Remarkable Advent: God's Extraordinary Plan through Ordinary People

This book is so wonderful. It truly puts you in the time and place and the emotion of story. It can be so easy to just read the verses in the Bible and not think about how lives were truly affected by these events. This book put the whole perspective together in a great way to focus your heart on Jesus birth.

I enjoyed the combination of retelling familiar Bible stories, then giving insightful application. A fresh approach to Advent devotions that I liked very much.

I normally do not read devotionals or even like devotionals. But this past December, I was determined to acknowledge the Advent season with a short, daily reading—to focus on Jesus and not so much on shopping and decorating. This book took me by such surprise. It was so well-written and engaging, that I had to force myself to read only one chapter per day (I mean, I know how this story ends, but I found myself want to know what happened next!) The story-telling is simply beautiful. This book is a keeper. Next year, I plan to read it with my kids as a daily Advent practice.

Biblically based dramatization of the events leading up to Christ’s birth. Touching and faith building. Made my Advent more real to me and helped me to put myself into the story as an observer. Well written, meaningful and obviously heart-felt by the author.

I've read a few Advent books and attended a few studies. All covered the Christmas story. But this devotion surprised me with the way it sought to help you understand the culture and lives Mary and Joseph lived, the challenges and hardships, through fictional story play. The reader needs to acknowledge the fiction, but seek to relate to the real people that Mary and Joseph were, and the extraordinary baby they were given. Very enjoyable devotion.

I am starting to reread this book in preparation for Christmas. I plan to read it every year to remind me of what everyone in the Nativity Story was going through.The author gives us so many things to consider with each participant. For example, maybe the reason Mary was compelled to visit her cousin Elizabeth was partly to experience labor, childbirth and caring for a newborn. She was a teenager who would soon be giving birth herself without the benefit of female helpers!The book is devoted to specific personalities per chapter via a great daily dose of short but poignant vignettes. A wonderful preparation for our Savior's birth.

Remarkable Advent will walk you through the Christmas story slowly, giving you ample time to digest, imagine, and remember this truly remarkable event. We rush through everything about Christmas. Advent is meant to help slow you down to remember and reflect. Remarkable Advent will you help you do just that. One, short reading per day with a devotional to wrap it up, and a prayer to end it with. Easy, but thought-provoking reading. Every day's reading will draw you further into that first Christmas, with historical facts and even topographical information that will help you picture the event like never before. If you've never done an Advent reading before, this is the one to use. Since Advent comes once a year, this is re-usable; you'll get something new out of it every year.

This daily devotional journey, from Advent to Christmas,, from the books of Genesis to Luke was refreshing and thought provoking. After Mary said YES to God, what did she think, wonder and experience? What were the day to day challenges for Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah and Joseph? Who were these biblical.heros of the faith? We will never know this side of heaven, but we have the opportunity to think about them through the lens of ShaunaLetelliers' book.Anyone wanting to know more about this part of Gods plans will enjoy this book.

This book met our advent needs this year. We read nightly and light a new candle each night so the readings need to be short enough (less than 10 min) but not too childish as we have young adults now. The content was imaginative and thought provoking without being pious. It created many interesting conversation starters for our family. Well written!

I read this book last Christmas and it didn't disappoint too read it again. Shauna had such an ability to bring to life this well known story. I loved this book and couldn't wait to read each daily chapter. In the midst of all the commercialism and pressures of this season, particularly these past two years with the added stresses of covid, it was good to be reminded off who is in control and how much His plans and purposes will not be thwarted. He uses ordinary people and events to do the extraordinary. Would highly recommend this book.

This devotional was great at bringing the Christmas story to life in a new and fresh way. I enjoyed the combination of bible reading, historical fiction and devotional.

Easy to read and really interesting. It fills in the gaps from the Bible, suggesting possible actions, thoughts and feelings of the people.

When you will open this book, curiosity will leads you to read more and more, even though we (mostly) know the story of nativity. It is so well written, with fictive add-ons, that I read it in only one day, and I would re-read it on christmas day to my family.It is such a great book to revive the true meaning of christmas, but also to revive faith, hope, and obedience in us. This book, with its incredibly human characters, will most likely lit a fire in your soul, lighting your christmas and your heart. The fiction adds just enough energy in the story, and it helps the reader to link with sweet Elizabeth, young Mary, hard-working Joseph... The reader can see how doubting and afraid they was, and how faithful and obedient they become when God's peace touch them. The reader can see himself in the characters.As for me, this book will surely be read every year or so, before Christmas, to remind us how God is gracious and good.This would be a precious gift, for christian or non-christian. Why? For this book can surely creates an opening for someone who do not know or understand the nativity : the characters, story and miracles of the Lord will likely push that person closer to God's grace.In anyway, it is a book to own and to give, with love and with grace.