Broken for You.

Blessed Good Friday to you. 

Many thanks to Kris for sharing her homemade Ezekiel Bread with my family today (that link is not to her exact recipe). I sense a new tradition on fasting days.

I love the quiet of Good Friday. Though, today my house is finally full of many children. Some friends of ours our moving into a new house this weekend (what timing!) and their two daughters (16 months and 6) are hanging out all day with us. While we were waiting for them to arrive, Lovely went with Kris and her family to our church for children's Stations of the Cross. I'm feeling very full and blessed from my village of friends - from their gifts of bread to sharing their children.

Along with Jesus paying the ultimate price for us - being so GOOD to us, these are just a few reasons more why this Friday is Good Friday.

Always Timely

When I can manage to do all my morning prayer, meditation, and Lenten readings done (ha, ha and ha....I TRY) it never ceases to amaze me what speaks to me, what helps me, and what is so timely in its message.

This is from today's 3 Minute Retreat (in Lent, called 3+ Minute Retreat). I love that the "+" reflection is by one of my favorites - Lisa Hendey!

First, it reminds me to breathe, breathe through and away with my anxiety (ha!)

Then...the scripture reflection is this:

Blessed are we who live our lives in the name of the Lord. But do we always remember what it means to be a disciple? We must remind ourselves that our lives are about dying as well as rising. There is no resurrection without death. Life in the Lord requires glory one day and dejection the next. As disciples we have hope, because we know that God holds us the entire time.

 

How can you bless the dying and the rising of your life, knowing that both are in the name of the Lord? 

Indeed. How shall I answer this today? Time to reflect. 

Much love!

Sharing "Substance" and Revisiting My 2012 Word

I am so sorry for the lack of "substance" posts. I have been busy with my part time job, as well as homeschooling and marriage saving. Our Retrouvaille process involves a lot of writing, and combining that with my part time job (which involves writing) means I get a little tired of writing by the end of the day. If I could just mentally post, instead of typing words out, I would be in business. Even my homeschooling blog is horribly neglected. I aim to fix that soon! It honestly depresses me to not blog, because I love creating these records for my family. I really, really hope to get back to sharing both my thoughts, and our daily activities soon.

How about a quick marriage update? We're working hard. We are still not where we need to be, and I agree with the Retrouvaille philosphy - we'll always be a couple in "recovery" (once we feel we really are on the road to succeeding at the changes we are learning to make). How we are doing depends on the day or the week you ask one of us. This week I'm struggling, but last week and the week before was better. I found our communication once we were back in the same house after his business trip was a let down (both of us at fault there). Also, we were hoping for a promotion in his career that stalled out once again.

While I am at peace knowing God has His timing (and I have hopes for where we could get a house, and this potential opportunity would not give me that), we came so close that it was such a boost to think we could dream about moving to a rental house and have a yard for our kids again. I have so much to offer up and sacrifice this Lent - among them letting the small, yardless space where we live get me down (I also believe much of 'this' is seasonal depression, as I can tell things are getting better as we approach the time change!). We are SO blessed and we need to sacrifice these materialistic feelings when we have so much more than many - and I need to pray and work toward building up the ones who struggle more than we do in prayer and alms. Please keep praying for us, and paying life forward as you can to others to build them up! If we have internet access to read each others' blogs, we have much to share (or at least scrape together) to help others.

It dawned on me I have some prompts I could be using to blog. When I picked my Word for 2012, it
seemed to divinely break down into 12 descriptive words. Kris suggested I write about these words each month. Well, I am already behind on the words:
 
atone - January
retrieve - February
fulfill - March

So, be on the look out for my catch up posts for January and February. I'll probably  post date them so they fall in the months they were meant for (in case I ever print out this blog), but since I'm not sure if they'll show up on reader that way, I'll link to them. I'm sure I'll get to March's word at some point this month. It's a great way to really focus on my 2012 word - Redeem. I think, especially in my marriage, it is a word I need to dissect and reflect on daily.

I also am underlining like CRAZY in my Little Black Book for Lent. I hope to share those "lights" soon.

Until then, I leave you with a (RANDOM) little slice of peace I had this evening:

Yes, I could afford to drink the Mike's today - ha!

