Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent,  a season of 40 days for prayer and reflection leading up to Easter.  I thought I would share a couple of things that we are doing together as a family.

One of my favorites is an online devotional called Journey to the Cross. One of my MOPS friends  shared it with me a few years ago. As a busy mom it can be tough to make time for God during the day, but for 40 days I really try to make that happen BEFORE I click onto any other internet/media related stuff. What I like about this site is they send me an email reminder to check out that day's devotion (kind of hard to ignore when it's sitting right there in your inbox.) And the fact that it's not a long wordy message, it's simple and to the point. It's also something I can go to while I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee or waiting in the carpool line.

One other thing that I thought I would share is the 5 Finger Prayer which I found a while back in Catholic Digest This is a simple way to help teach your kids how to pray for others. I recently taught my second grade Faith Formation class this method and they enjoyed it. What I like about it is its simplicity and the fact that it involves a multi-sensory approach to learning-something the former school teacher in me appreciates. Basically you use your 5 fingers to lead you in prayer with each finger representing a particular group of people.

Here is the handout I created based on the article