[Journal Reviews] Guided Journals and Devotionals for Advent

How are you getting ready for the mystery of Christmas?

That is a question I learned to hold when I served as a children’s ministries director. Our curriculum described Advent as the time to get ready for the mystery of Christmas, and Lent as the time to get ready for the mystery of Easter.

A mystery, indeed. For why would God become flesh? Why would He choose to live among His people? How did it all happen? It truly is a wondrous season, full of curiosity, joy, and delight.

And that’s why I want to help you to get ready, to prepare your heart for the mystery of Christmas.

To do that, we’re going to look at three guided journals and devotionals for the Advent season. Each one invites you to slow down and enter into this special time of year more intentionally, preparing your heart to worship and commune with God.

A guided journal is not just an empty notebook, but questions intentionally written to help you reflect on one aspect of your life. I enjoy the power of a good question, don’t you?

So here’s one to get you started: how do you prepare your heart for Christmas?

Choose to Linger and Wonder

I recognize there is a temptation for us here, my friend. The temptation to choose several Advent-related resources and immerse ourselves in devotionals and readings and activities.

But, remember back to our conversation about embracing the holy hush instead of the holiday hustle. We don’t want to be rushing around everywhere, so busy that we can’t actually participate in the celebration of Christmas. We want to linger. We want to enjoy. We want to wonder.

So please do not plan to do all of these guided journals. Instead, listen to see if one resonates with you and move forward with that one, okay?

Adore, by Father John Burns

The first guided journal is entitled Adore, by Father John Burns. According to the book’s description on Amazon, it was specifically written to “help you reclaim the sacred sense of longing and joyful hope at the heart of Advent.”

Doesn’t that sound delightful? The book is broken up into different themes, so one week, you’ll look at vigilance; the second week, you’ll look at preparation; the third, nearness; and the fourth, Emmanuel.

Each day’s reading offers a meditation, reflection questions, a prayer, and space to journal. It is obviously written from a Catholic viewpoint, so there are mentions of mass and so forth, yet it really is quite accessible for all believers.

The illustrations by Valerie Delgado are absolutely lovely, as well. If nothing else, just stare at those illustrations and embrace the wonder of the Christmas story.

Let me share one of my favorite passages with you here:

“Alertness, in spiritual terms, is a form of attentiveness, the ability to see past the surface and notice the subtler movements that are so easily lost in busyness and distraction. Spiritual alertness is marked by an interior awareness that God’s activity swirls all around us as God’s will sustains all that in existence. Every moment of every day is thick with opportunity for communion.”

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Be Still & Know, by Celia A. Miller

The second Advent journal I want to share with you is Be Still & Know, by Celia Miller.

Celia is a friend of mine and has been on the podcast a couple of times as we discussed spiritual disciplines in general and the practice of silence in particular. She has such a sweet and gentle spirit about her, and she wrote her Advent devotional last year as a way to slow down during the holiday season.

Let me share what she wrote as part of the description: “Advent is meant to be an invitation to be hushed by the Holy One as we prepare our hearts to receive Christ. But we so often get caught up in the noise of the Christmas season — the gift buying and wrapping, traveling, and cooking — that we miss the ever-present Presence of Emmanuel: God With Us.”

If you’re finding yourself caught up in the holiday hustle but wanting to embrace the holy hush instead, like we talked about in episode 138, then this might be the perfect companion for you this Advent season. Each day has an invitation into silence, Scripture reading, devotional reading, prayer, and question to ponder.

This is how Celia starts the devotional reading for day 2: “The slow, unhurried way of living and beholding requires a quiet trust, a silent surrender, to the One who calls us to be still. When we ache to seize control and demand to know what’s next, we can’t possibly notice all the ways in which God’s presence is moving in the here and now.”

As you can tell, Celia is a beautiful writer, and I really enjoy lingering with the words she shares not only here in this devotional journal, but also on her blog. I can’t recommend her enough. I’ll put the link to buy her Advent devotional in the show notes.

When Your Silent Night Feels Empty, by Kari Bartkus

And, last, I do want to mention my own Advent resource, entitled When Your Silent Night Feels Empty. This is a digital resource you can download, and it is designed especially for those who are struggling over the holiday seasons.

Perhaps you’ve lost a loved one or holidays bring up those memories you’d rather forget. Maybe you’re separated from your family this year, or there’s something else that just makes the holiday season fall kind of flat.

Inside the Advent guide, you’ll have access to an audio devotional about the hard parts of the Christmas story—something many of us gloss over in our own celebrations. Plus, you’ll have journaling questions and a 25-day Scripture writing plan, perfect for the days leading up to Christmas.

Each part of the resource is designed to help you name your hurt, your loss, your grief and carry it to Jesus. One of the ladies who went through it bought extra copies and shared them with her mom and elderly friends, saying, “I realize that this would really help them through this season.”

I love that she did that, and that’s something you could do, too. Just order the number of copies you need and share the file with them. And if you need help with that, just ask.

You can find it at lovedoesthat.org/advent.

Journal Prompt: Will your Christmas traditions help you or hinder you?

This week’s journal prompt comes from my own Advent guide, and it is this: Will your Christmas traditions help you or hinder you this year? Do you need to let go of any of them?

This is a question to ask with an open heart and an open mind. Sometimes we do things simply out of routine, without thinking. My invitation to you is to consider what leads you closer to Christ this holiday season. What feels heavy? What feels like it’s too much? What feels empty or pointless?

Let God lead you in holding onto those traditions and rhythms that are helpful to you in this season, and letting go of those that aren’t.

A Prayer: God Sits Enthroned

Today, I’d like to close with one of the prayers from Celia’s devotional, Be Still & Know:

God, even in my fear of ‘what if’ and ‘what now,’ I acknowledge You as Lord of my life. I praise You for being One who sits enthroned above it all; the hurt, the pain, the loss, the lack, even the joy, the hope, and the laughter. You are with me in every moment, in every season, and I ask that You help me let go of the thing to which I cling to that keeps me from experiencing more of You. Give me a heart that easily trusts in Your Name as I learn to surrender all that I am to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RELATED EPISODES + RESOURCES:

• Episode 138: Holy Hush or Holiday Hustle: Which Will You Choose?
• Adore: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, by Fr. John Burns
• Be Still & Know: Seeking Still Moments in God’s Presence This Advent Season, by Celia A. Miller
• When Your Silence Night Feels Empty: An Advent Resource, by Kari Bartkus

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