Feeling overwhelmed by the busy holiday season and not sure how to make Advent meaningful for your family? In this conversation with Jamie Suel (artist, former missionary, and mom of five grown kids), we're exploring advent family ideas that create space to encounter God instead of just adding more activities to your already-full schedule.

Jamie shares honest wisdom about slowing down, renewing your mind when life feels chaotic, and using beautiful visual reminders to help your kids focus on hope, peace, joy, and love throughout December.

In this episode:

✅Advent family ideas for creating physical and mental space to prepare your heart for Jesus

✅Why traditions aren't just activities—they're cornerstones that help kids remember what matters

✅How to interrupt negative thought patterns and renew your mind with God's truth (Romans 12:2)

✅Beautiful Advent card traditions using hope, peace, joy, and love to teach kids to wait well

✅Why your kids don't need you to be perfect—they need to see an imperfect person walking with God

Ready to make Advent meaningful this year? 

Check out Jamie's beautiful Advent cards and devotionals at her Etsy shop or jamiesuel.com—perfect for creating visual reminders that bring your family back to Jesus all season long!

Jamie and her husband of 31 years homeschooled their 5 children who are now all adults. She now has the joy of being Grandma to 3 precious little ones!

"I spent the first part of my journey of motherhood stressed trying to do it perfectly. I am now seeking to live authentically with my children, and others, so they can know the deep love of the amazing God who created them for purpose in His world. I really want the people in my life to know that!"

Follow Jamie on her socials:

Instagram

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Pintrest

Mentioned Resource:

Prepare Him Room Advent Digital Prints

Show Notes:

Hello, everyone! This is Kerry Beck with Homeschool Coffee Break, where we help you stop the overwhelm so you can take a coffee break. We are here with one of my very best friends, Jamie, and I don't say that lightly. I don't know how long we've known each other, 20 or 30 years. It's been a long time. We actually live in the same town, and y'all are in for a treat today.

Seriously, Jamie and I—her kids are all adults now, but when her oldest was about 3, and her second one was about 1, she would come over for Bible study, and my kids were, like, 5 to 10, or somewhere in there, and they would play with her little kids, just so we could have some quiet time at the dining room table, and we could read God's Word, and we could pray together, and it's just been a blessing ever since.

Tell us a little bit about you and what you're doing right now.

Jamie: Yeah, so we homeschooled throughout, there were different seasons when we did different versions of school. We served as missionaries in Kenya for a period of time, and so we homeschooled there, and just all different things with homeschooling.

When we came back from serving overseas in Kenya, we began working with missionaries and doing security. My husband has a law enforcement background, and then I just had such a heart—I discovered on the field, actually, that my heart was to actually care and come alongside missionaries.

In Kenya, I got to work with the homeschooling—so many people have to homeschool in Kenya, or when they're overseas—and so I got to work with them and helping them gather all their supplies, which is so fun. It's like getting to kind of spend other people's money. And create fun plans.

I also just really love art, and that's kind of what I think prompted this time. Art is something that really ministers to me and helps me connect with the Lord. Also, bringing His truth into that is really important to me, so I feel like creating safe places where people can just slow down, get off the hamster wheel, and encounter the Lord, and create a joyful way forward. That's kind of my thing. That's really what I love.

Five kids, they're all grown.

Yeah, she's got grandkids. We're just sort of moving on in life. Before we talk about the art, I would like to spend a little bit of time talking about Advent, because I know you and I are on the same page, everyone's so busy. We're heading into—this is gonna publish right before Thanksgiving. We are in the busy season of the year.

What does slowing down for Advent look like to you, personally?

Jamie: I love that. As I was thinking about coming on and talking with you about Advent today, I was trying to think, yes, today, it looks much different than it did when I had littles. But even when I had littles, there's something about the Advent season that is just really special.

It is a time when the whole purpose of it is to focus us in on the Savior and His coming, to prepare for Him, and prepare our hearts for Him. For me now, currently, it looks like having special time—my reading changes, my focus kind of changes a little bit more on that, what were the prophecies? How did Jesus fulfill it? What does peace look like?

This is where I was thinking about being a mom of littles. It's hard to slow down, especially in this season. So, I think, yes, there is a sense of slowing down. Like, I said no to a conference that I would really love to be at, but I know that if I go to that conference, that I will—I won't have any margin.

I value that in this season, because I know it's gonna ramp up. Naturally, there's gonna be things going on, there's gifts and gatherings, and things like that. So, it's more about, like, okay, what can I calm, because I know this season is going to be more busy, what can I calm?