 The weather is lovely, the days are getting longer again (which makes me feel better!), we are taking advantage of our porch again most days and meals, and I'm relearning to eat properly again. I've lost 11.4 pounds since starting my new lifestyle January 22. I've got a long way to go (I did a LOT of comfort eating after our surprise move and marriage crumble). But, with the support of friends and family - I'm getting back on track - and even having fun in healthy moderation. I am getting inspired always by Kris, Gabriela, Patti, my Ninja in Training at Life by the Seaside, Blair (she has a great check in on Mondays!),  Mary (be praying for her and her amazing daughter Courtney, who has gotten some disheartening health news of late) and Kate as always, among MANY more I get inspired by who are creating new healthy lifestyles. I know I'm missing even some of my combox buddies.  Hey - do me a favor - let me know your health goals and if you are blogging about them. I want to pay special note! Let's help each other!!

Ok - I need to spend time talking with my husband. He's home from his guy's night out and spiritual support group. Much love to you all!!

Ash Wednesday

Let's show some ash!!

Mommy and her PRECIOUS Ash Wednesday crew

Before Mass started (notice, I picked the back with the little ones)

. 

Sweet Valiant

Sweet Sisters - Lovely and Valiant

Gift's 1st Ash :)

Heading home...crazy kids!

I wish I could write up some profound post about how great the service was. The music was so peaceful (Hubby played!) because this Mass was the more folkish/Celtic choir, and they are VERY good. But, as for the rest of the Mass - I was a bit busy. Valiant was in very rare form for her - and I mean RARE - for Mass behavior (trying to walk everywhere and dance - usually she sits still and participates. Thankfully, she was silent as she danced, lol). And Gift, well...Gift goes to the nursery now a lot for my sanity and to help give Lovely focus in Mass as she preps for 1st Communion - and there was no nursery tonight at the cathedral. He actually was pretty good - he just likes to chirp and talk some that echoes in an old stone sanctuary. I finally had to take them outside before communion, and back out after receiving. At my parish - I don't feel the need to take them out ever. Their little voices are welcome in a family friendly church. Tonight, I was surrounded by young professionals (bless them for being at Mass!) who don't have children and kept turning around and looking at me. So...I felt badly for them.So, I don't remember the homily, the readings, or praying much- ha! Ok, I admit praying for some Mass only laryngitis for Gift..ahem.

But, just being there was worship enough for my loving Father, and getting my kids there was offering enough. You can get so much out of worship if you allow yourself to be blessed by just trying and being "there".  I know I'm doing exactly what God wants me to at this point with them at church, and I love attending as a family unit. It's how Mass is meant to be, and I value that. Jesus said, "Let the Children Come to me..."

...and tonight - mine sure came to Him! (And gave mommy some real sacrificing and offering up!) And, like God said (Gen 1:10), it was GOOD.

I hope you had a blessed start to Lent this Ash Wednesday. Much love!!

Ready for Lent (I hope!)

Table "centerpieces": Flowers for the Mercy Cross, a vase full of short kid prayers (40 for 40 days), beans for the sacrifice jar (beans become jelly beans on Easter), good deed/sacrifice suggestion box, and our Operation Rice Bowl donation box. Whew! Bring it on, Lent!

Our Mercy Cross is ready to be covered in flowers by the kids starting tomorrow. Each act of love or mercy earns a flower, so by Easter, the cross is covered in color! Also taped up are their Lenten countdown calendars.

Ok. Tired. Goodnight! :)

MARDI GRAS/Pancake Tuesday!

Ahhh. Today is always such a fun day. Blogsphere and Facebook light up with pictures of pancakes, ice cream, chocolate, feasting, king cake, masks, and beading. It's Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, Fat Tuesday! Yipeeee!! Hubby made us the BEST Pancake supper with eggs, veggie omelet for me, and BACON! YUM!! Thanks!

Then, the eve brings on the morrow - Lent 2012.

I need to admit something. I am most excited. I NEED this Lent. I need something to help me focus on God and something WAY BIGGER than me and our current lot. I need to remember that I can be a living offering - carrying my own cross. As many times as I'll stumble this Lenten season in carrying my crosses, I can have as many opportunities to grow a little stronger in the Lord.

(This next part is adapted from last year's post)

I'm always so inspired by Lent, and the ideas I glean from the internet and blogs, and those ideas have given my family traditions I never grew up with. Usually we make a Easter Countdown calendar (a sheep that you add cotton balls too) but I didn't have the energy to put that together this year OR last year. Karen had a great idea to make solemnity days a great discovery and a special treat day from coloring the days purple - Lovely LOVED that. This year, Valiant can have her own to color!

