Jesse Tree Project

The Nativity Fast crept up on me this year- probably because of the latest additional to our family- or maybe because I have not been letting my life flow to the rhythm of the Church calendar.

However, I came across the Jesse Tree project online, and knew I wanted to do it with my 3 y.o. who loves to craft as much as her mom. In essence, Jesse Tree is a way creative way to tell the entire story of the Bible up to Christ's birth. Each day, you read a selection of Scripture and then make a corresponding ornament, which then hangs on your tree.


I will attempt to post about our experiences with Jesse Tree Project throughout the Nativity Fast, which, for Orthodox Christians, began on Nov. 15 and will end on Christmas (the Jesse Tree goes through the 12 days of Christmas, too!)

After the first day, I had the little one tell her daddy what we read that day. At first, she said, "I don't know." Then, she showed him the ornament of the sun, and said, "We read that God made EVERYTHING!" I love the fact that you use these ornaments as reference to remember God''s story. Here is a sneak peak at days 2 and 3 before we put them together. Yes, I have already skipped a day. It's alright. This is real life. I have decided to do what I can and pray God uses it. That said, we will do 2 readings today to catch up!