Title: Advent Journal for All ages
Author: Nick and Becky Drake from Worship for Everyone
Illustrator: Connie Buck
Published by: Worship for everyone and Gas Street Church
Price: £7.99 each, two for £15, or 3 for £20
Good for:
Anyone wanting a quick but real way to connect with God during Advent, especially those who would like four themed songs and space to draw and write
Best bit:
It was impossible to have one best bit, so here are my favourite things about this Advent Journal:
1 a weekly song from Nick and Becky which you can link to via the weblink or QR code
2 a daily amazing fact by Noah, Nick and Becky’s son, which is really fun
3 realistically short reflections make this really accessible. See more below
Worst bit:
The only criticism I could find is that there isn’t really anything for under 5s, but since it’s really short, they should be able to join in or at least cope with the reading, chatting and drawing. The text is a bit small for me, but a) that shows my age (!) and b) it means the book isn’t too big, which is helpful.
The only other thing is that it’s black and white inside, although since there’s so much space to draw and write, it won’t be for long! Also, being black and white probably also helps to keep it affordable, which is helpful for us all, right?
More:
Nick and Becky have been producing excellent resources for all-age worship for a long time now, and this Advent Journal is simply an expression of their values – high quality, authentically all age both in its production (the illustrator and fact author are both young people) and in how accessible it is, and it’s a great way to connect with God.
The book is organised into four themes for the four weeks of Advent, with each having a song to go with it:
1 Hope
2 Joy
3 Peace
4 Love in Action
There’s a devotional for each day, and it’s short enough for families to read over a rushed, weekday breakfast or as you’re walking down the road or for two minutes at dinner time. It really is very short, which I LOVE as it means it’s much more likely that families will be able to manage it. So many devotionals are lovely but too long to keep up with, which just leads to guilt instead of connection!
I love that there’s a unique drawing for each day as well as Noah’s Fun Fact – this not only makes the journal authentically all-age in its production, but these two elements really bring the pages to life. Nice work, Connie and Noah!
I couldn’t recommend this enough – get yours here