Does your church or ministry do a backpack blessing for the kids?

I have created two different sets of backpack tags and I would love for you to check them out.

The idea of having scripture surround us doesn’t stop once we leave home. Home is probably one of the easier places to remember whose we are. When we go out into the world, to work, to school, we are faced with many trials and temptations. Having the Word of the Lord around us all the time is very encouraging, uplifting and helpful for us to keep our eyes of Jesus.

I am excited by how well my designs from last year sold and that so many people were using them for their ministry. I am encouraged to know how many kids were headed off to school with scripture around them any time they picked up their back packs. I wanted to create some new tags this year to build on what was happening in the past two years and to add more options of scripture passages as well.

Print. Laminate. Distribute. Pray.

One more aspect that I love about these tags is that is causes us as leaders and teachers to slow down and pray of the kids who receive the back pack tags while we are assembling them. Pray for the kids while you print the tags and cut them apart. Pray for the kids while you laminate and cut them again. Pray for the kids while you distribute the tags. And continue to pray for the kids when they are at school.

Two different sets of designs. Two different price points.

There are two sets of designs for the back pack tags now. So choose whichever is your favorite. Or get both and mix it up! Each set also comes with black and white versions if you want to let the kids color their own tags. I love to have variety.

There are also two different price points for each set of designs. The $7.00 set is for personal use. These would be good for a homeschool group or small church group of less than 10 kids. The $15.00 set is for distributing amongst many kids. The price reflects the group printing license. Thank you for being honest about which capacity you are using these in.

I would love to see how you use these back pack tags! Feel free to tag me on social media #purejoycreative so I can see!

“Christ is the head of our home, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener of every conversation.”

Don’t you think that if we kept these things at the forefront of our minds we would treat people differently? Do you think that if you were more aware of the presence of Christ in your home you would serve others more than yourself? Do you feel that if you remembered that Christ hears ALL your conversations that you would speak words in a different way?



I am very passionate about keeping Christ and His promises in the forefront of my mind. I fail miserably on a consistent basis…but GRACE abounds and I am a forgiven child of God. I know that I am loved. I know that I am forgiven. I know that He will always love me. But I don’t always live like that is true. I don’t live my life in a way that shows that Christ is the head of my home and the unseen guest at my meals. I don’t always speak to my children thinking that Christ is listening. I try. I fail. I am forgiven and I try again. I am grateful that He is in my home and that He is listening to my conversations. Having these phrases in my home helps remind me of the truths of Christ. I am reminded of His love and grace and that He loves me and my family enough to be a constant part of our home and family life. He does the same for you. He loves you. He is in your home and listening to your conversations. Let us pepper our conversations with love and grace. Let us invite Christ into every part of our lives, dinner, bedtime routines, hanging out, He is part of it all.

May you remember how much you are loved and that Christ is always present in your home and your life. Speaking words of grace and forgiveness to the people in our homes and out of our homes. Speaking Christ’s love and salvation to those we encounter is how we can share His gifts with those around us. You are loved. You are a chosen child of God. Live in His grace!!

Mother’s Day brings so many emotions. Some of us who are mothers are so excited to be celebrating the little people in our lives who brought us to this point, while also realizing what it means to be a mom and being thankful for all that our own mothers have done for us. Maybe you didn’t really have a great mom, someone who didn’t lead by example or didn’t show love, which brings a whole new set of emotions. Sometimes Mother’s Day is too hard because of the loss of your own mom, or the loss of a baby that would have made you a mom.

This past Mother’s Day was a little emotional for me as I learned I was expecting baby number six only a few hours before. I was filled with joy and guilt. I was apprehensively excited to learn that I was pregnant and I knew my kids would be super excited because they have been asking me when they would get their next sibling for months. Yet, I felt guilty because inside, my head was swimming with “what” questions. What am I going to do with six kids, when I feel I can hardly handle five? What are people going to say when they find out? What kind of vehicle am I going to have to get to fit the whole family? What am I going to do about my possible job? What? What? What? And those “human flesh” “natural response” questions made me feel guilty. They made me feel bad because I knew with those questions I wasn’t trusting God. I was letting my earthly life dictate how I responded. Over the next couple of days I simply let the fact sink it. One more mouth to feed. One more sweet baby to cuddle. One more tuition to pay. One more sibling to love. And I kept coming back to “what’s one more?” And it made me happy. I was learning to love the idea of six kids. I mean plenty of women have had six kids and live to tell about it…and love it…why did I have to be any different?