The rest I'll list -and yes, it looks long, but much of it is just part of our routine. It's funny how much MORE I want to do! Other people's blogs just get me too excited!

My Sacrifices/Goals:

~  I will be doing both my daily Small Steps for Catholic Moms, and also doing the authors' Lenten Meditations and do their daily fasts, alms, and prayers. They will be my "giving up" and "adding to" for Lent. Every day is something different from an internet "fast" from e-mail/internet, to simply being more present to my kids or spouse, or no TV for a day, to not cutting corners with my daily work, or giving 5 minutes to God in the morning and evening. They challenge me, which enriches me if I listen to the instructions. I love how varied it is and it makes me give up more than I would make myself do, or DO more than I make myself do.
~ I also love reading the Little Black Book for Lent. It is full of great meditations on each Sunday's Gospel and is divided Monday - Saturday on the right side of the book. The left side of the book explains a tradition, a person, a feast, or neat fact that adds to the bible verses being studied. It is really fantastic.
~ I am aiming to start my day with 3 Minute Retreats . Have you tried them? They are biblically based and they can take less than a minute if you want them to. They are amazing for all Christian walks.

Hubby's Goals:

~ Giving up soda for Lent (this is huge for him).
~ work more on some Kof C duties both at home and church.
~ work on his prayer life.

Family/Lovely Sacrifices and Goals:

~ We will pull a prayer out of our family prayer jar this way, this season.
~ Ash Wednesday evening service
~  Kate give me an idea during her 2010 Advent practice to eat simple dinners - soups and salads. My family will be doing that this Lent as a family sacrifice as much as we can.
~ We want to work on real Family Dinners TOGETHER. Since we moved into our condo, it is harder to sit around the table, and we've fallen into bad habits. I'd like to aim for a more formal setting 3 x's a week to start!
~ I would like to start a Mother/Children tea time for me and the kids around 3pm, three times a week to help us connect outside of homeschooling or our crazy schedules.
~ One of the bedtime stories each night will be a New Testament children's story - starting from Jesus' birth to His Resurrection. We did this last year and it was great - we actually used the Children's bible stories to cover the whole new testament!
~ Fridays we'll attend our church's Fish Dinner and Stations of the Cross.
~ We'll attend the Lenten Penance Service at our church.
~ We'll be doing Lenten Adventure activities - e-mailed to us 3 times a week. We love this every year!
~ We'll have a sacrifice jar where Lovely can put beans in for each sacrifice she does ("Love is what you do, not what you feel" - meaning sometimes doing things for others out of love isn't what you feel like doing). On Easter Sunday those beans become jelly beans!!! Here is ours from last year. Thanks Karen for the idea!!
~ We will do this Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy cross and flowers from last year (scroll down for pic). We hung the cross today on our door! Again, Karen literally made this possible for us! Thank you!
~ We will hide the "Alleluia"! (Lovely is really excited!)
~ We'll make Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday and Resurrection Rolls for Easter Sunday and pretzels often (symbol of Lent).

OUR (Hubby and I) UNIFIED Personal Sacrifices/Goals:
~ We want to do our dialogue sessions at least 3 x's a week.
~ We want to do some spiritual dialoguing sessions 2 x's week together.

There are more fantastic ideas being shared at Catholic Icing. WOW!

So - These are our Lenten plans and goals. I can't wait to see what graces pour forth from the new focus the next 40 days. I love the traditions we discover, the growth, the journey, the prayers, and the challenge. We'll probably stumble, but the challenge is to try again. Pray for us....we'll be praying for you!!! Happy Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras!!!

Jesus Christ is Risen Today!!!!

Easter Vigil this evening. AMEN!!!

On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.  ~ Mark 16:5-6

          ALLELUIA!!!

Holy Saturday

These words touched me....From the Little Black Book (of Meditations) of Lent:

(Reflecting on Mt. 26:14-16)

[So much focus of the Gospels are on the last 18 hours of Christ's life]. Somehow, this captured all he was and what he came to do and all he said and stood for.

