If like me you are someone who yearns to grow closer to Jesus during Advent but don't always feel like you manage it amidst the busyness and expectations of others, you will be encouraged and inspired by this book so that you can grow closer to Jesus not in spite of but through all the fuss. Revd Dr Sean Doherty, Principal, Trinity College Bristol Redeeming Advent is full of reality. Lucy 'gets' that we can lose the significance, joy and anticipation of Advent under the wrapping paper, mince pies and blind panic that often accompanies the run up to Christmas. It is also full of grace and help! It's a gentle, humorous, honest and real-life-rooted aid to our being 'with Jesus' during the season we celebrate his coming to be with us. We highly commend it! Andy and Beth Croft, Soul Survivor Watford With warmth, wit and disarming honesty, Lucy has given us an opportunity to engage in the spiritual significance of Advent. These reflections will enrich your experience of the Christmas season and draw you into the presence of God. Don't let another December get eaten up by stress, over-consumption and exhaustion: join Lucy in redeeming Advent. You will be grateful you did.
Jo Swinney, Author of Home: the quest to belong Redeeming Advent is a warm, welcoming feast of an Advent devotional. It will particularly appeal to parents with young children, but the relatable wisdom and down-to-earth humour will speak to all those who are seeking something more in the Christmas period. Highly recommended. Liz Carter author of Catching Contentment: How to be Holy Satisfied What a refreshingly honest read. Lucy shares her life - her own stories and struggles - in this Advent devotional, which seeks to redeem Advent from the endless consumerism that can so easily envelop us. Each of the daily readings includes Lucy's own thoughts on the four areas she has focused on: redeeming our home, our Christmas celebrations, our hearts and our communities but she also provides the reader with questions to ponder and a prayer to utilise. The devotionals started life on her blog, and they certainly have a polished style that invites you to ponder more deeply. She draws on family life as well as current culture to present an engaging series of readings.
If you are a parent you will certainly relate to a lot of her recollections! Often humorous, her writing also invites serious self-reflection. This devotional is well worth engaging with. Claire Musters is a writer, speaker and editor. Her books include Taking Off the Mask Redeeming Advent is both amazingly readable and thought provoking. It made me smile. It made me think. It made me laugh and it brought me back to having a real desire for Jesus to be number one in my life. I would recommend it to everyone as a beautiful means of celebrating Jesus, while still having great fun enjoying Christmas to the full.
Well done Lucy, this is a brilliant book and a wonderful resource. Tracy Williamson is an author and speaker working for MBM Trust, an itinerant music and teaching ministry. If you're looking for a thought-provoking Advent read, this is it. Lucy Rycroft has taken key points from the biblical account of the Jesus' birth, and skilfully interwoven them with a blend of family traditions and 21st Century Christmas preparations. Redeeming Advent avoids a sanitised version of Advent, acknowledging that for most of us, this is a frenetic time of year. Instead, short prayers and questions help the reader reflect on how we keep Jesus as our focus in the midst of the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle. Highly recommended! Fiona Lloyd, author of The Diary of a (Trying to be Holy).