Last week when I posted my Sabbath Moments I spoke about the changes in my spiritual routine during the summer months and my thoughts on this subject. Every week is different during the summer months and I pretty much go with the flow. I managed to sneak out during the evening hours a couple of times. I hopped into my car, went for a little drive and prayed and sang to the Lord. I usually sing while doing my dishes but I have had a lot of kids around lately and wanted to spare their ears. After a few days of sparing their ears I was dying to get out and pour out some songs to the Lord. It brings me joy despite the fact that my singing may be off key. We can't all be a Charlotte Church! (lol)
I guess I have a little evangelist living with me. She made up little Psalm cards and handed them out to Randy and I, her grandparents, and my sister and her family. Here's a picture of mine :
This is from an old hymn by Isaac Watts and it
paraphrases Psalm 90. She must have seen this
at a bookstore we visited while at the beach. I
love Psalm 90, especially verse 12 "Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart." I guess she must have thought it would be
a good reminder to all of us to place our trust in
God.
Today I was smiling because she was telling me that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I asked her how she knew that and she replied, "Don't you pay attention to the readings at Mass, Mom? St. Paul says it all the time!" To be honest, I thought that she didn't really listen that closely to the readings. She went on to tell me that the Mass readings, Communion, and the singing were her favorite parts at Mass. I knew she loves singing because she always lifts her little voice at Mass. A few times I've even seen her place her hand over her heart while singing. Anyway, the moral of this story is:
I guess you can fidget and still pay attention at the same time : )
What a great story! A large amount of the Bible is engraved in my brain due to attending Mass as a kid. We can never underestimate what the little ones absorb. I can just imagine you driving your car and singing. Do it for as long as you have a voice. God doesn't care how it sounds because He's looking at your heart. Sing one for me, too, because He has taken my voice away. I can talk, but my vocal cords break when I sing due to a neurological problem so I've stopped trying.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI love the homemade prayer cards! And according to many of my students, they need to fidget to pay attention- go figure. That's not what the good Sisters of St Joseph used to tell us though :)
Children are a gift from God.
ReplyDeleteThe way we bring them up is our gift to Him.
God bless you and your family Mary.
Mary, I love this story. I am also amazed at what our children are absorbing. We don't always realise they are listening carefully to the homily or whatever. Our parish priest is about to leave for his annual holiday. One of the girls said, "I hope Fr Damien is coming to look after our parish for the next month. He gives great homilies." They are great homilies but also very long which doesn't seem to worry the girls!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could sing better. This morning at Mass Sophie said, "Did you hear me singing? I got into a muddle as I didn't know the tune." I told her I hadn't noticed and I didn't think God would have minded in the slightest which is perfectly true!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful daughter, Mary.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteJust when you're worrying that the things you are teaching your children are not sinking in they pleasantly surprise you :) I'm not the only one who belts out tunes in the car, am I? (Lol!) You love music, too!
Barb,
ReplyDeleteNo he doesn't care what we sound like or He would have given us all great voices :) It's the heart that matters. I didn't know that you are unable to sing - I'm sorry to hear that. That's really something to offer up because I know most people like to sing. I will sing for you, Barb - I love to sing for people and I often intercede for them in this manner.
I absorbed a lot as a child, also. More than I thought! God bless!
Karin,
ReplyDeleteI love when she does things like this :)
Monday, Michaela went to a funeral with me at the parish I grew up in. The church has those old fashioned hat clips attached to the pews and when you snap them they make a loud noise. I don't need to tell you whether she snapped it or not, do I? ;) The nuns used to tap our hands when we touched those clips! Thankfully she only snapped it once. I think she was shocked by the loud noise it made! I'm glad she did it early before the funeral started!
Thank you, Victor! God bless you and yours also!
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteThat's cute! I think the Lord must have been very pleased with Sophie's efforts!
To be honest, I get bored sometimes during very long homilies :) I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it but it's true! Of course I don't dare tell Michaela that, she'd never let me forget it. I like short to medium ones that I feel in my heart.
God bless!