Heaven and Nature Sing: 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World by Hannah Anderson

Heaven and Nature Sing: 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World Reviews

• 
  Laura

  Fantastic. Hannah Anderson chases down truth and finds the wisdom of scripture reflected everywhere from weighted blankets to woodpeckers. She’s consistently perceptive and never settles for cliche. On every page there is something to cheer you on to pursue the goodness, truth, and beauty of scripture.
• 
  Ruth

  There is depth here, as I've come to appreciate from Anderson, and yet each reading is bite-sized and readable. Recommend.
• 
  Becca

  I really loved this. Each day was about 4-5 pages, which was the perfect length for some scripture and reflection. Hannah Anderson writes almost poetically, but without overdoing it, so the prose remains simple to read. There were several readings that really touched me and helped me linger on the meaning of the season. Will be reading again!
• 
  Martha Johnson

  One of my favorite books I read this year! Everyone should go ahead and order it to have for Advent next year.
• 
  Stephen Bates

  Full confession. I have not yet finished this book of essays because, you know, it's not yet Christmas. But today I was positively gob-smacked at one of the finest reflections on the incarnation I've ever read—"Swaddling Bands”—and I couldn’t help it.
  
  I’ll admit that devotional books are not my cup of tea. There is a distantly AI quality to the format: input twenty-five Advent/Christmas passages, add a soft take, and out comes a devotional. Not so with "Heaven and Nature Sing."
  
  Anderson displays a deftness in moving about scripture in a way that betrays a long apprenticeship that cannot be faked with a subscription to Logos. There is true attentiveness in every corner. Her backyard, her experience as a mom, and her weighted blanket aren’t “illustrations” in the awful sermonic sense but rather objects close at hand to be considered. Adolph Schlatter says the primary goal of interpretation is “to see, to see, and to see again.” I never saw the swaddling bands, though I’ve read Luke 2 a hundred times. I never saw God clothing our first parents while considering Christ the kid being tightly wrapped by his mom.
  
  There is seeing everywhere here. Thanks be to God.
  
  One last note. The best indicators of a book’s quality, in my opinion, is how it feels to read it out loud. This one sings. I have a one- and three-year-old and something about the cadence draws them in just as Anna and I have been drawn in. What a rare and wonderful quality.
• 
  Ashley Hoss

  This book was positively lovely. I think it’s better for an individual devotional over one to do with a group, but it’s definitely a delightful read. It is great for those that like to connect with both their emotional side and logical side. Anderson’s writing encourages the reader to truly appreciate and reflect on many aspects of Christmas, without minimizing some of the melancholy and darkness that can come in life. I highly recommend this devotional.
• 
  Tori Samar

  Excellent. Easily my favorite Advent devotional I've read since I started the tradition a few years ago. Hannah Anderson has such a gift for making connections between the natural world and spiritual truth, and that gift shines here.
• 
  Jennifer Squire

  I thoroughly enjoyed this devotional through the Advent season. Hannah’s writing is inviting, authentic, and thoughtful. Her style shows you how she learned something not just her conclusions- one of my favorite authors!
• 
  Meredith Martinez

  (4/5) This is a beautiful advent devotional, great for a single reader (perhaps still doable for a group discussion, but I think it's more suited to personal reflection). Anderson balances the "already and the not yet" of the Advent season, reminding us that while weeping may last for a night, joy comes in the morning. I think in the Advent season, sometimes we gloss over the fact that it is a season of waiting, not just celebrating Christ's coming. Would recommend for your own Advent reading or as a gift to a friend or family member in preparation for the season! This book is out TODAY!
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Michele Morin

  Push back against the darkness of this season by immersing your thoughts in the truth that Light has come into the world–and we celebrate redemption with all creation! Hannah Anderson has borrowed great news from an old carol that’s ever new, because Heaven and Nature Sing the greatness of our God, “the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Anderson comes alongside the reader as a friend, pointing at the evidence and whispering a gentle reminder of truth easily misplaced in a busy season.
  
  These twenty-five meditations, designed to carry you through Advent, connect details of geography, topography, or nature from the Christmas story and lay them down beside spiritual truth with an eye fully attentive to the selective nature of redemptive history. Why did the Gospel writer include the lowly shepherds’ eye-witness status? “Supreme artist that he is, God is not about to miss an opportunity for symbolism. So when his Shepherd is finally born, he sends the news to… shepherds.”
  
  Then, reaching beyond the traditional gospel accounts of Christ’s birth, Anderson has woven connections with relevant Old Testament passages and New Testament teaching that highlights the seamlessness of Scripture’s metanarrative. My favorite image from Heaven and Nature Sing makes the connection between Son of Adam and Son of God, for Jesus, the God-Man created us and also makes provision for us. “So instead of filling the manger with hay or corn, he fills it with himself.”
  
  Worship is the invitation of this season, so prepare your heart to join in the celebration of God’s greatness by remembering the why behind Christ’s arrival and the blessed hope of his return.
  
  Many thanks to NetGalley and B&H Publishing Group for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
• 
  Kimberly Webber

  God used this series of essays to stir my affection for him and the rhythms he’s established in creation and in our human hearts that all ache for a coming of salvation and healing.
  
