Recently I shared a new Easter book that I am very excited about: Twas the Morning of Easter by Glenys Nellist. It is a beautifully illustrated children's book, telling the story of the resurrection of Jesus and following the familiar rhyme of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” After I posted about the book, the author got in touch with me and shared wonderful activity pages that she has for the book. There are so many fun things to do! She even has activities and crafts for younger and older children! There are coloring pages and bookmarks but my favorite is the "Create an Easter Scene" activity with pictures from the book. It's just beautiful! What is even more exciting is that I discovered that she has an entire "Twas" series! Twas the Season of Advent is a family devotional containing 25 devotions and stories for you to read with your children during the season of Advent. There is also a wonderful activity pack. Twas the Evening of Christmas tells the story of Christmas day. There is a beautiful activity pack for the book as well. Twas the Season of Lent This is her latest book in the series and I am super excited about it because finding children's books on Lent is hard. This book tells the events in Jesus' life leading up to the crucifixion and has simple devotions for your children. I am so excited about this series! It is so difficult to find children's books that walk you through the seasons of the church year. These are keepsake books that I will be using every year along with their activity packs. I hope they are a blessing to you and your family!

Summer is here! No more school and no more routines which sounds like a good thing! But without a normal routine, we can start to feel disconnected, drifting through our days without truly connecting to our faith or each other. To help, I introduced a new series, Establishing New Rhythms in Summer: Embracing Ordinary Time. Over the week, we’ve been exploring how we can embrace these new laidback rhythms of summer while also establishing easy rhythms that draw us closer to God and strengthen our connections with each other. Establishing New Rhythms in Summer: Praying Together Establishing New Rhythms in Summer: Celebrating the Liturgical Year Together Today I wanted to focus on the rhythm of Eating Together. One of the simplest yet most important ways to connect with your family during the summer is by gathering around the table, or better yet, outside in God's creation. Here are some easy and unique ideas for your summer meals: Picnic Communion Instead of eating inside, go on a picnic. Pack a meal with a loaf of bread, assorted cheeses, and fresh fruit. Find a peaceful spot in a park, your backyard, by a lake, or the ocean. Begin your meal with a prayer of thanksgiving and enjoy the freedom and wonder of the outdoors. Farm-to-Table Feasts Take advantage of local farmers' markets and the bounty of the season. Involve the whole family in the outing by allowing them to select fresh produce, then come home and create a meal together. As you cook, discuss the blessings of the season and the beauty of God’s provision. Sabbath BBQs Dedicate one evening a week to a leisurely barbecue. Invite friends and neighbors, and before diving into the feast, take a moment for everyone to share something beautiful that God is doing in their life. Picnic Basket $34.99 Blue and White Striped Napkins $15.50 Toy Picnic Basket Playset $24.99 Waterproof Picnic Blanket $21.89 Conclusion By incorporating these simple yet meaningful practices into your summer routine, you can create moments of faith and connection. Whether through picnic communion, farm-to-table feasts, or Sabbath BBQs, eating together can become a holy rhythm that enriches your faith and strengthens your bonds with each other. So, let's savor the slower pace, delight in our meals, and cherish our time together. Here's to a summer filled with faith, family, and the joyous rhythms of Ordinary Time!

One of the most important things we have done with our children is to have a time of family prayer. We gather, we read and study the Bible and we pray. When we pray, we always create a prayer space. Creating a prayer space is a wonderful way to remind ourselves that the time we are entering is sacred, special, intentional, and holy. Decide on the best time for your family. Mornings are best for us but maybe you would prefer evenings or maybe daily prayer is too much right now, how about every Sunday night? The point is to pray as a family not how often or when. Also, a critical part of family prayer is to make sure that all of your kids help you in the setup. They love being a part, especially lighting the candle! Supplies: A table that has been completely cleared. (Even if all of the mess was moved to the couch or floor, it's good to have an uncluttered prayer space.) A pretty tablecloth or piece of fabric. An adult bible to read and study from A children’s bible for the smaller children to look through A candle with a handle *I prefer these. They keep the candle from dripping on the cloth. A candle lighter *I love this one from Amazon. It’s cheap and the kids won’t burn themselves. A candle snuffer. An icon *I love The Good Shepherd icon to always remind us of who Jesus is A mason jar or vase to put clippings from your yard in Optional - We are Anglican Christians so we love using the Book of Common Prayer’s Morning or Evening Prayer service. It is absolutely gorgeous and guides the family through recited scripture, beautiful prayers and The Lord’s Prayer. Keep your prayer space items in a basket under a couch or in a closet that way they are easy to get out and use. Do you do anything special for family prayer? If so, I’d love to hear other ideas!

