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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
15
  • Pray Before you read or do anything else today, pray this prayer, taken from the writings of St. Louis de Montfort: Lord, help me to imitate Mary's deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom. Amen.
  • Fast Give up thinking things have to be perfect.
  • Give As you do laundry today, bless the person for whom you are folding. With every crease, offer a prayer.
16
  • Pray For a few minutes tonight, after your children are sleeping, kneel beside their beds. Let your breath rise and fall with theirs. Entrust them to the Father and thank him for lending them to you.
  • Fast Let go of self-recrimination. “There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside.” -- St. Basil the Great
  • Give Do not say “In a minute” or “When I finish this” at all today. Instead, put aside your agenda and meet their needs (and even some wants) immediately and cheerfully.
17
  • Pray Pray to know how God wants you to spend your time today.
  • Fast Let go of despair and know that God gives you sufficient grace. "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." -- St. Francis of Assisi
  • Give Make sure that every one in your family gets at least one of your hugs today.
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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 …
Read My Posts

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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Baby, Where'd You Get Those Clothes?

The origins of our kids' stuff

Posted by Arwen Mosher in Homemaking on Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Today my son wore ten different items of clothing.

(He’s nine months old. He’s messy.)

And just for curiosity’s sake I figured out how many of those items of clothing we’ve bought for him ourselves.

It’s one. One item - a onesie, to be specific - out of all the clothes Blaise wore the entire day.

That’s about the percentage of his overall wardrobe that we’ve bought for him: 10%. All the rest of his... READ MORE 

Comments
17
Filed under bargains, children, clothes, garage sales, hand-me-downs, shopping

Slash Your Baking Budget

Make your own vanilla extract!

Posted by Arwen Mosher in Food on Monday, April 20, 2009

I love to celebrate by baking.  The taste of a fresh cookie, still warm from the oven, makes it very easy for me to be joyful!

During seasons of feasting like Easter, I find myself reaching often for my bottle of vanilla extract.  Every time I open it and inhale its sweet, exotic scent, I think about how much I love the stuff.

I also think about how I’m glad I don’t have to buy bottles of it at full... READ MORE 

Comments
13
Filed under baking, bargains, food, vanilla

Huge Book Sale

visit our sister site for a great deal

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Friday, January 09, 2009

Wow!

Circle Press, publisher of popular Catholic titles such as Audrey, Benedict of Bavaria, and Grace Cafe, as well as a number of children’s titles, prayer guides, and text books, is offering its biggest sale ever.

Now through January 23, 2009 receive 40% off their entire inventory. Just use discount code SALE109 at checkout.

Happy shopping!

Comments
1
Filed under bargains, books, sale, shopping

Thanksgiving Sales

Catholic businesses offer Turkey Day deals

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Here’s a great opportunity to support small some Catholic businesses while getting some bargains for folks on yoru Christmas list.

Adoremus Books
Adoremus Books is offering 15% off all items beginning 12:01 AM Friday November 28 and ending at 11:59 PM Monday December 1. Use coupon code THANK8 at checkout to get the discount.

The Catholic Company
The Catholic Company is offering free shipping on all... READ MORE 

Comments
2
Filed under bargains, discounts, sale, shopping

Online Christmas Deals

Do some bargain hunting in your pajamas

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I have never been one to get up at the crack of dawn (or earlier, actually) for the bargains offered by major retailers the day after Thanksgiving.

I prefer to stay home and enjoy a leisurely breakfast of pumpkin pie with coffee (Stop looking at me like that. You know you do it too).

The good news for us “lazy shoppers” is that some major deals can be found online this year.

Amazon has a page devoted... READ MORE 

Comments
3
Filed under bargains, online, shopping

Santa’s Secret

Netflix to stop re-selling used DVDs

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Monday, November 17, 2008

If you are a member of Netflix, you are probably aware that they regularly offer used DVDs for sale at discounted prices.

I’ve just learned that after November 30 of this year, they will no longer be offering this service. If someone on your Christmas list is a movie fan, you might want to check out their available titles now before it’s too late.

PS: If you are looking for a Catholic alternative to Netflix, please consider PiusMedia.com. They offer totally clean and Catholic-themed online DVD rentals for education and entertainment purposes. They support what we do here at Faith and Family with their advertising dollars. Check them out!

Comments
0
Filed under bargains, movies, shopping

Bargain Shopping at Amazon

everybody loves a bargain

Posted by Danielle Bean in Reviews on Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The only thing that could make online shopping nicer is finding a real bargain online. I don’t mean a pretend bargain, I mean a real deal—as in 70% off original price.

For those of you who start your Christmas shopping in November, I have posted some handy links to Amazon bargain pages.

The links take you to pages, sorted by category, of items for sale at 70% off their original prices. And when you... READ MORE 

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2
Filed under bargains, frugal, shoes, shopping

Bookstore Discount

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Faith & Family advertiser Adoremus Books is offering a special discount. Use the code AOB88 to receive 10% off and free shipping at checkout.

HT: Thrifty Homeschooler

Comments
0
Filed under bargains, books, discount

Free Family Movies!

Family Fun on the Cheap

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Sunday, August 03, 2008

Going to the movies during summer vacation can be a lot of fun for kids and their families. But it can also be an expensive form of entertainment—especially for larger families. That’s why it’s so nice to see Regal Entertainment Group offer its annual Free Family Film Festival once again this summer.

When school’s out, kids around the country visit selected Regal theatres for the Free Family Film... READ MORE 

Comments
2
Filed under bargains, free, movies

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