A little over 2 millennia ago, a young expectant mother heard the news that a census had been decreed by the great ruler Ceasar Augustus. We don't know how she heard it. Possibly in the town square or maybe from a nosy neighbor who, without the impetus of this juicy tidbit, would not otherwise deign to talk to the young girl. After all, before having lived in her betrothed's home, Mary had returned from her cousin's, obviously pregnant. Still, Joseph had taken her in anyway, which had helped to quell the gossip - a little. Now she and her newly wedded husband, the village's carpenter, would need to embark on a daunting journey; through the desert and across enemy territories to the birthplace of her husband's forefathers. Have you ever wondered what that would be like, in the last days of a pregnancy? Heavy with child? The ligaments in your back already aching just from normal daily chores like hauling water from the town well? How would Mary and Joseph feel after hiking an average of ten to twelve miles a day for almost eight days in order to be there in time to be counted? Then there were questions to answer such as should she bring swaddling clothes for the baby, or would she make it back home before the birth? What if she gave birth halfway between here and Bethlehem? But it was such a small town - how many would actually be descendants from Bethlehem and would they even find a caravan to travel with? However, this young woman had a special relationship with her Creator, one whose name is so powerful that only the High Priests referred to Him by his rightful name: Yahweh. From the moment that we are introduced to Mary by Luke, we are made aware of the abundant trust she has in God, our Father. She answers God's request of her; that she bear and give life to the Son of God, though she 'had not yet known man'. No doubt, this trust carried her through the difficulties and challenges that Caesar Augustus' decree placed before her and her faith-filled husband. This book is the author's attempt to imagine what it must have been like to travel in the chill of winter to try and reach a small town over 80 miles away in time to be counted by Caesar's soldiers. It was inspired by an advent project she created over two decades ago with the first five children of her family of thirteen. The book is supported by a website: adventjourneywithmaryandjoseph.com where coloring pages are available for children to enjoy as well as instructions about how to create your own advent journey with Mary and Joseph. The whimsical illustrations found within the book, along with the colouring pages, are the creation of the young artist Teresa Tomas. This book is a great resource that can be used during the advent season and has been written in a manner that a family can spread reading the book out through all of Advent or read it in just the last week or two before Christmas.
