When my sister and I were little, we would go spend a week in Meridian, Mississippi with my grandparents during the summer. During one of those visits, my grandmother taught me my first bit of Latin. She was a Latin teacher and loved the language. I came to love it too. As I grew up, I took Spanish in school like all my friends but was not really interested in it so when I got to college, I chose Latin to fulfil the requirement for my major. It came so much easier to me and I sailed right through. My grandmother’s favorite Christmas song was “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” but when you asked her, she would tell you, “Adeste Fideles,” as she preferred it in Latin. If you have never heard it sung in Latin, you should. It is beautiful. As we head into day seven of our 12 Days of Christmas, I wanted to do a day centered on the nativity and the birth of Jesus. We read the Christmas story on Christmas morning, but I also like to help ensure that we focus on celebrating Jesus throughout the entire season. It gives us another opportunity to share just how special this time is and all that it means to us with our boys.
“O Come Ye, O Come Ye To Bethlehem”
Being a mom, naturally I think about Mary’s experience as a new mom. Before she and Joseph arrived at the place they would stay, they had to travel around 90 miles. Mary was 9 months pregnant and most likely rode on an animal for the entire length of the journey. When I was pregnant with my oldest, my husband had a Ford F250 that I thought was uncomfortable. There were only two smells that bothered me, and that truck interior scent was one of them, not to mention the way it felt as we hit every bump in the road. So, I really feel for what Mary must have endured riding on a smelly animal. Then to arrive in her condition and be told there is no room. Poor Joseph too, right? I would not have wanted to be him having to deliver that news to her. Prior to the pandemic, I traveled a good bit for work, and I got used to having nice accommodations ready when I needed them. I don’t want to roll up to the Marriott after dealing with airports and rental car companies all day only to find there is no availability, and that’s the case when I am not pregnant. Add pregnancy hormones and let’s just say I pity the night clerk on duty.
Mary and Joseph had arrived though, and the truth was they were seemingly on their own, out in what has been described for 2000 years as something resembling a stable. With more animals. I remember when I first held Wood, what came over me was like nothing I had ever felt. I certainly wanted the best for him and if he made a squeak, I was fixing everything, whether it needed to be fixed or not. Is he too hot? Too cold? His little socks would fall off. Same with the little mittens that kept him from scratching his sweet face. Is he hungry? How much should I feed him? Does he need to be changed? Mary probably had no socks, or mittens. She didn’t even have a doctor. Truthfully, I cannot imagine what her experience must have been like. Having to place your newborn baby in a stable manger? What I do know is they were not on their own. God was with them. This moment had been ordained from the beginning of the world and while it was not an ideal place to give birth, I am confident she and Joseph were provided for. I know everything took a back seat to the beautiful baby boy in my hospital room 8 years ago and then again 5 years ago, so I am sure that once they saw Jesus, the rest faded into the background even more so. What a miracle.
One thing we like to do is follow an Advent guide for devotionals that we can share with the kids. Your local church may have resources available but if not, I recommend going to www.thevillagechurch.net and clicking on resources. Find the Advent 2020 guide and you will see an outline for devotions for the 5 weeks leading up to Christmas. With only 5 devotions, you can certainly still work these in prior to Christmas if you are late in getting started. Each week includes a personal study along with a family devotion as well. Week 2 focuses on the actual birth of Jesus. It also includes some Old Testament verses that speak of the promised Savior and describe how he would come. It is a beautiful way to discuss how Jesus is the deliverer promised to God’s people over many generations.
In addition to the scripture references, the guide also includes accompanying readings from The Jesus Storybook Bible. This is a wonderful Bible for little ones as it has the stories written in a format that is easy for children to understand. It also helps connect that the Bible is one big story, and the gospel is revealed by every story pointing to Jesus. I highly recommend this as a first Bible for children. We have two copies! The Jesus Storybook Bible
“Sing Choirs of Angels, Sing in Exultation”
You know I love music, so I wanted to share a couple of my favorites in addition to some classic Christmas hymns we all know and love. These are some songs that I have on my Christmas playlist and have enjoyed all month long. There are so many beautiful songs and talented artists out there so this is not a comprehensive list. It is just a few of my Christmas favorites that are new arrangements plus some original songs.
- “Born on That Day”-Mat Maher. Hands down, this is one of my absolute favorites. My favorite part is the line that says, “I hear a voice from heaven declare- prepare the way.” Such a beautiful song.
- “He Shall Reign Forevermore”-Mat Maher. I listen to this one constantly too. Just a great, powerful worship song.
- “Angels We Have Heard on High”-Phil Wickham. This arrangement is absolutely gorgeous.
- “Light of The World”-Lauren Daigle. This is a beautiful song with some powerful lyrics. “For all who wait, for all who hunger, for all who’ve prayed, for all who wonder. Behold your King. Behold Messiah.” So good.
- “O Come, All Ye Faithful”-Elevation Worship. I have to include this one, obviously. This version starts off slow and builds. It is a great song to sing along with.
“All Hail! Lord, We Greet Thee,”
A great book to read with your kids is Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story. It is a wonderful story that beautifully illustrates how the world was waiting in anticipation for the promised Savior and the celebration that follows His arrival. My boys enjoy the detail in the pictures on every page. Song of The Stars: A Christmas Story
Our activity for today was a nativity ornament. You can order these round natural wood slices for crafts from Amazon and they come pre-drilled and include twine for hanging. I really like this nativity scene because it is easy for kids to make themselves as it is a simple drawing. Even if they only help with part of the drawing, they can participate. Find the image at the link below that we used as our guide. It is for an Etsy item that I believe is no longer available, but since I just used the picture as a guide to make ours, that is all we needed.
For a treat and a good idea for something you and your kids can make and give to others, check out this simple candy jar. This is another easy thing the kids can help with as it just involves filling some little jars with holiday M&Ms and then adding a Christmas ribbon. There is a sweet poem that uses the ‘M’ turned every direction to tell the Christmas Story. I have included a link to the printable poem but it is card size so you may want to make yours smaller if you want to attach it, depending on how big your jar is.
Another great way to keep the focus on the real meaning of Christmas is to have a nativity set out on display. When my boys were little, my mom gave us a Melissa and Doug nativity set and it is great for little ones to play with. The figures are wooden and sturdy and the set is easy to put together. They remind me of the puzzle pieces for some of the first puzzles the boys had. A great idea for starting this tradition with little ones. I am including a link to the one I have but they make several.
We also have a bigger nativity set with beautiful detail that includes garland and lights. I remember enjoying the one my parents had growing up so I hope to make some great memories with these through the years as a way to be sure we make much of Jesus during the holidays.
One of the reasons I love “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” is that I feel like it is a great song for pausing and reflecting on all that we celebrate with the birth of Jesus.
“Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels.”
It is like a beckon to come and just dwell a little on the first Christmas and all that took place in Bethlehem that night.
“O come, let us adore Him,” or as my grandmother would prefer, “Venite adoremus”
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
Stay tuned for more of the 12 Days of Christmas!
