Reading...

Enemy-occupied territory-that is what this world is.  Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.  When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends:  that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.  He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery."

Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis

Good Days and Hard Days...

Wednesday was  a good day:  we got all of our schoolwork done, went to art class to paint like Rothko, and even went out to lunch for soup, salad, and bread for our weekly Reading Club (basically they eat while I read-aloud...  though that sounds lame, it is really a lot of fun and I want to write about that soon!)

We have a young parish.  We have  lots of baptisms and weddings and happy times, but since just before Great Lent began, we have had four people in our community die (independent of one another!).  It has been sad.  After yesterday's funeral, Little Man asked Father John why so many people were dying.  Our little ones have been to funerals before, but they were so long ago that I'm not sure that they even remember them.  Today we have a burial and tomorrow we have another funeral and burial.  

We decided last night that we would take the opportunity to take the children to a science museum this afternoon between services and it felt strange to be looking up information for that when the reason that we have the chance to go to a museum is such a sad one.  In the end though, I think that Miss Jane would have been happy that we are bringing our children to her funeral and will also show them a little bit of the city where she lived and worked during her life.  She was such a cool lady.  You would never guess from the red polished toes peeking out from her peep-toed espadrille sandals, but she was an FBI agent!  She retired to the beach and had great stories to tell!  These last few years were really hard on her...  she had cancer that just kept coming back and really suffered.  Memory Eternal!

:::::

Please remember the newly departed Gregory, Ann, Alexandra, and Eugenia in your prayers!

Yarn Along: A Prayer Journal...

I really don't seem to make much progress in my knitting during Great Lent, but I am getting a row done here and there on my Grasshopper.  I love the color and the simplicity of the pattern.  I have no trouble picking it up and figuring out right where I am, which is so nice.  

I am reading a lot right now and whipped through Flannery O'Connor's A Prayer Journal.  It is a slim volume, but packs a powerful punch and is a worthy read.

Woodland Fairy...

Copywork: Daffodils...

 I spend a little time each week looking for interesting things for my children to write in their copybooks, usually based upon a theme.  I will post them here each week as a record for myself and as a help to any other family that wishes to use them.
 

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

 William Wordsworth

:::::

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,

She wore her greenest gown;

She turned to the south wind

And curtsied up and down

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

"Winter is dead."

A.A. Milne

::::: 

 Daffy-down-Dilly

Has come to town

With a yellow petticoat

And a pretty green gown

Make the Most of Beautiful Moments...

 

Take delight in all things that surround us.  All things teach us and lead us to God.  All things around us are droplets of the love of God-  both things animate and inanimate, the plants and the animals, the birds and the mountains, the sea and the sunset and the starry sky.  They are little loves though which we attain to the great Love that is Christ.  Flowers, for example, have their own grace:  they teach us with their fragrance and with their magnificence.  They speak to us of the love of God.  They scatter their fragrance and their beauty on sinners and on the righteous.  For a person to become a Christian he must have a poetic soul.  He must become a poet.  Christ does not wish insensitive souls in his company.  A Christian, albeit only when he loves. is a poet and lives amid poetry.  Poetic hearts embrace love and sense it deeply.

Make the most of beautiful moments.  Beautiful moments predispose the soul to prayer; they make it refined, noble, and poetic.  Wake up in the morning to see the sun rising from out of the sea as a king robed in regal purple.  When a lovely landscape, a picturesque chapel, or something beautiful inspires you, don't leave things at that, but go beyond this to give glory for all beautiful things so that you experience Him who alone is comely in beauty.  All things are holy- the sea, swimming, and eating.  take delight in them all.  All things enrich us, all lead us to the great Love, all lead us to Christ."

Wounded By Love

Elder Porphyrios 

:::::

With thanks to Kyrie for sharing this quote!

34...

The First Few Days...

 

The first days of Lent are hard.  There has been so. much. fighting. going on between these little peeps in our house.  On the plus side, we haven't given in to the temptation to turn on the boob tube!  

I bought everyone a new box of watercolors and that has been a huge lifesaver this week.  I have a million paintings drying on the playroom floor as I type this.  I think that I will try a fresh batch of play dough next week and hope that it has the same soothing effect that painting has had.  Other activities that have been helpful have been:  cleaning out the game and puzzle cupboard together, listening to audio books, reading aloud, doing puzzles, playing outside (we had about three inches of snow on Monday!!), and receiving a box of new books from Button's godmother (what a good idea for Clean Week!).

I've been in a root vegetable mood the past two days.  Sugar Plum and I baked sweet potatoes yesterday and today we roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions.  These vegetables have been so good and filling.  I want to start some 5 minute artisan bread dough soon and I have a lot of frozen bananas waiting for banana bread.  I have to keep the oven going in this cold house!

Tomorrow I turn thirty-four.  I am going to celebrate by cancelling school and wearing new shoes!

March Sponsor News...

 Welcome Back to Our Sponsor, Liturgical Time Veil Shop!

 
Ten percent of gross sales from Chapel Veils at Liturgical Time Veil Shop are always donated to charity.