Welcome back, friends! Summer is here! No more school and no more routines which sounds like a good thing! But without a normal routine, we can start to feel disconnected, drifting through our days without truly connecting to our faith or each other. To help, I introduced a new series, Establishing New Rhythms in Summer: Embracing Ordinary Time. Over the next week, we’ll be exploring how we can embrace these new laid back rhythms of summer while also establishing easy rhythms that draw us closer to God and strengthen our connections with each other. Today I wanted to focus on the rhythm of Praying Together. As soon as summer starts, one of the first rhythms that absolutely falls apart for my family is praying together. We do so well praying together before bed during the school year but with the sleepovers and late bedtimes of summer, our nightly routine comes to a crashing halt. It makes me so sad when this happens because we all know that prayer is such a beautiful rhythm that brings peace, gratitude, and spiritual growth into our everyday moments. It also brings us together as a family. To help you and your family establish a new rhythm of prayer in the midst of summer, here are some easy yet enriching ideas: Morning Praise Walks Begin your summer mornings with a family praise walk. As you stroll through your neighborhood, a local park, or a nature trail, take turns expressing gratitude for the new day and its blessings. Use this time to marvel at God’s creation—the blooming flowers, the chirping birds, the warmth of the sun. This practice transforms a simple walk into a sacred time of connection and thanksgiving. It’s a beautiful way to start the day with a grateful heart and a focus on God’s presence in our lives. Outdoor Evening Compline As the day winds down, gather outside for evening prayer. Light a candle, a lantern, or a fire, and recite Compline together. Compline is a beautiful, simple liturgy for the end of the day. The tranquil outdoor setting can make this ancient practice feel especially peaceful and grounding. The gentle glow of the candle, the sounds of nature, and the quiet stillness of the evening create a serene atmosphere for reflection and prayer. This nightly routine provides a beautiful closure to your day, helping you to rest in God’s peace. Creative Prayer Journals Encourage each family member to keep a summer prayer journal. Include not just written prayers, but also drawings, pressed flowers, and reflections on your days. Share these journals with each other weekly, celebrating how God is moving in each of your lives. This creative outlet can help everyone feel more connected and intentional in their faith journey. It’s a tangible way to document your spiritual growth and the ways God is working in your life throughout the summer. I love these journals because they are unlined (great for drawing or painting) and the cover can be decorated! Ordinary Time is a time for growth, reflection, and deepening our faith. By making prayer a rhythm of this season, we invite the sacred into our everyday summer moments. Let’s embrace this slower pace, delight in our prayers, and cherish the time we spend in God’s presence. Here’s to a summer filled with faith, family, and the joyous rhythms of praying together!