  “Every year, as we celebrate the birth of the Prince of peace, we rehearse and retell our own longing for God’s shalom. Through our decorations, holiday food, church services, wrapped gifts, and joyful songs, we teach one another to believe in the hope of the Promised Son… and so with Heaven and nature, we sing.”
  
  I’ll definitely be reading this annually.
• 
  Ashlea

  Loved this Advent devotional. It's one I'll return to many times.
• 
  Shelby J Holloway

  I love everything Hannah Anderson writes!
• 
  Ranelle

  Easily one of my favorite advent devotionals.
• 
  Sara Fukuda

  Loved this devotional. Beautiful thoughts, essays, musings on advent.
• 
  Hannah Jayne

  i loved it
• 
  Andrea

  Highly recommend this Advent book for easy to read yet meaningful reflections on the incarnation, Jesus, and the natural world.
• 
  Christine

  5 Stars. No question. This is a great book.
  
  I didn’t grow up really observing advent, but the active anticipation has become one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season.
  
  After David Mathis' 2020 publication of The Christmas We Didn't Expect, the bar was set high. My 2021 backup selection didn’t live up to it, so I was on the fence about Heaven and Nature Sing. I was hearing great things, but … I wasn’t too sure about this whole nature-based devotional thing. I wasn't sure if it would be too fluffy.
  
  My concerns were absolutely unfounded.
  
  I have been absolutely delighted with this volume. The gentle, welcoming observations give way to invitation to consider the Christmas story from a fresh perspective. This is a beautiful book that draws me in deeper and stirs my affection for Christ in new ways. I would gladly gift this book to others or enthusiastically recommend it for the next Advent season.
• 
  Danielle

  Simply one of the best Advent books I've read in a long time. Although I've appreciated Anderson's other writing, I wasn't sure about the format of this book when previewing it on Amazon. I typically like more a of a scripture first then devotional format as opposed to an essay, per se. This format was definitely an essay format, with the scripture woven throughout. But in the end I adored it. Anderson takes the Christmas story and the various symbols we are so familiar with and weaves daily essays for the Advent season with great skill, insight, and depth. I will probably be rereading it next year.
• 
  Ashley Wells

  I really enjoyed reading this book this advent season!
• 
  Ali C

  Having spent nearly ten years in southwest Virginia myself, there is something deeply personal about reading Hannah's words. I read this during advent by myself, usually one chapter a night, and really enjoyed it. Each chapter is long enough to challenge you and tell a full story, without being so long that you can't manage reading one each night. I would definitely gift this to friends, and plan to reread it next year at advent.
• 
  Jennie

  Heaven and Nature Sing – 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World by Hannah Anderson is a book I recently finished reading through! I so enjoy her writing, she has a way of connecting nature and God’s Word together that is full of truth, beauty, and goodness!! She joined together the biblical Christmas season and nature of the season. I also enjoy the advent season, and have a small collection of advent books and so this one is a great addition to my stack to read during the Advent season! Also, this isn’t the first book I have read by Hannah Anderson, so I knew before I read it, I was going to enjoy it and I certainly did!
  
  She wrote the book inspired by the hymn Joy to the Word. A reminder of looking forward to the day when Jesus will return. The book will help you prepare your heart for Christmas by reading about why Jesus came to earth and why we long for His return. She writes, “I want to offer you hope – not by ignoring the brokenness but by looking it squarely in the face, knowing that your Redeemer has and will come. And I want to tell that story through the lens of the natural world, to consider how not just we, but all of creation, waits for our Creator King.”
  
  This book is meant to be read once a day starting December 1st through the 25th, but I love that she shared “Feel free to begin this book with the best of intentions, get busy with holiday preparations, lose it among the gift wrap, find it two weeks later, and binge several readings in one sitting to catch up. This, too, will deliver you to Christmas, as I have never known the day to wait until I was ready for it.” So no guilt reading!
  
  Here is a few sections from the book I highlighted, that will give you a feel for the daily readings, which are about 3-5 pages long.
  
  “In Romans 8, the apostle Paul writes that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us” – that no matter what we’re currently going through, no matter the heartbreak, no matter the confusion, no matter the grief or loss, God’s goodness and glory await us. That deep, under the surface, out of sight, He is at work. That He always has been, and He always will be. To prove this, Paul turns our attention to the natural world:”
  
  “The quite, steady work we do today – even if it’s as simple as celebrating the Promised Son during the season – will echo through the years. Until one day, we find ourselves gathered together with all those who have hoped in Him, with all who have found Him faithful from generation to generation.”
  
  “And on the days when you feel too common for God to use, when you find yourself overrun, defiled, and desecrated, rest in this hope: the holiness of God never runs out, and His grace is as limitless as He is.”
  
  This book is also put together beautifully, so one to have a hard-copy of, which is what I will be getting, as currently I have the eBook version.
• 
  Renee Young

  I love everything Hannah Anderson writes. I know that’s not a small statement. We see the world in similar ways, relating the impressiveness of what we can see—from tiny pill bugs to sprawling mountain ranges—to what we cannot fully fathom—mainly the glory of God. Hannah Anderson has a unique way of tying her personal history to both the grand narrative of scripture and specific passages while maintaining reader relatability. There’s a tangible beauty that Hannah brings forth from Scripture as she descriptively draws analogies and metaphors from every day life.
  
