Chalk House Blessing

When I read about the Epiphany Chalk House Blessing on the Liturgy blog, I wanted to do it with our own home.  The only problems were that we only have a sliver of trim above our front door.  (The top of the door is basically next to the ceiling.)  The other problem was that we do not have any brick on our house like is shown in the picture on the Liturgy blog post.  So, the question was, “Where would I put it?”

Then, I remembered the framed chalkboard I had, and I realized there was no reason why I could not hang it outside.  Click on the Epiphany Chalk House Blessing link above to find out more about this meaningful practice.

(I know that it is past Epiphany, but I decided that did not really matter.  Next year, I will be ready.)

God’s Blessings to your Hearts and Homes this New Year!

Christine

Creative Prayer Journal - Our Loved Ones in Heaven, Pray for Us

Putzing and praying around the house this morning, I felt the urge to sit down and create this.  I have not done very much with my prayer/art journal, but having a visual of what I ways pondering and praying was very helpful to me.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the needs for prayer right now.  Thinking of all of those who I know are praying too, brings me comfort.  Then, the idea occurred to me that there are some special people I love in heaven that I can ask to help pray came to me.

Maura, Mary, Grandpa Luthard, Grandma Ada, Grandma Sophia, and Loretta - pray for us.  Amen.

The Spiritual Discipline of Wonder

Beauty and the Five Senses from Three Bridges West on Vimeo.

Prayer Stones

I am creating a little pile of prayer stones in the window above my kitchen sink.  So many times I intend to pray for someone, but I simply forget.  On each of the rocks, I am going to write the name of someone I want to pray for.  As I stand in front of my kitchen sink at some point every day, I thought it was a good place to put them.

Another thought I have had is to carry around one of the stones in my pocket if I want to keep someone specially close in prayer.

It is very possible that the window ledge will get full.  In that case, I will transfer them to a bowl or basket.

Digital Liturgy of the Hours App for Smart Phones and Tablets

Today I noticed that the Divine Office Facebook page was still offering 25% off their Liturgy of the Hours App.

For those who are not familiar with the practice of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Wikipedia has a helpful overview.  

A Christian Menorah: The Fourth Night

My previous post sent me looking up the words "Shabbat Candle."  I knew "Shabbat" meant Sabbath, but I did not know about the tradition of lighting the Sabbath Candle every week.  (This is separate from Chanukah.)

Apparently, the timing of the lighting the Shabbat candle is very important.  There are even websites dedicated to stating the proper time depending on where you are on a specific date anywhere in the world.  The proper time is eighteen minutes before sundown on Friday night.  Once the Shabbat candles are lit, the Sabbath begins, and it does not end until sundown the following day.

There is much more to the tradition, and it is quite meaningful.  So, I will definitely write more about it in the future.

Until then, I found this article particularly enlightening - Shabbat Candles: Shedding light on the day of rest.

A Blessing for the Senses

Using Our Sense of Touch as A Tool for Prayer

As a Christian, I often struggle with staying focused when I pray. My mind seems to easily wander until I find myself thinking about things I have to do, things I want to do, things in the past, etc.  I must also confess that, if I am tired, I even fall asleep.  Many other Christians I talk to confess to the same experiences.  At times, our minds seem to have minds of their own.

For centuries, Christians have used prayer beads to engage the body, mind, and spirit in prayer.  Prayer beads hold no magical powers; they are simply tools to help us focus our mind toward God.  

As we move our fingers over the beads as we pray, we activate our sense of touch.  This act helps us retain our focus on prayer and, if our mind wanders, it helps remind us of our intention to pray.