A week after my positive pregnancy test I started spotting. It wasn’t much, just enough to heighten my awareness that something could be going on. My kids and I were traveling back to Tennessee to spend a few days closing out the school year they started there and to spend some time with friends. Since I had not found a doctor yet in Missouri I decided to see if my OB/GYN in Tennessee could get me in, to see what was going on. It turns out I had a subchorionic hemorrhage. My dr said it could just absorb into my body or it could lead to something else…only time would tell.

Two weeks after my initial spotting I started bleeding heavily. So heavily in fact that I got scared and drove myself to the ER 25 miles away at one in the morning. Turns out that I didn’t lose too much blood and they sent me home and asked me to follow up with my new dr in the morning. After following up with my dr she scheduled an ultrasound so we could see what was happening with the baby. My emotions were still pretty numb. I didn’t really feel anything other than curiosity. I was wondering why I didn’t feel attached or like something serious could actually be happening here. Wednesday morning I went for my ultrasound but the tech would tell me nothing. I had to wait to hear the words from my doctor later that afternoon…”the baby didn’t have a heartbeat”. Ugh. Like a punch in the gut, this baby that I didn’t even feel or have symptoms from was now pronounced dead. It still didn’t hit me…it still didn’t register. This life that I was starting to feel happy about and also feeling like maybe it was better if I wasn’t pregnant (because again, I’ve got the world in my ear) was now no longer living. This baby that would have brought so much joy to our home, would now never get to meet its five awesome siblings this side of heaven. This baby that I originally felt could have been an inconvenience (because I am human) was no longer with us. And all I felt was numb. I felt like I should cry. I felt like I should be mad. I felt like I should have some sort of emotional reaction but it was as if when the doctor told me that my baby had died that she told me the grocery store was out of cheese puffs. And once again the guilt flooded in.

We told our two oldest children and it really hit me when my daughter said “but you haven’t even seemed sad”. Ugh. Gut punch. Guilt. Round three. I told her that I am grieving in my own way. After talking with my doctor we decided to wait and see if my body would pass the baby naturally but scheduled a D&C for two weeks later since my husband would be out of town the whole next week. I never noticed anything but my bleeding had completely stopped the Sunday after my ultrasound. So, on Tuesday June 21st I went in to the hospital for surgery. I was so worried that the anesthesia would kill me even though I have been put under before. I am good at irrational fears!! The night before surgery I stayed with friends who live close to the hospital since I needed to be there at 630am. I posted something on one of the Pastors Wives groups that I am on so that they could know to be praying for me. The responses started flooding in but I did not read them right away.

I came out of surgery successfully and my doctor told me that I had already passed the baby even though I didn’t know it. And honestly that brought me some comfort. I was glad to know that my body knew what to do and that God’s plan was perfect even though having surgery could have been avoided. I took the day to rest and slept a lot to get the anesthesia out of my system. During one of my awake times I decided to go back to my Pastors wife group and update them on my surgery. I started reading the words they wrote and the flood gates were opened. “I’m sorry for your loss”…”Praying for you as you grieve”…”I too have had a miscarriage and a D&C”…”Praying for you and your family as you experience this pain” over and over these women started sharing their stories of loss and saying they were sorry for my loss. THAT is the moment this all became real to me. The tears came easily and maybe it was the exhaustion from surgery but I think it was God revealing to me what really just happened.

Losing a baby, even during the first trimester, even when they are only 6 weeks formed is still a loss of life. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13 makes it clear that God is the one giving life in the womb…it’s not just outside the womb where life is easily seen…but God gave us life…and then God took it away. I have no idea why. I don’t pretend to understand. I don’t listen when people say “yeah, well at least you have five other kids”. No, this was a loss. A loss of life. Grief comes and goes. Different things hit me at different times. I suspect it will always be this way. And yes, the grief I am experiencing is different that if it were the loss of one of my kids whom I have gotten to know outside the womb…but it is still grief, it is still loss. The loss of this baby makes me long for heaven even more.

