The Advent season can be a frenetic time—we find ourselves sprinting through Black Friday crowds, scrawling holiday shopping lists, and baking cookies for countless holiday parties. So how can we slow down this year? How can we prepare now, even today, to pause, to breathe, to reflect—to become more faithful disciples?
In hopes that you will find Jesus this Advent and Christmas, we offer here some suggestions for resources that can help you adopt a spirit of celebration and remembrance—personally and communally. We’ve priced them starting at $5 each and many are available on Kindle, Nook, and iTunes.
Soul Proclamations: Singing the Magnificat with Mary
These daily reflections by five esteemed writers approach the Advent and Christmas seasons in different ways, from deep engagement with scripture to current examples that connect Mary’s story to ours. Let their words be a companion in your preparations as you ready your heart and soul for the coming of Christ Jesus. Authors include Ray Suarez, Christopher Wells, Kate Moorehead, Thomas E. Breidenthal and Christine McSpadden. Learn more.
Cathy H. George invites us to come in from all that goes on outside this Advent, to simply be in the present time–keenly aware of ourselves as we wait with God. Guided by the Psalms, she travels back to her past, reflecting on the moments and memories that have shaped her faith and offering spiritual support for all who seek stillness. Learn more.
With drawings and text by Jay Sidebotham, the Slow Down. Quiet. It’s Advent! calendar poster suggests ways to mark the days through the Advent season—offering a reprieve from the holiday hustle and bustle with ideas for prayer, helping others, and being thoughtful about the true meaning of Christmas. Learn more.
After Advent, celebrate the songs of angels at Christmas with our Choirs of Angels poster. Sold in packs of 25, these posters are great to tackle with children at home or as gifts for Sunday schools. Learn more.
Dog in the Manger: Finding God in Christmas Chaos
With laugh-out-loud humor anchored by spiritual truths, author Tim Schenck helps us maintain our spiritual sanity through the frenetic time of Advent and Christmas. Illustrated by cartoonist Jay Sidebotham, Dog in the Manger also explores the major characters of the season in new ways, including John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph and of course, Jesus. Thoughtful questions following each section make Dog in the Manger ideal for personal or group use. Learn more.
Are you expecting Jesus this Christmas? Are you prepared to receive him? Advent offers a time for preparation, to wait in hopeful expectation for the coming of our Savior. Author, Episcopal priest, and new mom Danielle Tumminio explores birth—both the physical birth of Jesus and the metaphorical opportunities for rebirth in our spiritual lives. Each meditation begins with scripture and ends with questions for individual or small-group study. Learn more.
A masterful storyteller with the compassion of a physician, Luke paints a picture of Jesus as healer, full of mercy, forgiveness, and love. The Gospel of Luke features the Magnificat, Mary’s love song to God, and the nativity story heard in Christmas pageants around the world. Join the journey with 50 days of scripture readings, meditations, and prayers written by dynamic spiritual leaders from around the world. Learn more.
In these inspiring and accessible meditations, John Alexander offers a theologically rich and biblically grounded journey through Advent, Christmastide, and the first days of Epiphanytide. Based on the eucharistic lectionary of The Episcopal Church, Father Alexander takes the reader into the heart of Advent’s focus on “last things” and then the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Preachers will find in this volume a useful resource for preparing their own sermons, but any Christian will benefit from these homilies. Learn more.
We wish you a peaceful and reflective Advent season. And as you journey through these volumes, we encourage you to connect with fellow disciples in our Day by Day and Forward Movement Facebook communities.