our jesse tree

there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
and the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
~isaiah 11:1
my most favorite christmas tradition that our family has started this year is our jesse tree. i have read several ideas on how to implement a jesse tree, but basically, it is a tree that shows the history of God's people and their need for a Savior. the name "jesse tree" comes from the prophecy in isaiah 11:1-2. the bible studies begin with creation and end with the birth of Jesus.

earlier in chapter 10, isaiah talks of destruction and desolation. verses 17-19 refers to forests being cut down and the fruitful land being destroyed. but in the midst of this destruction, there is Hope! a Shoot, a sign of Life, will come from the stump of jesse! God's people knew this prophecy and waited for the coming Messiah, for our Lord Jesus Christ. the old testament is so rich with prophecies of the Messiah, as well as types and shadows of Christ. i'm afraid that the old testament saints are too often presented to our children as simply "old testament heroes" instead of instruments of God who were pointing to Christ. that is why i have loved doing the jesse tree with our children. it is a daily reminder to them (and us!) that God's plan for redeeming His people began before the foundation of the world! when that reality is on the forefront on our minds as we celebrate christmas, it makes the birth of Christ even that much more glorious!

many of the jesse tree ornaments highlight Jesus' descendants, while others represent old testament prophets who spoke of the coming Messiah. each evening of advent, brian reads the chosen scripture and devotional for that night, and the children take turns hanging the ornament on our tree. this is the highlight of my children's day! they cannot wait to see what ornament is hiding in the red gift box! (and it's a great motivator to eat their veggies! whoever finishes first usually gets to hang the ornament that evening.) the jesse tree sits in the middle of our kitchen table, so it is also a point of conversation at breakfast, lunch, and anytime we are at the table to work on something.

i read about the jesse tree shortly before christmas last year, and i could not wait to begin this tradition this year. i kept my eye out for fitting ornaments after christmas last year, and i finished off the set right before the beginning of advent. obviously, some ornaments could not be found at target or hobby lobby, like joseph's coat or a golden calf cut in two! :) so we have quite the eclectic collection going on.

some of our ornaments are storebought...


some are handmade...

(it's a stone altar. or it's supposed to represent a stone altar. i've never claimed to be crafty!)



(this is a burning bush. not a turkey. i think i need to add some glitter to my flames.)


and some are gram-made! (my mom really helped with several of the ornaments! thanks mom!!)


i have had fun searching out ornaments for our jesse tree. i'm pretty picky about the ornaments for our family's christmas tree being vintage and classic, so i thought i'd branch out for the jesse tree. (get it!? branch out!? ha!) i found a few shimmering ornaments that are bright and colorful, and some would (in my opinion) be otherwise just downright tacky... but they are great for our jesse tree! here's a glittery globe to represent creation:


i have read about other families who have used pictures that they downloaded, mothers who have handmade every single one, or a variety of ornament sets can be purchased as well. there is really no limit as to how you do the jesse tree. some families use a felt picture of a tree, some use a small fake christmas tree, and as you can see, we are using a wrought iron tree that i bought after christmas last year. it's been a long 11 months waiting to use this tree!


i say all of this to encourage you... if you like the idea of a jesse tree, take it and run with it! make it your own. i love that our ornaments are 3D-- they're touchable! but if i were a cross-stitcher, i would probably love to make a set of sweet cross-stitched ornaments for our jesse tree.

i searched and searched for a jesse tree devotional resource. there are several online sources, and i found a few books available as well. after clicking through sample after sample, brian and i decided on one from jesse-trees.com, and i was truly excited about it. i ordered it the monday before thanksgiving, and i am sad to say that i have still yet to see it. 4 weeks later (and most of advent, i might add), and i am still waiting on the book that i paid $8 priority shipping for. don't worry...i've received a full refund, and the girl in charge of shipping verified that it shipped out over a week ago . this is not a rant on bad customer service, but rather a very very hesitant recommendation for this book. based on the online samples, it is exactly what i was looking for: concise yet complete. written for children without forfeiting theological fundamentals. however... based on their lack of response to multiple inquiries about my order and their very, very (very, very, very) slow shipping time, i would not order anything from this website for next year after july 2010!! i am still checking the mailbox every day for our book, and i know it will get here eventually.

but more important than getting in a tizzy about waiting for the arrival of our silly devotional book , our family is loving studying about those who were waiting for the arrival of our Lord. tonight, we studied zechariah and elizabeth, and we are excited to be getting so close to Jesus' birth! i won't lie, the kids are also waiting in eager anticipation to open their presents under the tree... but when our living room has been cleaned up of the chaos of wrapping paper and shiny bows, i pray that the children remember our little black jesse tree and our need for a Savior.