Share in the adventures!
You know, last August, I stayed away from my computer (this blog, at least) even though my fingers twitched like crazy. Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy was asked his position on gay marriage and he politely stated that he believed in the Biblical definition of marriage which is one man and one woman. [Read more...]
Today is the last day to register for the Orthodox Education Webinar that will be happening tomorrow! Illumination Learning and Orthodox Christian Network has prepared a fantastic learning experience for all of us! I can’t wait to listen to the other speakers!
The theme of the conference is “Enriching our Church School Classrooms”, but I’ll be talking a lot about what should be happening inside an Orthodox Home (mine first among them!). We’ll talk about what a home church is and some important characteristics of it. I’m a firm believer in our children first and foremost attending the Divine Liturgy (and other services) and Sunday School being a fundamental supplement to those church experiences.
Many times, we put all of the responsibility of our children’s spiritual education on the Sunday School teachers and that’s not fair or realistic considering they only see them once a week. So, we’ll talk about what our responsibilities are and how to lay a firm foundation for their spiritual growth and thus preparing them to really learn what their Sunday School teachers work so hard to teach them.
Attendants will also enter to win this Spiritual First Aid Kit I put together. As I was putting it together, I thought it would also make a nice housewarming gift, maybe when a family has their first house blessing or something. 
It contains:
If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here. Hope to “see” you all there tomorrow!
Conferences generate a great deal of excitement and motivation. Orthodox conferences take that to an even higher level, by not only presenting us with new tools and resources, but by encouraging us in our struggle. They make us eager to push forward and reignite our zeal.
The only problem is it’s not always easy to attend one. Whether you have a work schedule to plan around or children that need you at home, there usually seem to be at least a few hoops to jump through. And if you can work around those things, there are the costs of travel, etc. that need to be taken care of as well.
That’s why I am really excited about the upcoming Webinar put on by the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) and Illumination Learning! It’s a one day seminar that you can attend from the comfort of your own home. You’ll have the opportunity to download and print out various resources provided by the different speakers, ask questions directly from your keyboard and interact as though you were in the same room. How neat is that?
Save the date: March 9, 2013
Time: 12:00-3:00 EST
The theme of the webinar is “Enriching Our Church School Classrooms”. There are five other speakers, not including myself, and we’ll be talking about lots of ways to improve our Sunday Schools so that our children can receive as much knowledge about our faith as possible.
I’ll be talking about what happens next. My session is entitled: Bringing Christ Home: Overcoming Sunday Christian Syndrome; the importance of reinforcing what is taught in church and Sunday School at home. We’ll be discussing why this is vital to your child’s spiritual life and sharing practical examples on how to accomplish this.
What happens after our kids leave Sunday School? What if there is no Sunday School where you live? How do we bridge the gap between church and home and make Christ feel real everywhere, not just in church or the classroom? I’ll be giving some easy and practical ideas on how to instruct our children in the faith at home. I’ll also be hosting a fun giveaway! So be sure to join us!
Registration opens on February 16!
Early bird registration is $29.99 from Feb. 16 – 23, 2013.
Registration after Feb. 23rd is $39.99.
Sign up and join us for a day of learning. I’m so excited to hear from the other speakers and everyone attending! I hope to see you there!
for those of you who are knitters or crocheters, i thought you might want to check out this fun knitting/crocheting challenge that is happening over at design*sponge.
they’re asking readers to post photos, over the next three weeks, on instagram of any works-in-progress, along with the final result. the winner will receive a lion brand gift card! fun, huh?
i know i’ll be joining in and matushka emma of charming the birds from the trees has been knitting some gorgeous pieces lately, so i tagged her and am hoping her and some of my other favorite instagram knitters will be joining as well.
check out all the details here.
follow me on instagram @theprude.
the weather lately has been so crazy here. one week it’s freezing and down in the teens at night and then the following week it’s in the high 70′s. the past few days have felt more like spring than winter and it makes me wonder if winter is going to show up this year or not.
yesterday, the boys and i played outside for awhile and ace convinced me to dust off my old bike and take them up the street. i’ve always loved riding my bike and didn’t realize how long it had been. once the babies started coming, i sort of gave it up. we moved on to regular walks and wagon rides. or the big boys would ride their bikes and i would push the stroller alongside them. but man, i had so much fun yesterday that i am off to wal-mart today to buy a new basket and am planning to enjoy my old huffy for as long as the weather allows.
