LEAven Blog

Last year, being pregnant invited me to reflect on Mary, her courage, her faith, and the anticipation of the birth of baby Jesus. This year, as I hold my own baby, I often picture Mary cradling Jesus, looking in awe at the gift of life and love she had in her arms. During this season of Advent, I want my heart and eyes open to being in awe of Jesus, too, and I hope that you and your students will join me on this awe-inspiring journey. I want us to take some time every day to give careful attention to some of the awesome works of Jesus in the world.

1. Notice Beautiful Features of Creation

John 1:3 tells us all things were made through Jesus. With your students or someone special, take a moment to admire one part of the beautiful creation made through Jesus. It could be a beautiful sunset, a unique leaf, or a tiny snowflake. Talk and share about whatever small wonder you notice in creation. Stand in awe together.

2. Read the Genealogy of Jesus

In Matthew 1 and Luke 3, you can find recordings of the genealogy of Jesus. For many of your students, these names are nothing more than an easy part of the gospels to skip. Because of that, you might be able to inspire some awe by choosing one passage, then highlighting how every single one of those names represents a person and a story that God used to fulfill his promise of sending the Messiah, Jesus.

3. Experience the Nativity

Read Luke 2:1-20 with your students. Then lead them to act out the nativity or create a tableau (a freeze-frame) of different scenes related to Jesus’ birth. You can have ordinary shepherds keep watch, then switch to being startled awake by angels. Let ordinary Mary switch from sweeping her home to hearing an angel tell her she will give birth to the Messiah. Invite ordinary Joseph to switch from working on his carpentry to leading his family on a big move. After creating some of these scenes, help the students understand that God often uses ordinary people for extraordinary purposes. Invite them to embrace the awe of seeing God work in these ways.

4. Start a Gratitude & Awe Journal

This activity is something you and your students can practice individually. Record moments in your day where you notice God’s work. Encourage students to answer prompts that focus on how awesome God and his work are. Challenge them to create prompts for their classmates. Use them throughout Advent. Here are a few prompt examples:

• Read Psalm 8, focusing on verses 3-5. Think of a moment when you felt small. How does that impact your view of God?
• Read Hebrews 10:23. Where have you seen God’s faithfulness this year?
• Read Psalm 19:1. List three things in your daily life that evoke wonder.
• Read Ephesians 5:20. What are you thankful for today?

5. Let the Advent Candles Stir Awe

If you have an Advent wreath, pause and take some quiet time as you light each candle. Give yourself space to be in awe of Jesus, the light of the world (John 8:12). Consider using the activities below.

• Week 1 — Hope

God fulfilled His promises by sending Jesus, and every promise He fulfills encourages us that He will keep the rest. Advent draws us into the same hope God’s people clung to for centuries.

Activity: Create something—an ornament, poem, or simple drawing—that symbolizes hope and connects to one of God’s promises. For example, you could create an angel ornament using a shell to remind you that you were forgiven and promised eternal life at your baptism.

• Week 2 — Peace

Peace is not passive; peace is a person. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, draws near to us even when our homes or hearts feel chaotic. His peace doesn’t erase the mess; it accompanies us through it. 

Activity: Invite your students to name a moment this week that was not peaceful—and then identify where God showed up in it. Awe grows when we start noticing His footsteps in the chaos. An example in my life is when I rock and soothe my crying baby. It reminds me that God has the same caring love for her, and even more than I do, and that he has it for me too.

• Week 3 — Joy

Joy is the candle that blushes pink, like cheeks warmed by cold air or the surprise of good news. In Scripture, joy isn’t a feeling but the confidence that God keeps His promises in Jesus. Mary’s joy wasn’t in her complicated circumstances but in who she carried, the Savior. Christian joy is the same for us; not the absence of struggle, but the presence of Jesus right in the middle of it.

Activity: Make a “joy list.” Big or small, spiritual or ordinary, name the moments that you’ll treasure this Advent and Christmas.

• Week 4 — Love

God’s love arrived in the form of a tiny baby, swaddled in cloths, and laid in a manger. As I hold my baby this Advent, I cannot imagine offering her up for anything—let alone for the redemption of rebels like me. Yet this is the awe of Christmas: God’s love is so deep and so beyond comprehension that He gave His Son for us.

Activity: Pass around a simple baby blanket or a small baby sock, and ask, “What do you think of when you think of God gifting us his Son?” or “What do you think of God coming to us in the most humble form?”

• December 25th — The Christ Candle

The Light of the World came to us not in blazing glory, but in something more like the warm glow of a single candle. The Christ candle reminds us that God stepped into the world to be our Savior. He is the light that overcame darkness. He is the life that overcame death.

Activity: Turn off all the lights and light only the Christ candle. Read John 1:1–14 aloud. As the flame warms the room, discuss the ways Christ has brought light into your life.

As we move through Advent toward Christmas, take a moment each day to be in awe of Jesus, our Prince of Peace. Try some of the suggested activities or come up with your own to prompt you to pause and reflect on the awesome life and work of Jesus. Keep a reminder to pause and admire God, such as setting an alarm on your phone or placing a nativity scene intentionally somewhere, and keep it at least through the twelfth day of Christmas, recalling the visit of the wise men and remembering that Christ came for you.

Parents and teachers of every age, from infant rooms to college classrooms, hold a holy calling: to guide hearts toward the God who created us and came to us. May we linger in awe of Him, our truly awesome God, and let that wonder shape how we live, teach, and love this season.