I really try to be really intentional about November, December, whatever I can, slow down in my calendar. But then also, I think, just with being intentional with Advent, it's how do I slow down my mind? That not everything is the most urgent. Not everything is priority number one, but what is it that is the work for the day?

Primarily, how do I engage my mind in keeping my eyes on Him? Really, we all want to make this season about Him.

That's so good. I know you've used the phrase, creating spaces, which is sort of what you're talking about here. We need to slow down to spend time with God.

What does creating space so you can encounter God, what does that look like maybe now, or what did that look like when your kids were at home and you were homeschooling?

Jamie: Yes, immediately, I thought of a moment when all the kids were little, I think we didn't even have our fifth kid at the time, and I just remember that after the kids would go to bed, I would sit by the tree, by the light of the tree, and just be still. Even if it was just for 5 minutes, just really being still and looking at the tree, there's something just so beautiful about that.

Another thing I really love to do is to—when we have a fireplace, I love having a fire going in the fireplace, and we live in Texas, so sometimes that's just too hot, but now you have apps on the TV. My kids laugh at me, but I really will, I'll keep that going throughout the day, because when I see it, it just kind of reminds me of, I can calm down.

I think creating space is, yes, creating it physically. So, when my family was young, we would have book corners where there were Christmas books, or we'd have soft music playing in the background, soft Christmas music, we still do that.

Read-alouds, oh my gosh. One of our favorite read-alouds, my kids still ask me to read it to them at Christmas time, is "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

Oh my gosh!

Jamie: Oh, it makes me cry every year at that book, and it just is such a reminder of why Christ came and how he loves everyone, and even those little Herdmans. Especially those little Herdmans.

I think that's part of it, is like, okay, if I'm gonna create space for Him, I'm just being intentional, I'm being aware of what are the things in my home. How can I create little places? We were a one income family, my husband was a police officer, and you just kind of—how can I get creative with this space? How can I take what I have and make it a little more meaningful?

I think the things that we came back to year after year were the read-alouds. The Christmas book corner was a big thing, and the traditions of when we put up our Christmas tree, we'd do hot cocoa.

I know I'm talking more about traditions and things like that, but I think it is all connected, in that I'm creating space for these holiday traditions. So in the same way I do that, I do that with the Lord. I'm creating intentional time to think about Him, to prepare room in my heart and in my home to celebrate.

That's so good, because that's what Advent is about. We think Advent is a whole bunch of activities, and then we have Christmas, and yet it's all about preparing our hearts, slowing down, even times of reflection and confession. I wasn't that great at teaching my kids that.

I feel like I've learned a whole lot more once my kids have left, and yet we did do things, and traditions may sound like, oh, traditions, but they're sort of like cornerstones or something, where it's like, oh, yeah, it's time for this, and my kids have carried on some of those same traditions as well, which is sort of exciting to see.

Best Christmas Pageant Ever, that's a great book. One that we read several times is Jotham's Journey.

Jamie: Yeah, you gave me that one.

I know, I'm sort of thinking that Ashley's kids would be ready. She asked me when they were, like, 5. I was like, that may be a little scary for them, I don't know. But Advent is more about us preparing our hearts for Jesus and the celebration of His coming.

The other idea, I know you've mentioned in Romans 12, too, is transformed by the renewing of our mind. What practices help you renew your mind when life feels hurried and crazy, and we need to slow down, but we also really do need to renew our mind?

Jamie: Yes, I think that is something I'm so passionate about. The first thing that comes to my mind, and the word that jumps out to me is awareness. I was talking with one of my daughters just today, and I just was hearing her say some things, like, I can't, you know, whatever.

I just said, you know, every time you're saying that, you're driving—talk about neural pathways, right? You're reinforcing that belief, and that's not what God says about you. We need to be rehearsing what God says about us.

If I could say anything about transforming our minds, this is where I've really been camped out recently in my own life. My husband and I both—catching—I think about that verse in Song of Solomon, catch the little foxes for us, the ones that ruin the vineyard. But it's catching those thoughts as I'm saying them, becoming more aware of, I'm having this negative thought, that's a lie, because I think we're just so used to it that we're used to that tape in our head.

We've got to stop that. We have to cut it short, so we have to engage in that, and becoming aware, oh, that's a lie. That's not how God would talk to me. That's not what He would say about me. And then, speaking that truth out loud.

I think that is one of the biggest ways. To know His truth, to know what God would say about us, we have to spend time with Him. We have to be in His Word, and hearing His voice, and listening for Him, and looking for Him.