I could sit here and say, well, maybe I lost this baby to make me more grateful for the ones I have. Maybe, I lost this baby so I could share my story. Maybe I lost this baby so I could sympathize with mothers who have lost babies. But I don’t want to sit here and say those things. I don’t know why I lost a baby. I don’t know why God gave and God took away. And that’s okay. I can ask him when I get to heaven. But I want you to know that I understand a little more about this certain grief, this “club” that no one wants to be a part of. Even though my baby didn’t have ears and couldn’t share its gender with us just yet it was still a baby. I am sorry for going into so much detail but I just wanted to share my story with you. I don’t write this story fishing for sympathy, I don’t like to draw attention to myself, I just want my story to be told so others know they are not alone.

Maybe you have experienced this grief and like me didn’t know how to name it. Maybe you didn’t have people around you saying they were sorry for your loss. Maybe you haven’t told anyone about your loss. I want you to know that it was a baby. It is still a loss. It is okay to grieve. God is with you. I also wanted you to know that if you’ve experienced grief like this it’s okay to cry, yell, and ask questions. It’s okay to wonder why this happened. But remember to cling to Christ. He is your hope. He provides the comfort. He is your shelter.

For two years I have been making cards to help parents who have dealt with this grief. I didn’t know I would one day end up needing to make a card for myself. But if you have experienced infant or child loss I would LOVE to send you one of these cards. I normally only do the cards in October during child and infant loss awareness month but since this is so raw for me right now I wanted to offer the cards to you now. Please send me an email (purejoycreative at gmail dot com) with your details (name, address, child details, color preference) and I will get a card in the mail for you. Please put “memory card” in the subject line. I can also write out the name and dates of your baby if you have a later term loss or infant loss. I am so sorry that I am writing out these cards because it means that another sweet precious child of God was taken too soon but it is my way of saying those lives matter too. God cares about all those children as well. God is the creator of life and death was never part of His original plan. Thank you God for sending Jesus so that we could all live with you forever in heaven because of the pain and suffering He endured on the cross.

I am so sorry for your loss. Rest in peace sweet babies. My husband wrote a letter after the loss of our baby and it really sums up what we feel and believe about all of this. We would be honored if you would take some time to read it. You can read it HERE!

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My dear husband has written a letter and we would like if you would read it.



Dear friends in Christ,
Jamie and I would like to request your prayers. Specifically, we ask that you pray for comfort, and for the Lord to renew us in the strength of His Word.

On May 13th, Jamie learned that she was blessed to be with child. The news was received with joy, for we trust His Word, that children are a precious gift. And yet, large families are not always easy. There is the stress of life, the cost, the fear of our inadequacies, as well as the awareness of living in a world that fails to see an additional child as such a gift to be received with joy. The joy of life was diluted, in some way, by the weakness of our own flesh. Faith delighted in the Lord’s gift, while at the same time, our old Adams wondered if it really would all be good.

Soon after, Jamie and the kids traveled to Tennessee. During that wonderful visit she had an appointment with her OB/GYN. She hoped to confirm the pregnancy, but also to find out why she had started spotting. The visit was productive. Indeed, she was pregnant. About 4 ½ weeks along. But, a hemorrhage had been discovered as well. We would need to keep our eyes on things. This bleeding could go away, and everything could end up proceeding as normal. However, this could also be an indication that a miscarriage was likely.

Unfortunately, the bleeding never did stop. After a week or so, it worsened. It became so consistent that, just after midnight on June 6th, Jamie headed to the ER about 25 minutes away. I stayed at home with the kids. A few hours later, Jamie returned home, having had the doctors conclude that she was likely miscarrying. On the morning of June 8th, she had an ultrasound in a neighboring town and it was confirmed that, in fact, she was suffering a miscarriage. This life, which was given from above, had now died after six
weeks of development. “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

At first, I think both of us were a bit numb. After all, Jamie had yet to develop those motherly signs which every expecting mother looks forward to with equal joy and dread. The first ultrasound tech had even intentionally avoided calling this child a baby, or a life. What God had begun to form together was called “a ball of cells.” I just wonder what the LORD might think of that description. It certainly only exasperated our frustration, for our desire to act in accord with our confession was real. We wanted to hurt, and to grieve, for we know, without a doubt, that it is the LORD who gives life. And He had done so. So why didn’t it hurt like it would if we had already heard the child’s heart beating, or changed a diaper or two? Of course, all those fears being relieved through this death only made us feel even more guilt. This was a child. It was the child God had given to us. Why didn’t it feel like a loss? “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24)!



