25-Day Advent Devotional for Women

Christmas gets made by somebody. Most years, that somebody is you.The food, the gifts, the calendar, the mood in the room. It all lands on the same list, on top of everything that was already there. And somewhere underneath it is the part you actually wanted: a few minutes with God before the day starts asking.This book is twenty-five of them. December 1 through Christmas Day.Some years the singing does not land. The table is short a chair. The twenty-fifth comes and goes like any other day, and you wonder what is wrong with you.Nothing is. Advent is named for the waiting, not for the arrival. The waiting is not the part you have to get through to reach the real thing. The waiting is the real thing.Each day gives you:One passage of Scripture, printed right there, so you never have to go and find itA short reflection you can read before the rest of the house is awakeA guided prayer with room in it for your own wordsOne small thing to do, under two minutes, and never another Christmas taskPlus four A Closer Look pages: why there is no innkeeper anywhere in the Gospels, what the word peace actually meant in HebrewBuilt for a December that does not go to plan. Miss a day and you skip it, because nothing here is a serial and no day depends on the one before. Nothing gets added to your list. There is space to write at the end of each section if you want it, and leaving it blank is fine.Small enough to slip into a stocking, and still being read in January.Whether your house is full this year or quiet. Whether you feel ready or not at all. Twenty-five mornings that belong to you.