Tag: Cleaning

A New Idea for Lent 2022

Published on by Kate2 Comments

Lent is fast approaching even though it is starting so late this year! It has been quite a while since Ash Wednesday hasn’t been in February. For anyone else who is suddenly realizing that February is practically over, Ash Wednesday is on March 2, less than a week away.

The past few years I have written full length Lenten reflection journals. The Lenten journals primarily focus on praying with the ancient practice of Lectio Divina. This year, in full transparency, I was stuck. I didn’t know what to write, I didn’t feel inspired and I was struggling with what God was asking me to say, or not say. Around and around I went until Ben pulled me aside and asked what on earth was the matter with me. It took a while to find the words to express my frustration and desires. It was so good to talk to him about the problem and together, I think we found a good solution.

There is no journal this year. I am sorry for anyone who was looking forward to a new journal. The old ones are still available, still free and, hopefully, still relevant to your Lenten journey if you wish to use them. There is a new page at the top of the home page where all the Lenten journals can be found just like the Advent ones.

This isn’t to say that there won’t be some new and exciting Lenten content coming your way. While a whole new journal was overwhelming, a dedicated weekly newsletter felt much more doable and as Ben and I talked, a theme settled in my heart and I found so much peace. This is where God wanted me to focus this year.

Starting on Ash Wednesday, and then each Sunday of Lent following, there will be a post here asking you to consider one room or space in your home. How is it functioning? What purpose does it serve? What spring cleaning needs to happen here to make it a flourishing space that works in your family? Next, we will translate that physical space into a spiritual one. I help you to consider your spiritual “home” – the make up of your soul and its relationship with God. How does this aspect of your “spiritual home” work? What spring cleaning is needed? How can you spend some intentional time in this space of your spiritual life as we journey through Lent?

If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to sign up to receive an email each time I post new content. This way, you won’t miss any of these Lenten updates!

As many of you know, Ben is in the Air Force. We are thankful that he is presently home with us as the world continues to respond to the actions of Russia in Ukraine. As the situation continues to unfold, I would be grateful for your prayers for our military members and their families. Pray for their leaders, and their leaders leaders. Let us join Pope Francis’ prayer for peace:

“And now, I would like to appeal to everyone, believers and non-believers alike. Jesus taught us that the diabolical evil of violence is answered with the weapons of God, with prayer and fasting,”

“I invite everyone to make next March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting for peace. I encourage believers in a special way to devote themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.”

Pope Francis, General Audience, Feb. 23, 2022
Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

CatholicMom.com August: Making the Most

Published on by KateLeave a comment

A few months ago I started doing something new. Well, it’s really something routine done in a new way. I’ve changed how I fold towels. I know, it doesn’t sound all that astronomical, and perhaps in the grand, grand scheme it isn’t. But it has affected positive change worth reflecting on.

It occurred to me, on a rather frustrating day, “Why am I folding towels and putting them away, only to re-fold them so that they fit on the towel racks?” You see, for space saving purposes, I had been folding towels hamburger style: twice, and then in thirds. It was so satisfying to see the stacks looking neat and tidy on the shelf. But, in order for them to hang on our towel racks, they had to be completely unfolded and then re-folded in half, hot-dog style. On this day, I was trying to juggle the dirty towels in one arm while re-folding the clean towels in the other and attempting not to trip over children. It was a mess!

Finally, the thought came to me that I had a choice in this matter.

Continue reading at Catholicmom.comDaily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

Embracing Cloth: Living a Less Disposable Life

Published on by KateLeave a comment

We have recently made the decision to switch to cloth napkins. This is following a more conscious effort to create less waste in our home. Instead of reaching for paper towels, we reach for dish towels, Swedish dishcloths or cloth napkins. There are many reasons why people make this kind of choice. Environmental awareness, scientific knowledge, smaller footprint, cost savings, etc. These are important factors, to be sure. However, they aren’t our primary motivator.

Linguists know, and so do we all deep down, that the words we use shape the way we think about the world. Something as simple and basic as changing a single word or phrase in a sentence can give us a fresh perspective on any number of perceived divisions, attitudes and injustices. For example: “These people are different than I am” or “These people are similar to me.” Or the classic Catholic example, “We have to go to Mass” versus “We get to go to Mass.”

The little things can make all the difference. After watching the Netflix show Cooked Ben and I have been talking a lot about how “disposabley” minded our American culture has become. Worldwide, roughly 140,000 disposable plates and cups are thrown away every second! In one year, approximately 73 billion Styrofoam plates and cups were disposed of in the US alone. Combine this conversation with our subscription to a website called MightyNest which offers sustainable products designed to encourage people to create less harmful (primarily plastic) waste and we landed at our dinner table. Specifically our napkin holder with its ever-emptying supply of paper napkins.

Now that Eliza is capable of getting up on the table unassisted (not at the table, on the table – literally), our napkin usage has skyrocketed. John, Rosie and Clare also tend to revile dirty fingers so you can quickly see that in a single day we could easily burn through 15 or more paper napkins. Most meals included at least one if not multiple napkins per kid, and not because the napkin was unusable. It was just more convenient to grab a new one. Ridiculous! We had created napkin monsters!

Maybe this isn’t a big deal in your house, and that’s awesome! But for us, we have chosen to see this tendency as a foundational building block for a less disposabley-minded life (I know, I totally made that word up but I like it).

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Just like we are taught from the earliest ages that it is polite to say “Yes, please” and “No, thank you,” shouldn’t we be taught to be mindful of the things we use? Humans were placed on the earth not to use it or abuse it, but to be good stewards of it (see Genesis 1-2). In this way, we are helping our children (and ourselves) to be good stewards of something small, a simple napkin. But, hopefully, it will help to form their conscience in a way so that when they are called upon to be stewards of something larger, they already have a good habit pattern to follow.Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com