We only get to know someone through time spent. I can know about you, Kerry, I can read about you, but I have spent time with you, and I know your heart. I know what—if someone said, oh, Kerry said this, I'd be like, that doesn't really sound like something Kerry would say, because I know you.

That's so important. It's so interesting, because I had Bible study this morning. I listened—it was a crazy morning, but I was listening to a podcast on the Word and how we need to take the Word out of the corner of our life and put it in the center of our life, which is truth.

Then I go up to Bible study, and I'm meeting with the leaders, and we pray before our Bible studies, the leaders do, and, like, 3 of them kept using the word, the Word, and how important the Word is, because it is the truth. When we spend time with God and His Word, it makes me think of being in the presence of the Lord, which brings us joy, and then the joy of the Lord is our strength.

In the presence of God, if you are stressed and overwhelmed, you may need to quit doing all that, spend time with God, because that is where true joy is. It will also give you strength, because the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Jamie: Yes! I just want to, on a super practical level, when we interrupt those tapes, because those lies and those negative thoughts, they keep us in this kind of anxious mindset. But when we stop and we remind ourselves the truth, and I'm really big about—I'll say it out loud, because I want to hear it. I think it's really helpful.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a young mom who thought she had to do everything perfectly, what I would now tell her is, oh, Jamie, your kids don't need you to be perfect. They need you to show them what it's like to be an imperfect person walking with God, receiving forgiveness, learning, growing, they need to see your process.

I just felt like I had to do it all perfectly. But anyway, so being able to interrupt that and focus on the truth, and focus on what is real, actually helps us think more clearly. God wired us so cool. When we calm down and fix our eyes on Him, when we're in that place of peace with Him, and just in our minds, we think more clearly. We're able to make better decisions!

It really is true, and y'all have heard me talk about some of this, and changing those neurons, and changing—get the lies out of your head and replace them with truth.

We're going to move on to Advent, and since I brought up the idea, I am just going to show you this beautiful artwork that she did. She gave me a set of these for Christmas last year, and this card, and then on the back is the third Sunday of Advent, and has verses and things for you to talk about. There's one for all four weeks of Advent, so I would love to just know what inspired you to create these cards.

Jamie: Yeah. So, like I said, I love art, I feel like it's the way I connect with the Lord, and we do support-raised ministry, and so every year, I do send to friends and family, and also our supporters, a gift that I've created.

I just had it on my heart. Growing up, our church always did the Advent candles. You light one every Sunday. Well, the church we're at now doesn't really do that, and I was missing that tradition.

I just kept thinking about the four Sundays. I was like, I really would love to create something like that, because one of my favorite things is creating spaces of reflection and places of encounter with the Lord. I just started painting, based on the four Sundays of Advent, and the Isaiah 9:6, the four names of Jesus—the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace—and I wanted to coordinate those.

I bought these on Amazon, because I wanted them to be reusable, and I wanted them to be able to stay lit the whole time and not burn down. So, I've got my little set here. I painted these, and I'm going to show you the originals, but the first Sunday, and each one—with the set that I sent you, I did do the devotionals on the back, but just because of the way the print system works, I created a download that has the different Sundays, and also there's a QR code for the playlist and everything.

But every week, there's some scripture to read, there's a reflection, there's a pause and pray time, and a worship section. But I kept them intentionally very brief, because I wanted them to be doable and accessible, because that's creating spaces. It is a busy time, but I thought if you can engage with it on Sunday, and then you see the card throughout the week, it's reminding you of that, and bringing you back to it.

Starting with hope. That's the first Sunday. We always put up our Christmas tree the first weekend after Thanksgiving, and it's just kind of all my kids love it, they want to be a part of picking the tree, and all those things, and putting it up. It's just kind of the anticipation of the season, and so for me, I painted a Christmas tree because that's what it is for me.

The second candle that goes along with the candles is peace, and just the peace that Jesus brings to the world, and so, of course, I thought of a dove, and green always just kind of reminds me of peace.

Third Sunday is joy, and this is the shepherd's candle. It's the pink candle, because it's like a break in the advent of celebratory. The shepherds received this great news, and I did a wreath, because that just seemed festive and fun, and I love wreaths.

The last one is the love candle, and Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and he's just the light of the world. This one is signifying the love of God demonstrated by sending His Son.

They are beautiful. I am blessed that I get her little artwork, but I had these, like, I sit at this table when I read my Bible, when I pray in the morning, and there's a little thing I could set them on, and they were just so—one, they're beautiful, and we should teach our kids to appreciate beauty, and your kids may not be able to paint something like this, but they should be able to appreciate that as well.

