New {Liturgical} Year Resolutions

I don't always set New Year's Resolutions-do you?  I do however like to start something new with the Seasons of Advent and Lent- times that the Church invites us to reset, slow down, and go deeper in our faith.

Advent is my favorite Liturgical Season.  I think its the waiting, the hope, the fulfilled promises.  Last year on the first Sunday of Advent, I decided to formalize something I had been doing in prayer and study already.  I wrote:
"Scripture doodling. That's what I'm calling it anyways.  It helps me focus, helps me memorize, and helps me treasure God's Word.  I often spend time doodling on Sundays using the Sunday Readings from Mass.  Today, as I sat down to pray, I realized that the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new Liturgical Year, is a great time for, well, a new year's resolution.  So I've decided to be a little more intentional about this idea.  I broke out an unused journal, labeled the top of each page with all the coming Sundays this year, and started today.  My goal is to spend time meditating on the Readings for each Sunday for the rest of the year and doodle a selected verse every week.  I'll be documenting the journey each Sunday on Instagram using the hashtag #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodle.  Come follow along, and jump in if you like!"

And I did it!  Each Sunday, I handlettered a verse from one of the Sunday Mass Readings.  The hardest part was often the choosing- there is so much rich text that deciding which verse to use was tough!

It made me slow down and read the Readings both before and after Sunday.  It also helped me ensure that I took time in Scripture each Sunday, which is a busy day for a church employee.

I usually left the notebook open to that page all week, letting myself dwell on that Scripture and memorize a lot of them.  I'm a visual learner, so the images and lettering helped the words stick in my head.

 I also kept a running list of prayer intentions and praises on the back of that week's Scripture doodle.  It was a reminder to pray, and now it remains as a reminder of God's provision.

My notebook traveled all over with me (literally, across the country) and was frequently thrown in my purse or bag.  It survived well, and will stay on my prayer table as something I treasure.  If you're interested, I used a ruled 5 x 8.5 soft cover moleskine (affiliate link).  It had enough pages for each Sunday as long as I used both sides of the heavy coverpages in the front and the back.
(And after some readers asked, a few of my favorite pens include these, these, and these.) (affiliate links)

I saw this as an artistic activity to help me stretch and learn new lettering styles.  But it certainly isn't reserved for the "artistic."  There is something about writing that helps our brain process and remember text. If you want to join in, your own handwriting and favorite pens are enough to doodle and reflect on the verses you choose.

I'm so glad that I made this New Liturgical Year Resolution, and I am ready with a fresh notebook to begin again this Sunday.  I'd love to have you join me!  Sit down, doodle, pray, and reflect on the beauty of the Sunday Mass Readings.  Then snap a photo and tag me or #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodle so I can follow along with your journey!

I just posted a few of my favorites in the photos above.  Here's a montage of all 52 Scripture Doodles.  You can see them all up close on my Instagram account or by searching #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodles. Do you see a favorite?

Keeping Advent, Advent

I LOVE Advent.  The preparing, the waiting, the hope, the peaceful promise.

Do you want to keep Advent, Advent in your home or classroom?  Here are some ideas for you to use with your kiddos to keep and celebrate the season of Advent:


Looking for music to keep you in the season?  Check out this Advent Song Playlist:

And videos are always a great addition in the classroom:

Make a Peg Doll Nativity:

Or this All Natural Peg Doll Nativity:

And some Animals for a Peg Doll Nativity:

Printable Advent Candles for an Advent Wreath:

What Advent Looks Like printable:

What Christmas Looks Like printable:

Or the whole Liturgical Year coloring book:

Wandering Wise Men: 
An alternate activity to Elf on the Shelf, I used the Wise Men from our classroom Nativity to emphasize the waiting and preparing and seeking that is required of us during Advent.  Click on the images to go to the posts with 15 different ideas.

   

O Antiphon Coloring Book, Mini Book, and Ornaments:

Seeking our Savior: An Advent Detective Journey based on Scripture, showing how Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ.  Printable coloring book, Scripture cards, mini craft projects, and a leaders guide.

 Advent Jeopardy Trivia games here and here.

 Party Like a Saint- A December-Saint-Themed Advent Party with crafts and games.

What if they had email?  Youth Group Advent lesson idea putting the Christmas story in a new perspective.

 A Stocking For Jesus: Activities to go along with the book, including some Advent printables.

Nativity Photo Booth, putting all of those Nativity play costumes and props to good use!

Advent Prayer Ring- Great for Youth Groups or Bible Studies:

My Gift- An Epiphany Readers' Theater:

Journaling Coloring Pages for each Sunday of Lent:

How will you be keeping Advent this year?

Linking up with the Siena Sisters Blog Hop- Go check out our landing page for more ideas on keeping Advent, Advent.

