Starting tomorrow

Advent in November

If you haven't already please read all the preparation posts on this blog. Start with the very first one from September and work through all the October ones.

Where can I find the PDF downloads?
All the downloads can be found on the October blog posts entitled Ponder & Prepare   Each daily post will also have a PDF download which has that day's Study, Bible Passage and Bible Verse.

Daily blog posts
We are running this blog from 1st - 25th November because if you want to make an Advent calendar it is best to make it through November so you can use it in December. You could make the journal through November and use it in December.

The PPP blog will have 25 days of blog posts. Each day will have the Advent Study and the Christmas Story. There will be a link on that post to Diane's personal blog and to mine. On our blogs you will see our responses to the study and the calendar.

How long will this blog be available?
The blog posts will be live for ever or until Google removes the blog. The linky on the blog posts is only live until 31st December. You can share your work via the linky, in the Flickr group or in the Facebook group whichever suits you. You will still be able to add to the link on the blog through December but you will have to look back through the November posts.

On your own blog

You are welcome to blog about your Advent study and/or Calendar but please put a link to Pause, Ponder & Prepare.

What are the creative opportunities here?
This Blog offers you a choice of creative opportunities. You can either do the Study or do the Calendar or do both.

The Bible verses are for the Advent Calendar. The calendar tells the story of Christmas over the 25 days. The Study is a set of devotionals with points to think about or journal about.

Should I have prepared my journal in advance?
No. Some people have been preparing everything in advance. Some people are doing it each day in November. Some people are going to save it for December. You do whatever suits your timetable.


Thanks for joining us for this time.   We hope you all find this project rewarding.

Invitation to a Blog Hop

To celebrate the launch of a new online Christian Community you are invited to hop around the world on Saturday 1st November.

You can visit the founding members of His Kingdom Come and on their blogs you will find details of how you can enter to win one of these three fabulous prizes.

Do join us on Saturday from 8am GMT, 4am EST, 1am PDT. 

The blog hop starts at AdoreHimCreations.

Prepare

This is the last of our introductory posts and today we will look at making the Advent Calendar.

Each day on the blog will be a Bible passage which will tell the story of the coming of Jesus.  There will also be one verse chosen from the passage to use on the Advent Calendar.  You can choose a different verse if you wish.

You can download all the passages and the indivdual verses now.

Bible passages        Bible verses

They will also be available on the daily download on each blog post.

Shop bought Advent calendars are often chocolate related and have little windows to open each day.  How you choose to make your Biblical Advent Calendar is of course up to you but we will be showing you over the next 25 days how to make a tag one.

There are plenty of ideas for Advent Calendars on this Pinterest board.  The great thing about finding this sort of inspiration is that you don't have to copy slavishly one idea - you can take the ideas from different people's take on the calendar and make your own.

You can buy manila tags from a variety of sources or you can cut your own from white card.  Or how about making tags from pelmet vilene and adding fabric and stitch.

You can find tag inspiration here.

You can make a set of 25 tags all the same size or you cut them different sizes.  You can choose a colour scheme for the whole set or do different colours each day as the mood takes you.

Traditional Christmas colour schemes are often

red and green         red, green and gold      red and gold

green and gold        blue and silver          blue and white

or you could choose a contemporary set of colours.

Another decision you need to make is how you are going to display your calendar.  This will obviously depend on how you choose to make it.   Bernice's plan with the tags for the advent calendar is to have one side of the tag decorated as a Christmas decoration with the number on it, with the other side having the Bible verse on it that tells the Christmas story.   She plans to put up some ribbon or twine and peg all the tags to it with the numbers facing out and then each day in December turning the tag around.

We look forward to seeing what you choose to do.   Share your creations in the Flickr group, the Facebook group or use the linky on each blog post.

You can find our preparations at Adore Him Creations and Newly Creative.

Ponder

Today's post is about the Advent Study.

Diane has written a 25 day Advent Study.  You can respond to this in many ways.

* You can read each day in November and ponder the questions.

* You can come back and read the posts in December.

* You can print off the whole study now.

* You can print each day as it comes along.

* You can cut up the study and stick it in a book.

