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Daily Lenten Meditations

«  March 2010  »

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
  • Pray Light a candle. Every time you pass that candle today, offer a prayer of thanks. Don’t ask for anything. Just thank him.
  • Fast Don’t cut corners. Even if no one will know, complete today’s work thoroughly.
  • Give Touch is a powerful thing. Make an effort today to touch your children: a hug, a shoulder rub, a tousled head -- especially the bigger ones
1
  • Pray Make five minutes in the morning, at midday and in the evening to be still, silent, and alone, only asking God to infuse your soul with his will.
  • Fast No noise today. Turn off the TV, the radio, the iPod. Find God in the silence.
  • Give Pay particular unsolicited attention to your least demanding child today.
2
  • Pray Begin a gratitude journal. At the end of the day, jot down five things for which you are grateful. Think upon these things.
  • Fast Remember the first time you had a moment alone with your first child. What did you promise him? Do that. Be that.
  • Give We can only expect what we inspect. For every task you assign today, follow through and before it’s truly finished ensure that there is praise from you.
3
  • Pray “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me." -- John 10:27
  • Fast Every time a child interrupts you today, stop what you are doing and look into his eyes as he talks.
  • Give “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Speak kindly all day long.
4
  • Pray Ask God to show you how weak and small you are. Open your heart to see it.
  • Fast Don’t argue today. As much as possible give up, give in, give way.
  • Give When you are tempted to put on the TV for kids today, pull out a stack of favorite picture books instead. Invite the kids to join you on the couch.
5
  • Pray Take a walk, even if it’s cold or raining. Leave your iPod at home.
  • Fast Think of someone whose life you are tempted to envy and then choke out these words: Thank you, God, for the blessings you have given to X. Help me to see my own.
  • Give Think about the kind of person your husband married. Be that person for him today.
6
7
  • Pray "Love consumes us only in the measure of our self-surrender." -- St. Therese of Lisieux
  • Fast As you go about your daily routine today, remember that you are expecting someone very important for dinner tonight. Together with your children, work towards your husband’s homecoming as if you were expecting to welcome a king back to his castle.
  • Give “You can do nothing with children unless you win their confidence and love by bringing them into touch with oneself, by breaking through all the hindrances that keep them at a distance. We must accommodate ourselves to their tastes, we must make ourselves like them.” -- St. John Bosco
8
  • Pray Take this quote to prayer today and listen to God’s answer: “Real love is demanding. I would fail in my mission if I did not tell you so. Love demands a personal commitment to the will of God.” -- John Paul II
  • Fast Stop looking for encouragement and approval. Genuinely encourage and affirm someone else instead.
  • Give Let your child choose a huge stack of picture books (use that word “huge” when you ask her to gather them). Read them all to her today.
9
  • Pray Persevere. “He who does not give up prayer cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either he will give up prayer, or he will give up sinning.” -- St. Alphonsus Liguori
  • Fast Don’t forget that the only pedestal you need ever stand on, is the one your husband and children build for you.
  • Give Focus on your home today. The world can find another volunteer, but your husband and children have only you.
10
  • Pray Insist on quiet from all your children during naptime today. Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet.
  • Fast We’re half way through. Compare yourself now only to yourself when Lent began. Tweak the plan.
  • Give Reach out to a local friend today. Reconnect.
11
  • Pray Ask God to make you humble and lowly.
  • Fast Don’t compare or complain. Do compliment.
  • Give Pack a picnic and go somewhere to eat it with your children. If the weather is prohibitive, build a tent in the living room and it eat there. Sit on the ground with them. Be fully present.
12
  • Pray Sometime before bedtime tonight, make time to pray with and for each of your children.
  • Fast Rise a little earlier and bring your husband breakfast in bed. (If it’s too late today, plan for tomorrow).
  • Give Plan a date night.
13
14
  • Pray Give thanks for food, clothes, and shelter. Listen to His plan for stewardship.
  • Fast Clean out the refrigerator today instead of eating lunch. Pull everything out and wipe it all down. As you do it, thank God for the food he provides for your family.
  • Give “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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Bloggers

Meet the Faith & Family bloggers. We invite you to join us in encouraging and helping the Faith & Family community grow in faith!

