Author: Maria Johnson

some wisdom from Brother Lawrence

So make it a habit little by little to Worship in this way. Ask Him for His grace and offer Him your heart from time to time during the day in the midst of your work — at every moment if you are able. Offer Him your heart in faith, with love and humility. ~ Brother Lawrence

praying the rosary one checkmark at a time

There was a time when I used to come home in the morning after dropping the kids off at school, make half a pot of coffee, and leisurely pray a rosary before I went about my daily chores and activities.

I was fairly new at this discipline of praying daily, and I needed time, and I definitely needed plenty of cheat sheets. I ended up with a lovely little book that had the scriptural rosary. That helped me a lot because I was able to follow along with the story. It was just what I needed to help me remember the mysteries, and I was hooked on the prayer.

As it happens, other things changed. I lost the little booklet, but not the habit of praying. I was already in love with the prayer…and falling deeper in love with the story. Slowly, and steadily, my faith was blossoming … one bead at a time.

Years later, I see Mary’s gentle hand in this journey as she has led me to her Son. That little book with the scriptural rosary came back to me, a sweet little gift that keeps giving as I revisit the pages I almost knew by heart.

But times have changed. I’ve gone back to a demanding career, and I don’t have the luxury of running a pot of coffee in the middle of my morning. Heck, I don’t have time to run to the vending machine to buy a terrible impersonation of coffee.

I do, however, attempt to finish a rosary. That challenge has proven to be more difficult than I imagined, mostly because I’m constantly interrupted and I’d forget where I was. And then I came upon this plan…if I couldn’t get 20 minutes of uninterrupted time, perhaps I could make the time for a reverent Hail Mary.

One Hail Mary prayed right is certainly worth more than a distracted and mumbled rosary, so I developed a plan. All I needed was a tally system to help me keep track of my progress through the rosary…so I designed this cheat sheet — just a series of bubbles and boxes I could check as I moved through the prayer. One glance told me where I had left off before racing to class or a meeting.

I was sure I’d never be able to get through a whole rosary this way. The thing is, on those days when I can’t escape for a quiet lunch with prayer, I not only find myself praying all day, one Hail Mary at a time, but I find that I have just enough moments throughout the day to finish.

How about that?

Click on this link for a printable bookmark Rosary that you can check off as you pray.

do you know where your children are?

Remember that ad from years ago that asked, Do you know where your children are? I always thought it was a little creepy, but now that my kids are grown, and they aren’t necessarily checking in several times a day, I’ve had to learn to let go, and let God….

I’m at CatholicMom.com this week sharing a little prayer I’ve picked up in the past few years that has helped me release my worries.

I know my schedule has kicked into high gear with the beginning of the term and everything, but I’ve lost track of when the younger kids go back to school. I don’t miss the anxiety of those days, although taking that “first day of school” picture was a lot of fun….

These days August is a little slower around the house. The oldest has been on her own for several years, proudly serving our country. Two are still in college, one finishing in the next year, and the youngest following quickly behind her. There’s still a revolving door to the house, but it seems to be opening out more often than in. And that’s OK – I suppose it’s the way it should be….

[read the rest here]

7 Quick Takes living color!

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

 

 

Had my Sunday morning coffee interrupted by this little ole hawk hanging around our yard. Color me surprised.

–2–

Last Saturday, September 8, commemorated the 400th anniversary of the Blessed Mother’s appearance to some young men off the coast of Cuba. I write about this story of Our Lady of Charity and why it’s meaningful to me at Patheos. And then, another personal story related to it, here. I guess I’m just a writing machine this week 🙂

–3–

 

I got up early today, hopeful that I would have this post done before 9:00 AM, a kind of snapshot of my morning.

–4–

 

But I’m old (see the bran?)

–5–

 

 

And got distracted, I mean, inspired (see the journal? I got an idea for a scene in a story I’m working on)

–6–

 

 

So I went for a long walk to clear my mind.

–7–

 

And ended up here. That’s always a good thing.