it’s the sort of weather that makes me want to pull out my gardening gloves and dig in the dirt. i did pull out my seed catalog this morning and make a list of what we want to plant soon. Every year we order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. i love this company. they sell pure heirloom seeds and everything we’ve ever ordered from them has turned out terrific. it’s important to me to know what kind of seeds i’m getting. we make such an effort to buy organic and i think it’s equally important to make sure what we’re growing is just as good. baker creek fights for pure seeds and that is something that is very important to me.
we’ll also be adding some eggs to the incubator in a few days so that we have lots of new spring chickens! the boys always look forward to that and this is the first year sprout will actually know what’s going on. i can’t wait.
lucky has been busy painting the sidewalk with these awesome sidewalk paints we got in one of our wonderboxes. they are so cool!
as soon as ours run out, i’m definitely going to try some of the recipes to make your own. the paint is also great because it takes longer to actually draw with it and my boys always seems to scrape their chalk down to a stub so fast and then the fun is over. and the paint dries really nice, too. the boys had so much fun with it.
i think we’ll be pulling out the bubbles later today. springtime and bubbles just go together, don’t they? by the way, have you guys seen this commercial? It makes me smile.
what are some of your favorite things to do in the spring?
last week, i posted about having to share my favorite chair at starbucks with a guy who had fallen asleep in it, only to wake up hours later, asking for his coffee to be refreshed and to begin bragging about the wild night he had the night before. at the time, i was half amused/half annoyed by the scene he caused and i posted about it.
luckily for me, i have readers who care about me and what i work to accomplish as an Orthodox blogger. i’ve said in the past how much i love getting feedback from all of you-and i do. even when it’s to straighten me out. this afternoon, i got such a loving email from a reader telling me how that post seemed to have ‘missed it’s mark’ on this blog. and you know what? deep down i knew that. it just felt good to make light of it for a moment. though, truth be told, the joke was really on me. shame on me.
over and over again i say how thankful i am for the community of incredible people this blog has brought into my life, and i mean it more than ever at times like this. you all are such a blessing in my life and i am so thankful that you care enough to reach out when you think i need it. thank you sincerely.
you know, i say all the time that this blog has transpired into the exact opposite of what i intended when i started it. i sought advice and encouragement from other orthodox brothers and sisters and i am always completely caught off guard when others say they come here for that very same reason.
so, i must ask forgiveness from all of you who read that post. from all of you who i brought down with my own stumble.
a true christian would have felt pity for that man and found a way to help. i simply made a joke out of it. which should be a constant reminder to all of you that i am much more imperfect than this blog may sometimes depict. i definitely do not always make the right decisions or react the way i know i should. i stumble, i fall, i downright bite the dust sometimes. and no matter how careful i try to be at not bringing you down with me, sometimes i know i do. and i am truly sorry for that.
Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Thomais of Lesvos. Before we continue with her story, I want to insert a little disclaimer of sorts here. I am in no way condoning domestically abusive relationships. I simply wanted to post this incredible story of patience and long-suffering.
Those of us in today’s society have, well tarnished views on what a true loving relationship should consist of. Movies, advertisements, song lyrics and more are constantly “telling us” how our men are supposed to behave. They must buy us extravagant gifts on birthdays and holidays, constantly remind us of how absolutely wonderful we are, take us on exotic trips “just because”. And perhaps, the most important rule of all, they must always, always give heartfelt apologies with handpicked flowers and/or Godiva chocolate regardless of who is at fault (because we all know it’s usually him). I mean, by husband does none all of those things, doesn’t yours?
Sure, some of those things are nice gestures, but is that really what love is? Personally, there’s not one thing listed there that means anything to me. If I wanted expensive presents, flowers or chocolates, I could just as easily go get them myself. After three children and over eleven years of marriage, my understanding of “love” has changed drastically. Why is there very little value accredited to the husband who simply respects his wife, loves her unconditionally or allows her to worship freely! Or on the husband who supports his family, makes time for his wife and children, and creates a safe, stable and happy atmosphere in the home? Or the one who tenderly takes care of his wife when she’s sick? I want a person to grow old with, someone who will never betray me or belittle me. Someone who will try his best to support me in my pursuits, even if he really doesn’t understand them. These are the things that matter to me. I don’t care if my husband publicly worships me while completely neglecting me and my family at home. I don’t care if he showers me with gifts other girls would be envious of. It’s simply not the life, let alone the type of husband, we should want.
