Each Black Friday while millions of people head out for all the steals and deals the day after Thanksgiving, I get most excited about the holiday season upon us. I love the Christmas lights, parties, eggnog, and the rest of the craziness that comes along with the holidays.

Yet in the midst of all the fun and excitement, I challenge myself each year not to lose sight of what is truly most important.

To help keep myself focused on the story of the arrival of Christ, I wrote a Christmas advent calendar that unpacks the Christmas story from the Bible each December morning leading up to Christmas day. I’ve designed it to be short and sweet so there’s a greater likelihood that I’ll actually read it each day during the holiday season.

Last year, I invited some friends and over 100 people joined me in my journey. If you’re interested in joining me this year as I go through it again, I’ve made it available in 4 editions:

1. Print Edition: If you prefer to actually write in your advent calendar as a journal, the Print Edition is the best option for you. With Amazon Prime, you’ll get a physical copy within 2 days or you can send it to a loved one as an early Christmas gift.
2. Kindle Edition: With a Kindle Unlimited account, the digital edition is free all year long. At times, Amazon will give it away for free as well. Even without a Kindle Unlimited account or Amazon’s free promotions, the regular price is just 99 cents.
3. Amazon Alexa (FREE): Get a daily update from December 1-25 on your Alexa-enabled device by enabling the skill here. Once the skill have been enabled, go to your Alexa-enabled device and say, “Alexa, what’s in the news?” You should automatically hear your advent update.
4. Daily Blog (FREE): Head to your computer each day and get the advent update. Day 1 can be found at www.mattmizell.com/december-1, Day 2 can be found at www.mattmizell.com/december-2, and so on.

In all 4 editions, the advent calendar will provide you with a Bible verse that tells part of the Christmas story. You are encouraged to read the scripture verse provided, think about what you observe from that part of the Christmas story, and what you can learn about God or apply from the Bible.

Each day’s portion should only take about 5 minutes to read and contemplate. For more information on SOAP Bible studies in general, click here.

Feel free to share this with whomever you think would appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy a blessed holiday season!