Danielle Bean

Danielle Bean
Danielle Bean, a mother of eight, is Editorial Director of Faith & Family. She is author of My Cup of Tea: Musings of a Catholic Mom (Pauline 2005) and Mom to Mom, Day to Day: Advice and Support for Catholic Living (Pauline 2007). Though she once struggled to separate her life …
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Rachel Balducci

Rachel Balducci
Rachel Balducci is married to Paul and together they are the parents of five lively boys. Besides being a mom, she is also a writer and a newspaper columnist for the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia. For the past four years, she has maintained her personal blog at Testosterhome.net where she …
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Lisa Hendey

Lisa Hendey
Lisa Hendey is the founder and editor of CatholicMom.com, a Catholic web site focusing on the Catholic faith, Catholic parenting and family life, and Catholic cultural topics. Most recently she has authored The Handbook for Catholic Moms. Lisa is also employed as webmaster for her parish web sites. …
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Arwen Mosher

Arwen Mosher
Arwen Mosher lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband Bryan and their young children Camilla and Blaise. She has a bachelor's degree in theology. She dreads laundry, craves sleep, loves to read novels and do logic puzzles, and can't live without tea. Her personal blog site is ABC Family. …
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Rebecca Teti

Rebecca Teti
Rebecca Teti is married to Dennis and has four children (3 boys, 1 girl) who -- like yours no doubt -- are pious and kind, gorgeous, and can spin flax into gold. A Washington, DC, native, she converted to Catholicism while an undergrad at the U. Dallas, where she double-majored in …
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Robyn Lee

Robyn Lee
Robyn Lee is the managing editor of Faith & Family magazine. She is (yikes!) an almost 30 year-old, single lady, living in Connecticut with her two cousins in a small bungalow-style kit house built by her great uncle in the 1950s. She also conveniently lives next door to her sister, brother-in-law …
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Hallie Lord

Hallie Lord
Hallie Lord married her dashing husband, Dan, in the fall of 2001 (the same year, coincidentally, that she joyfully converted to the Catholic faith). They now happily reside in the deep South with their two energetic boys and two very sassy girls. In her *ample* spare time, Hallie enjoys cheap wine, …
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Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Fr John Bartunek, LC, STL, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and …
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Guest Bloggers

Melissa Wiley

Melissa Wiley
Melissa Wiley is a homeschooling mother of six and the author of The Martha Years and The Charlotte Years, two series of books about the ancestors of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She blogs about children’s books, family, and home education at Here in the Bonny Glen.
Read My Posts

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Adding Up the Little Things

Small Successes vol. 15

Posted by Danielle Bean in Family on Thursday, April 30, 2009 6:00 AM

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.

To participate, just write up a list of 3 of your recent Small Successes and post it on your blog along with the Small Successes button (go here to get the code). You are not required to use the button, but please do link back to the main post here. Then you can add your blog here using the Mr. Linky form (please link to the individual blog post, not the home page of your blog).

If you don’t have a blog, please share your Small Successes in the comments.

To get us started, here are my Small Successes for this week:

1. Ever since the night last week when a black bear enjoyed the contents of a trash bag on our deck, I have been following through with the trash take-out. Leaving a bag on the deck and hoping some young man will come along and be inspired to take it to our locking shed is no longer an option. I assign the task immediately or, if no one is available, I (gasp!) walk it out there myself.

2. I de-cluttered the classroom. Okay so I didn’t. I hired out the task to my eager, cash-strapped 9 year old daughter and she did a wonderful job. But the delegation should earn me some credit. Excellent leadership is all about delegation, isn’t it?

3. I have been surviving baseball season. With 3 of the boys in baseball and one girl in softball, this is actually a rather large undertaking. But I’ve been taking it one day of conflicting practice schedules at at time. Small steps.

Now it’s your turn. Tell me how fabulous you were this week!