Jesus never promised that he would prevent all evil, sickness, tragedy, and sin. After all, he gives us free choice. But he did promise that he could come to any evil situation of our own doing or of someone else's doing - small or great - and pull goodness and life out of it.

Jesus said his goodness would be more powerful than any evil....he was that good.


Well, if he could go even to death on the cross - a senseless death at the age of 30 or so - a humiliating, repugnant, awful death - and pull life out of it, then the good news is true. He can come to any human situation and draw life.

He can come to any human situation and draw life. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They took the body of Jesus & bound it w/ burial clothes along with the spices, according to Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, & in the garden a new tomb...so they laid Jesus there...." John 19:40-42

Blessed Holy Saturday to you. Try to rest today...as Jesus rested. The JOY comes tomorrow!!!!! 

Good Friday

"So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There, they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle."  John 19: 17-18

From the Lenten Meditations from Small Steps for Catholic Moms:

Be with Christ today. Stand beside the cross and unite your sufferings with his. Compare your wounds with his and see that they are small, but give them to him anyway. Compare your strengths to his and see that you are weak, but give yourself to him anyway. Walk with him, bleed with him, die with him today. 

Today, we made and decorated Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday.

Then, we went to our church's 10am Children's Stations of the Cross. It was led by our older children, and such a nice way to reflect on the powerful meaning of Good Friday. We did the stations inside the sanctuary using the wall plates for visuals for each station. The weather outside was perfect for today - dreary, threatening of rain......

You can see Lovely in purple in the center.

We did get a few moments outside with the children, and it was a wonderful reunion for Lovely to see two of her best friends - Kate's lovely older daughters!!!

 

The girl's had such a great time together. I loved how at one point, Lovey was trying to tell Kate something and kept saying from afar...."Madeline's mom....Excuse me....Madeline's MOM!!!" hehe! It was so great for me to see Kate for a while. I miss her, and we seem cut from the same cloth. I wish I could see her more than a few times a year. Kate is a blessing!!!

We got home around noon, and kept the house very quiet until a little after 3pm. We did not do anything loud, electronic, or energetic. We talked about what Jesus did for us around this time (traditionally 12 noon with his death around 3pm) 2000 years ago. The girls then played quietly, and naptime overlapped with it as well. It was just nice for me to play quiet music, or some chant, and reflect and pray some. After 3pm, Lovely was able to meet up with her best friends next door. The timing was perfect for fellowship - even for me!!

We wrapped up the day a little while ago at the Veneration of the Cross. I had the time wrong for our parish and realized 30 mins late - so we went in the evening to the church Lovely's Godparents attend. She sat with her Godfather and Grammy while her Godmother sang. Hubby and I sat a few rows back with the little ones. It was a truly beautiful service. I was so touched to see Lovely embrace the cross all on her own, and then my turn venerating the cross holding my sweet son, and Hubby holding Valiant...and I just felt overwhelming gratitude for what Jesus did for ME, for US. I can't describe the love. I can't describe the awe. God is so good.

Tomorrow is Holy Saturday - a day for watching, waiting, and remembering Jesus in the tomb and counting down to Easter and all the joy it will bring - including saying the "A" word again and seeing the Easter Bunny! Hubby and I will also be playing at another church's Easter Vigil tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to it!!


Much love!!

"Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!"

Palm Sunday - 2011 
 

The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,
while others cut palm branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road.
The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.”
And when he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?”
And the crowds replied,
“This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Mt 21:1-11

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!!!!!! 

"I Can Pull Life Out of Anything."

I read yesterday's Lenten Meditation from the Little Black Book for Lent which has been meditating on each Sunday's Gospel and it was again, wonderful, and spoke to me. I wanted to share it:

(Read Jn 11: 17-21) - The Raising of Lazarus.

Sometimes I feel the same about the Lord as Martha did when Jesus took so long to arrive in Bethany (to see dying Lazarus): 'Thanks for coming Lord....a little late'. I know you are with me Lord, but where were you when I needed you?"

But Jesus reassures me as he reassured Martha: "Look no matter when I seem to get there, I've been with you all the time, and I can pull life out of anything. I can do that with your sins...I can do that with tragedy... I can do that with stress...I will do it with the crucifixion. Life will come.

That is the lesson of Lazarus' rising, if I can believe Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, it makes all the difference. I never need to lose hope. I can always put my faith in Jesus. I can respond to situations his way (even sin and violence), and know he can pull life out of it.