  Though this is marketed as an advent devotional—and a helpful and delightful one at that—it’s not exclusively a reflection for advent. You would be well-served to read this during other seasons, too. This book walks through Genesis to Revelation pulling out elements of nature. The chapters that spurred me on the most were Evergreen, Visible and Invisible, Birds and Bees, and Myrrh. (I may have spent an unreasonable amount of time doing further research on the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker)
  
  As advent devotionals go, these daily readings are a touch longer and the writing is more floral—so some may find it difficult to finish if they fall behind or may even become tired of the repetitive outline from day to day. But because this is my favorite niche of writing, I was delighted to immerse myself in the illustrative words. For anyone longing for children, points in this book will read more painfully than others; but you will be left with gratitude that a Son has been given.
  
  You should add this to your 2023 book list if you want to behold more beauty; if you want to slow down and savor that which is breathtaking; if you want to appreciate the intentionality of the Lord in His creative design; if you want to glory in the reality of the incarnation of the Son of God.
  
  And when the pages end, with Heaven and Nature, you will sing.
• 
  Becky B

  In 25 devotionals, Hannah Anderson invites readers to reread the advent stories of the Bible with new eyes. To take these stories out of the realm of repeated same old and really sit with them, to dig deeper, and ask why certain details are included. She reexamines the stories of angel visits and gifts of magi and messages to shepherds and while weaving in stories and examples from her own life helps uncover the ongoing relevance for our lives today, and just why the coming of Jesus was so special and is so worthy of celebration and a pause from the ordinary routine.
  
  If the Christmas passages in the Bible are feeling a little dry, routine, or shallow, Anderson’s devotions invite you to dive deeper and see them in new ways. It’s a refreshing 25 days of 3-5 page devotionals that really made me see things in a new light, had me thinking about something I’ve read a couple 100 times and never paused to think about before, or just reminded me why Christmas is so important to celebrate. She continually redirects the focus not just on the birth, but back to his death and resurrection and why Jesus came. Because Christmas is a whole lot more powerful when you keep Easter in mind. If you are tired of all the glitz and glamor of Christmas, this will remind you of the most important bits. A refreshing advent devotional that doesn’t feel anything like any other advent devotional I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.
  
  I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Notes on content [based on the ARC]: One devotional is on “the birds and the bees” but talks more about God redeeming the way he makes bodies and is very clinical in the way it talks about bodily processes.
  
  
• 
  Meagan

  This is, come to find out, the second book I've read by Hannah Anderson (the first being
  Turning of Days: Lessons from Nature, Season, and Spirit, which I equally loved).Both books are illustrated by her husband, too, and the pairing works just as well here as it does in _Turning of Days_.
  
  I love the simplicity of the art; it foils the devotional text perfectly. (I'm also glad I switched to reading the NetGalley version rather than Kindle while reviewing, because the Kindle proof didn't include the art and I was going to be very disappointed! Seeing the art, where available, is half the fun!)
  
  The devotional text itself is surprisingly deep, in a good way. It doesn't take long to read, nor is it "so deep only someone in seminary could read it"--but instead a good balance of incorporating examples from everyday life and drawing out theological application. I especially enjoyed the discussion of liturgy during the Advent season, and the power of silence. (Yes, partly because #introvertlife, lol.)
  
  An enjoyable and refreshing Advent devotional.
  
  I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
• 
  Nyla

  Heaven and Nature Sing is a delightful advent inspirational reflections to stir your heart by author Hannah Anderson. This is such a beautiful book with many things to ponder. The author has a brilliant way of writing. It is inviting, warm, and easy to understand. In this advent devotion she blends Christmas effortlessly with the things of nature. Animals, plants, her family are among those that bring joy to the Christmas Season.
  
  There are 25 reflections or devotions. The first one is entitled Wintering, and the last one is Christmas Morn. Scripture is woven throughout the stories. It really is uplifting and thought provoking.
  
  I highly recommend this sweet book. It would be a perfect early Christmas gift. Readers would begin Day 1 on December 1st and end the 25th reflection on Christmas morning. It receives a 5 out of 5 stars rating from me. A copy was provided by NetGalley, but these are my honest words.
• 
  David

  Every year I try to read a different Advent devotional and this was the one I choose for this year. It quickly has become one of my favorites.
  
  There is something in each of these 25 reflections that will grab everyone. She writes in a way that will capture your emotions, imagination, and intellect. Several devotionals that I have read can feel sanitized or almost bland in their writing. The writing in this book is almost poetic and beautiful in its own right.
  
  Most of the reflections follow the Christmas story with traveling back and forth between the Old and New Testaments. Frequently I was floored by some of the observations and reflections in these devotionals. She pointed out parts of the Christmas story I had never considered or never paused to notice before.
  
  I highly recommend this devotional for Advent. There is plenty to chew on without it seeming overly academic or dry.