A Few Thoughts as Lent Begins...

For the past few weeks I'd been thinking about what to "do" for Lent this year, wanting whatever I chose to be meaningful and fruitful.  As that was mulling around in my brain, I came across some readings in a couple of my prayer books on the subject of discipline.  Discipline is a difficult area for me sometimes (hello not wanting to exercise, get to bed on time or use free time wisely!).  I  started thinking about the relationship between discipline and discipleship--how being a good disciple requires discipline.  So, I started with one of my favorite nerd things to do--looking up the etymology of both words.  Both words originate from the latin disciplina, meaning "to learn."  Hmmm.  Interesting.  So, when we cultivate more discipline in our lives, we open ourselves up to learning better.  I liked the sound of that.  And my quandary of "what to do for Lent" was solved: cultivate more discipline and, in turn, learn more about good discipleship.


I decided to severely limit my computer time (social media only to check messages--no scroll-throughs or clicking links), to read Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic and Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter throughout Lent and to start a regular diciplined exercise regime.  Sounds simple enough, right?

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, theveryfirst day of Lent, and it felt hard.  I never realized how much entertainment "idle-clicking-style" computer time had been giving me.  Yikes.  I didn't like this realization, because I like to think of myself as someone who has a pretty good balance of screen time to "real life" living.  So, only one day into my Lenten practice and I'm already learning!  The other thing I realized, a kind of ugly truth to accept, is that a part of me felt resentful of my self-imposed rules.  As it turns out, I don't like people telling me what I can and can't do with my time--even when that person is me!  How odd to feel resentful of something I chose to do in order to learn and grow and better myself.  It reminds me that saying yes to ourselves and indulging our, even harmless, whims and desires is not necessarily what's best for us.


I can't wait to see what this season of Lent will teach me.  I already feel more of a sense of peace (my word for the year) as I settle into this simpler, more disciplined routine.  My mind feels more focused (much less of that "monkey brain" feeling my mindless computer clicking had been causing) and more conscious awareness of the pockets of free time I have between tasks in my day.  I like the still, quiet sense of being that is beginning to enter.  I like the freedom (freedom defined as "becoming who you are meant to be" which I read in this book) it affords me to engage in pastimes that will feed me.  I like the reminder throughout the day that God is there, waiting to teach me more about Himself, in this season of quiet reflection.

I'll leave you with this lovely quote I've been pondering, an excerpt of "Ash Wednesday" by T.S. Eliot:

Are you engaging in any special practices this Lent?  How is it going so far?

Reflections on Lent...

Things have been a little quiet around here lately as I've been spending more time reflecting this Lent. In the weeks before Lent began I gave some thought to the ways I hoped to learn and grow. One of the things that popped out at me was the need to cultivate stillness. While I don't consider myself a super busy "type A" always on-the-go person, I found myself yearning for more silence, more contemplation, more time to really listen to God. One thing that clinched it for me was reading this Lenten Prayer over at Elizabeth's blog:

O Lord and Ruler of Life,
take from me the spirit of idleness, despair, cupidity and empty talking.
Yea, O Lord grant that I may see my own sins and not judge my brother.
For thou art blessed forever and ever.
Amen.

She also has a wonderful reflection (see Lenten Prayer link above) on this that spoke directly to my heart. It's a wonderful read--I highly recommend it!

Another prayer that sums up my Lenten goals was this one from Daily Reflections for Lent:

Lord Jesus, purify our desires.
Help us long for what really matters and help us be done with things that are insignificant and of no consequence.
Too often we waste our precious time and energy on inane entertainment, dead-end projects, and trivial conversation.
Send your Spirit to enlighten us to see what really matters.
Amen.