I was surprised by Easter! Sure, I knew it was a time of great joy and celebration for Christians around the world. I knew that during Easter, we reflect on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope that his resurrection brings to our lives. But there was so much I did not know! As I researched and learned more about the season of Easter, called Eastertide, for my latest guidebook, The Liturgical Home: Easter, I discovered so many things that delighted and surprised me. Today, I want to surprise you, too, with three favorite things that I learned about this season. 1. That the season even exists! We all know about Easter Sunday, but if you are like me, many of us do not know that there is a whole season of feasting and festivities set aside to fully celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as Christmas has more than one day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, so Easter has more than one day devoted to its celebration. For 50 whole days, Christians worldwide feast and celebrate all that Jesus accomplished for us. Technically, I knew that there was an Easter season, but it’s weird how you can know things without really knowing them. My husband is a priest, and I am the children’s minister, so I am in church every Sunday. I see “The Second Sunday of Easter” or the “Third Sunday of Easter” printed on the front of the bulletin but it never dawned on me that maybe we should be incorporating this time of celebration into our own lives. Isn’t that funny? I mean, I write about these things for a living! You would think that I would have thought, “Ok, we have a whole season to celebrate Christmas, do we have a whole season to celebrate Easter?” And then when I found out that we did, I should research how people have traditionally marked the time but I never did until now. But now that I know, it is so exciting to me and makes so much sense! Since the death and resurrection of Jesus are the most pivotal moments in our Christian faith, it makes sense that there should be a whole season to celebrate it! It makes sense that the season should last longer than the 12 days given to celebrate Jesus’ birth and it makes sense that it should be filled with feasting and great joy. 2. The Easter symbols that I thought were pagan are not pagan at all! If I am honest, I have to admit that I was very leery of writing about the symbols of Easter. Didn’t they all have pagan origins? Even the name Easter itself was after a goddess of fertility, right? Look up “Easter eggs” through any search engine, and you’ll find dozens of secular articles containing the phrase, “although they have pagan origins.” But as I delved deeper I began to find out that the links to paganism were unfounded and that the pagan origin theories were just speculations by a few historians. I was so encouraged to find out that the Early Church was very vehement in its rejection of paganism of any form. They didn’t adopt pagan symbols and “Christianize” them. Instead, the church identified symbols that expressed the content of Christian doctrine and fit into the patterns of the church year. Eggs, for instance, were always used as a symbol of the resurrection of Christ. Christians thought it was the perfect symbol for the transformation of the resurrection and the empty tomb. And we dye eggs at the end of Lent, not only as a joyful preparation for Easter but also because there are lots of eggs around. Even if you fast from eating eggs, the hens do not fast from laying them! To read more about the significance of eggs in Easter, check out my article on Easter Eggs, complete with a recipe for natural dyes. 3. The history of the Easter Basket Before I wrote my guidebook on Easter, I had no idea where the Easter basket tradition came from. I just knew that everyone got one on Easter morning, and it was filled with lots of candy and dyed, boiled eggs that no one wanted to eat. But through my time spent researching, I discovered that the history of the Easter basket is quite beautiful and meaningful! Traditionally, foods that had been abstained from during Lent or that were going to be used in the Easter feast were brought to the church. The food was brought in baskets decorated with ribbons and flowers and also filled with dyed eggs. The people recognized that their food was a gift from God, and they might give a portion of it to the priests or those in need. With King David, they believed that “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee” (1 Chronicles 29:14). Then, during the service, the priest blessed the baskets before the parishioners went home to prepare their feasts. The blessing of the food baskets served as a way to sanctify and consecrate the foods that were to be eaten on Easter Sunday. It was like grace before meals but in a special way for Easter. For Christians, saying grace before meals transforms food into a symbol of God’s grace and goodness and becomes a source of nourishment for both the body and the soul. What a profound tradition! Today, we may not put traditional foods in our baskets such as lamb or crocks of butter, but the ribbons, flowers, and eggs are still a symbol of the joy that comes from the resurrection of Jesus. One way of combining the old practice with the new would be to put your easter basket as a centerpiece on the table for your easter meal! In Conclusion I hope these findings were as much a blessing to you as they were to me. As we celebrate Easter this year, let us reflect on the significance of the empty tomb and the message of forgiveness and redemption that it brings, and may our homes be enriched by the beauty of these Eastertide traditions. Through them, may we be reminded of the hope and promise that Easter brings to our lives, and may we be filled with joy and gratitude for the gift of new life that we have received through Jesus Christ.

Advent is a beautiful season of preparation before one of the most momentous days in our lives, the birth of Jesus. I am so excited to walk with you as we slow down and really begin to contemplate the great mystery of the incarnation, God made flesh. My guidebook on Advent will provide you with the rich history of the season along with all of the traditions, special feast days and special Advent recipes from around the world. ​ One of my favorite parts of the book is the family devotions for every day of Advent. The devotions are easy for families to use and walk you through the whole epic story of our salvation. We will move from Creation and The Fall through the prophecies of a coming Messiah to the triumphant climax with the story of the birth of Christ on Christmas Day. ​ I hope that the guidebook is a blessing to you and your family and that, through this book, you are able to fully prepare your hearts for the miracle of Christmas Day! I would love it if you would join the launch team! Being on the launch team would really help me get the word out and would help me so much! If you'd like to join the launch team for the book, click here.

