It's a Wonder*Filled Christmas! {Day FOUR}

Being Sunday and all, I wanted to create a faith-based project today.

It's a tradition I have wanted to start for the last couple years,

and finally got around to it...wonder why?!

Ethan is ready for it, the little guys won't understand

just yet, but well we'll break it in for them,

and it'll be ready when they're ready!

{Day FOUR: Jesse Tree}

First why is it called a Jesse tree?  

The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1-2

Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot - 

yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 

{Jesse was King David's father}

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - 

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

What do you do with the Jesse tree?

Every day from the last day of November through Christmas

you place an ornament on the tree and read a devotional.  

It's like an advent calendar, except it goes through the 

Bible from creation to Jesus' coming.

It makes me heart happy thinking we will be doing this

throughout the Christmas Season. 

There is always so much to do to throw you off center 

during Christmas time.  I think this is a great way to refocus.

We are a few days off the first, but I don't think

there is any fine for needing to catch up!

It will be perfect to read and light our advent wreath.

Mainly I am happy to start new traditions.

Ones this boy and his brothers can pass onto their own families.

Imprinting CHRISTmas, isn't that what it's all about?

What kind of tree should I use?

It can be as creative as you want, as simple,

you decide.  I know some use a smaller artificial Christmas trees,

some the mini real trees, others gathered branches.

In fact that is what I used.  Just spray painted them 

with some metallic silver spray paint I had for another project, 

Glitter Blast from Krylon would be so pretty too.

Put the branches into a glass vessel with some epsom salt snow

and all set!  

I set ours up next to our nativity 

with a little dish containing all of our ornaments.  

Where do I get the ornaments?

You can make them, buy them, being that it already 

started I needed to find something already done.

Ann Voskamp has a lovely advent devotional 

complete with ornaments if you subscribe to her RSS feed.

Easy enough because I promise you will want to devour her 

words anyway!  We link up to Ann weekly here.

{Ann Voskamp's A Holy Experience}

So all we had to do was glue the paper ornaments

onto some metallic cardstock, punch a hole, thread some yarn

through on a bit more than two dozen times and we were ready to go!

Honestly it took Ethan and I about a half hour to do!

More detailed description of each day's devotional

and ornament symbol at CatholicCulture.org.

I would love to hear if you have a Jesse tree and what your tradition is with it!

*~*~*~*~

Stop by tomorrow, for a super fun kid project.

Rhymes with grow robe. 

See you then.  Sweet dreams!

{michelle}

sharing our Jesse tree at...