It happens every year… one day the leaves start to turn and we are excited about the coming of FalI. Then we blink and it is the week before Thanksgiving and the holiday season hustle and bustle is ready to begin. I am excited to pull together all of the advent offerings here at Pure Joy Creative because I can tell you from experience how much they have meant to us over the years. Having a way to make Scripture a central part of our Advent season that doesn’t require tons of preparation or trips to the crazy-busy craft stores for supplies is a huge blessing. This year there are so many great options to choose from!

1. Countdown to Christmas Printable Paper Chain 2. Advent Candle Sticker Sheet 3. Names of Jesus Advent Coloring Cards
4. Nativity Advent Coloring Calendar 5. Advent Candle Coloring Collection

Let’s start with the newest offering first! One of my earliest memories of Christmas crafts is making paper chains at school. We used the old construction paper… you know the stuff that faded so fast that by Christmas the ring you opened wasn’t even the same color all the way around. (Maybe I shouldn’t admit that’s how far back my craft memories go!) So I have to tell you that I really loved putting together the awesome Countdown to Christmas chain that Jamie designed this year! I can’t wait to use this to start our countdown this December. The fact that this isn’t “advent specific” also makes it a perfect product to share with families who might not think in terms of a liturgical calendar!

Another new offering this year is this fun new Advent Candle Sticker Sheet! This sheet has 5 separate stickers, one for each candle in the advent wreath including the Christ candle. You get a free coloring page with purchase that can be used with these stickers. I can think of lots of other great ways to use them! These would be lovely in an Advent visual faith journal, or used to create ornaments that could be reused. They could be used to craft meaningful decor, or added to a family devotion project. I can’t wait to see how everyone uses theirs! There is also a discount for multiple sheets, so be sure to take advantage of that!

Next up is one of my personal favorites: the Names of Jesus Advent Coloring Cards. These square cards are printed 6 to a page, so they are a perfect size for creating a display as you meditate on each name. There are readings that go along with each name, so turning this coloring activity into a time of devotion is so easy! My whole family enjoyed coloring these together.

This Nativity Advent Coloring Calendar is a wonderful way to get kids involved in creating a nativity scene. This resource includes hymn pages that make it easy to incorporate the rich musical traditions of the season into your Advent preparations. Color the background and nativity pieces all at once or use them as a daily Advent Calendar counting the days until Jesus’ birth. You could also paste the cards to a cardboard tube to make the pieces stand. There are so many ways to get creative!

If you are looking for an instant download option to go with your wreath lighting, this Advent Candle Coloring Collection is a great choice! There are 6 pages included that cover 5 individual candles with word art for the theme of the week, as well as one with the whole wreath. This is another great way to get whole families or classrooms involved in the traditions of this special time in the church year.

Of course there are lots of other things available in the shop to make this Advent and Christmas season meaningful and memorable. I just wanted to highlight some of the options for getting the Word of God into your daily routine this season. This is where I always start when I plan what our December will look like. I’m so thankful for so many options to fit into whatever time and resources we have available. If you have any questions be sure to let us know! And I would love to hear in the comments some of the ways your family makes Advent special!

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!

One of the reasons I love helping Jamie here at Pure Joy Creative is that I am someone who loves any chance to celebrate the joys of life. I love sharing a little encouragement for no reason at all, but give me a specific reason and I am even happier! So, it should be no surprise that I love Pastor Appreciation Month.

We have been blessed to have some amazing Pastors throughout our lives. Matt’s Grandpa was a pastor, and his brother John is one now. There was the Pastor who married us 20 years ago (20 years!) and the Pastor who baptized Aiden (one of the best days ever!) There was the Pastor who was ready to drop everything for hospital visits when Mom went through cancer treatments and the Pastor who helped me through the early days of my PTSD diagnosis when he barely knew me. I could definitely think of many more, but the truth is that Pastors are amazing.

Our current pastor is no different. Well, except that he is! When we first moved to Missouri we had trouble finding a church that really fit our family. We rotated worshipping at a couple lovely churches, but then covid happened and things got difficult. A couple of months ago we were invited to visit the church of some brand new homeschool friends. From the very first visit we knew we had found our new church home. It is a tiny little church… which was exactly what we thought we were not looking for. As usual, God had a surprise in mind for us!

Our current pastor is a bi-vocational pastor, which is not something that is common in our experience. He has been navigating shepherding a congregation during a really difficult time (as have all pastors!) and now he suddenly also has 3 eager homeschool kids to lead through confirmation. The unique challenges of the past year have definitely made technology a bigger part of the church, and he is now able to do confirmation with these kiddos via zoom. We live in a big triangle that covers a lot of miles, but when these kids sit down at the computer they are connected to an awesome pastor. The neatest part for me is that I get to hear part of their classes, and it is awesome. I mentioned that Aiden’s baptism was one of the best days of my life. I have dreamed of his confirmation for years. It is such a blessing to get to watch God at work in my child’s life, and I am so incredibly thankful that He gave us just the right pastor to lead Aiden through this major faith milestone.

My pastor is not the only one who has had to adapt in big ways in the past 18 months. No matter how strong a person’s faith might be, the uncertainty of things in this rocky stretch has been challenging. I think that this year we should be especially thankful for the faithful Pastors who have been fighting the good fight through the power of the Holy Spirit day in and day out. We should thank the pastors who have dealt with the closures and the funerals and the race to adapt to new demands. Let’s thank those who have held the hands of so many of us who were mourning and fearful and frustrated… even when they couldn’t actually hold anyone’s hand!

There’s no perfect way to say thank you to these servant-hearted men, and they do it for the glory of God – not the praise of men. I know that each of us can find some small way to say thank you this month though, and that is my challenge to you today! Jamie has some new printables in the Freebie Library to get you started! If you don’t have the password, sign up below for the monthly email newsletter and it will be sent to you via email! And of course there are products in the shop as well! My personal favorite is this year’s new Church Worker Appreciation card, but there are lots of options to choose from.

Has there been a particular pastor that has made a difference in your life? We would love to hear about it! Leave us a comment with what makes him so special!