Preparing for Christmas

According to sitemeter,the majority of the visits to my blog lately have either been through pinterest or google. What are people searching for? Jesse Tree and Advent symbols! (Well, and monster cookies.) So I thought I'd do a little repost from the archives.

Using the Jesse Tree Advent tree is just one part of how we are celebrating Christmas in a redemptive way in our home. It has been a huge blessing to us the past 2 years, and I can't wait to do it again! The Bible study/devotions (we use them as our curriculum for our evening family worship) begin on November 26th, so if you start now, you've got plenty of time to build one for your own family to use this year! :)

I'll be adding a little note into the original post in italics. Without any further ado...

For our wedding, some sweet friends of us (and hubby's mentor), gave us an amazing book called "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" by Noel Piper. In it, she shares - among other things - how to make Christmas a truly blessed and Christ-centered holiday for the whole family. I knew pretty much immediately that when we had children, I wanted a Christ-focused Advent calendar to help us count down the days to the 25th. But I didn't know where to start!

I had the idea in my head to write/create my own. But I just stalled. It was tough! I happened to mention it to one of the women at church this past winter, and she shared with me that the Women's Ministry had actually created an Advent devotional called a Jesse Tree. It was the first time I had ever heard of any such thing, although since then I seem to see it everywhere. So this is not a first, but it's goooooood. My friend graciously made copies of the devotionals and visual aid/symbols for me to use to make our own.

So the name "Jesse Tree" comes from a passage of Scripture in Isaiah, that proclaims and prophesies that someone descending from the line of Jesse will rally the nations and be our hope. In our church's Jesse Tree, there are 30 daily devotionals beginning on November 26th, and ending Christmas Day. Each day has a symbol, so you add to the tree every day. The devotionals begin with Creation, and go through the Bible and Jesus' lineage to show God's faithfulness and promise, and how all of Scripture points to Jesus as the prophesied Messiah.

(Just a side note, if you're interested in doing something similar, you can check out Ann Voskamp's ebook "The Glorious Coming: A Jesse Tree Advent Celebration" for only $16.)

Okay, so in addition to the daily devotionals, here's what I started with:

This (^) is a xerox copy she gave me along with the daily devotionals; I'm not sure how they did their Jesse Tree - it sort of looks like a bulletin board kind of deal, but I'm not positive. But I pretty much made all of my symbols nearly exactly what is pictured here. Remember, I'm crafty, but not creative. ;)

Anyway, so first I decided how big I wanted our Jesse Tree to be. I knew I wanted a felt banner that we could reuse year after year. So once I figured out the overall size (27"x36") I wanted for the banner (and I actually used some old-school cross-multiplication to determine the size of the tree and leaves, WOOT for algebra!), I made my banner (^).

I sketched out the general tree shape on tissue paper, pinned the tissue paper to my brown felt, cut it out (this took forever), and sewed it to the banner (took even longer). When I sewed the banner together, I left a 1.5" pocket at the top to insert a dowel rod. (I'll hang the banner once I get my dowel, and put some sticky velcro dots on the back of each "leaf.")

You could also do this as a no-sew project using a really sturdy craft glue like Fabri-Tac, available at JoAnn's, Michael's, and Hancock.

Then I cut out 29 leaves (^), because I knew I wanted 2 of the symbols to go directly on the tree or banner.

Then I got to work! The majority of the symbols are done using colored felt (I had a bunch anyway from another project I had previously done), and embellished with fabric "puff" paint. If anyone has any specific questions about how I created a particular leaf symbol, just ask in a comment. :) Okay, so I'll say what each of these are for, going top to bottom, then left to right.

(1) Stump, for Jesse Tree; (2) Earth, for Creation; (3) Apple, for Adam & Eve and fall; (4) Ark with rainbow, for Noah and the flood; (5) Tent and camel, for Abraham and Sarah.

(1) Ram, for Isaac; (2) Ladder, for Jacob; (3) Coat of Colors, for Joseph; (4) 10 Commandments, for Moses; (5) Scarlet cord, for Rahab; (6) Wheat, for Ruth.

(1) Horn of oil, for Samuel; (2) Harp, for David; (3) Crown, for Solomon; (4) Rose, for prophecy; (5) Raven, for Elijah; (6) Whale, for Jonah.

(1) Scroll, for Isaiah; (2) Bible, for Jeremiah; (3) Lion, for Daniel; (4) Trowel and bricks, for Nehemiah; (5) Praying hands, for Zechariah and Elizabeth; (6) Angel, for angels.

(1) Mary praying, for Mary; (2) Tools, for Joseph; (3) Dove, for John the Baptist; (4) Sandals and staff, for shepherds; (5) Star, for the New Star; (6) Manger, for Jesus' birth; (7) Chi Rho.

And here are all the symbols, on the tree (^)! I went from top to bottom, so that the kids will be able to see the tree filling up as we near Christmas Day.

I'm so excited to begin this tradition with our family. Thanks for letting me share it with you!

Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory and crafting lane! If you're interested in getting a copy of the daily devotionals, please let me know.

**Edited to add that I completed a symbol-by-symbol written explanation of how I made each leaf for our Jesse Tree. You can find it here if you're interested!