle school age and older, though it may still benefit readers of all ages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBethany Vitaro
    Release dateOct 23, 2012
    ISBN9781301024087
    As We Wait: A Family Advent Devotional

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      Book preview

      As We Wait - Bethany Vitaro

      Introduction

      The Christmas story often becomes too familiar. It is so much a part of the landscape of the holiday season that we forget its role as the climax of the themes that run through the whole Old Testament. Our biblical study at Christmas time often limits itself to the birth of Christ and the themes of promise, light, love and hope, without acknowledging the frequent foreshadowing present in earlier and even seemingly unrelated accounts. In these pages lies what I feel to be a deeper, yet practical, exploration of these traditional themes of advent. In some ways, I focus more on what isn’t said than what is; giving you an opportunity to put yourself in the shoes of these characters, seeing them as human.

      When I was a child, advent traditions were an important part of my family’s celebration of the Christmas season. As busy as the holiday time was, we tried to make time every night to light the candles of the advent wreath and share a brief devotional. The point was to put the focus not simply on Christmas Day, but to celebrate the wait of the world for the birth of Jesus in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Traditionally, advent is made up of the four Sundays before Christmas. Because of this the length of advent varies depending on the calendar. This book includes enough devotional readings for the maximum length of advent, assuming one reading per day.

      These devotions do not require the use of the advent wreath, though you may include one if you wish. The wreath generally has four or five candles, one candle for each Sunday of advent and an extra one for Christmas Eve. The colors of the candles and their meanings are different from one tradition to the next. The version I grew up with was five candles, three purple, one pink and one white. The themes of promise, light, and hope were symbolized by purple candles and the pink candle stood for love. The white candle was lit only on Christmas Eve. You begin on the first Sunday with one candle and light just that one candle for the first week. On the second Sunday you light the first and second candle and so on until Christmas Eve when all five candles are illuminated.

      The end of each reading includes a short prayer. Feel free to modify the wording and extend the prayer for your own uses. In my own family we also concluded each reading with the singing of a hymn or Christmas carol. I hope this book helps bring you and those you love closer to God and to each other as you celebrate the advent season.

      This is dedicated to my mother, who has clung to the simple advent readings of my childhood for lack of something better. I hope this will finally be that something better.

      Promise

      First Sunday of Advent

      Promises and Covenants: God’s Faithfulness to an Unfaithful World.

      Isaiah 54:7-10

      The Old Testament is filled

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