For many of us, the season of Advent—the four weeks leading up to Christmas—is the busiest time of the year. Our calendars fill up with parties and celebrations, concerts and carol-singing. Our to-do lists spill over with shopping and baking, card-writing and present-wrapping.

But for Christians, Advent is also one of the most spiritually significant times of the year. Traditionally, Advent (which means “coming”) is a season of expectation: we remember Israel’s years of waiting for God’s promised Messiah to come; we also remember that we too are in a time of waiting—for God’s Messiah to come again in glory.

In recent years, we’ve tried to make more of Advent as a family. Outside our home, we and our children are bombarded with secular messages about Christmas. They train our hearts to long for earthly treasure: a mountain of food on the table and a mountain of gifts under the tree. So we’ve started looking for ways to help our children long for the spiritual treasures that Christ brings: a seat at God’s heavenly table thanks to the costly gift of his righteousness.

Last year we bought a wooden Advent calendar with drawers. Each night after dinner, our kids would find a small treat and a Bible reference in the drawer for the day. As they enjoyed their sweets, we would read and discuss the Bible together. Those were precious times.

But Advent is not just for the kids. As adults, we can get so busy preparing a “magical” celebration for the family that we run out of time to prepare our own hearts for Christmas. One way of resisting the Advent rush is to carve out a little time each day to read a devotional book. I recently came across a new one called Redeeming Advent: Pursuing Christ through the Haze of Tinsel, Giftwrap and Lebkuchen by Lucy Rycroft—a British blogger, mother and minister’s wife.

Redeeming Advent offers brief daily reflections for the four weeks of Advent following the themes: Redeeming our Home, Redeeming our Christmas, Redeeming our Hearts and Redeeming our Communities. Each entry uses an everyday Advent experience to illustrate a deeper Christian truth, which Rycroft explains with the help of one or two Bible passages. Each daily reading finishes with some questions for personal application and a short prayer.

Redeeming Advent began life as a series of blog posts and is perfect for those who enjoy that style of writing: it is conversational, honest, humorous and straightforward. The devotions are also a very manageable length, taking no more than 10-15 minutes each day.

But this does not mean that Redeeming Advent is superficial. Rycroft covers many different aspects of the Christian life without glossing over their complexities. She explains gospel truths in a way that is easy to understand without being simplistic.

Redeeming Advent takes the reader through a gentle process of self-reflection. The first section challenges us to see our home and our material circumstances—whether good or bad—from an eternal, spiritual perspective. The second section shines a light on our Christmas traditions and considers how they can point our neighbours to Christ. The reading on “Traditions and Surprises” gave me much to ponder:

“We need traditions, because the Christmas story happened a long time ago. We need predictable, enjoyable and successful ways to tell and re-tell the story, passing it on from generation to generation … We also need surprise—because the Christmas story was full of surprises, and yet over the years we’ve lost our sense of amazement at how Jesus was born.” (p61)

The third section of Redeeming Advent encourages readers to realign our hearts’ desires with the truth of the gospel: we are imperfect people living in an imperfect world, redeemed by God’s grace alone. This section is a good antidote to Christmas perfectionism with entries like “A Perfectly Imperfect Advent”, “The Advent Disaster” and “You Don’t Always Get What You Want.”

The final section of Redeeming Advent addresses our communities, challenging us to see how the generous grace of God might flow through us to bless others during Advent.

The great thing about Redeeming Advent is that it is completely honest about life’s imperfections. Rycroft openly shares her own flaws and disappointments and assumes that her readers’ experiences of life and of Christmas are probably mixed too.

When Rycroft calls for a response, she is always realistic and sensitive to her readers’ circumstances. For example, when encouraging readers to find something to celebrate, Rycroft acknowledges that this might be hard for those who are suffering; when encouraging generosity, she acknowledges those who are on a tight budget.

Redeeming Advent is written primarily for Christians, but would also appeal to those who are investigating or new to the Christian faith. Over the course of the book, Rycroft explains the gospel of Jesus in a simple and winsome manner. It is clear that Rycroft builds her life—and her Advent reflections—on the foundation of Jesus’ saving work on the cross.

One minor issue with Redeeming Advent is that some of its cultural references may be lost on readers outside of Britain. A handful of expressions aren’t explained and readers are left guessing what a “PTA” or an “Ofsted report” might be. Even the word “vicar” is very specific to Rycroft’s church context and probably warranted definition.

Nevertheless, one thing readers will not misunderstand is the heart of Rycroft’s message: that Jesus has come to transform our homes, our celebrations, our hearts and our communities with his astonishing grace.

This year, I encourage you to redeem the season of Advent as a time of spiritual expectation for you and your family. Making time to read this devotional book would be a great way to start.

You can buy the book from Amazon here.

Follow Lucy’s blog, The Hope-Filled Family.