It's a powerful belief.

As we approach Easter, I can catch the spirit of this Gospel and live this belief. This belief will change my whole life if I really accept it and trust in the Lord.

I'll be praying tonight that Jesus is pulling life out of a situation you need life from. I hope you know how prayed for you are. Much love!!

What I've been up to...

I've been away from blogsphere. I've also been slow to answer e-mails - so I'll get back to reading/commenting/e-mailing soon, but we had spring break last week, and this week I'm doing state required standardized testing. But we had a great and BUSY break (more pics to come to join the below posts) and I've been going strong on my 40 bags/40 days Lenten challenge. I even wake up at 2am and have to attack something in order to back to sleep (nesting? lol). I think the extra time at Spring Break put my 1 bag a day (though some days this Lent I haven't done it, and then do catch up bags) into hyper mode.

I'm hoping to go to sleep soon and stay asleep (unless the monster storm hits and wakes us all up) but I can't tell you how GOOD it feels to bring more peace and soul cleansing to my home. My garage looks like a storage unit as it serves as a holding room for outgoing items, but I have a guestroom again (oh...it was so full of clothes I pulled out from closest and the attic), Gift has a painted bedroom instead of a storage room, lots of toys are donated, TONS of clothing has been sorted, stored, loaned, or given away, a friend borrowed my baby swing to help me have more room downstairs for her upcoming baby girl. I worked on the learning room, and have made a goal for things downstairs to have a "place" - so I'm not having to declutter and put things in our bedroom when family comes over. Our bedroom has also been decluttered, cleaned, and is more of a sanctuary than dumping ground - though it still needs work. My counters in the kitchen are still not clean and decluttered...but it is on my list too. I also need to redo my pantry.

When things feels settled in the main rooms, and I can rest up and enjoy the peace - I'll start phase II  - closets, storage areas, and under the beds. Some things from phase 1 filled those places to the brim, and are not functional (or are scary! HA!). Since doing that will create a mess, I want a wait a bit and have a break from constant "stuff" anywhere.

I was telling someone I feel torn between feeling so blessed that our family and children have things to enjoy in their home and having pride in my home, to wanting to move to Africa and join a village where the focus is on community, and there is a lack of owning material goods. I don't want to be materialistic....I want balance. I don't want to hoard. If I'm not using it - I need to try and share it, bless other with it, etc. But I love my home, my house, and want it to reflect our spirit!

Housekeeping and deep cleaning are just not my things. I like the peace that comes from it, but I don't like doing the work involved. I'm hoping that this Lenten practice will translate into new habits so my focus, soul, and mind can be in a better place to be of service to God and my family, as well as my loved ones, and to ENJOY life. I have far too much anxiety....(another post for another day) and deserve to feel lighter in my home, not constantly feeling smothered by it. Let's see how long this lasts.

How are your Lenten practices coming?

Small Steps - Lenten Prompt for Today

Today's "Pray" Lenten Prompt for Small Steps (located in the Companion Journal) was:

"Move your wedding band to your right hand. Every time you notice the difference today, pray for your marriage. Listen to God's answers."

We've been married almost 10 years. In that time, I've only taken my wedding band off for certain meal preps or damaging jobs. I never had to take my rings off for pregnancy! So, when moving my wedding band to my right hand (which has been very cool today) I've been left with a second reminder - a mark on my finger where my band used to be:

I find myself feeling VERY proud of that indention. I love my marriage. I love my wedding band. In 10 years it's barely been off my finger for more than 30 minutes at a time. In 10 years I have barely been away from my husband. While we are FAR from perfect, and have left "indentions" and "marks" on each other in good AND bad ways, we have stuck with it -  the work involved to grow in love and sacrifice. I'm extremely grateful for those indentions on my heart and on my finger.

I'll be praying today for my marriage - and your marriage too. Always.

Much love....!!!

Halfway through Lent

I need a smaller bean jar *wink*

(the big jar is where Lovely puts the beans...and the ones Valiant earns too).

And we need to keep working on our acts of mercy...

The blue jar up top is our prayer prompt jar for meal time. So far, all these things are giving us a helpful, focused, Lent. We just need to keep improving!

Praying for you as well!

Must Reads

As always, things are speaking to me this Lent. I have some must reads that have touched my spirit. I wanted to share them.