The other thing I wondered about—Advent is all about waiting and anticipation for Christmas, and most of our kids are all waiting and anticipating, what gifts am I going to get under the Christmas tree? We need to sort of rework their brain. How could moms use these cards to teach their kids to wait well and focus on Jesus?

Jamie: Yeah, so there are several different—there are the hard copy cards, but also in my shop, there's a digital download that comes with the thing, and so you get all four on one page, and it's yours once you download it.

One of the thoughts I had was, wouldn't it be fun to shrink them down, to print multiples, and that each kid could kind of collect their Advent card every Sunday? So you could have the big one on the table, or in your room where you do homeschool, or whatever, but then they could have their own in their room.

Another way I thought of engaging with this for the waiting, specifically, is it's just a way to slow down and to take a moment. Typically you would do these on Sundays, because if you're lighting the Advent candles, but you can do them whenever. But the point is to do them, and then to keep it visible throughout the week, and you can re-engage.

Just having something visual helps you remember and re-engage. One of my thoughts was, if you printed it out—one of my favorite traditions that we did at Thanksgiving was this Thanksgiving box. I think you even told me about it. But every year you would write down what the person is thankful for, each week of that year, and you'd write it down at the table as you prepared for Thanksgiving. We love going back and reading those. It's so fun!

So one of my thoughts was they could print this off, because you can print off as many as you want, every year you could do this. On the back of that card, you can put the child's name and what they hope for, what peace means to them that year, what joy, what love, or how does Jesus demonstrate hope, peace, love, joy, whatever. Whatever questions your creative minds come up with.

Write that down on the back, and keep it as a keepsake of every year coming back to, oh, remember when you were four, and you said that, so fun. But yeah, just it's just a way to engage and slow down and have that visual reminder of what Christmas is about.

Again, they're brief devotionals. I just want to tell you one part of that is, taking time to breathe. Every time I come into my time with the Lord, I just take some deep breaths, and now, it's like it's trained my brain, retrained my brain to, when I sit down in my chair, I automatically get calm, because I know that's what I'm about to do.

It's just a way to help your kids learn, breathe, we're just gonna be with the Lord, and so there's prompts for that in there as well.

That's so good. Jamie's a wealth of information, and more importantly, a wealth of encouragement in the Lord, and I am just so grateful to be able to call her my friend, and thankful for these. I know these cards could bless, so if people are interested in maybe finding out more about how to get some of these cards, where's the best place for them to go?

Jamie: Yeah, so I have an Etsy shop. I opened an Etsy shop because my friend Kerry told me I should. I have an Etsy shop, and then I also have a website, jamiesuel.com, but the Etsy shop is where you can find the Advent package.

That's awesome. Advent's really important to me. I didn't grow up celebrating Advent, our kids did more so. It's been just on my heart to be able to provide different tools, and every family's different in what they want to do, and seasons of life, what you do when they're 2, 3, and 4 might look different than when they're 12, 13, or 14.

I love the idea of printing these out every single year, and then writing—letting the kids write something on the back for that year. What great memories! I wished I had written down all the things that our kids said thank you for. Maybe I need to get started with it. I've given them all a gratitude journal, but I don't know what all has been in there.

Thank you for being here. Is there anything you'd like to leave our listeners and viewers with?

Jamie: The thing that just jumped out of my mind was just how much God loves you and wants to be with you. I think going back and being able to talk to my younger self when I was a young mom, I think the thing I would have wanted to hear and be reminded of is that He loves your kids, he's got your kids, and also that we can't give away what we don't have.

I spent so much time trying to be perfect for them, when now I know, I wish I would have just been able to bring them along in the journey with me a little bit more. But yes, this is to share with your families, absolutely, but my prayer is that you will engage it for yourself, because He loves you and wants your heart, and that will spill over to your children.

The peace in your heart will spill over to your children, and to your husband, your families, and friends.

Thank you for carving time. I'm not going to say anything, because that was so good. Thank you for just spending time with us and pulling aside some time from your day. I really appreciate it, Jamie.

Jamie: Oh, I loved it. Thank you for having me.

Ready to make Advent meaningful this year? Check out Jamie's beautiful Advent cards featuring original paintings of hope (Christmas tree), peace (dove), joy (wreath), and love (light of the world). Each includes brief devotionals, reflection questions, and worship prompts perfect for busy families. Find them at her Etsy shop or visit jamiesuel.com to bring visual reminders of Jesus into your home all season long!