Jesse Tree: An Advent Tradition

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I just heard about Jesse Trees last Christmas.  The boys and I did one last year and really enjoyed it.  It's on our Holiday Fun List this year and we'll be starting it on Nov. 29th.  Last year we used this devotional and printed out these ornaments.  The boys had fun coloring the ornaments before they went on the tree.


Why a Jesse Tree?
Well, Jesse was the father of King David.  Many, many years later came Mary and Joseph; Joseph being of the same family line as King David.  Therefore, Jesus is a shoot from the stump, and a branch from the roots of Jesse.


A Family Tree.

source

"A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots.” 
– Isaiah 11:1


So each day, a scripture and devotion is read and an ornament placed on the tree representing someone in Jesus' lineage.  It's a great way to travel through the Bible from Genesis through Jesus' Birth over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas day.


I've seen lots of different versions of Jesse Trees on the web.  Last year ours was simple.  We just gathered a few empty branches in the woods and placed them in a large vase.  That served as our tree and the color came from the ornaments.  We'll do the same this year.


We learned so much together by doing this last year.  It was such a blessing each day to have that focus on Jesus and on the different people in the Bible who were a part of His story.


This year I'm excited to try a new devotional, complete with ornaments, from Ann Voskamp.  You can find out more about it here and how to download it for free.  


We'll be heading outdoors this weekend in search of a few branches and preparing our ornaments to get started on the Jesse Tree.  This is only our second year doing this, but I guess you could say it's a family tradition now.
It's a wonderful way to keep the focus on the Birth of the Savior.