The Beautiful Word for Christmas is a little, square hardcover book that is perfect for gift giving. The first fifty pages have beautiful calligraphy and illustrations depicting the Nativity story from Luke 1 and 2. The remaining 157 pages have 31 daily devotions with a follow-up activity to carry you through the Advent season.
I've been peeking into the devotions and the suggested activities, and I'm looking forward to reading these in November and December. We use a different devotion for our family during Advent, but I will enjoy these devotions and challenges myself. Each day's devotion starts with a short Scripture, then tells a story that ties in with the scripture and leads right into the day's activity. The activities include challenges to spend screen-free time with your family, send a letter or card to someone needing encouragement, reach out to immigrants in your community, bless others, and prepare yourself spiritually for Christmas and the New Year.
The devotions are more of a story to ponder than a deep expose of Scripture. The meat of this devotion lies more in the act of following through with the day's activity - taking the time to bless someone else or prepare your own heart for the upcoming season. This book isn't difficult to work through, but taking the time to do it can bring joy to you, and others this year. When you're done reading it, pass it on to someone else for next year. Or buy a copy for yourself, and a copy to give as a gift.
April E.
