Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent

by Nancy Guthrie

How many Christmas mornings have you found your family gathered around the tree with presents beautifully wrapped and a scrumptious feast on the table, but with hearts that have not been prepared to truly take in the wonder of God become human? Not this year. Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room, a family Advent devotional from Bible teacher and mom Nancy Guthrie, is designed to bring your family together during a season that is oftentimes too much about programs and presents, and simply not enough about Jesus. Along with devotions for every day in December, this resource includes explanations of some hard-to-understand aspects of popular Christmas carols, and discussion questions to draw in your elementary through high school-aged kids, transforming this time together from a dry lecture into a treasured family experience.

Genres: Christmas, Devotional, Nonfiction, Christian, Faith, Christian Living, Christianity

134 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2010

About the author

Nancy Guthrie teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including through her Biblical Theology Workshops for Women. She is the author of numerous books and the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast at The Gospel Coalition. She and her husband host Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of child and are co-hosts of the GriefShare video series.

Reviews

[megHan]

(review coming soon!!)

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you struggle each holiday season to keep Christ in Christmas? I know that I do! I am forever finding myself feeling negative about the commercialization of Christmas and eventually become apathetic towards the big "box" stores. With decorations showing up right after Halloween it's easy to do!

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room by Nancy Guthrie has been a breath of fresh air for me and my family this year! Each day of the Advent calendar is presented in this cute little book highlighted by a family devotional, prayer and discussion questions. Personally, I loved the discussion questions. They provide a great way to get your children involved in the season. The devotionals and questions will draw your family together and provide a springboard to real heart to heart conversation.

It is so easy to get caught up in the "wish list" stage and the chaos of coming and going, doing, baking and planning that you can easily find yourself on Christmas Day wondering where you went wrong yet again. This book will help you to pull yourself back in to the heart of Christmas and will create an atmosphere where you can draw your family into the real meaning of the season as well.

For example: Today in the devotional, Nancy talks about our tendency to ask everyone what they want for Christmas. It's a common question and it is one that we ask automatically. Nancy challenges us to ask instead.. "What are you giving for Christmas?" What a simple way to turn the conversation away from being self centered and towards self sacrifice. Of course, giving is not a huge sacrifice but it is a great way to take the focus off of "ME" and put it on others.

I would recommend this devotional for any Christian who is searching for a way to combat the commercialism of the holiday season. It is a wonderful way to share Jesus and his values with your children in a manner that invites conversation instead of a lecture.

Help create the season as it was meant to be with Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room by Nancy Guthrie!

*This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review purposes

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best advent books I have ever read. Short, sweet, but rich and meaty. Great discussion questions too. A great resource for
Individuals and especially families during Advent.

[Jenn Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful for a family read aloud

All ages could get something out of this thoughtful and engaging Advent devotional. It goes through all of December, ending with encouraging for starting the New Year.

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was our first family devotional that we could stick with. I appreciated the brevity of these devotions without them being shallow. Where our family is at (4 kids 5-11), we would read this during dinner or a meal and everyone could pay attention for the full length of it and answer most of the questions. Some of it was heart challenging for us parents as well.

I actually just bought her year long devotional specifically for mealtimes because this worked well for us.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars
A decent Advent devotional but I don't love it enough to want to use it every year.
VT 2017 Reading Challenge - book of 100 pages or less (or around 100 pages; I'm not positive since i have the Kindle version).

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like the author had originally written for adults and then tried to adapt it for families. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure how kids would enjoy it. It's probably best for older kids.

[Joel Rockey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good thoughts scattered throughout. Overall it was a decent Advent devotional.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really intended to be used for family devotions, so it is written on a simple level suitable for children. It also has discussion questions at the end of each day that can be used for family discussions. I probably didn't get as much out of it since I was just using it for my own personal use, but it was still nice to think about different aspects of the advent story each day to prepare my heart for Christmas. As an added bonus, it has a few additional sections which break down different Christmas carols and discuss their meaning.

[Chris MacLeavy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the Advent devotionals I read this December, Guthrie’s book was plain yet profound, contained thoughtful discussion questions for families, and prompts me to look for her 365 day family dinner table devotions book. An easy read with wonderful thoughts to meditate on all day long.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

To be honest l had this book for 2 years and never got around to reading it. This is a good book for advent but l admit l like the last pages more. It was a good advent book.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by myself but would be good to do with older kids. 6-year old probably a little too young for understanding some of the examples. Liked that it had songs and "extras" to go with the devotional each day.

[NinaB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read with the family during advent.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh thoughts for Advent

This day by day Advent reading gave me fresh thoughts about Christ's birth. The devotional was well laid out to generate meditation and prayer.

[Gale Penton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devotional

This is a very good advent devotional. I would recommend it to all and especially to families. I will probably read it each year.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better for a family with young children than one with teenagers. The devotions are very short. Comes with space for parents to journal about questions asked during devotions, etc.

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like something to study that can be picked up, read, and put down for another day that continue on to the next topic. This book fit that bill. Thanks.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preparing for “Christ in us” Christmas

Great way to prepare for and to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. I especially appreciate the prayers and the verses referenced.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great discussion questions and very accessible insights for a family devotion. We enjoyed this one and it was just the right length for after dinner discussions.

[Haley Bormann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little devotional! We use this for our family devotions during the Advent season.

[Amanda Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great devotional. Won't read again.