As I read both of these and listened to the stirrings inside of me, I felt the Lord calling me to manage my time more wisely. So I've been spending more time in quiet reflection (the quietness aspect can be a challenge as a homeschooling mama!). I've been reading more, thinking more, praying more and doing less. I've been taking this time to reassess my goals, figure out how to best serve others, and devoting more time and energy to my primary ministry--caring for my family. I'm trying to be intentional about how I spend the hours of the day that seem to vanish all too quickly, trying my best to eliminate distractions. My failings sometimes stare me in the face, but I know that this is part of the learning process. I'm thankful for the insight that helps me see my many weaknesses and for a Lord who forgives.

As part of my desire to create space for God, I thought I would also give Praying in Color a try. This is something that doesn't come easily to me because I get tend to get too task focused (which is the exact opposite of the point!) and have to remind myself to get back to the actual prayer part. I'm a work in progress. :) My usual go-to for focused prayer is the rosary so I thought it would be neat to try "coloring" the rosary. I haven't tried it yet, but the idea is appealing!




One of the things I've noticed with the added stillness is that I see better. I've been able to notice little things that would otherwise never get my attention. Things like the grass out my kitchen window greening up a bit and how wonderful a fresh cup of coffee smells. I've also begun a nature journal (another totally new thing for me!) to try to capture the beauty of God's creation. The kids and I have been doing this together and I love their enthusiasm as they draw a hawk soaring overhead, or the lines an airplane leaves in the sky. I highly recommend the book Keeping a Nature Journal if this is something that you'd like to learn more about.



The boys journaling

my nature journal





So, that's what I've been up to this Lent. I have a long way to go, but am thankful for the progress I'm making. :)



How has your Lent been going?
Have you tried or read anything new that you'd recommend?

Countdown Calendar for Lent {free printable!}

As we're just about to begin Lent, I thought I'd share another idea that we're looking forward to doing at our house! It's a Lenten Countdown Calendar that you fill up with mini marshmallows. I was inspired by the great lenten lamb calendar using cotton balls over at Three Sided Wheel, and thought it'd be fun to try drawing my own mini version to use with marshmallows.

I thought I'd share it with you, in case you might want to do this at home with your children:

Lenten Marshmallow Lamb Countdown Calendar

Feel free to print as many as you like to use this Lent! I designed mine to have 40 squares (not including Sundays). I purposely left most of the squares blank, so it can be printed and used year after year by filling in the dates yourself. You can write in the dates, days of the week, or even just number each square from 1-40. Each day simply affix a marshmallow and by Easter your lamb will look like this:


I hope your family enjoys this approach to Lent as we countdown to Easter! If you're looking for more Lenten ideas, you might want to check out our Lenten Family Prayer Jar as well as our Lenten Spiral. And also make sure to check out the Lenten link-up over at Catholic Icing for more great ideas!

Wishing you a wonderful and blessed 40 days.

Sharing With:

Works for Me Wednesday

Family Prayer Jar {an idea for Lent}

I've had been meaning to post about our family prayer jar for quite awhile but never got around to it. With Lent starting this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to share! If you've never heard of one, a prayer jar is simply a collection of prayers on slips of paper, placed in a jar as a way to augment your family prayer time. The prayers can be switched out by liturgical season (e.g. Advent prayers, Lent, Easter and so on). I originally put ours together just to add a little something and to our nighttime prayer routine last summer, but have been working on making sets for other liturgical seasons. It's really been a blessing to our family!


I thought I'd share some of the prayers we have in our jar. Below are our "Lenten Prayers." There are 40 of them. (As I complete the sets for future seasons I will happily share them, so come back for Easter prayers!) Please feel free to print and use the prayers below. If you want to get fancy, you can even add images to your prayer slips or print them on pretty scrapbook paper (purple would be fitting!):


Lenten Prayer Jar



I've kept the wording and font simple so our littles can easily read and comprehend them. You can use the jar in a couple of different ways: either pull out one prayer per day so the jar is empty by Easter, or you can use more than one a day and just drop them back in to be re-used all throughout Lent. (We've done it both ways!) This year we are planning on using one a day along with our Lenten Prayer Spiral:

(click link above for tutorial, if you want to make a spiral like this)

If you decide to make a jar for your family I'd love to hear about it! Also, if you have any prayer suggestions you'd like to share, please do so! I'd love to keep adding to our jar! :)



If you're looking for more ideas to do this Lent, you can check out the Lenten Link-Up courtesy of Lacy from Catholic Icing. There are a ton of great ideas over there as well as at Catholicmom.com.

