The Jesse Tree Anthology brings Christmas closer but in a beautiful way. I know, we’ve just had Storm Babet, making autumn a very wet reality, and Christmas feels still a while away. Not long now, though, and here is a wonderful way to look forward to Christmas.
Rachel Yarworth has compiled a wonderful anthology of advent readings. Starting at the beginning of the Bible, she asked twenty-five authors to write a short thought based on different verses that look forward to the coming of Jesus into the world, then complied the writings into this wonderful book, The Jesse Tree Anthology.
The Jesse tree is a wonderful project to do as a family or by yourself, as it gives you a great way to look forward to Christmas and the real meaning behind it all. The Babe in the manger was also the Man of sorrows, the Lamb, the one who was born to die for us. As far as I understand, you make a tree or use a Christmas tree, and every day, you make an ornament based on the readings and you add it to the tree. It’s been around for a while, and The Jesse Tree Anthology is based on this, but a fresh way of looking at each Bible verse.
The Jesse Tree Anthology has the artwork to go along with the readings, so you can still make a Jesse tree, something which I have never done. Our house is a little manic around December, so to do daily craft activities would be one of those projects started but never completed… Although I’m tempted this year, as the kids are older, they could be responsible for the activity side of the book!
The Jesse Tree Anthology has short devotional readings, written by different authors, and I’m thrilled to be part of that! It was wonderful, though rather tricky to think Christmassy thoughts early in the year, but also, it reminded me how important it is to think about Jesus coming into the world all year round. Part of me wanted to read the book straight through for that reason, and I felt the readings could be read at any time of the year, so don’t worry: there is no need to wait till the first day of Advent before reading The Jesse Tree Anthology! As the readings are so varied, you could read it over and over, as it will give you an overview of the reason why Jesus came. The Jesse Tree Anthology’s readings have been kept straightforward and accessible for all ages, so they can be used for family reading.
The Jesse Tree Anthology, carefully collected and compiled by Rachel Yarworth, also has a lovely prayer for each day. Rachel has done such a wonderful job on this, as well as the beautiful cover. It would make a lovely present as well, as it’s so well done, and I can’t wait to see others reading this and be blessed by the readings and prayers. Have a wonderful Christmas preparation!