#TuesdayTreasure: Guest Post by Sarah Sundin

Well, here we are barreling down on Christmas week.

Today I'm happy to bring to you a special guest, Sarah Sundin with a Christmas treasure.....

Each year, the first Christmas item my family asks for is the Advent wreath. On each of the four Sundays in Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), our family gathers around the wreath. Not only is this cozy family time, but it focuses us with joyful anticipation on the birth of Jesus.

The Advent wreath became popular in Germany and Scandinavia, and worked its way to Britain and America. Traditionally it’s a flat evergreen wreath with four candles—three purple and one pink, or four red candles—with a white candle in the middle.

When I was a brand-new stay-at-home mom, our church held a craft night to make an Advent wreath. I attended, convinced a good mom needed to be crafty. Since the project only involved gluing a few ribbons and such on a wreath, I actually succeeded! It’s the only craft remaining from my very short “determined to prove myself as a mom by yielding a glue gun” phase that survives. I’m craft-impaired. Strangely enough, my children have turned out fine.

However, the wreath remains because we love the traditions that have grown around it. When the children were little, we’d line them up on the couch and feed them cookies and eggnog or hot chocolate. We’d light the candles and my husband would tell that week’s portion of the Christmas story. As the children grew, they read the Scriptures themselves, then we’d discuss them. And we’d end by singing Christmas carols that related to that week’s story.

Now my children are all taller than I am. One has a beard and a Real Job. They barely squeeze on the couch anymore. And still they beg for the Advent wreath. I like to think it’s about more than cookies and eggnog. Over the years, there was much bickering and giggling and poking and snuggling on that couch. Even the dog and cat seem to realize something special is happening and join us, usually getting into mischief to get attention.

But our favorite part is how our attention is ultimately centered on Christ. With all the busyness and commercialism leading up to Christmas, it’s nice to sit down with family each week and remember why we’re celebrating in the first place. A little baby in a manger, come to save the world.

Sarah Sundin is the author of six historical novels, including In Perfect Time (Revell, August 2014), plus a novella in Where Treetops Glisten (WaterBrook, September 2014). Her novel On Distant Shores was a double finalist for the 2014 Golden Scroll Awards. In 2011, Sarah received the Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Sarah lives in northern California with her husband and three children, and she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school and women’s Bible studies. You can find her at www.sarahsundin.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Where Tree Tops Glisten can be purchased at Amazon in Print and for Kindle and at B&N (Nook)!!

Well friends, I certainly hope you enjoyed this Tuesday Treasure. Stay tuned as we wind down to Christmas for more Thursday Thoughts, Saturday Spotlights and of course, Tuesday Treasures!

Until later...take care, God Bless and remember: When you expect miracles, miracles happen!

 

Something to think about!

"Inspirational with an Edge! ™