I had an idea, and it was a great idea! My family was going to do something new that year. Every night, we were going to sit down at the dining room table and do Advent devotions together. I could already see how the night was going to go in my mind’s eye. It was going to be amazing. It was going to transform our family. We would sit down every night with the candle glow all around us, and peace would fall like leaves as we read Holy Scripture and learned about Jesus. My children would be transfixed; they would receive every word; they would love every moment and thank me in the end for bringing them into this wonderful new Advent tradition. The reality was that when I suggested devotions, they immediately started to whine. They didn’t want to do devotions! None of the kids could sit still. One of them slid off of her chair and fell onto the floor, screaming because I accidentally touched her candle. The other two fought over who got to light the candle. As my husband read Scripture, he was interrupted over and over again by a child who wanted to tell him about his favorite TV show. When we finally made it through the liturgy and my husband closed us out with a prayer, instead of saying “amen” like the rest of us, my oldest son, who had been watching way too much college football with his father, raised his glass and yelled, “dilly, dilly!” I’m pretty sure he got that from a beer commercial. Nice. How did this happen? This was supposed to be a magical moment, and instead, it was a hot mess! 5 Practical Suggestions for Doing Advent Devotions with Kids 1. It’s all about grace. I try to think about Jesus if he were sitting leading the devotions with kids. Would he get angry? Would he demand that they sit still, pay attention, and “get it”? Or would he, to borrow language from Luke 13:34 , lovingly gather them in his arms, patiently answer their questions, and laugh a whole lot? 2. It’s not going to be perfect…ever! But over time, you are making memories, sweet memories, and you are establishing holy times and traditions. 3. Fire is your friend. Simply lighting candles and turning the lights down low immediately creates a sense of awe in young children. They really do quiet down a little, and it makes them feel like something special is happening. 4. Try to have different levels of engagement. Let the older children participate in reading the scriptures, leading the devotion, or lighting the candles. Let your smaller children look at some kind of Jesus picture book. I’ve even given my littlest one's cube of ice on a tray or a tray full of dry oatmeal that they can manipulate and play with while listening. 5. Chill out! You are not trying to create the perfect Joanna Gaines Instagram moment! Remember what you are trying to do. You are trying to usher your family into the presence of God, who is always delighted to welcome us there…hot mess and all!

Advent is one of my favorite seasons. As a person who did not grow up celebrating Advent, I have absoluely fallen in love with it. Advent is beautiful and holy and full of hope. If you’d like to read more about Advent and why you should celebrate the church calendar in your home, you can read my article here - At first it was hard for my family to make the transition from full on Christmas mania to an intentional embrace of waiting and preparation but once we did, celebrating Advent has become a necessity for us in order to fully appreciate Christmas. Our children love to run up to the attic and bring down the “Advent” box. We set up all of the Advent traditions that make Advent meaningful to us. Here are my all-time favorite Advent traditions in our house. I hope they bless your household as they have blessed mine! The Advent Wreath The very first Sunday of Advent, we set up our Advent Wreath and put it in the middle of our dining room table. The wreath is such a powerful sign to our family that we are joyfully waiting for the coming of our Savior, the Christ Child, as we light a new candle every Sunday night. The Advent Wreath is a wreath of evergreens with four candles representing the four Sundays of Advent. There are three purple candles and one pink candle surrounding a white candle in the center. Everything about the wreath is symbolic and is a wonderful teaching tool. The circle represents eternity, the evergreens represent the eternal nature of God, and the candles represent a time of preparation and purification. The color of the candles is also symbolic. Violet represents penitence as we prepare our hearts for the birth of our Savior. The rose or pink candle represents Mary, the willing servant of God and the mother of our Lord. The white candle represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Eve. Every Sunday night, we gather as a family, have our Advent devotion, sing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and light the next Advent candle. It builds such anticipation to watch as every candle burns a little more. I love gathering in the evening, lighting the candles, breathing in the smell of evergreens and reading through the story of our salvation. Make Your Own: Supplies: Metal Advent ring or grapevine