Total Christmas Makeover Book Review

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When I received the opportunity to be on the blog tour for Melissa Spoelstra’s latest book, Total Christmas Makeover, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had never heard of Melissa before but the concept of her advent devotional sounded practical and applicable to me and I’ve really enjoyed it so far.

Spolestra introduces the book by explaining that it is organized into three sections titled, Ritual, Relationship and Rest. There are a total of 30 devotions to read through, making this the perfect supplement to regular Scripture reading in preparation for celebrating Christmas. I appreciate that each devotion is full of Scripture not only in the intro but in the content itself. Melissa ends each devotion with Questions for Reflection and practical suggestions for families with children of varying ages (personally, I’m looking forward to trying the Jesse Tree suggestion as my daughter grows older).

What I appreciate most about this book is that Melissa encourages readers to study the heart behind why they do what they do when it comes to Christmas traditions and each devotion pushes readers to redeem the season by making it Christ centered. I liked some of the practical ideas she included in the book such as using Christmas light viewing as a means for reminding our children and ourselves that Jesus is the light.

Regarding making the Christmas season purposeful, Spoelstra wrote, “If we put up a tree, we can remind ourselves and our family that Jesus came as a baby but died on a tree. As we string up lights or go look at them, let’s focus on Jesus’s statement that He is the Light of the world. When we make wreaths, decorate our mantle or get our special holiday dishes, we can remember we do things differently for a purpose. We change the look of our surroundings as a ritual to celebrate something great. God loves us. His plan was to redeem us through Christ,” (pg. 32).

In the Day 3 devotion on Prayer, I was so encouraged by Spoelstra’s words, “Every time I actually take the time to pray, I am blessed and so glad that I did it. I can never remember regretting time spent with the Lord in prayer,” (pg. 20).

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Total Christmas Makeover and look forward to reading more from Spoelstra in the future. I highly recommend this book for women who are looking for unique and purposeful ways to redeem the Christmas season.

I received Total Christmas Makeover compliments of Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.