Of course, on top of this all, we didn’t know who to tell. The children hadn’t known Jamie was pregnant. And they would have been so thrilled. They always simply assume another one would be coming at some point. That’s the life they’ve always known. Thanks be to God they simply receive God’s gift of life with joy!



Unfortunately, additional burden would come from those who, for a variety of reasons, wonder why we hadn’t already chosen to stop having children. Some voice this concern to us; others only express themselves to others. But the truth is – thanks be to God! – Jamie has never had any complications with any of her previous pregnancies. And isn’t God the giver of life? Who are we to tell him when and where He should do that? Which of our children should we look at as a mistake because we should have chosen when “enough is enough”? It wasn’t so long ago that the voices who see large families as an unwelcome burden today were enjoying their own large families. But I digress. Suffice it to say that the pain and burden is real. Not only is there the loss of a child, but there is the burden of guilt for not feeling the loss, to go with a world that doesn’t understand, all the while trying to figure out how to let our children know what is going on. “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12;10).



 After multiple visits to the doctor for mommy, the children were asking questions. We decided to tell Naomi and Micah. They, we reasoned, were old enough to wrestle with the situation. Of course, as we told them the events of the previous few weeks, we saw the expected joy on their faces when they learned mommy had become pregnant. But then, that joy was snuffed out as we reported the miscarriage. But “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33). For both of them were quick to trust God’s promise. They now had another sibling, as they had always expected they would, but now they had a reason to pray for the Lord Jesus to return. They now wanted to meet that sibling. And there was no doubt in their mind that they would. Would that we would all trust God’s promises “like a child” (Mark 10:15, et al).



At some point, we decided also to tell Hannah and Abi, who also exhibited the same course of emotions: joy turned to sadness. But that is what death will do. At least, that is what death will do…for a time. For even death cannot end the gladness of those who trust God’s certain promises. And so, just as was the case with their older siblings, Hannah and Abi joyfully looked forward to meeting their new sibling. They only wanted to know if they would have a new brother or sister, and other additional questions. Once again, there was simply more reason to pray. “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20)!



 The doctor recommended that Jamie have a D&C, and that she shouldn’t wait for too long. I had been planning to attend a conference in Wisconsin, and Jamie didn’t want me to cancel. So, on Tuesday, June 20th, Jamie had the surgical procedure. The kids were blessed by a neighboring pastor, his wife, and six children, and spent the day playing. This allowed me to tend to Jamie. And thankfully, the procedure was without complication. She came out of the anesthesia just fine. She relaxed in a quiet home, and I tried to tend to her needs the best I was able. Wednesday, another loving family took the children so Jamie could rest again. But because Hannah had her last T-ball game, I had to be absent from a meeting at church that evening.



It isn’t normal for me to be absent from a meeting; especially not a meeting of the Parish Planning Council. I needed to offer an explanation. I was going to have to tell them what had happened. Of course, this brought back to the surface those insecurities connected to how others would respond. Would they understand? Would they confirm the fears of our weak flesh? Would they also think we were foolish? Would they understand why their new pastor couldn’t be present for the meeting?

I should have learned this long ago from the other congregations I’ve been blessed to serve. For every response we have received thus far has been both understanding and comforting. I guess the words our Circuit Visitor (a pastor for pastors) shared with us are really true (duh!): “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort” (2 Cor. 1:6-7).

And still, it hurts. In a way I didn’t experience at first, but somehow hoped it would, it hurts. That there is so much confusion about the gift of life, and the terrible consequence of sin called death, only exasperates the pain. But strangely, now that a few others know the burden through which we’ve been suffering, it has allowed us to hurt. There is no more hurting and hoping nobody will notice, or that it won’t affect my (or our) work. We can grieve. And it is okay to grieve. In fact, it is right that we should grieve. After all, the Scriptures reveal: There is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecc. 3:4).