* You can write down your thoughts that arise from the Ponder points.

* You can make an altered book.

* You can ignore it altogether and just make the Advent Calendar!

* You can make a book for the study which is also the storage for your Advent Calendar - more information on that in the next post.

 
You can download the whole of the Advent Study here or you can download each day's study with the calendar verses each day through November.

Diane has also designed some printouts for us to use.      Tabs & Tickets       

We have designed the Advent Study and Calendar to be useful to  you and so we are not telling you how you should use it.  You decide how you want to use it.  We will show you what we are doing but that isn't what you have to do.

You can find Diane at Adore Him Creations and Bernice at NewlyCreative.

Pause

Today sees the first of three posts introducing Pause, Ponder & Prepare - an Advent Study and Advent Calendar combined.

Welcome to everyone who has signed up to follow the blog and joined the Facebook group.  It's great to see you all.

During the next few weeks we are going to investigate the real meaning of Christmas through an Advent Study and in parallel make an Advent Calendar that tells the Christmas Story.  You can make both or choose one or the other.

How will it work?
There will be two more introductory blog posts next week and then daily posts from November 1st for 25 days.  And a final concluding post on Saturday 29th November.  We have made it 25 days so you can reuse it any year from 1st to 25th December.

There is no such thing as 'being behind'!
The study will be posted over 25 days.  Not everyone will have the time to study and respond within that timeframe.  Don't be concerned.  The blog will remain active and you can work at your own pace.  After all Jesus is for life not just for Christmas!

Christmas Story Bible Verses
The main passages referred to will be on the blog post with links to Biblegateway so you can access your preferred version.

Journaling Prompts or Ponder Points
On each blog post there will be questions to consider relating to the study.  It is up to you how you use these.  You will also be able to download the study and prompts in a PDF. You can write in your journal, blog about it, art journal or respond in any other creative way

Video
There will be a video each day which we hope will add inspiration to our study together.  Please be aware that we have no control over the adverts that sometimes precede the videos.

Facebook group
There is a private Facebook group.  Please click on the link and ask to join.  It is a safe place where we can discuss the prompts, ask questions, and share our thoughts and our artwork from our Advent study.

Supplies
If you decide to make an art journal or the Advent Calendar I suggest you use the inks, sprays, paints, stamps and papers you already own to make the journal truly yours.  When you look at Bernice's blog NewlyCreative or Diane's blog at Adore Him Creations they are there solely for inspiration, not for you to copy.   Use what you have.  Some of the techniques may not work in the same way with different products but it doesn't matter. It means your journal will be unique to you.

Creative Techniques
There are so many art techniques and media available to us.  You choose the creative response.  If you're stuck then look through our blogs or go on to YouTube where there are thousands of helpful videos on creative techniques.

Followers
To ensure that you don't miss a blog post you can follow by email by filling in the form at the bottom of the blog.

Blog Comments
Comments will be moderated for this study so please don't be concerned if your comment doesn't show up immediately.

Linky
At the end of each post there will be an opportunity to link your day's page to the blog to share with other readers.  This can be a link to your blog, or if you haven't got a blog please use the Flickr group.

We have set up the Flickr group and if you already have a Flickr account please ask to join.  If you don't have a Flickr account it is easy to join and it is free.

The group has been set up for the photos to be public but any discussions to be for members only.

You can find out about our preparations at Adore Him Creations and Newly Creative.

We look forward to spending the next few weeks with you.
Diane & Bernice

Coming soon

It's October already.  Where has the year gone?

Already the shops are stocking Christmas related items and people are beginning to panic about how few weeks there are left to do everything!

Here on Pause, Ponder and Prepare we want to encourage people to look at the true story of CHRISTmas.

Details of how the blog will work can be found here.

Diane has made a great video about the purpose of this blog which features her advent journal.

Bernice has made a flip-through video of her journal.

If you are already signed up for the emails from this blog we are very pleased you are here.  Why not invite your friends to join in.   If you are visiting for the first time then scroll down to the bottom of the page and put your email address in the Follow by Email box to ensure you don't miss any of the preparatory posts or the 25 days of the study.

We are so glad you are here.
Bernice & Diane