Wishing you a truly blessed Lenten season!

Sharing With:

Works for Me Wednesday

On this Holy Thursday...

photo source

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”

--John 13:21-33, 36-38

As Lent draws to a close and the Easter Triduum is upon us I've been finding myself reflecting a lot on Judas, the betrayer. And while my heart is filled with sorrow over the ways that Judas and the other disciples failed Jesus in his darkest hour I am reminded of how we, too, fail Jesus. Though it is disturbing to dwell on Judas, on his 30 pieces and of Peter's pain upon rooster's cry, I believe there is great benefit in sitting with these sorrows for awhile. For it is in our weakness, in the reminder of our failings that we draw nearer to God and can more fully appreciate the joy of the Resurrection and the meaning it has in our lives.


As we quiet our hearts and minds and enter into Easter preparation, I encourage you to sit awhile with thoughts of Judas, of Peter and of disciples scattered, crouching, hiding in fear and self-loathing as our Savior marched to His death--alone. I encourage you to offer up to the Lord the things you've been working on this Lent--the sacrifices, alms and prayers with renewed fervor. With thoughts of tainted silver and mournful bird song in our minds, let us cling to the Lord more fully, our Rock and our Fortress. Let us open our hearts to the healing and mercy that only He can give. Let us receive with open arms His bountiful grace and love, flowing river of Living Water. Let us ache with pain and regret on this day that our Lord offered Himself for us. This holy day in which He turned bread and wine into Body and Blood.


Let us ache and wrestle and yearn.


We ache so when Easter comes, we may truly proclaim with hearts full:

"Alleluia! He is Risen!"

photo source


Wishing you a most blessed Holy Thursday.

How to Make a Palm St. Brigid's Cross

Palm Sunday means it's time to get busy making neat little palm crosses, hearts and other decorations! With the handful of palms we brought home yesterday I thought it'd be nice to try making a St. Brigid's Cross.

Let me tell you that while they are certainly lovely they are NOT EASY!!!!!!!!!! (Well, at least not easy to make from fresh soft green slippery palms, anyway!) So, after several failed attempts, I discovered a couple of tricks that are sure to guarantee success. What, might you ask, is my secret weapon: GLUE DOTS! My disastrous tangled mess of palms was gloriously rescued by these sticky little angels! Orchestral melodies danced in my head as before my eyes my palms were transformed from Chinese Tavern Puzzle Chaos to Organized and Sturdy Masterpiece! (By-the-way, if you're a crafter and have never used glue dots before you must drive to a craft store stat to pick some up! They're that good.) So, without further ado, here's my Palm St. Brigid's Cross How-To:

You Will Need:

--11 (7 for cross and 4 to tie ends) palms, carefully torn in half (approx. 1/4" w.)

--glue dots

--rubber bands

--loads of patience (er, just kidding...kinda!)



Step 1.
Begin by forming a simple cross from 2 palm fronds as pictured below:




Step 2.
Place a third palm frond on right behind the horizontal cross piece and AFFIX WITH GLUE DOT to secure. Fold over tightly so that ends are pointing down (toward you).





Step 3.
Carefully rotate cross 90 degrees (counter clockwise) and repeat step 2: place palm behind on right side of horizontal palms, folding down at center and securing with glue dots to hold in place.



Step 4.
You are going to keep repeating step 3: rotating cross 90 degrees counter-clockwise to add a new frond to to the right.




Step 5.
Your cross is complete once you have a total of 7 palms in place.



