Thankful Thursday: Lenten Edition

This year I gave up spending time on the computer for Lent, except for a brief glance at my email before bed and some therapeutic blogging on Sundays, and it has proved to be the perfect sacrifice for me. I didn't realize how much time I spend surfing the net, checking and rechecking my email, and just plain wasting time. I am trying to use all that extra time tidying my house, as well as my soul. Lent is the perfect time for deep-cleaning those areas in my house that I tend to avoid like the plague. It is also the perfect time to do some soul searching for areas within that need to be scrubbed, reorganized or thrown-out altogether. God has gently been revealing those areas to me, giving me a whole new litany of thanks...

• learning I need to focus less on me, more on Him, and seek ways to be "little" like St. Therese


• Natey's wild, red, spiky hair after naptime


• the tangible graces in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; the gift of a holy priest giving Spirit-filled advice and God-given absolution


• the smell of white chili cooking in my kitchen


• the feel of needle and thread through fabric--the final stitches on a Mary quilt (finally made for our own wall this time)


• our one-year-old's terrifying T-rex sound that melts my heart


• the boys and I giving Mary a bouquet of roses each morning as we drive to school


• a blanket of snow, and warm blankets covering me in my bed


• the smell of Mop and Glow and knowing my floors are clean (if only for an instant)


• the Burger King play area (the place for the boys to get exercise in the winter)


• Paul training the boys to do dishes every night after dinner


• making a home-cooked meal everyone likes (french toast casserole...mmm!)


• morning stillness as I spend time with Paul and then with Jesus for prayertime


• our Christmas gift to each other finally arrived---a custom framed portrait of Jesus to grace our dining room, a reminder that He is with us always


• phone calls with friends (you know who you are!): my supply-line for joy each week


• Jenny's baby BOY growing beautifully, stretching her womb, her faith, her heart


• sleeping in a few extra minutes and listening to the sound of little people chattering with their daddy


• Michael reminding us to pray on the way to school


• pizza night with friends


• remembering the lost art of letter-writing and hoping it brings joy to the receiver (my grandma)


• nighttime prayer-picnic as a family


• Nathanael fully transitioned into one nap, giving mommy quiet time to pray and get things done in the afternoon


• Paul looking so fine in his leather flight-jacket


• fields of last year's golden wheat embraced by smokey blue, snow-capped mountains


• Bob Ward's end of the season ski sale: my first pair of new skis and boots!!!


• night skiing with my boys


• sun shining through stained glass


• Natey dancing circles in my kitchen


• setting up the tent in our living room for the boys' first sleep-over with a friend


• the simple joy of bowling


• praying the Stations of the Cross as a family


• little boys sticking to the their Lenten sacrifices (out-disciplining their mommy!)


• Paul and I consecrating ourselves to Jesus through Mary this Lent, using St. Louis de Montford's beautiful guide: "Total Consecration"

May your walk through the desert this Lent be filled with unexpected graces and deep cleaning too!