Comments
10
Filed under encouragement, links, moms, small successes

Comments

Page 1 of 1 pages

 
Posted by Joan on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 6:41 AM (EDT):

A few successes:
1- I have made a decision that will help my marriage immensely. Now I’m praying I stick to that decision.  I need help everyone!!!  Prayers please!
2-  My Weight Loss Story has been published in Faith and Family!!!!!!! I am now a celebrity of sorts. (Sorry, I am quite excited!) Thanks Kate Wicker, and of course Danielle!!!
3- I did not lose my temper with a person at work. That person shall remain nameless.

 
Posted by Sarah Reinhard on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 6:55 AM (EDT):

Kudos to you for having such a positive attitude about baseball season, Danielle!  (I’m just glad I don’t have to—yet—face it…kids are too young!)

 
Posted by Mary on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 7:22 AM (EDT):

This could take awhile ... but here goes:

1)  I have all the bedding washed, dried, folded & ready to be put on the bed (which still has to be moved into the office/schoolroom/guest room but since that isn’t “my job” I’ll be happy w/the bedding right now) for my fil’s arrival on Tuesday. 

2)  I took the kids to the library for 1/2 hr of Wii bowling yesterday (a special vacation thing they are doing…we are NOT on vacation but took advantage of it just the same) and did not look at my watch to stress about when it was “time to leave”...not even once.

3)  I redid the kids’ chore charts as well as my own & have been working hard to stick w/them, as well as “helping” the kids to stick w/theirs too.  It’s making a HUGE difference in the house & all of our attitudes.

 
Posted by Michele on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 10:03 AM (EDT):

1. I am on week 3 of hanging out the laundry and not using my dryer.

2. I have been present to my children as they are on school vacation this week. I have reaped the rewards of lots of extra hugs and kisses becuase ot if too grin

3. I have made solid plans for the family summer vacation. No last minute this year

 
Posted by ViolinMama on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 10:12 AM (EDT):

YEAH on your successes Danielle. How do you manage it all? Oh yes…wait…I can tell….faith.

How a great weekend! God Bless!

 
Posted by Kelly on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 10:17 AM (EDT):

Wow, Danielle! Surviving baseball season is a huge success! We opted out of it this yr. ‘cause I just couldn’t figure out how to be at 4 different practice locations at once. We too would have had 3 boys in baseball and 1 daughter in softball. Not including the 1 in t-ball. I felt terrible about missing it this yr. , but the kids haven’t really complained. Thank you God! So I say you should get a standing ovation! Bravo!

 
Posted by Kim @ Party of 7 on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 11:33 AM (EDT):

This week I…

1) Mailed about half a dozen packages I’ve been meaning to send. My dining room looks so…lonely, somehow, without that extra clutter. Don’t worry—the other clutter is quickly expanding to fill the space…

2) Selected and potted annuals for my front porch pots. Risky, since it’s still just April, but last year I came up with the brilliant idea to use plastic liner pots inside the ceramic planters, so I can bring them inside if it’s going to get cold at night. I amaze myself sometimes with these oh-so-innovative solutions. smile

3) I paid our family bills for the month, which I LOATHE DOING BEYOND BELIEF. Seriously, I would rather walk on nails. Note to self: must offer this up in a BIG way!! Anyone got any good tips (other than paying bills electronically—I know, I know) on how to streamline this tortuous task?

 
Posted by Kim O. on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 12:54 PM (EDT):

My successes this weeK:

1. Keeping up on the laundry all week.

2. Finally putting all the winter sleds in the   basement for another year.

3. Planning a family meeting to decide a menu and grocery list for the next 2 weeks.  Although I have not yet had the meeting, it is an accomplishment to decide to have it and when.

 
Posted by Tracy in Albuquerque on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 2:41 PM (EDT):

1.  Tonight will be the 4th night in a row of cooking dinner.  I hadn’t been much into it lately.

2.  I’m keeping an eye on my weight better this week; (it had crept up over the year).  And I’m also tracking my workouts more closely this week too, so that I’m sure to get them all.  NO MORE EXCUSES!

3.  I signed us up for a family hiking group that meets on weekends.  It’ll help us get out so we can exercise together and meet new people.

 
Posted by Janet on Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 3:12 PM (EDT):

Boy, Danielle, I have the same trouble if the trash bag gets left outside.  Except that it’s the neighbors’ dogs that get into it, not A BEAR!  That would be a little more scary.  smile


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