Step 6.
Now it's time to trim the ends so that they are even on all sides (approx 4 inches from center on all sides)


Step 7.
With rubber bands, gather palm fronds and tightly wrap



Step 8.
Wrap remaining palms around rubber bands to cover the them, tucking ends into rubber band. Trim the ends.




Viola!


Your cross should look something like this:




If you're having a tough time with this or need a video additional visuals, try watching this Youtube video: How to Make a St. Brigid's Cross

And besides, it's worth watching just to hear her great accent! As you can see this lady has mad cross-making skills that I can never hope to compete with! :p Hence... Glue Dots!

I hope this tutorial inspired you to try making a Palm St. Brigid's Cross!

And thank you Glue Dots for another craft rescue!!

Happy Holy Week!

(Disclaimer: I have not been paid to promote Glue Dots in any way! I'm just their Number One Fan. Cue: Creepy Theme Music from "Misery.")





Linked to:

A Lenten Reflection

" What holds a life together is simply the truth, faith that the eyes and the heart are turned towards truth, and that God accepts such a life without condition, looking on the will rather than merely the deed. God asks not for heroes but for lovers; not moral athletes but men and women aware of their need for acceptance, ready to find their selfhood in the longing for communion with an eternal "other."

--Rowan Williams



Something to think about this Lent, as we strive to improve and free ourselves from the chains of sin. It's comforting to focus on truth-seeking and communion with God over that of "moral achievement."

An Idea for Your Family This Lent

Inspired by the gorgeous circular Lenten wreath I saw at A Holy Experience, I decided to try my hand at making my own version at home. I love having a visual symbol for the family to gather around for our evening devotions as we did during Advent. I wanted to incorporate some Lenten symbols into the craft as well. I made sure to work in the color purple (the liturgical color of the season) and also burlap--representing the sack cloths people wore while fasting during biblical times.

I thought I'd share how I made it, in case you might want to make your own.


You Will Need:

*3-4 packages of black Fimo modeling clay (or similar sculpting clay)
*Cardboard (approx. 2' x 3' square)
*40 small polished river stones
* 1/2 yard of burlap (I like to have extra on hand in case of mistakes!)
*glue gun w/glue sticks
*stick lighter
*purple votive candle
*scissors

I started by cutting cardboard into a spiral pattern. (Size is up completely up to you. Mine measures approx 24 in. diameter)

The boys helped me condition the Fimo. (I love the look of fierce determination on Adam's face!)

(A much gentler approach from Luke!)

Once the Fimo was soft enough to work with, I sculpted 40 little bowls (think pinch pots from grade school!). I like the free-form irregular look, so I made each of mine a slightly different size and shape.

I baked them according to the directions on the package.

Once they were baked and cooled I arranged them on my spiral to make sure everything would fit nicely.

Using the cardboard as a guide I cut the burlap into a spiral pattern leaving a tiny bit of overhang on all sides to take into account the fabric that will be lost by burning.

I selected 40 stones that would fit nicely into the cups.

Using my glue gun I then glued the burlap securely to the cardboard working in 6 inch sections from the outside toward the center.

Once the spiral was glued and dry I Very carefully burned the edges of the burlap working by 2 inch sections and blowing out each section before moving onto the next.

Once the edges were singed I glued the 40 clay pots to the burlap with a glue gun.

Gathering sticks from the yard, I fashioned a cross out of them. I used purple embroidery thread (love using purple however I can!) to secure it. I then molded black no-bake clay around the base of the cross and secured it into the center (40th pot) of the spiral.

Once the project was completed I placed everything into a black tray for use. I chose a purple candle to further highlight the color for the season and placed the stones we'll be using into a glass container wrapped with twine.

Our family will be using the book A Family Journey With Jesus Through Lent for our evening devotions.

If you decide to give it a try I hope it turns out well for you! If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to answer!


I wish you all a wonderful 40 day walk with Jesus this Lent.


Linked at: Works for Me Wednesday