We’ve turned a corner into December and with it, Advent has come and Christmas is on the horizon. We’ve got some Advent resources for you; don’t worry, it’s not too late to start. May you welcome this season in hope.

Around the Web

Good Advent Resources

The great team over at The Pelican Project has developed a list of good Advent resources for us.

There are many, many wonderful resources to use during Advent, and I’d love to suggest others to you. To curate the list below, I polled people on Facebook and Twitter, including the Facebook group associated with The Pelican Project. (If you don’t know what The Pelican Project is, you’ll want to learn, especially as one of our primary goals is to connect churches, lay leaders, and individuals with theologically rich content.)
Whatever you do, don’t let Advent pass you by as you keep yourself busy with shopping lists, holiday parties, and school concerts. As I write in the reading for December 1:
“If December has its way with us, it will leave us too distracted to look up, as the shepherds did, and notice the blinding glory of the Lord.”
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Because How We Talk about Adoption Matters (Even If We’re Using the Bible)

The O’Briens have something for us all to think about as we talk about adoption.

Christians love to talk about adoption. And, more often than not, this is what’s going through my mind most of the time when they speak.
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
The reason? We tend to equate adoption with salvation.
Let’s back up a little bit. Romans 8 and Galatians 4 both speak about our adoption as sons & daughters. There is beautiful truth in that we have been grafted into the family of God not because of some biological right, but purely by the grace of God bestowed on us through no action of our own. This is absolutely true. But it is not the full picture.
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Christmas Novels to Read Aloud with the Whole Family

Sarah Mackenzie has a podcast recommending Christmas novels and stories for reading aloud with the family.

If you’re looking for stories that will shape and form your Advent and Christmas season, you’re in exactly the right place.
On this brand new podcast episode, I’m sharing my favorite Christmas novels (and short stories, too) to read with your kids.
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Love & Hurt Feelings – Refresher

At the Cripplegate, Eric Davis challenges us to check ourselves and respond in love.

Insurance companies amaze me. One little speeding ticket or a minor fender-bender, and everything changes. Your monthly payment sky-rockets. They no longer trust you. Simply for doing the human thing of making a mistake, you henceforth are placed on insurance detention. They not only record the minor mishap, but your previously good relationship with them goes sour from merely one mistake. One little blunder results in a tarnished relationship.
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Around the Warren

Advent – Opening Again to Wonder

J.E. Kestner reflects on how easy it is to turn off wonder, and the ways Advent can help us turn it back on.

I have seen some truly wonderful things working as a paramedic the last three years. My favorite example is when I delivered a baby in the back of my ambulance last year. Any terror I felt in the beginning was quickly dwarfed by the sheer panic I felt when the baby girl decided to come out breech. By God’s grace, she entered this life pink, kicking, and screaming. About a month ago I heard from the father. She’s healthy, happy, and loved.
I wish I had more stories like that.
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5 Picture Books to Brighten Your Winter Days

Could there be a better title than this one?

After dumping more than a foot of snow in a 12-hour period, the blizzard we Minnesotans endured last year went into the books as the biggest snowstorm in seven years. Travel was almost completely halted and schools closed early, but lots of folks rejoiced heartily as they shoveled. Snow! Northerners seem to find plenty of ways to take advantage of the snow and ice. Downhill skiing, ice skating, ice fishing, sledding, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing all help fill our long winters with merriment and outdoor exercise.
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Stories Inspired by Jamin Still’s Illustration Prompt

Did your young writers participate in our writing event this year? We’ve begun sharing stories inspired by Jamin Still’s gorgeous painting over the past few weeks. Check this week’s out at the link below.