wreath. Both can be cheaply purchased from a craft store or online. Advent candle set (three purple and one pink candle) Single white candle in a candle holder Fresh evergreen branches of your choice (pine, juniper, seeded eucalyptus, cedar, etc.) Pruning Snips Florists Wire Directions: Insert the purple and pink candles into the holders on the metal form or insert the candles equidistantly in between the vines of the grapevine wreath. Cut and place the greenery on your Advent wreath. For the metal form, use floral wire to attach your greenery. For the grapevine form, insert the greenery in between the vines. Place your wreath in the middle of your dining or breakfast table. Place the white candle in the middle of the Advent wreath. Making Speculatius This recipe has been a family favorite for years. I stumbled upon it when my children were little and they are by far our favorite Christmas cookie ever!  Speculatius is a type of cookie made in western Germany. The cookies are traditional to eat on St. Nicholas Day and Christmas Day. The recipe requires that the dough sit in the fridge overnight but I promise you, they are worth the wait! Who doesn’t love buttery, crispy delicioiusness? And to further the Advent theme of joyful anticipation, why not use the time of waiting to enjoy something with your family that you might not make the time for otherwise? Spending time putting together a puzzle or playing a game of cards is a great way to emphasize the unexpected beauty of waiting. Speculatius Ingredients: 1 cup butter 1 cup shortening 2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 teaspoon soda 4 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cloves 4 1/2 cups sifted flour Directions: Cream the butter, shortening and sugar. Add sour cream alternately with sifted dry ingredients. Knead the dough and shape into rolls. Wrap the rolls in plastic wrap and chill overnight. Roll the dough very thin and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. The Christ Child and the Christmas Crib Tradition The Christ Child and Christmas Crib has become one of the most meaningful Advent traditions for our family. On the first Sunday of Advent, right after evening devotions, we set the manger from our nativity scene out on the dining room table (you could also use a small basket). Next to the manger, we place a dish full of small pieces of straw (I use a bundle of raffia from my local crafts store and I cut it into small pieces). We write down the names of every person in our family on little slips of paper. We fold the slips of paper up, place them in a bowl, and pass the bowl around. Everyone takes a slip of paper with a name on it. The person whose name you have drawn is now in your special care throughout Advent. From this day until Christmas, you do as many little favors for that person as you can. You have to provide at least one surprise every single day - but without ever being found out. When the good deed is done you go and add a piece of straw to the manger. We try to get the manger as full of straw as we can so that when we put baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve, he is surrounded by our love and good deeds made visible with the straw. My family takes this tradition very seriously! I can’t tell you how touching (and surprising!) it is to see my children sneaking around doing good deeds for someone else in our family. It really creates such a spirit of selfless love and generosity. Advent Music You’ve probably been fine with everything I have suggested so far but this tradition is going to be the hardest sell. I know this because it was the hardest thing for me to transition to but it has also been one of the most rewarding. Advent, believe it or not, has Advent songs! Advent songs are very different from the songs of Christmas. Think about the words to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. That’s a great Advent song and the words are all about our deep longing and desire for redemption. Listen to another famous Advent hymn, “Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending”. It is all about Jesus coming in glory at the second coming. The song swells and builds until it bursts out with the final stanza - “Saviour, take the power and glory: Claim the kingdom for thine own: O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly! Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!” The song is absolutely amazing! I promise you will be blown away! Yes, this is going to be hard to sing Advent songs rather than Christmas songs but focusing on the songs of Advent only heightens and emphasizes Advent’s themes of longing and expectation. And think about it, not singing Christmas carols throughout Advent will only make them that much more powerful when we finally get to sing them on Christmas Eve. When we finally get to Christmas Eve, we are all desperate to sing Christmas Hymns. When our family stands for the first hymn at our Christmas Eve service, we are so ready to fully celebrate what we have been waiting all Advent long to celebrate, the long-awaited birth of Jesus! We belt “Joy to the World” out like never before!

