Lent is coming and everyone seems to be posting links to past posts detailing their past and present plans. I won't bog you down with more of the same - but can tell you that we also do the usual things in our family: the crown with toothpicks and a sacrifice bowl in the center, stations of the cross votive candles, some sort of calendar to mark the days, and mostly meatless meals. If you really want to see photos and more info click here.
Otherwise, we are trying a few new things including Amon's Adventure: A Family Story for Easter (from the same author as Jotham's Journey) and a Catholic Faith Folder (lapbook) for Lent. We now have copies of the Alphonsus Ligouri Way of the Cross for each reading member of the family, and a little plastic pieta statue to place somewhere helpful for devotions.
I have to be honest and a little raw here - sometimes when it comes to making extra sacrifices my temptation is to whine, "Don't I sacrifice enough?" I mean, I stay home with my children instead of working as a musician or teacher, I homeschool them instead of using that time to go to the gym, run errands, cook, clean or volunteer. I sacrifice my sleep and my body and my health and sanity for my five children and don't always have enough left over to nurture my marriage. What more does God want of me? And don't I deserve a few indulgences in exchange for all this?
Of course the answer is He wants everything and He wants us to give it cheerfully and gratefully. We wants us to weed out our vices and to stretch and grow, even in painful ways and through trials and tears. And even though I personally (in spite of my prayer and spiritual efforts), feel like a number to Him most of the time, with only occasional evidence throughout the year that He thinks of me in particular, I am gathering that He is a much more personal God to others. The huge success of One Thousand Gifts is a testament to that. After resisting the urge to buy this book and hop on the bandwagon I am giving in and buying it today with my Amazon credit. This will be the spine of my Lenten journey of thankfulness praise and intentional effort to recognize God's touch in my little everyday life.
Where will blogging fit in? The past few weeks I have enjoyed more time away from the computer - it seems formidable challenge to sit here for an hour or more in this season of my life. Yet, without regular blogging I find that I do not take adequate time to reflect on our days, to post photos and to be deliberately thankful and appreciative for my life and my children and my husband and all the joys each day brings. One hard day of work blends into the next and pretty soon I feel like dried out clay resistant to being shaped and molded. I end up stiff and joyless.
I have a hunch that this is why blogging is so popular with homeschooling moms. When we are in the moment we can't or don't always think our circumstances are funny or feel the joy in our daily grind and constant interruptions and frustrations. We share with our husbands when they get home, but feel awkward that we have thousands of words to spill and he only has a hundred or so and our gushings are met with grunts, an occasional smile or a change of topic. Blogging helps us keep our passion alive - not selfish passions mind you, but our joy and gratitude and ability to experience the sacredness in the ordinary. This is what I what to keep revive in myself this Lent and what I intentionally want to make my focus, for my sake and my family's sake.
I will start by thanking you, whomever you are, for clicking my book links to Amazon. Because of you I am putting my most recent Amazon Associate credit to purchasing the Amon and Thousand Gifts books. Thank you so very much - every little bit counts and I will try to do better about sharing more good books and CDs in return.
May God bless you and your time online!