Faith & Family Live!

Faith & Family Live is where everyday moms offer one another inspiration, support, and encouragement in Catholic living. Anyone grappling with the meaning of life or the cleaning of laundry is welcome here. Read the blog, check out our magazine, join our community, learn more about our mission, and come on in! READ MORE

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		 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

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 …
Read My Posts

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. …
Read My Posts

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. …
Read My Posts

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 …
Read My Posts

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 …
Read My Posts

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, …
Read My Posts

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 …
Read My Posts

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

Stay in the Loop with F&F

?
Full feed
Danielle Bean’s feed
Rebecca Teti’s feed
Arwen Mosher’s feed
Lisa Hendey’s feed
Rachel Balducci’s feed

Get our FREE Daily Digest

Add Faith & Family to iTunes

Weekly Reader Poll
 

Top Tags

advice | coffee talk | discussion | parenting | christmas | prayer | lent | family | books | children | moms | podcast | love | encouragement | cleaning | recipes | babies | education | learning | sharing | housekeeping | relationships | saints | traditions | links | humor | couples | fertility | small successes | marriage | art | homeschool | school | tips | pregnancy | nfp | sex | food | casual fridays | laundry | pro-life | saints of christmas | giveaway | joy | advent | television | support | faith | technology | video | charity | career | videos | shopping | resolutions | fashion | photos | super bowl | time management | cooking | haiti | new media | fun | toddlers | teens | jesus | questions | winter | new years | music | blogging | benedict xvi | gifts | kids | work | dinner | women | celebration | clothing | ideas | spouse | style | preferences | seasons | homemade | mary | modesty | mass | clutter | forgiveness | facebook | movies | march for life | 40 bags | sports | presents | challenges | snow | sacrifice | breakfast |

 

Do You Know America?

How's your civic literacy?

Posted by Rebecca Teti in News on Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Here’s a fun little exercise as we approach our national civic holiday, Thanksgiving.

As we thank Our Lord for the blessings of liberty among so many others, do we know how our civic liberty is maintained?

Try your hand at this 33-question civic literacy quiz.

71% of Americans can’t pass it—and don’t snicker, but elected officials actually do worse than the general public.

Guess what else Ladies?... READ MORE 

Comments
12
Filed under civics, education, history, quiz

Year of St. Paul

Pauline Fun

Posted by Danielle Bean in Faith on Friday, November 14, 2008

Use this international, interactive quiz to test your knowledge of the life of St. Paul during this, the Pauline year.

Can you finish the journey? I can’t yet. But I plan to master this one before passing it on to the kids.

Comments
7
Filed under for fun, pauline year, quiz, saints

Expanding Political Labels

Where do you fall on a broader spectrum?

Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Are you tired of the limiting labels of “Democrat” and “Republican” this election season? Do you feel like neither of these terms describes you exactly?

Then maybe you should try out this political test that I recently found to be enlightening.

Using a series of questions about a variety of topics, it helps you look beyond the simple labels of “Democrat” and “Republican” and see where you might fall... READ MORE 

Comments
45
Filed under democrat, politics, quiz, republican

Four Temperaments

What's your personality?

Posted by Danielle Bean in Family on Friday, September 05, 2008

A few months ago, I read The Temperament God Gave You: The Classic Key to Knowing Yourself, Getting Along with Others, and Growing Closer to the Lord.

I was fascinated.

I quizzed myself, my husband, my kids, and my extended family members. I labeled the temperament of everyone I knew. Some appreciated my analysis. Some didn’t.

“You are such a ... choleric melancholic!” I accused my unsuspecting husband.... READ MORE 

Comments
24
Filed under books, personality, quiz, temperament

The Tardiness Quiz

What makes you late? Take our quiz and find your tardiness cure!

Posted by Melissa Hartog in Mind Games on Friday, August 15, 2008

Are you chronically late?

Sick of the panicked, helpless rush? Here are questions to help.


STEP ONE: Look at yourself.

Lay down on the psychologist’s couch. Your attitude toward your tardiness is the first thing to look at. Which of these statements best describes you?

A. I’m fine. I’m always at my desk before 10, in Mass before the Gospel, at parties when people are actually there and talking.

... READ MORE 

Comments
0
Filed under advice, family, mass, quiz, sleep

Page 1 of 1 pages