“For everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:10)—I am sure you know the verse well. We are all familiar with it, and yet it is so often misused. People will often quote the verse in response to a bad thing that has happened or a hard time that they are going through. But if you look back at the verses in Ecclesiastes 3, a world is depicted that involves not only the bad but the good, “a time to mourn” AND “a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:4). The passage goes on to say (and I love this!), that God has made “everything beautiful in its time” and that “He has set eternity in our hearts” (Eccl. 3:11). There is so much more going on here than the mere passage of time with all of its joys and sorrows. Here, in Ecclesiastes, we find a call to something more, a call to rise above the everyday passage of time and to embrace God’s time. Embrace God’s time? Easier said than done! As a mom with four kids, I feel more like an Uber driver than someone enjoying the holiness of each moment! We rush, rush, rush from doctor’s appointments to baseball practice to ballet lessons. There is rarely a night unscheduled, much less a weekend! It’s like we are all on an amusement park roller coaster that has reached the first giant peak and for the next three months, life is all breath-taking speed and loops ahead! To make matters so much worse, we are also entering the busiest holiday season of the year. Christmas decorations exploded in our local stores on October 1st this year (October 1st, people!). We are roughly pushed around from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas with no space to breathe. We move along with frantic, grasping people who are being jostled, like me, to the next event or the next thing to buy. In the midst of all of this craziness, I am not enjoying the holiness of anything! I feel overwhelmed, and, anxious and I have no time to do all of the things that I need to do. We need an Advent reset. So I ask myself, “Why am I letting the culture tell me what time it is? Shouldn’t I let the Church tell me what time it is?” The culture is telling me it’s time to rush, rush, rush. It is also telling me to consume as much as I possibly can over the next few months. But the Church is telling me that it’s Advent and that it’s time to slow down and meditate in every way on the mystery of what is getting ready to happen to us on Christmas Day, the Incarnation, God made flesh, the birth of our Savior, Jesus. I need a reset, a shift, a way to slow down. Advent is the way. Advent helps us to hear that small, still voice saying, “prepare ye the way of the Lord”. During Advent, my family and I make commitments. We commit to celebrating Advent rather than a frenzied holiday season. We commit to carving out time for meaningful interactions with God and each other. The idea is not to add more to a “to-do” list that is already overwhelmingly long. The idea is to shift our priorities around and intentionally set aside our time for new things. We remind ourselves that our culture does not dictate the way we live our lives, God does. One of the things we really try to do more of is to eat together as a family. I have found that this is one of the easiest ways to incorporate Advent into my home. The dinner is nothing fancy. It could be a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but it is not the food that makes the night special. What makes the night special is that we have carved out this time together. We make it special by saying, “This is important and this is what we are going to do. We are going to eat together. We are going to talk to each other, we are going to experience holy time.” We don’t allow phones at the table from children or adults. There are going to be no distractions for the next hour. This is God’s time. We play an Advent playlist softly in the background. We light candles at the table and we turn off all of the other lights. The effect is magical. My children love the atmosphere, especially the candlelight and it immediately says to us all, “This is a different time now, this is holy time." For the next hour, we talk, we laugh and we eat. As I look around, the light of the candles cast a soft glow and every face is filled with a newfound sense of wonder. This is what celebrating Advent does, it takes the chaos and the frantic rush of our lives and it forces us to slow down. We are given, as a family, time. And not just any kind of time, God’s time. Don’t stop after Advent! There’s a whole Church year! When I realized the Church had already created a way for me to enter into God’s time (what the writer of Ecclesiastes was talking about), I got excited. By reordering my family’s life to follow the seasons of the Church, everything became full of intention and meaning. Now, when I make a meal for the people in my life, it is no ordinary meal! It is a foretaste of the banquet table that God has prepared for us in heaven. Now, when I decorate my home for the season, it’s not in response to the latest fad, it’s a celebration of the life of Christ. Now, the everyday moments of my life aren’t just everyday moments anymore! They are shaped by the seasons of the Church. And so they are holy. And God is making everything beautiful in its time.