First - thoughts on parenthood and our children's behaviors by Kate. It was SO HELPFUL for me. I process and deal with a lot as a mom and how my children might reflect me and I struggle with confidence sometimes. I feel responsible for all the negative behaviors my children do, or dealing with children in my care.  Kate worded things well for me.  Two quotes stuck out to me in regards to parenting:

I also was able to let go of what another person, whom I don't know all that well, who happened to be the hapless target of my child's aberrant behavior would think of me as a mother or of my daughter. No one can tarnish your reputation except yourself. Others might catch your otherwise saintly child having a really bad day, and maybe they will think she's a beastly child and/or that you're a lax mother. So be it. Their thoughts are theirs. My thoughts are my own. I don't have to let what anyone says or thinks about me or my child impact the way we see ourselves or how I parent.

And this:

No one owes me their kindness or their understanding. I can desire this - that all people I encounter will see my children and me through God eyes and offer empathy rather than judgment - but I can't expect it. Unrealistic expectations have a sneaky way of coloring your life a disappointing shade of darkness. I'm a recovering perfectionist; I'm through with feeling like I'm always falling short in the eyes of others (or in the eyes of my hyper-critical self). I don't want my children to feel that way either.

She further states: 


If my child cannot tell me, as the most authoritative figure in her life right now, what she is feeling - even if it's a negative feeling directed toward me - then how will she be able to say no to her peers, to express just anger when someone wrongs her? How will she be able to speak up when someone does something that doesn't jive with her morality, to be assertive with her emotions and to not hide them away or deny them or let them erupt like a volcano when she's had it?


Excellent food for thought.


She said early in her post something I also am learning hard of late: "This is no way to parent. It's no way to live either. It takes the joy out of raising children. It makes every decision you make a test. It means you'll eventually collapse under the pressure. Trust me. I speak from experience." I know exactly what she means. I'm trying to keep my emotions from collapsing me as well.


If you've ever felt pretty blessed, but worry about the little crosses in your life - or when the big one will come - you might just be dealing with your cross more than you realize. The topic of this post is one close to my heart and one of constant prayer. I was led to read this post. Since I'm dealing with my anxiety issues, this post spoke to me greatly.  

This last one I'll quote from my "Little Black Book" for Lent.  It gave me great perspective on the Preparation of the Gifts during Mass. It is so much more than bringing bread and wine to the table and more than I had thought about giving TO Jesus.

First the reflection I read asked me to remember the story of the loaves and the fishes. When the disciples told Jesus all they had was a few loaves and couple of fish for the OVERWHELMING crowds, Jesus told them:

"Bring me what you've got." They did. Then he blessed the little they had, gave it back to them...and it was enough.

On any given day, we can say what the disciples said. We stand before all the needs that surround us - family, friends, job, finances, unfinished tasks, personal struggles - and say "Lord  I don't have what it takes." The Lord says to us, "Bring me what you've got." We do (the presentation of the gifts). And the Lord will bless what we bring, and give it back to us at Communion. And it will be enough. 

The bread and wine represent our life. We also bring forward money. This is not simply a matter of "paying the rent." Money speaks the hard language of real life. It comes from our wallet, our purse, our budget, our job. When we give this to the Lord, we are also giving of ourselves.

...It's not hard to "pray" the Preparation of the Gifts. We simply think of our struggle to deal with everything going on in our lives, and hear the Lord say, "Bring me what you've got." Then we place it all on the altar.  

Amen.

It is Good that We are Here.

I'm plugging along with my Lent. I've been having great success with 40 bags/40 days (unlike last year) and I've done really well at doing the daily Lenten Meditations from the Companion Guide to Small Steps. I'm also doing my 365 readings from the main book, Small Steps for Catholic Moms (which I SO recommend, even if you are not Catholic. It has been one of the best day starters for me EVER). These prompts fill me and challenge me in just the right ways. WOW.

My husband brought home something really fantastic for us both to do for Lent that he picked up at his other Church music job. It's called (and it doesn't have words on its cover - just the color black) The Little Black Book: Six Minute Meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent and this little book is AMAZING. The church gave it out to their lay ministers (my husband is a music minister), and from going to their website - you can buy these booklets for yourself, gifts, or as a church to give to its members. I adore this book!