Our All Saints Day + My New Favorite Gift Idea

This post contains affiliate links and a review in exchange for a free product from Dolls from Heaven.  All opinions are totally my own, and I only recommend things that I love and think you might love too!  Affiliate links just mean that if you make a purchase through my link I get a tiny percentage at no cost to you.  Thanks for supporting my little blog!

Our All Saints Day looked a little different than your average school day- it is a Solemnity after all!  

My students were greeted by this message on the homework board and they were a little excited. (maybe more than a little).  But what did we do all day if we weren't doing regular classwork?

-Went to Mass (of course)

-Had extra time to work on our service project (which they love) while listening to some great Saint stories like those from Glory Stories and Hobo for Christ

-Prayed our Litany of the Saints

-Finished our discussion of All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day

-Checked out the final display of our All Saints Art (picture below- didn't they turn out great?)

Can you guess all these Saints?

And we spent a chunk of our day reading awesome books about the Saints.  We have quite the classroom collection of Saint books (check out some of my favorites here), but our days are busy and the kids don't often get time to explore our little Saint library.  On All Saints Day, I set aside two big chunks of time for the students to self select and independently read any of the Saint books they wanted to.  They enjoyed spreading out all over the room and getting to discover some new info and new heavenly friends.  Many of them brought along a saintly reading buddy, like our mini statues, or Fr. Juan Pablo and Sr. Mary Clara.  They also had the opportunity to read with St. Joan of Arc, a beautiful doll I brought in to share with them for just this occasion.

Dolls from Heaven is a small family owned company that is striving to create holy dolls for families. They currently offer two 18" dolls, St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Joan of Arc, along with books, clothes, and accessories. Dolls from Heaven kindly sent me their new Joan of Arc doll and book to try out with my students.


When Joan arrived, I was so impressed.  After hearing about Dolls from Heaven, I was already excited, so my expectations were set pretty high.  I wasn't disappointed- everything was beautifully done and very high quality.  The Joan doll is lovely and made to last.  She has vinyl arms, legs, and head and a soft body, and she can be posed and stand on her own.  All of her clothing, the pieces of her armor, and boots were very well made and the velcro closures would make easy to change her outfits.

Joan came with a very nice soft cover book which is an adapted version of Mark Twain's Joan of Arc biography.   Because of the sophisticated language and length, I would place the reading level of the book around 7th grade, but it could certainly be enjoyed by younger children as a read aloud or when paired with discussion while reading independently.  I love the idea of giving the book with the doll so that the child can get to know the life and characteristics of the person who inspired their new toy.

And that's really why I think Dolls from Heaven is such a good idea and such a wonderful gift; they have created toys that kids will love AND that will inspire them to holy play.  Children learn through action and imitation, so we need to give them opportunities to play, create, think, and try elements of the faith in a way they will understand.  A beautiful doll inspired by someone like St. Joan of Arc is the perfect companion for a little girl who is learning to emulate qualities of virtue, strength, and prayer.

So what did my students think of Joan?  They all agreed she was pretty cool! :)  They assumed I had purchased a doll and then dressed her up myself to look like Joan of Arc, so they were impressed to discover that there was a company specially making Saint dolls like her.  They loved her outfit, and she was a frequent reading companion throughout the week with boys and girls alike.  Personally, I know that my six-seven-eight-nine-year-old self would have been ridiculously excited to receive a doll like her.

Joan is leaving my classroom today, and she is on to her next adventure.  I plan to use her as a gift for my goddaughter who just happens to be a big fan of St. Joan of Arc.  As a godmother, I try to take my role of praying for and guiding my godchild seriously, and I think that good gift giving can be part of my job.  :)  Well intentioned spiritual gifts that inspire holy play and learning are a wonderful way for a godparent (or aunt or grandparent...) to help develop the faith life of the kids we care the most about.  This is a doll set you can feel good about giving a child, knowing that you are inspiring them to grow into the person they were born to become, just like the Saints before us.

~ ~ ~

We all know that it's gift shopping season, so Dolls from Heaven is offering a discount code for their Joan doll, book, and accessories exclusively for Look to Him and Be Radiant readers.
Use code RADIANT for 10% off from now until November 19, 2016.  Happy shopping!

You can check out more about Dolls from Heaven here:

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The Liturgical Year Coloring Book

Can you believe that it is almost the end of the Liturgical Year?  (Gasp!) Only three Sundays left until the start of Advent.  This is the perfect time of year to review the structure and rhythm of the Liturgical Calendar and the beauty of each individual season.  Last year, I made some coloring pages called "What is Advent?" etc. with some of the signs and symbols of each season to start discussions with my students.  This year I'm a bit more organized and have them all combined into one coloring book with a calendar on the cover.  We'll use this to talk about the Seasons now and throughout the rest of the school year.  Click on either picture to download and print the coloring book for yourself.

Here are what the pages inside look like:

Hope you savor the remaining weeks of this Liturgical Year, and the Year of Mercy!