Happy first day of May! This is an exciting month in the Liturgical Year as we wrap up the season of Easter and begin the season of Pentecost. May 1st The Feast of St. Philip and St. James We start the month with the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, remembering faithful followers of Jesus who became 2 of the 12 Apostles. May 5th - 8th Rogation Days Rogation Days come right before Ascension Day and are a time set aside to pray for God’s blessing on the land and the sea and the bounty that comes from them. They start on the sixth Sunday of Easter which is known as “Rogation Sunday” since it is the Sunday that precedes the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday known as the “Rogation Days.” May 9th The Feast of the Ascension On The Feast of the Ascension, we remember Jesus’ ascent into heaven. May 19th The Feast of Pentecost Pentecost is the fiftieth day of Eastertide and also begins the season of Pentecost. It is the day that the church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. It is a major feast day, coming right after Christmas and Easter. May 26th Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is a profound and awe-inspiring day in the Christian calendar. It invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and to deepen our understanding of God's triune nature. May 31st The Feast of the Visitation The Feast of the Visitation is the day that the church celebrates the visit of Mary with her cousin Elizabeth. Continue to follow along as I’ll be sharing everything you’ll need to celebrate every special day this month, including the history, recipes, and traditions. Helpful Links: The Feast of St. Philip and St. James: How to Celebrate the Feast of St. Philip and St. James Braided Bread for the Feast of St. Philip and St. James The Feast of the Ascension: Ascension Day An Ascension Day Dessert The Feast of Pentecost: Pentecost Pentecost Fruit Flames for a Joyful Celebration! Celebrating Pentecost With Children's Books Celebrate Pentecost with Fiery Sweetheart Roses! Red Velvet Cake for Pentecost Gifts of the Holy Spirit Mobile Trinity Sunday: Embracing the Mystery: Celebrating Trinity Sunday The Feast of the Visitation: The Visitation Blueberry Lemon Tart Strawberry Tea for the Feast of the Visitation

Happy first day of June! This is an exciting month in the Liturgical Year; we just started the season of Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Church Year. We start with Trinity Sunday where we marvel at the mystery of the Holy Trinity and end by celebrating St. Peter and St. Paul. So follow along as I share everything you’ll need to celebrate every special day this month, including the history, recipes, and traditions. Helpful Links: Flourishing With the Holy Spirit: Embracing the Season of Ordinary Time The Season of Ordinary Time The Nativity of John the Baptist The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

The season of Pentecost is almost here! It is such a beautiful season! It is the time when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. During Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the impact it had on the disciples and the world. It marks the beginning of a new era, where believers are empowered to spread the gospel, exercise spiritual gifts, and live out their faith boldly. Pentecost reminds us of the ongoing presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, empowering us to live as witnesses for Christ and participate in the work of God's Kingdom. One of my favorite ways to celebrate Pentecost is with books. Reading books during Pentecost is such an easy and fun way to help our children embrace the season and to learn about important aspects of our faith. As I've mentioned before, I kept books separated in boxes according to the season of the church in our garage. The day before Pentecost began, I would bring in the box of books and place them in a basket in the living room. The kids were always so excited to see these books that had been stored away! Each child would grab their favorite and for the next couple of hours, there would be complete silence as they looked through the books. They would read them individually or I would read them to them over and over throughout the season. They were a powerful teaching tool to help my children understand what Pentecost is really about. Today I am sharing some of my favorite books that your family can use during the season of Pentecost. I hope they are a blessing! Josie Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit by Esau McCaulley. I love this book! I read it to my children's church kids every Pentecost. It is about a little girl named Josie who is spending the day with her dad, getting her hair braided at Monique's Beauty Shop, and picking out a new red dress for Sunday because Sunday is Pentecost! In the process, she learns to celebrate the differences she sees all around her as part of God's plan for his creation. Breathe: A Child's Guide to Ascension, Pentecost, and the Growing Time by Laura Alary. A beautiful book that invites children to wonder about and watch for the presence and work of the Spirit in practices of prayer and mindfulness. Slowly but surely, we discover that we are the body of Jesus now, his way of being in the world and that whenever we choose the way of love, Jesus is there. Always. The Day When God Made The Church by Rebekah McLeod Hutto is the story of Pentecost and how the Holy Spirit shaped, and continues to shape, who we are as God’s Church. Children will learn the story of Pentecost: the sights, sounds, and events of that miraculous day described in the Book of Acts. They will also discover who the Holy Spirit is and how God calls each of us to follow Jesus. In the end, parents, educators, and ministers will discover fresh ways to celebrate Pentecost with children in their own churches and families. The Glorious Impossible by Madeleine L'Engle. The birth of Jesus was a Glorious Impossible. Like love, it cannot be explained, it can only be rejoiced in. And that is what master storyteller Madeleine L'Engle does in this compellingly written narrative, inspired by Giotto's glorious frescoes from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. With a simple clarity that illuminates the life of Christ, Madeleine L'Engle gives an eloquent voice to the miracle of God's love.