Deo Gratias

 "If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, it will be enough." - Meister Eckhart

Colleen, from her inspiring blog Thoughts on Grace, hosts this wonderful meme each Wednesday. She says, "Deo Gratias is Latin for Thanks be to God. Remembering to give thanks for all of our blessings, big & small, helps us to find God in our everyday moments and gives us an attitude of gratitude!"

Each week, I join Colleen in remembering & sharing the many blessings in my life. This is such a great exercise for me, helping me to focus on the good that truly is happening in my life, no matter how many trials & stresses I may have.

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1) One of my Lenten practices has been to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm each afternoon. The Blessings are welcome to join me if they'd like, but I'm not pushing them. Deo Gratias! 

2) I've also been doing some spiritual reading. I found several books on Amazon that I downloaded to my Kindle. At the time I got them, all were free. The Catholic Collection: 734 Catholic Essays and Novels on Authentic Catholic Teaching, Pope Francis' Open Mind, Faithful Heart, & General Catholic Devotions (from 1909 & free). We use several of the prayers in the devotion book as a family each evening. Deo Gratias! 

3) One of the sweetest sounds in the world is a little child's prayer. Last night, as I was putting The Saint to bed, he spoke from his heart about trying to be nicer to one another. He also added a prayer for us to let him play video games (which the Blessings are not allowed during the school week!) Deo Gratias! 

4) Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL! Temps were in the mid 60s, so we spent a lot of time outside soaking up the sun while we could. (Later today will be in the 30s, w/ rain & snow!) Deo Gratias! 

5) I'm looking forward to a weekend away w/ Matt this summer. There is a homeschool conference we will attend & we decided to make a weekend out of the trip. Deo Gratias!