…a good meme. Hat tip to Dawn!

Coffee, tea or other beverage? Coffee, no, I mean tea… Oh, both. I must have a cup of coffee in the morning, and a cup of tea in the afternoon, or of an evening. I drink a LOT of water and a LOT of organic whole milk, too. And Recharge has been a favorite since my last pregnancy.

Are you a morning bird or a night owl? Morning bird! Aka (in our home) “Good Morning, Lord!”

Do you have a favorite verse of Scripture? Proverbs 31

What is your favorite book of the Bible? So many choices… Esther, Proverbs and the Gospel of Luke…

Which do you prefer, pen or pencil? Pen. A really nice, smooth-writing Cross pen. Yes, that’s the ticket. I also love old fashioned fountain pens. Mmmmm.

Laptop or desktop? I am surgically attached to my laptop. But I have a desktop Mac which affords me the opportunity to do design work, publishing and podcasting – wonderful!

When you write do you print or use cursive? I can never decide… So I mix both together.

Do you plan your menus or do you just wing it? Menus whenever possible. In fact, I prefer to cook weeks worth of meals at once.

Favorite color? Yellow! I love yellow… and pink

Favorite form of exercise? Walking – I love to walk. I miss those walks.

How do you wear your hair most days? Twist and clip, or a ponytail. I’ve also been known to plait my hair.

Which do you prefer, baking or cooking? Seriously… I have to choose?

In the house are you barefoot, in slippers or in shoes? Slippers in the winter, sandals in summer.

Do you wash dishes by hand or have a dishwasher? I have teenagers and a dishwasher!

Do you have pets? A cat named Ira and a beagle called Vincent.

What do you eat for breakfast? Hard boiled eggs (2), yogurt with banana, granola and honey, juice, coffee.

Tell me one thing you love about your state. Only one? Not possible… Four beautiful, distinct seasons, history everywhere you turn, colonial architecture, traditional fare, professional sports, museums, funny accents.

What is your favorite magazine? I’m a magazine-aholic. Just ask anyone who has helped us move. I treasure most my back copies of “Victoria”. My new favorite is “Hearth and Home”, which is inspired by “Victoria”; and for needlework, it’s “Inspirations”.

It seems to be a contradiction in terms – an oxymoron. How can Lent possibly be lovely? The trick is to find beauty in complete simplicity; simplicity of faith, simplicity of living – taking away all the excesses that turn up the “noise” in our lives and create distractions from our attention to God and His will. The Shakers were masters of finding simplicity in everyday life, the lovely scent of fresh baked bread, the satisfaction in creating a fragrant soup that will satisfy both body and soul. They knew that God (not the other guy) is in the details, the tiniest little things. Their beautiful hymn could be a Lenten Anthem:

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

We are called to see the beauty in starkness. For in starkness, the color and grain of bare wood comes into sharper focus, we note the way the light plays on objects within our homes, or through the windows in our churches as we sit in quiet meditation. One lady who really does understand the beauty in ‘everyday’ is Donna Cooper O’Boyle, she wrote the book on it. If you can’t get enough of her beautiful writing, please visit us at These Forty Days. We’ll be featuring some excerpts from her work throughout the season. Another lady who truly understands the loveliness of Lent, is Wendy from The Bluebird of Happiness Comes to Tea.

Lent also calls us to compassion. Compassion literally means to share someone’s suffering. Outwardly, we are sharing in Christ’s suffering in the desert by leaving behind our old habits, hurts, and luxuries. We can unite ourselves to the poor, hungry, sick and lonely by fasting, giving alms, donating clothing, offering hospitality, caring for someone who is homebound. We can use this time to pray more often for someone who is ill. Our family has chosen a prayer project for Lent. Often, these acts of charity ignite a passion that lasts the rest of our lives.

That is precisely what God wants. He wants us to make a change for good - to experience a conversion. It doesn’t need to be a grand sacrifice; it can be something small but significant. Karen agrees, as does Margaret at Minnesota Mom. You needn’t even give something up – you can choose to take on something new, such as offering to join a ministry, or making a resolution to say “God Bless You” to every person you meet. It is a time to get outside your comfort zone and grow spiritually.

As parents, we must gently lead our children to learn the ways of our Faith, just as Elizabeth patiently does through this beautiful and touching conversation. Lent could easily become a cumbersome trial that children would learn to loathe. If we cheerfully approach Lent ourselves - setting the tone as Elena does, and gather ideas for fruitful activities (Ruth and Karen offer some amazing suggestions)they will grow into a deep knowledge and love for Lent. First, we must explain to them what Lent is. Dawn’s post “What is Lent” offers a beautiful, rich description for both children and adults.

This is a perfect time to delve deeper into our spiritual heritage with our children. It is important to understand the culture of the time in order to appreciate the importance of the events leading up to Easter. My children and I will be immersing ourselves in ancient Middle Eastern History and Culture. We have also been investigating the similarities and differences in how our Anglican brethren observe the season, and what other Protestant denominations think and feel about this holy time of year. Elizabeth Foss will be exploring the Lenten traditions of the Eastern Church with her children, inspired by this beautiful weblog by Katherine.

Because Lent is a long six weeks, organisation is important. These beautiful weekly calendars from Julie at Trinity Acres will help guide your children to grow in holiness throughout the Season. If you need further inspiration on your journey with Jesus toward Easter, please visit These Forty Days.

So, as the children and I are setting up our Rice Bowl, our sacrifice jar, hanging mourning on our Lenten Cross, and stringing sacrifice beads, we’ll be praying that your eyes are opened to the Simple Gifts of the Lenten Season!

For your birthday. We miss you!

I believe I am experiencing what St. John of the Cross described as “The Dark Night of the Soul”. Suffering can be so lonely - even with so many around me who love me. There is a loveliness in suffering - I’m determined to find it. I’m sure that God is drawing me closer and saying to me “Lean on Me more, for heaven’s sake!”. I tend to be very strong-willed and independent. I’m in the business of praying for others, not being prayed for - caring for others, not being cared for.

I was up and nursing Louis in the wee hours of this morning. While I said a silent rosary, counting the decades on my fingers, I suddenly became aware of the heady scent of roses. The fragrance became stronger with each decade. An enormous peace stole over me and I knew everything would be alright with me. I lay Louis back in his crib, and then lay there in the darkness a while longer - unable to sleep, completely alert, but completely relaxed. At some point I fell asleep and awoke this morning more refreshed than I have been in such a long time.

For a long time now, I have found great comfort in the embrace of Our Blessed Mother. I often feel her presence when we pray the rosary, or whenever I need motherly care. She often helps to put things on my heart to ponder and work at. I wonder what others do who are not aware of her love, who don’t accept the gift of her motherhood, which Jesus gave to us from the cross.

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. “ John 19:25-27

John, of course was that Disciple. But we are John, in a sense. We are the Disciple whom He loves. We are the young, sweet, faithful, open disciple who is present at his crucifixion everytime we share in the Eucharist. We are the ones to whom he has given His mother as Our Mother. And she wants only to love us…