. . . And a Big Star Upon the Jesse Tree

See, I didn't actually make 12 post-Christmas posts. ; )

But I wanted to post this, just because it felt like a monumental achievement, and because Ashley was so sweet to ask for photos.

Behold, the Blessed Jesse Tree

The finished tree, on the fridge.  Made of construction paper and scrap paper and markers and lots of scotch tape.  We started the project a little late, but I didn't let that bother me--and so the first morning the girls made the tree together, and I drew and colored the first ornament, the Root of Jesse, which was fun for me and which also served as an example for the kids as they made their ornaments.  That morning I told them the symbol they would each be making so they could work while I read the accompanying Bible passages (as quickly as I could while still making them meaningful).  On school mornings I normally read the Bible to them while they are eating breakfast, so it was seamless doing the Jesse Tree readings as our daily Scripture.  Some of the stories I read from The Big Picture Story Bible, just because they were so long and complicated to try to read and explain from the Bible in just 10 minutes or so (I am not a fan of any books that dumb down the Bible for kids--I usually read to them straight from the NIV or NAS. But for companion books that are geared towards kids, that is a good one--it puts Old and New Testament stories into one big story arc that helps kids to see how they all point to God and His plan of salvation for all people--which is, after all, the whole point of a Jesse Tree. The Jesus Storybook Bible" is another good book for that purpose.)

From then on, after breakfast each child took turns making the ornaments to represent the Advent scriptures I had read to them.  Sometimes we did not read the Scripture until lunch.  I don't have the same Bible reading routine on weekends, and so usually we had several readings and ornaments to make up on Monday mornings.  But the important thing is not when we read the verses, but that we did at all.  And as you can see, I was not aiming for amazing art--I just wanted the kids to engage with the stories and symbols however they wanted.  (I drew the symbols for Smiley to color).

The whole Jesse Tree project did not get done perfectly, and it did not even get done on time--since we went to DH's parents for Christmas, we actually finished our Jesse Tree on First Christmas, and all the kids got to make one last ornament there at the table with their Daddy while I read all the remaining scripture passages.  (DH completed the tree with the star on top, cracking me up as he did so, because he took the honor very seriously and got out a ruler and compass and mechanical pencil and made a meticulous and beautiful star. I would have free-handed it, and called it good enough, but that's who I am, not who he is!)

So, there you go!  I kept the whole thing as simple as possible, kept my expectations really low, and decided to care more about making it fun and meaningful than making it "Pin" worthy.  I would say it was a success, and something we will likely do again, although I must say I don't know if I will do it *every* year, or just every other.  Either way, the kids will learn from it, and it will be a part of their Christmas memories.

(For me, one of the most memorable parts of our first Jesse Tree was, thanks to Rahab, explaining to a table full of young children what prostitutes are.  If you don't know that, you can't fully appreciate not only the story of Jerico and the Israelite spies, but also the whole amazing significance of Rahab having the honor of being in the line of David, and thus Jesus.  But still.  Never anticipated one of our Advent discussions being about how God made men to enjoy women's bodies and how some people corrupt God's plan for mating within marriage.)

And now, as I wrap up this post--I want to leave you with some real Jesse Tree eye candy.  My friend Ali is in the process of making the most beautiful Jesse Tree ornaments for their family Christmas tree, and they made me so happy that she graciously posted pics of them on her blog so I could then steal the pics and share them with you:

What is not to love about felt?!  So charmingly textural and invitingly tactile.   

I really had to restrain myself from posting every one.

Can you tell the rose head is three dimensional?  So pretty. 

A wee button!

These are two of my favorites.  

Thank you, Ali, for letting me share them!

And while we are on the subject of adorable and meaningful Christmas crafts, you really should check out the post Ali made on her blog about some other crafts she and her kids did this past season--esp. the Etsy-ish onesies! (Jessica, you would like!)

This post is proof that you can do something like the Jesse Tree with lots of careful thought and creativity and  artistic ability--or you can do it on the fly, with lots of creativity and whatever artistic ability you have on hand. There's no wrong way to do it.  Anything we do to share God's Truth with our families is just right.