In fact, this little black book led to this post. Today's meditation was on Matthew 17:4. Particularly this: "Lord, it is good that we are here" said by Peter to our transfigured Lord appearing with Moses and Elijah. Here was what spoke to me:

"Lord, it is good that we are here." Peter wasn't just speaking about the place on the mountain where they happened to be at the time. He was also referring to his place on life's journey. 


Peter's remark didn't mean that everything was all worked out, or that his life's journey was at an end. Peter and the disciples had many more miles to go and their journey would have its ups and downs.

Peter, after all, would soon deny Jesus three times.
There would be pain, suffering, confusion.


Nevertheless, Peter has a strong sense of being called by the Lord to the journey he was on, and a strong sense of the Lord's presence. The Lord had called him to the life he had, and the Lord was with him every step of the way.  

Peter could say about his life, "It is good that we are here."


Can I say that about my life?
Lent is a good time to think about that.
 ___________________________________
Spirit changing for me. For you too? I love Lent.


I love you!!! :)

Prepping for Lent

I've been meaning to post our traditional plans for the last few days but I've been struck down AGAIN with a cold virus, and well, cold viruses always hit me hard. Writing this sentence reminds me I never blogged again about my chronic sinus issues being related to my Cystic Fibrosis CARRIER status (something I only just learned about) last December. I believe when I last blogged, I was going in for an MRI of my sinuses to see if there were any structural abnormalities that CF patients can have that surgery can correct. As much as I didn't want surgery, I was getting so tired of the getting an infection every month or so, I was hoping for a "quick fix". But, alas, I don't have anything bad enough for surgery at this time. My next step is getting tested for special triggers/allergies that are more common to CF. Once my insurance is in order, I'll get that done. I was hoping it would be before now, before spring pollen, etc....and that hasn't happened. So, I find myself sick again, and most likely will have an infection by the weekend LOL! But...what would Lent be without some sacrifice? I just need to gripe less about it. Since baby Gift was born, I've "borne" my sinus issues weakly - I get so down about being sick - and sinus infections are not as bad as say, cancer, or CF, or other things. It seems smaller crosses stress me out more than the larger crosses. Why is that?

Well, since I'm sick, and since it is almost 9pm (I just can't sleep with the pressure), I will make this quick. I'm always so inspired by Lent, and the ideas I glean from the internet and blogs, and those ideas have given my family traditions I never grew up with. I had dreams of this being a crafty Lent, but I don't feel the energy now. So, I'm trying to take the advice I read from many a blogger and go simple this year. Usually we make a Easter Countdown calendar (a sheep that you add cotton balls too) but I didn't have the energy to put that together this year. So, I found this link at CatholicIcing. Karen had a great idea to make solemnity days a great discovery and a special treat day from coloring the days purple - I think Lovely will LOVE that.

The rest I'll list - much stolen from last year's post lol. Too tired! It looks long, but all are just part of our routine. It's funny how much MORE I want to do!

My Goals:

~ 40 Bags in 40 Days - though I'm not sure I can commit to a bag size, I CAN make a goal to a bag a day. It is really hard to do (tried it last year) and after having a new baby and home projects, we need to commit to decluttering our house, spirits, and relationships.
~  I will be doing both my daily Small Steps for Catholic Moms, and also doing the authors' Lenten Meditations and do their daily fasts, alms, and prayers (like they did last year (I linked to some examples I reposted on my blog).  They will be my "giving up" and "adding to" for Lent. Every day is something different from an internet "fast" from e-mail/internet, to simply being more present to my kids or spouse, or no TV for a day, to not cutting corners with my daily work, or giving 5 minutes to God in the morning and evening. They challenge me, which enriches me if I listen to the instructions. I love how varied it is and it makes me give up more than I would make myself do, or DO more than I make myself do.
~ Giving up yelling for Lent. I NEED to do this.

Daddy's Goals:

~ Giving up soda for Lent (this is huge for him) and ONLY drinking water or milk.
~ He wants to do the 40 bags in 40 Days with me, but in his own areas of the house.
~ work more on some KofC duties both at home and church.

