Hi there, sweet friends! I’m just popping in as you get ready to kick off the holiday season to tell you how much I’ve been thinking about you. One of the ways that we’ve wanted to focus this year at Take Up & Read is to be sure that we stay in step with the Church. That is, we want to study Scripture to the rhythm of the liturgy. To that end, O Radiant Dawn takes a daily look at the rich Scripture of the Mass during Advent.

But I want to offer you something else, as well. Comfort & Joy: Living the Liturgy Through the Advent Season is a very personal collection of my own musings and traditions and encouragement for what is my favorite time of year. (It’s my favorite, but in these pages you will read that the reality is far from the ideal and I know for sure that Advent is hard work.)

Comfort & Joy is a beautiful, meaningful collection of family memories and traditions offered digitally to you for use now and in years to come.

The ebook, Comfort & Joy: Living the Liturgy Through the Advent Season, takes you from the Thanksgiving season to New Year's Eve. There is a short devotion with a quote, a prayer, and an action item each day. Then, for when you can stop and think a few moments longer, there is a longer essay every single day. It's also jam-packed with traditions, crafts, prayers, and recipes that are inspiring and do-able in your own home. It’s a gift of encouragement for mothers trying to make the season meaningful.

(Comfort & Joy is not a scripture study. Please consider O Radiant Dawn and Rooted in Hope for Scripture study this Advent. )