Lent is now upon us. For me, it has not gotten off to a great start. I was so excited to start practicing the things I planned, but it has not gone well so far.
Ash Wednesday we went to my parents' church for their 9am Mass. Our parish had Mass at 8am & I knew we'd never get everyone ready in time, even w/out all the snow we had. My dad was preaching the homily, which is always a treat for us. I've always LOVED his homilies.
Before Mass began, the organist came over asked if I would cantor if the music director didn't show up. It had been a long time since I'd done it, but I said I could. (Before the munchkins, I was very involved in the music program - this was the church I grew up in.) Thankfully I knew all the music. I did end up leading the first song & she arrived toward the end of it, late because of the snow. Now that I think back on this, I see that this is a partial answer to a prayer. I have been wanting to get back into music ministry at church, but right now, w/ the munchkins still being so young, it is not a good time.
For some reason, I was very irritable the rest of the day. To me, it seemed like the ashes I received had the opposite effect on my personality. I wanted to stop yelling this Lent, but I found myself yelling even more than usual. Plus, the munchkins we very misbehaved throughout the day - disobeying, fighting w/ each other, bouncing off walls, etc. Thankfully, they were good during Mass.
Yesterday, I was still irritable. Why? I do not know. I decided to add another part to my Lenten ideas...for each time I yell at the munchkins, I will put a quarter into our rice bowl for Catholic Relief Services. So far, today has been much better. I've only had to put in one quarter!
Simplicity is the word I am trying to focus on for this season. Following is a list of the other practices I am doing for this Lenten season:
- reading a Lenten reflection booklet at night
- reducing my blog reading time to Thursdays & Sundays
- no Facebook (Maybe by the time Lent is over, FB will have gone back to its old way...I DO NOT like the new changes!)
Ash Wednesday we went to my parents' church for their 9am Mass. Our parish had Mass at 8am & I knew we'd never get everyone ready in time, even w/out all the snow we had. My dad was preaching the homily, which is always a treat for us. I've always LOVED his homilies.
Before Mass began, the organist came over asked if I would cantor if the music director didn't show up. It had been a long time since I'd done it, but I said I could. (Before the munchkins, I was very involved in the music program - this was the church I grew up in.) Thankfully I knew all the music. I did end up leading the first song & she arrived toward the end of it, late because of the snow. Now that I think back on this, I see that this is a partial answer to a prayer. I have been wanting to get back into music ministry at church, but right now, w/ the munchkins still being so young, it is not a good time.
For some reason, I was very irritable the rest of the day. To me, it seemed like the ashes I received had the opposite effect on my personality. I wanted to stop yelling this Lent, but I found myself yelling even more than usual. Plus, the munchkins we very misbehaved throughout the day - disobeying, fighting w/ each other, bouncing off walls, etc. Thankfully, they were good during Mass.
Yesterday, I was still irritable. Why? I do not know. I decided to add another part to my Lenten ideas...for each time I yell at the munchkins, I will put a quarter into our rice bowl for Catholic Relief Services. So far, today has been much better. I've only had to put in one quarter!
Simplicity is the word I am trying to focus on for this season. Following is a list of the other practices I am doing for this Lenten season:
- reading a Lenten reflection booklet at night
- reducing my blog reading time to Thursdays & Sundays
- no Facebook (Maybe by the time Lent is over, FB will have gone back to its old way...I DO NOT like the new changes!)
- add a quarter to our Operation Rice Bowl for each time I yell at the munchkins (Based on the start of this Lenten season, Catholic Relief Services may benefit quite a bit from me!)
- RECONCILIATION (it has been WAY TOO LONG for me)
These are some of our family practices:
- Friday Stations of the Cross (either at church or using the Stations of the Cross box I made last year)
- Sundays for family time only (Other than a few previous commitments, if we go anywhere, it has to be together.)
- using a Lenten family devotion booklet in the evenings
- 40 Bags in 40 Days (I may not get rid of 1 bag each day, but I WILL get rid of at least 40 bags by Easter!)
- RECONCILIATION (it has been WAY TOO LONG for me)
These are some of our family practices:
- Friday Stations of the Cross (either at church or using the Stations of the Cross box I made last year)
- Sundays for family time only (Other than a few previous commitments, if we go anywhere, it has to be together.)
- using a Lenten family devotion booklet in the evenings
- 40 Bags in 40 Days (I may not get rid of 1 bag each day, but I WILL get rid of at least 40 bags by Easter!)
Overall, I think this is doable for our family. I pray that you & your families have a beautiful, prayerful Lenten season. You are all in my prayers!
1 comments:
This is a reall life post that I love. We also ahve struggled so far this Lent starting with Ash Wednesday Er trip etc.
I have enjoyed reading about your ups and downs. In a nice way. It reminds me of home
God Bless your Lenten journey
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