For Phyllis

Gifts from God

* 8 lb and 6 oz of precious baby boy.

* 4 year old big sister singing "O Gladsome Light" to her baby brother.

* 8 year old Little Builder, who had once said "I'm not happy about this" when he found out I was pregnant, holding his little brother and saying "I'm thankful he was born."

* meals from family and friends to make our evenings easier.

* dappled light gently shining on my orange rocking/nursing chair.

* colored leaves, a beautiful view outside for someone who is confined inside for awhile.

* healing, rest, love.

St John of Shanghai and San Fransisco Doll

The doll for my newborn son is finished, the socks for me for the hospital are knitted, and the key for my substitute teacher at school is turned in.


All that is left is for some contraction action to get started...


"Look with compassionate eye and deliver me, Thy handmaiden, from pain. Lighten mine infirmity in the time of my travail and grant me fortitude and strength for birth giving, and hasten it by Thine almighty help."

"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."

Letters from Father Seraphim

I am thankful for time to read this week. Letters from Fr. Seraphim has been a blessing, both encouraging my heart and allowing me to feel close to Fr. Seraphim again, as I did when reading Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works.



Paschal Encouragement from page 112:

May the joy of our risen Savior be abundantly with you on these bright and radiant days of Pascha, and may you ever preserve the grace which you have received as a free gift from Him! Let no temptation overcome you, no darkness cloud your path, and no trial come upon you in which you do not immediately turn to Christ our All-merciful God, Who has trampled upon death and abolished the power of the devil.

Remain in Christ's grace and He will guide you all to salvation. Remember the end of our life, the never-setting day of Christ's Kingdom, and you will know why you are alive and for what you are striving. Christ is Risen!

Gifts from God: Help along the Journey

A good allegory of the Christian struggle and a good lesson for my family's particular place in life's journey, Hind's Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard.

A blessed saint to inspire my faith. You can listen to the book here and find a literature lesson to go with this book here.

Hope for peace in my spirit, from St. Seraphim of Sarov, who encourages us to labor to acquire the peace of the Holy Spirit.

Gifts from God

* students doing what I ask them to do, without bad attitudes

* good weekend with 16 students on the big yellow bus for a Speech Tournament

* house blessings!

* voice mail from little 3 year old and 7 year old, "have a good day Mamma - we love you!"

* unexplainable peace, the "peace that passes all understanding, that shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Nativity Fast Menu

First, these easy muffins (but omitting the cloves) are definitely going into rotation as an after-school snack.

Second, you can visit the Menu document here for ideas. I haven't been able to link all the meals to recipes, but many of these recipes are on this blog in the "Fasting" section.

Third, this one is for those of you not in the US, who can't get Jiffy cornmeal pancake mix. You can mix up your own batch! This a great for these yummy staples: Cornmeal pancakes: add 2/3c soy/rice milk and a bit of egg-replacer
Tamale Pie: saute onions, beans, green chiles for the pie filling, then top with Jiffy mixed with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1/2c of soy/rice milk.

Gifts from God

* husband who cooked ginger pancakes with peaches for supper

* other teachers at school, wiser ones than me, who help me - collaboration

* students laughing with me and not at me - a good rapport - this is truly a Gift from God! (and from St. Raphael & St. Moses, whom I have been asking to pray for me regarding school)

* a Second Grade teacher who truly looks after my son

* open doors concerning job opportunities for my husband

* reading Iggy Peck Architect and Buffalo Wings with my kids on the couch tonight.

* Akathist prayers that offer comfort and put words to ideas that I knew I needed to pray but hadn't the exact phrases

* a comfortable bed to nest into at night

St. Peter the Aleut, Pray for Us!

My son's Sunday School class has chosen St. Peter the Aleut for their class patron.

Not only, as a teenage saint, is he a good example for young ones, but also as a martyr he reminds us of the importance of our Orthodox Faith, a Faith worth dying for.

I pray that I may live this Faith in my heart and in my actions.

St. Peter, pray for us!

Gifts from God

* Reading in bed with my children at night before bed.

* Boxes of photographs of my grandparents, the better to remember them before sickness and weakness came. Old school-teacher photos, dapper suits, newspaper articles, perfectly curled vintage hair, smiles around the table as we perused the past.

* 4 other English teachers giving me ideas of how to make reading and writing more doable for my sophomores.

* pre-written prayers that sometimes say an idea better than I could, and often say an idea I hadn't realized I needed to think.


That last part is the challenge for me during worship: with a clear mind!

St. Peter the Aleut

Do you have a special way of remembering this teenage saint?

I asked this question last year and got no reply.

Last year in Sunday school, we enjoyed whale-shaped crackers and dried berries in memory of this young Alaskan man. I think that as the month passes, the best I can do this year is ask St. Peter to intercede for my teenage students.

Holy Transfer

from Community...


...to home


She who bore Life dies to be received to Life,

and Holy God transfers blessed festal flowers
down the interstate,
ferrying also Love and Life from Eucharistic Body
back to our Family Alter.