So- I posted this picture to Instagram last night, and almost immediately a couple of my friends asked me about my Advent Calendar.
I really wanted to start a new tradition with Kate this year (in addition to our Christmas books) and had been looking online at Advent Calendars the past few months. I never really found what I wanted, so I decided to try to make one myself. In the true spirit of how I do craft projects, I took a lot of cute ideas from Pinterest, put them all together, and came up with these. I really like how they turned out... and I also really like that it only cost me $14.
If you want to make your own, here's what you'll need...
Once you have everything printed and cut out, just string them up where ever you like! I also chose to put scripture and a small treat in each bag, just for fun. Below is the reading plan we'll be following. Feel free to copy/paste this into Word and format it to your liking. I used a 2-column format to be more paper-conscious and then was able to cut them down to size.
December 1st
John 1: 1-5
1 In the beginning
the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning
with God.
3 God created everything
through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to
everything that was created,*
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the
darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.*
December 2nd
Isaiah 9:2-7
2 *The people who
walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,*
a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge the nation
of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
4 For you will break the yoke
of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor's rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
5 The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,* Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven's Armies
will make this happen!
December 3rd
Isaiah
11:1-10
1 Out of the stump
of David's family* will grow a shoot—
yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
2 And the Spirit of the LORD
will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 He will delight in obeying
the LORD.
He will not judge by appearance
nor make a decision based on hearsay.
4 He will give justice to the
poor
and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
5 He will wear righteousness
like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.
6 In that day the wolf and the
lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the
bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely
near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD.
10 In that day the heir to
David's throne*
will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.*
December 4th
Jeremiah
33:14-16
14 "The day
will come, says the LORD, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good
things I have promised them.
15 "In those days and at
that time
I will raise up a righteous descendant* from King David's line.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
16 In that day Judah will be
saved,
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name:
'The LORD Is Our Righteousness.'*
December 5th
Luke 1:5-10
When Herod
was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member
of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the
priestly line of Aaron.6 Zechariah and
Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's
commandments and regulations.7 They had no children
because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was
serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week.9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen
by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.10 While the incense was being burned, a great
crowd stood outside, praying.
December 6th
Luke 1:11-17
11 While Zechariah
was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the
right of the incense altar.12 Zechariah was
shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.13 But the angel said, "Don't be afraid,
Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a
son, and you are to name him John.14 You will have great
joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.
He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the
Holy Spirit, even before his birth.*16 And he will turn
many Israelites to the Lord their God.17 He will be a man
with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming
of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,* and he
will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly."
December 7th
Luke 1:18-25
18 Zechariah said
to the angel, "How can I be sure this will happen? I'm an old man now, and
my wife is also well along in years."
19 Then the angel said,
"I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me
to bring you this good news!20 But now, since you
didn't believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the
child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper
time."
21 Meanwhile, the people were
waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking
so long.22 When he finally did come
out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his
silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
23 When Zechariah's week of
service in the Temple was over, he returned home.24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became
pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.25 "How kind the Lord is!" she
exclaimed. "He has taken away my disgrace of having no children."
December 8th
Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth
month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a
village in Galilee,27 to a virgin named
Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King
David.28 Gabriel appeared to her and
said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!*"
29 Confused and disturbed,
Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.30
"Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found
favor with God!31 You will conceive
and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.32 He will be very great and will be called the
Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor
David.33 And he will reign over
Israel* forever; his Kingdom will never end!"
34 Mary asked the angel,
"But how can this happen? I am a virgin."
35 The angel replied,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the
Son of God.36 What's more, your relative
Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was
barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.37 For nothing is impossible with God.*"
38 Mary responded, "I am
the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." And
then the angel left her.
December 9th
Matthew
1:18-21
18 This is how
Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to
Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she
became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not
want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement* quietly.
20 As he considered this, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David,"
the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child
within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.21
And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,* for he will save his
people from their sins."
December 10th
Matthew
1:22-25
22 All of this
occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet:
23 "Look! The virgin will
conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,*
which means 'God is with us.'"
24 When Joseph woke up, he did
as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.25 But he did not have sexual relations with her
until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
December 11th
Luke 1:39-45
39 A few days later
Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house
and greeted Elizabeth.41 At the sound of
Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit.
42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry
and exclaimed to Mary, "God has blessed you above all women, and your
child is blessed.43 Why am I so
honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb
jumped for joy.45 You are blessed
because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."
December 12th
Luke 1:46-56
46 Mary responded,
"Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his
lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from
generation to generation
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done
tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes
from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry
with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant
Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to
our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth
about three months and then went back to her own home.
December 13th
Luke 2:1-5
1 At that time the
Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the
Roman Empire.2 (This was the first
census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to
register for this census.4 And because Joseph
was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's
ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now
obviously pregnant.
December 14th
Luke 2:6-7
6 And while they
were there, the time came for her baby to be born.7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She
wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there
was no lodging available for them.
December 15th
Luke 2:8-12
8 That night there
were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among
them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were
terrified,10 but the angel reassured
them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that
will bring great joy to all people.11 The Savior—yes, the
Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You
will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
December 16th
Luke 2:13-14
13 Suddenly, the
angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and
saying,
14 "Glory to God in
highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."
December 17th
Luke 2:15-18
15 When the angels
had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to
Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us
about."
16 They hurried to the village
and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone
what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.18 All who heard the shepherds' story were
astonished,
December 18th
Luke 2:19-20
19 but Mary kept
all these things in her heart and thought about them often.20 The shepherds went back to their flocks,
glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the
angel had told them.
December 19th
Micah 5:2-5
2 *But you, O
Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,
one whose origins are from the distant past.
3 The people of Israel will be
abandoned to their enemies
until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
will return from exile to their own land.
4 And he will stand to lead
his flock with the LORD's strength,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
for he will be highly honored around the world.
5 And he will be the source of
peace.
When the Assyrians invade our land
and break through our defenses,
we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us,
eight princes to lead us.
December 20th
Matthew
2:1-2
1 Jesus was born
in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some
wise men* from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,2 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We
saw his star as it rose,* and we have come to worship him."
December 21st
Matthew
2:3-6
3 King Herod was
deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and
teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be
born?"
5 "In Bethlehem in
Judea," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 'And you, O Bethlehem in the
land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities* of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.'*"
December 22nd
Matthew
2:7-8
7 Then Herod
called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the
time when the star first appeared.8 Then he told them,
"Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find
him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"
December 23rd
Matthew
2:9-12
9 After this
interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east
guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place
where the child was.10 When they saw the
star, they were filled with joy!11 They entered the
house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 When it was time to leave,
they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in
a dream not to return to Herod.
December 24th
John 1:14
14 So the Word
became human* and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and
faithfulness.* And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and
only Son.
