Tag: prepare him room (page 1 of 1)

Prepare Him Room

If I had the authority to bestow a title upon anyone, I’d dub Marty Machowski “The King of Devotionals.” We are reading or have read through several of his books, and each one looks closely at its subject—whether a particular book of the Bible, the entire Bible, one testament of the Bible, or systematic theology—studying it from this angle and that, and inviting the readers into a discussion that gets hands gesturing and minds pondering.

Prepare Him Room, by Marty Machowski | Little Book, Big Story

Prepare Him Room is no exception. Machowski uses a fictional story to stitch together an engaging fabric of Scripture reading, hymns, crafts*, and discussion questions. When we read through this book together last year, I found that that combination worked like magic on everyone from my ten year old to my two year old. (Bonus: Putting the accompanying album on after we finished reading made for excellent Christmas-themed dance parties.)

*Do you have to do all of the crafts? Of course not! We didn’t. (I honestly can’t recall us doing any of them. Unless baking cookies was one? We did that.)


Prepare Him Room
Marty Machowski (2014)

4 Family Devotionals for Advent

One of the advantages of not having fully moved into your house is that you can put your Christmas tree pretty much anywhere. One of the disadvantages is that your Christmas decorations and books are buried somewhere in the shop behind all the other stuff, so you might not have any actual decorations on display at the start of Advent.

Ah, well. But we have a dining room. That’ll do.

We also have a handful of Advent devotionals I’m eager to share with you! At least one of us will be somewhat prepared for Advent this year. (Hint: you.)

4 Family Devotionals for Advent | Little Book, Big Story

The Advent Jesse Treeby Dean Lambert Smith

The Advent Jesse Tree: A Family Devotional for Advent | Little Book, Big Story

This is our tried-and-true, come-back-to-it-every-year favorite. The Advent Jesse Tree walks readers through the whole story of redemption, one day (and one tiny ornament) at a time. You can read my full review of the book here, or learn what a Jesse Tree is and how our family uses ours in this post right here.


A Jesus Christmasby Barbara Reaoch

A Jesus Christmas, by Barbara Reaoch | Little Book, Big Story

This is a brand-new, interactive devotional that reminds me a little of our beloved Exploring the Bible. There is family journaling space with each reading, as well as room to write answers to questions. You could simply read it as a family and ignore the journaling prompts; you could read it and then discuss it and have one person record answers to the questions; or you could do what we plan to do and get all the writers in your family their own copy. (Read the full review.)


The Littlest Watchman, by Scott James

The Littlest Watchman, by Scott James | Little Book, Big Story

Through the story of the Watchmen, a fictional family tasked with watching and waiting for the Messiah’s coming, Scott James invites families to see what it might have been like for the Israelites to wait . . . and wait . . . and wait for the Messiah. That long wait makes his coming all the more joyous! This is a great devotional for families with young kids. You can even get a (very affordable) Advent calendar and devotional to go along with it. Our family used this book last year and loved it. (Read the full review.)


Prepare Him Room, by Marty Machowski

Prepare Him Room, by Marty Machowski | Little Book, Big Story

If Marty Machowski keeps writing awesome devotionals, our family will keep buying them. Prepare Him Room follows the format of Wise Up (more so than, say, Long Story Short), in that it’s a series of daily devotions sprinkled liberally with hymns to sing and projects to do. This one also features a story that draws readers into the celebration. The Gospel saturates everything, as always.

A Few of Our Favorite Christmas Albums

Have you worn out your favorite Christmas albums yet? This is the point in the season for me when the old standards start to feel a bit stale and we’re ready for something fresh, something new. And so I thought I would share a few of our favorites with you in the hope that you might find a new song or two to enjoy.

A Few of Our Favorite Christmas Albums | Little Book, Big Story

Our Favorite Christmas Albums

The Light Came Downby Josh Garrels

Songs for Christmasby Sufjan Stevens

Waiting Songs, by Rain for Roots

Family Christmas, by Slugs & Bugs

A Slugs & Bugs Christmas, by Slugs & Bugs

A Very She & Him Christmas, by She & Him

Prepare Him Room, by Sovereign Grace Music

The Sounding Joy, by Elizabeth Mitchell & Friends

Christmas Stories, by Jenny & Tyler

Unto Us, by JJ Heller

Behold the Lamb of God, by Andrew Peterson

And while we don’t love every song on this last album, the ones we do love are excellent—perhaps our favorite versions of our favorite Christmas hymns. They’re perfect for epic Christmas kitchen dance parties:

Christmas Songs, by Bad Religion


On Another (Less Musical) Note

Wildflowers Magazine: Christmas Issue | Little Book, Big Story

Did you know that the Christmas issue of Wildflowers is available? Also, Wildflowers now offers two different kinds of subscriptions, so whichever one you choose, you’ll find each season’s issue waiting for you in your mailbox. Huzzah!

Wildflowers Magazine: Christmas Issue (Illustration by Thea Rosenburg) | Little Book, Big Story

In other news: I got to take a stab at illustrating for this issue, and it was so much fun, I’m coming back next year as a full-time illustrator!