[Katerbean98 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is worth coming back to in the future to share with the family in preparation for Christmas and the end of the year.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room is an advent devotional written with the whole family in mind. There is a devotional reading for every day in December. (It's nice that it doesn't stop with Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, in my opinion.) The devotions are lovely, a perfect balance of story and theology. But I also really appreciated the musical highlights. There are a handful of songs highlighted throughout the book. The theology embedded in each Christmas carol is presented in a really fascinating way. I am sure I'm not alone in taking the carols and their message for granted at times, these interludes slowed me down enough to really appreciate the songs as they were meant to be appreciated.

The book--cover to cover, essentially--is rich and meaty. I would definitely recommend this one whether you have a family to share it with or not.

Favorite quotes:

The essence of being a Christian is placing all our hope in God, knowing we can trust him to fulfill all his promises—even the ones that haven’t been fulfilled yet.

It’s easy to label what we consider “good things” in our lives as gifts from God and to welcome them with gratitude. But when difficult things happen, we don’t look at them as part of God’s good plan for us. Mary’s example shows us we can also welcome those things we would not necessarily label “good,” confident that God’s gifts sometimes come in perplexing and even painful packages. When we belong to God, we know he will use whatever he allows into our lives for good. Somehow, in God’s hands, these things also become gifts of his grace toward us. It takes faith—faith to rest in who God is and his love for us; faith to be confident that he is doing something good in and through our difficult circumstances—to see the hard things in our lives as gifts of God’s grace.

We can never make God bigger or greater than he is. The truth is, we can never fully take in or understand God’s greatness. But we can magnify him. We magnify God not by making him bigger than he truly is, but by making him greater in our thoughts, in our affections, in our memories, and in our expectations. We magnify him by having higher, larger, and truer thoughts of him. We magnify him by praising him and telling others about his greatness so they can have bigger thoughts about him too. Sometimes we wonder why we aren’t happy, why we make sinful choices, why we feel distant from God. Often it’s because we have small thoughts about God and magnified thoughts of ourselves, our wants, our rights, our accomplishments.

To receive Christ is to recognize that he is the most beautiful, most desirable treasure in the universe and open up our lives to him, saying, “I must have him!”

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each year as we approach the Advent / Christmas season, I promise myself that we are going to focus on Jesus... not our busy-ness. Each year I pull out the Advent devotionals, Advent calendar, and the Advent candles. And yet, each year my good intentions go undone or are so hit-and-miss that we really are not focusing on the birth of Jesus.

Not this year! After reading through Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room by Nancy Guthrie, I know my good intentions will become a reality! Each day's reading is short enough to keep the interest of the youngest in the family and includes Discussion Starters to challenge your older teens and adults. These questions help focus the discussion on Jesus and include additional Bible verses to read and ponder. Interspersed through the book are Christmas hymns, not only the hymns, but also background on the music, words, and history of the time. Also, each reading includes a prayer to help focus our eyes on Jesus.

This is a great resource and I look forward to spending quality time with the family as we remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The content of the book is 5 stars out of 5, but I had difficulty reading the small print.

[Barbara Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent Christmas family devotional book, written in a simper style that I think very young children could comprehend, but I enjoyed it even as an adult reading for myself. Each chapter ends with a prayer, some discussion questions, and a few more Scriptures on the topic of the chapter. There are 31 readings: I like that it doesn’t stop at Christmas but extends through the month. The sizing of the book, too, is small enough that I think children would be comfortable holding it and taking a turn at the family reading.

In addition, there are lined pages where you can jot down anything you want to remember about the discussions aroused from the readings and a few pages of Christmas songs with their history.

I appreciate Nancy’s thoughtfulness and depth in these devotionals, even couched as they are in simple language.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advent is a wonderful time for reflection. Advent is an anticipation of something good about to happen. We were made for something greater, a holy relationship with a creator that desires good for his creation. This sweet devotion helps you and your family discovers the goodness of God for each day in December. It is a preparation of our hearts to receive him as God, King and Savior. With all that distracts us from the good news, you can settle in and go back to the birth of Jesus and see how his birth is still relevant to us today.

So empty your heart of all those distractions that do not matter for eternity and taste and see that the Lord is good. Not to give your best life now but to give you peace that he will come back and make all things right.

[Pastoralmusings]

With a daily devotion, discussion questions, and then some Scripture passages for further reference, this little book is a good devotional aid.
Nancy Guthrie is a person whose love for Christ shines brightly through her writings, and that is especially so in “Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room”.
Each day's devotion points us away from the business of the Christmas season and back to the PERSON of the Christmas season.
Well written, concise, and helpful are words that describe this little book.
I highly recommend this little book.

[Steve Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this devotional to be a good resource for family devotions. The author here tries to produce a devotional that reaches the full range of ages of the readers' family. I don't think that is entirely possible. You may still have to explain some things to your younger children, but your teens won't feel like they're being talked down to. The discussion questions were thought provoking and good conversation starters. Occasionally throughout the book, the author includes a Christmas hymn and an explanation of the significance of the hymn.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This devotional worked well for our family, with kids ranging in age from 8-15. I appreciate that there are readings for each day, followed by a short prayer and ideas for further discussion. When time or attention don't allow for lengthy discussion, the readings stand alone just fine. There are also a few Christmas carols with commentary included, as additional reading which I enjoyed, giving opportunity for exploring the words we so often sing as rote. A devotional that can be used multiple times, our family will tuck this away to brought out again in a year or two.

[Marguerite Harrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is okay Advent book but mostly written for parent with small children. I am disappointed with her choice of using NLT (New Living Translations). It isn't the best use of that so call translations. I would have been using ESV and little one can understand that without problem. I didn't like Day 21 especially on "Newborn" when it shouldn't be "newborn" according to NLT. Other translations doesn't use the word "newborn".