While there’s no official way to observe the Advent season, traditionally each week’s candle is associated with a different word: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy.

Hope: All around the world there is darkness. There is only one light that is bright enough to give us hope and that is Jesus. He will never be overtaken by the darkness and His light will never go out.

Peace: We were enslaved by our own sinful selfish desires. Jesus has broken our chains and given us His peace and freedom.

Love: There is no love greater than this, that while we were still entangled in our own sin Jesus showed us His sacrificial love by giving up his life for us so we could be free.

Joy: We who have lived in a darkness of our own making know what it feels like to have Jesus set us free. There is no greater feeling than this pure joy. No one can take this away in our lives, as it shines brighter than the sun.

After Cindi Bates painted her “Hope” picture to mark the first Sunday of Advent, she felt inspired to capture the essence of the other three words. But she did not go with more predictable images you’d associate with them.

Take a moment to download the paintings. What do you notice? How does the unexpectedness of the images expand your thinking on Advent?

If you could paint a picture for one of those words, which would you choose? What would you paint?

Printable Advent Words