We don’t understand why the LORD has chosen, in His infinite wisdom, to give and to take away. To attempt to answer that question is to attempt to search into the hidden mind of God, to engage in speculation, and to be left without the comfort of what He has actually revealed. And what He has actually revealed is that He is merciful. That He delights not in the death of anyone. To be sure, this little life had inherited the sin of Adam, but we give thanks that through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, God has reconciled the entire world to Himself. We have no other choice but to trust. “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

At some point, as St. Paul writes, we will all now be able to offer comfort to others who themselves have suffered in this way. I pray that this present suffering would serve to make me a better pastor for such people, and a better husband and father as well. Having had five children without any hiccups, Jamie has now been given a cross to bear that places her among a host of faithful women who themselves have suffered such a loss. What comfort they will all be able to draw from one another. And the kids. Well, they won’t always be so happy about it. In fact, there have already been a few moments of tears. But we will do for them what we endeavor to do for them in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. We will search the Scriptures. We will point them to Jesus. And we will teach them to cling to the clear and certain promises which we have in Him, even as we ourselves cling to them as well. And we will pray. We will call upon the name of the Lord in this, the day of our trouble (Psalm 50:15), and the Lord will deliver us just as surely as He delivered His Son, Jesus Christ, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20).

So, on behalf of Jamie (and the kids), we simply ask for your prayers. But not only for us. Rather, pray for all who struggle to rejoice in the gift of life; who have suffered the burden of death; and for the promises of God in Christ – who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification – to be our joy in the midst of grief. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

With joy in Christ Jesus,

Greg

One day when I was using my kids bathroom I had a brilliant idea (because let’s be honest isn’t that where most brilliant ideas start?! HA!)…they have a wall only a couple of feet behind their sink and above their sink is a huge mirror. So my idea was to paint some large canvases and write some words backwards on the canvases in order for the kids to be able to read them while looking in the mirror!

 They spend more time looking in the mirror in that bathroom than looking behind themselves so it just seemed logical. I got this idea about a year ago. Slowly but surely I started to make things happen.

First I wanted them to have a place off the sink to store their toothbrushes. So I got some ideas from pinterest and got to work. I got some 2x4s cut to size, bought some plumbing clamps and hooks from Lowe’s and I was set for my project. I screwed the hooks and clamps to the boards and put mason jars in the clamps. I made a place for each kid to put their toothbrush and hang their towel. Then above those hooks I hung up the canvases where I wanted them to be. 

Some time passed and I printed out some Bible verses backwards and just taped the paper to the canvas. I wanted to get an idea of what it would look like. More time passed and then right before Thanksgiving we decided to get a new faucet for the kids bathroom along with new hardware…the problem was, the previous homeowners had painted around the current hardware so we couldn’t just replace it with our new hardware because it was different and didn’t match the spaces where we took the old hardware down. Why do people do that?!! So, the Monday before Thanksgiving we spent the day painting the kids bathroom…that was not our plan for that day but it needed to be done. And we got it done. 

Fast forward another few months and I got around to painting the backgrounds on all the canvases! About time right?!!

I hung them back up in the bathroom and waited until I could get more time to do the decoration part. I made time a couple of weeks ago to get these canvases done. I hate having projects in an incomplete state and this one was just dragging on too long. But the joy of them taking so long is that I was busy making custom pieces for other people!! 

So, long story short I finally got the pieces finished…but I feel like I may go back over the white with paint to make the words stand out even more! So here’s a small little picture tutorial on how I did the backwards canvas art!

Firs I painted the backgrounds apricot…the blue ones were for something else which I’ll share tomorrow!

Then a few months later I added the swirls and splashes of blues and whites. I wanted to keep this one to just a few colors…although I do love lots of color I just felt this would fit my space better.

This is a picture of the mirror. So the canvases have a little ombre’ effect because they start light and get dark…or start dark and get lighter depending on which way you’re looking at them! You can also see the little toothbrush holder things that I made…and our new wall color (which is way better than the seafoam green they used to be).

I figured out my spacing by placing the paper on the canvas and then drawing out where my blue paint marks were. Then I drew on the opposite side so that my words would still fit backwards.

