Today is the thirteenth day of Advent. Each day I will post a short blog aimed at kids that will help tell God’s story from the beginning to the birth of Jesus. And each day Meghan, my wife, will make a Christmas Tree ornament that helps us to remember the day’s Advent lesson. If you want to make them along with us all you will need is some felt, some glue, and some ribbon.I hope you will join us each day this Advent.You can catch up on any post you may have missed by clicking here.

Some of the greatest things start out small. Like people. My kids are all coming up on their birthday’s. Come March 6th I will be the proud father of a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 1 year old. They are all getting so big, and doing so many fun and wonderful things it is hard to imagine how we got here. But we did. Each of these wonderful little people were once red faced screaming newborns, tiny and helpless. But they have all grown so much.

God made a promise that one day a ‘shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse’. This sounds like a odd promise. What is God talking about? Jesse was the name of King David’s father. God was saying that one day someone amazing from David’s family would be born. That person would change everything. But he would start small. Kind of like a baby in a manger.

When we think about God doing things we think about him doing big things. Like creating the world, or parting the red seas. But I think God works in small ways a lot too. I think he makes us smile at silly shapes in the clouds. I think he fills us with laughter at knock knock jokes, I think he sends people to give us a hug when we are feeling sad. These things are all small, but put them together with other things like them and you get something big; a happy, joy filled life.

Today on the thirteenth day of Advent we remember that God acts in small ways to bring about big things.

Meghan was occupied today so this one is actually mine, I am sure you can tell the difference in the work