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CLICK ON THE AUDIO PLAYER TO LISTEN TO OUR STORY ABOUT THE 25 DAYS OF ADVENT
Thanks for taking a moment of your busy time to read our story of how we use the Advent season to teach our children about Jesus Christ. For six years our lessons have been helping teachers and parents around the world give more passion and joy in the way they celebrate Christmas.
We pray that God will allow us to help you this season in teaching your children the wonderful story of the birth of Jesus Christ. What started as making weekly advent lessons for sunday school teachers spilled over into teaching my own children these daily advent lessons.
Our book, "25 Days of Advent" gives fun daily and weekly advent ideas, daily stories, crafts and advent wooksheets. The lessons are designed to be used each day from Dec 1st until Christmas day. The book makes teaching easy and you can start any time.
The season of Advent begins on Sunday, November 30, 2008. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It is a time to prepare our hearts and our lives for the Christ child. We hope you join us in this great celebration!
Advent comes from the Latin word adventur which means "arrival". It is a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus Christs' birthday. During Advent many Church services include a short Advent ceremony. The lighting of one candle each of the 4 Sundays is usually included before or after the reading. The advent wreath is made in a circle representing God's Unending Love, holly branches around the wreath reminds us of Everlasting Life with Jesus Christ, the wreath consists of 4 candles, 3 purple (a royalty color, representing the coming of our King), and 1 pink candle, (the joy candle). On Christmas day a white candle in the center of the wreath can be lite to represent the birth of Jesus Christ. I have heard two different programs that explain the meanings of each candle.
Week one ~ Hope
Week two ~ Faith
Week three ~ Joy (the pink candle)
Week four ~ Peace Christmas Day ~ Love The Christ Candle the other program had a candle represent the different characters in the the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. ~
Mary, Shepherds, Joseph & the Wisemen.
In our ceremony I combined the two programs into one. For example in week one I tell about the Hope Candle, and how the Wise men had Hope in the new born King.
Many years ago, in my earlier days of motherhood, I found a delightful advent reading for children. I was very dedicated that Christmas, and our family lite a candle each of the four weeks on Sunday evening which included a family devotion. The children really enjoyed it. I decided this would be a great family tradition. Each Christmas I found myself too busy to get started, or I could not find the advent book that we followed, and I had no idea how to make my own devotions. I could not even remember what the candles were suppose to represent. Christmas after Christmas passed with no family advent devotions. Each Christmas I promised that I would be more prepared NEXT year. In 2000 when I got out the Christmas decorations I found the Advent devotional booklet that I had used. It was too late to start on day one, but the small book gave me ideas and I started writing my own lessons. I called it "The 12 days of Advent". I decided that I could at least be dedicated to teaching for 12 consecutive days. It was tremendously successful for me and my three youngest children. The lessons kept them interested and wanting to learn more about the story of the birth of Jesus. I made webpages of each of the twelve lessons, activities for each day, a Christmas story to read, and a list of Christmas books recommended for reading. The next year we were eager and ready to start on time. I asked a team of Sunday School teachers and Mom's around the World to try and evaluate each lesson as we made them. The lessons were expanded from 12 to 25 days! That was the beginning of the "25 Days of Advent". The lessons were available in a downloadable pdf file as a 134 Instruction Booklet, and a 192 page Interactive Children's CD in zip file. Our beautifully designed online advent calendar is easy to use. All you do is click, download and print each day. We have even include the 12 days of Christmas which starts on Christmas day and ends January 6th.
"25 Days of Advent" is published in paperback at LuLu. You can become a member and download today, or buy the books through LULU by CLICKING HERE. The Lessons are as easy as A-B-C and 1-2-3.
Designed for ages Pre-School to Teens.
This year we are adding stories that you can listen to online. Click on our Sample reading from "The Littlest Angel" by Charles Tazewell
JOIN Just 4 Kids Magazine
and receive your Advent lessons.
You can select either the plan for 12 days or the one for 25 days. And if you get wrapped up in the holiday and find yourself too busy before Christmas you can use the 12 days of Christmas during the 12 days after Christmas ~ The season of Epiphany. These 12 lessons are some of the most important teachings from the bible that our children should know. They include understanding the trinity, 8 Beatitudes, 9 Fruits of the Spirit, 10 Commandments and our newest lessons on the meanings of the 12 foundation stones at the New Jerusalem.
We hope you have a more meaningful Christmas and choose to use our advent webpages designed for your children to enjoy and learn exciting adventures about Jesus Christ. 
2 December: First Sunday of Advent 2007
Read Jamie's Story HERE
If you have any comments or suggestions CLICK HERE TO Email Mauri
ORDER HERE 
25 days Advent Lessons.
 
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The picture of the little girl hanging an ornament on the tree is by Penny Parker from a webset designed by Moon and Back Graphics.
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