At the present time, in honor of my husband's grandparents - of blessed memory, who came to North America from Ukraine in search of freedom and economic opportunity -- and in recognition of the spirit of the Ukrainian people -- this money is being used to provide medical supplies to the people of Ukraine who have been injured and are suffering as a result of the current crisis.

May our Lord and His Blessed Mother spread a protective mantle over Ukraine and her people during this intense and dangerous time.

If you are interested in sponsorship for your business, please contact me:  emily at orthodoxws dot com

On the First Day of Great Lent...

 

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. 

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem

 ::::: 

 The Great Lent Learning Basket can be found HERE.

Copywork: Saint Ephrem...

 

I spend a little time each week looking for interesting things for my children to write in their copybooks, usually based upon a theme.  I will post them here each Sunday as a record for myself and as a help to any other family that wishes to use them.

 

 

:::::

 

As this is the first week of Great Lent, I will be asking the children to work on copying The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian.  We will write it on nice paper and work on it slowly throughout the week.  Once it is all written, we will decorate the paper and hang them up in a prominent spot.

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. 

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem

Forgive Me A Sinner...

As today is Forgiveness Sunday, I would like to ask you to please forgive me for any offense that I have cause you. I hope that you have a blessed Lenten season.

Ten Tips for the Great Fast...

1. Regardless of how you fast, fast every single day. This type of fasting helps wear down the passions and build spiritual endurance.

2. Know exactly what the fasting regulations are and try to approximate them as best you can. Each Lent, try to be more strict yet humble.

3. Particular concerns about fasting? Age, health issues, never fasted before, mixed-marriages? Speak with your priest.

4. Be sure to recite the Lenten prayer of Saint Ephraim. If you cannot make prostrations just make bows or cross yourself.

5. On weekends, we do not make prostrations and our fasting is slightly relaxed since Saturday and Sunday are holy days.

6. The Lenten services and tones are offered only during the week –
strive to participate as much as possible in these services and the spirit of lent will rub off on you.

7. Sports and outdoor activities are not contrary to the Lenten spirit.

8. Strive to avoid going to movies, parties, vacations, and other entertainments. This we do so we can have more time to devote to spiritual things.

9. Confession and Holy Communion are central to securing the benefits of Lent. Without fail, we should receive the Sacraments during the period of Great Lent.

10. Be mindful of what we look at and how much time we spend on TV and computer. Some give up TV for all of Lent. Others strictly limit their time and watch only educational and news programs. Surfing on the web? Hit the theological sites.

Lenten Cleaning...

I try to deep clean our home as much as I am able during the weeks when we fast. I find that it is really wonderful to enjoy having everything clean and organized for the Great Feasts of the year. I plan on breaking my cleaning up by cleaning one room or area each week of the Fast (there are seven weeks).  I'll also try to keep up with my regular daily cleaning and laundry routines as much as possible so that the kitchen isn't spotless, while the rest of the house looks like a war zone with naked children running around! 

Week One
Bathrooms

Linen Closet

Week Two
Bedrooms
Bedroom Closets

Week Three
Entrance
Living Room
Play Room

Week Four

Laundry Room
Sun Room
 

Week Five
Kitchen

Dining Room

Week Six
Paschal Shopping (Outfits, Pascha Baskets, and Egg Hunt)
Clean Car
Wash Glass Doors and Windows
Launder Spring Bedding

Week Seven
Porch

Hanging Flower Baskets
Paschal Grocery Shopping

From House to Church: Week One's Painting Progress...

The nave of the church has been pretty much completed.  Next week we're hoping to have the choir loft and altar completed and also a decision made on the ceiling.  Stay tuned!

From House to Church: Painting the Walls...

Starting on Tuesday morning, Father John and two women from the church began painting the walls of the church.  The Renovation Committee chose to use green, tan, and parchment for the walls.  The second phase of this project is to (over the course of a year) apply Venetian Plaster (in the same colors) over top of the paint and then finish them off with stenciling in gold leaf.  We chose to paint first (though it was an extra step) to give the church a more finished look for this year as the plaster goes on little by little.  Hopefully all of the painting with be finished by tomorrow evening.

From House to Church: Priming the Walls...

February has been all about the walls for our little church.  Father John and a couple of people from church prepped the walls by repairing, sanding, and priming them.  All that work took about a week to do and the quality of the walls was really improved. 

Yarn Along: Daily Rituals...

I am still knitting my Grasshopper.  It is very slow going, but that is mainly my fault.  My evenings (after the little ones are in bed) are usually spent knitting, and I have been deviating from that plan by reading.  Daily Rituals is one of the books on my stack and I am really enjoying it.  It is a collection of the routines of famous authors, artists, and composers and I find it utterly fascinating.  I have been reading one or two per day and a little peek into the lives of the highly creative is so inspiring.  I can see referring to this book for years to come as I come across new-to-me works. 

Overheard...

(Or, how one knows that their child is Orthodox)

"Mama, did you know that Abraham Lincoln has the word 'ham' in his name? I guess he was born during a time when they could eat meat."  Sugar Plum, age 7

An Aquarium Outing...

The children and I were very fortunate to spend the day celebrating two of my godchildren for their birthdays.  We were able to go to an aquarium and out to lunch, but the best part was visiting together!