Family/Lovely Goals:
~ Ash Wednesday - if I'm healthy enough.
~  Kate give me an idea during her Advent practice to eat simple dinners - soups and salads. My family will be doing that this Lent as a family sacrifice as much as we can.
~ One of the bedtime stories each night will be a New Testament children's story - starting from Jesus' birth to His Resurrection. We did this last year and it was great - we actually used Children's bible stories to cover the whole new testament!
~ Fridays we'll attend our church's Fish Dinner and Stations of the Cross. I'm hoping to host a meatless pot luck at some point with friends as well to share time together.
~ We'll attend the Lenten Penance Service at our church.
~ We'll be doing Lenten Adventure activities - e-mailed to us 3 times a week. We loved this last year.
~ I know thanks to Lenten Adventures, we'll have a sacrifice jar where Lovely can put beans in for each sacrifice she does ("Love is what you do, not what you feel" - meaning sometimes doing things for others out of love isn't what you feel like doing). On Easter Sunday those beans become jelly beans!!! Maybe this year we'll do this beyond Lent. We loved doing it last year. This link from Karen shows this jar along with some other things we may do.
~ Another wonderful Karen makes this great visual sacrifice measure here that I'd love to do. I need to get a flower punch though...or I'll NEVER do this! But it's a great family learning tool for giving! I LOVE the handprints for remembering personal sacrifices!
~ We also will make a crown of thorns from flour, water, and toothpicks, where Lovely can pull the toothpicks out when she does something for others or Jesus. Again, we learned this from Lenten Adventures.
~ I love Erin's idea about "hiding the Alleluia" (Lovely could write out the word and we can hide it till Easter Sunday since during Lent we don't say that word till the big happy Easter day).
~ We'll make Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday and Resurrection Rolls for Easter Sunday and pretzels often (symbol of Lent).
~ I'd like to make a children's Stations of the Cross box as a learning tool that both Kate and Erin (see her pics) mention.
~ Family Adoration

So - These are our Lenten plans and goals. I can't wait to see what graces pour forth from the new focus the next 40 days. I love the traditions we discover, the growth, the journey, the prayers, and the challenge. We'll probably stumble, but the challenge is to try again. Pray for us....we'll be praying for you!!! Happy Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras!!!


What did you do for your Fat/Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras? Hubby made us pancakes, bacon, eggs, and a dessert. He's too good to me and our family!

Blessed Lent!!

Enjoying Holy Thursday

The girls counting down to Easter by putting the cotton ball on the Lenten Lamb Calendar for Holy Thursday!!!

Good job Lovely!! We're almost there!!

It's been quiet 'round the ole blog. It's been one of those weeks, trying to blend lots of tasks, welcoming spring, and preparing for Holy Week. I have had a great week blending all of those - including a great faith talk with a dear friend, just talking about what speaks to us, where we are guided, etc. Things like that just bring peace to my heart.

Tonight Lovely, Hubby, and I are going to Holy Thursday mass. We are playing at another church, and Lovely is excited to come with us. Val is going to enjoy a playdate, because with Hubby and I playing with our instruments, we can't chase her around. I'm looking forward to making music and reflecting on "Love One Another" and serving each other today, on this very special day in the Triduum.

I'm not sure if I blogged about the first Family/Children's Adoration at our church this past Saturday. I will try soon. It was really special for us, and such a nice hour of quiet for me, and for the kids - they all did so well! It's going to be a great thing for all!

I need to go prepare supper, but I just wanted to type out some thoughts before running off, and post some pictures from today, enjoying some family time and seeing how my girls do "Love One Another." :) And Lovely does a good sisterly job of serving too, hehe!!

Many Blessings!!

Palm Sunday!!

Gotta love singing that 70s musical "Godspell" tune "Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord" and waving Palms and marching into church!!

Kooky Weather!

So I posted pics last weekend of our picnic day - you saw how nice it was - well we are now back to the above. I don't think you can see the pretty snowflakes falling, but it is pretty.

Man - our weather here is like a woman - changes it's mind on a dime! :P


We are doing well here. I haven't had a lot of energy to post, and have been rather quiet by choice too. But I have a bunch to post about....cooking projects, craft projects, 40 days/40 bags, our Lent - but safe to say we are enjoying it. Some days I feel more connected with Lent than others, but I'm enjoying good books, the Lenten Meditations, and taking breaks from online reading etc (sorry for my MIA-ness). We've had GREAT family moments as well, a sleepover, etc. So when I feel more rested and less pressured for time - I'll get caught up.

Until then...I'm savoring the forced quiet snow brings. Much love!