I then took my paper and colored all over the front of the paper where I had written the words with chalk.

Then I placed the paper chalk side down onto my canvas and traced over the letters with pencil. I used a sharpie to write on printer paper because I wanted to be able to see the words through the paper. This is a case where it’s good for the pen to bleed through the paper!!! 

If you were doing a regular canvas painting with words facing the correct way you can use this same technique to transfer your words. This is how I started transferring all my lettering and still do on occasion. Just color the back of the paper with chalk, place it down on the canvas and trace the words again with pencil. The chalk acts like carbon paper and leaves a chalk outline of your words (or whatever you traced with the pencil on the paper)…hope that all makes sense!

This is hard to see but it is the chalk line on the canvas!

Then I just went over the chalk with my permanent chalk marker. I love the American Crafts chalk markers and you can get them at Target (amongst other places I am sure).

Here are the mirror images all hung up…

It was a little bit challenging but very fun to write backwards!!

And here’s a shot straight into the mirror!! Hi!!!

I am happy with how they turned out and glad to have it off my to-do list. Like I said earlier I may go back over the words with the marker again or paint them, but only if I have some free time…so it may never happen. But I am pleased with the results! Do you have a wall close to a mirror? I’d love to make some of these for you also!! 

This child’s advent wreath is my most viewed post. So, I thought I’d bring it to your attention again in case you haven’t seen it or in case you’re just looking around the web for a child friendly advent wreath. I made this in 2009 and haven’t made another one since…I think this year, I’ll have the kids make their own!! This was even featured over at Christianity.Answers.com and on Good Morning Girls.

I know that the advent calendar is a big deal in MANY homes across America.
What a great way to slow down and savor the special moments before Christmas.
What I don’t know is how widely used the advent wreath is.
Is this just a Catholic and Lutheran tradition/custom?
Do you use the advent wreath in your home or just the calendar?

If it’s not a tradition in your home maybe you’d like to start a new one.
And here’s an easy way to make an advent wreath that the kids can help light!
Although blowing out these candles may prove a bit tricky at least we don’t have to worry about anyone getting burned!

Here’s some basic instructions for making your own!

You will need….
5 toilet paper rolls

5 popsicle sticks
a paper plate

construction paper (green, white, purple, pink and yellow)

Scissors

glue or double sided tape as I used.

You will need three purple candles, one pink and one white (although the white one is optional).

Cut the paper to fit the toilet paper tubes. Glue or tape the paper onto the tubes.
Cut the green paper into the shape of evergreens or holly leaves.

Glue or tape to the paper plate

.

I noticed after the fact that my tubes were longer than my popsicle sticks so I had to get creative. I cut slits into the bottom of the rolls and folded them in. Then I used the folded in part as my base to tape to the paper plate…so my mistake actually made it easier to attach the candles to the plate.

Attach the purple and pink candles to the outer edges and put the white “Christ” candle in the middle. Cut out 2 matching flames for each popsicle stick and glue or tape them on. Then you’re all set and ready to let the kids light the candles for Advent!

I’d love to see your version of this…leave me a comment and let me know where I can see yours!

I found this helpful information about advent wreaths on Wikipedia.

The Advent wreath is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western church. It is usually a horizontal evergreen wreath with four or five candles. Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, the lighting of a candle can be accompanied by a Bible reading and prayers. An additional candle is lit during each subsequent week until, by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit. Some Advent wreaths include a fifth, “Christ” candle which can be lit at Christmas. The custom is observed both in family settings and at public church services.

There are several interpretations of the symbolism of the Advent wreath.

The accumulation of light is an expression of the growing anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ, who in Christian faith is seen as the light of the world. The circular wreath represents God’s eternity and unity. Evergreens are a symbol of enduring life.

In some traditions the first candle is called the prophet’s candle and is meant to signify the hope of Jesus’ coming. The second is called the Bethlehem candle in honor of the city of Christ’s birth. The third candle is the shepherds’ candle. The final candle is the angels’ candle, symbolising the angelic proclamation of joy at Christ’s birth. A number of carols have been written for use with the short liturgy accompanying the lighting of the Advent candles in church services. A common format is to add an extra verse each week, relating to the symbolism of that week’s candle.