Book Review: The Light Before Christmas
‘Tis the Season
My kids are finicky about just about everything. Do they like Pokemon? Sure, for now, but it’s only a matter of time before they find a new obsession. Heck, our youngest just let us know he was hitting eject on cheese a couple months ago. He still eats pizza and queso, but remains committed to his “I hate cheese” agenda (you try arguing rationally with a 5 year old!).
So, while we’ve already got a couple of solid Advent resources in our house, it’s always good to have options. Thankfully, Marty Machowski has a new devo ready for my family (and potentially yours!) to work through this holiday season. The Light Before Christmas is his latest from New Growth Press, and serves as a concise, easy to use devotional book that will walk through the entire Advent season one week at a time.
The Layout
As a parent, the first thing I’m looking for in a devotional is whether or not it’s laid out in a way that’s manageable for my family. Regardless of how great the content is, it needs to be structured in a way that’s workable for most families. My favorite resources to recommend to parents are ones that set them up to succeed in building regular, reasonable rhythms in their family, and that stir their affection toward God. I’m not looking for a degree program. I’m looking for simple ways to spend time with Jesus alongside my kids.
“My favorite resources to recommend to parents are ones that set them up to succeed in building regular, reasonable rhythms in their family, and that stir their affection toward God.”
Thankfully, it feels like Marty understood this balance when putting together his book. It’s broken up into five sections of material, one for each week of Advent and a final one for Christmas Eve/Day. Each week begins with the story of Mia visiting her blind grandmother, and slowly learning how she came to faith so many years ago. Each vignette continues where the last one left off (like episodes in a season of television), as the grandmother passes along to Mia the same Christmas story her father shared with her as a girl.
Marty then supplies three days of devotionals that connect to the weekly theme and Mia’s story. Each devo includes a warm-up (object lesson, demonstration, etc.), a piece of scripture to read together, a short lesson, a discussion question or two, a Christmas song to sing together, and then a quick prayer prompt. The beauty of this setup is that parents can use it however it fits their family best.
Parents just starting to build discipleship rhythms can read Mia’s story and dive into a single devotional on the same night and feel great about spending time pointing their kids to Jesus. Overachieving folks can spread it out over a whole week, reading Mia’s story one night and then having three separate nights of devos to share that week. Wherever your experience level is from a discipleship perspective, there’s an entry point for you with this book.
Highs and Lows
There’s a lot to love about this book. It sets out with a clear purpose, uses a simple, compelling story to draw you forward, and supplies parents with all the tools to walk through the big themes of Advent with their family. There’s not a ton of work required of parents beforehand to make the time fruitful, and the illustrations, examples, and activities are well thought out and easy to pull off. No trip to the hobby story, or crafting degree necessary here.
“The illustrations, examples, and activities are well thought out and easy to pull off. No trip to the hobby story, or crafting degree necessary here.”
Marty does a stellar job moving from one weekly theme (light, darkness, rescue, and invitation) to the next. He connects these themes to Mia’s story with her grandmother, as well as a slew of biblical texts about Jesus coming as a baby and his work to save his people. Mia’s story wraps up with her coming to faith at the end of her visit with her grandmother, and serves as an invitation for parents to approach that same conversation with their children.
While the book worked great for our family, I’ve got a couple minor gripes. On the whole, the book is pretty sparsely illustrated. It’s not the end of the world, but if you’ve got a younger kid in the mix (K or under), they may have trouble paying attention as you read without anything to look at. There are also a couple spots where they point you to page numbers for song lyrics, but what you’re looking for isn’t there. It’s easy enough to flip around and find what you’re looking for, but having the correct page numbers would alleviate some confusion there.
The Verdict
This book works really well, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an Advent resource to use with kids. It’ll work well for a tool at home, or in a Sunday School classroom. It’s easy to use, has a compelling story that connects with the devotional material, and consistently points kids and parents to the good news of Jesus’s coming, his life with us, and the salvation that he offers through his death and resurrection. The Light Before Christmas will be a valuable addition to your rotation of Advent resources.