Granted, my darling hubby can sit in a room full of ninety year old women and nag with the best of them, the feeling comparable to being pecked to death by chickens. And sure, I’ve hit my head on the cupboards he leaves open in the middle of the night that I’ve asked him repeatedly to close, and I’ll admit he drives me crazy when he tells me to get off of my phone or the computer. But regardless of whatever pet peeves I may have with him, he is still such a blessing in my life. Whenever he encourages me to “fight the good fight”, whenever he pushes me to do more spiritually, whenever we stand together in prayer with our family, I breathe a sigh of thanks to God for giving me someone that values the importance of a Christian-upbringing as much as I do. I thank God every day for giving me a man who loves Him more than me. I love my husband to death and wouldn’t change one thing about him. He wouldn’t be him, if I did. [Read more...]
Some of you may remember the CD by Unfading Rose that I raved about awhile back. Well, I have a copy to give away! [Read more...]
for the past five years we’ve had swaps for the kiddos. our mailboxes overflow with fun little packages filled with beautiful little pieces to hand on our trees handmade by our precious little ones. and every year i get people emailing me asking if they can join even though they don’t have kids. the reason for this is, of course, it’s fun to swap and no matter how old you are it’s fun getting packages in the mail. so, this year, after some facebook encouragement, i decided to organize an adult swap and see how it goes. if it goes well, i’ll add it to the list of other annual traditions. if not, at least we tried!
first rule is: you don’t have to be an orthodox mom to participate. i’m opening this swap to whoever wants to participate!
second rule is: the swap package needs to total a minimum of $20.00 to keep it fair.
third rule is: package must be postmarked by thursday, december 13.
the theme is Christmas Traditions. {thanks to Jennifer of Illumination Learning for the theme suggestion. I <3 it!} I think this is a fabulous way to share a bit of ourselves and things we love with each other. Don’t you?
packages could include one of your favorite books or movies.
you should also include a note explaining why the contents of your package are a favorite christmas tradition for you.
another thing you can do is include a favorite recipe and cookie cutter.
i think the best way to come up with ideas is to first write down all of your favorite traditions. then read through your list and decide what you can expand on for your package.
be creative! just please keep the minimum cost in mind.
If you’re interested, please be sure to include all of the information listed below:
email your name, favorite things or hobbies, if you’re Orthodox or not, address and the ages of your children if you have, to Sylvia{at}OrthodoxMom{dot}com. I’m asking more personal questions for this swap to make it as personalized to your personality and lifestyle as possible!
PLEASE put “THE TRADITION EXCHANGE” in the subject line so you’re email doesn’t get lost in my inbox!
Deadline for sign-ups is December 7, 2012.
We had such a great time with the October photo challenge that I thought we’d try it again for the month of December!
If you’re on Instagram or Facebook, you saw lots of awesome pics. I was so amazed by everyone’s creativity and am still planning on posting my favorites…at some point. :/
My favorite part of these challenges is that it forces you to take a ‘time-out’. To just stop. Even if only for a moment, to stop and take in the beauty around us. To appreciate some small gift in our lives each day of the month. <3
So here’s how this is going to go down.
If you’re on Instagram, I’m @ThePrude. Tag me in your photos and use the #orthodoxmomphotoaday hashtag. If you’re on Facebook, upload them to your profile page and tag me in them or upload them directly to my blog’s facebook page.
Last time, I created a list of my own but this time I am going to use this one from A Content Housewife because most of the list I started to create really resembled hers anyway and hers is way prettier.
So, let me know if you’ll be playing along this time! I can’t wait to see all of your awesome holiday photos! Have fun and appreciate every moment! They are all blessings…
I'm just another Orthodox mom trying to get it right and enjoying life's perfect imperfections along the way.
Contact me at Sylvia{at}OrthodoxMom{dot}com. [Read More …]
"Each person must bear the weaknesses of others. Who is perfect? Who can boast that he has kept his heart undefiled? Hence, we are all sick, and whoever condemns his brother does not perceive that he himself is sick, because a sick person does not condemn another sick person."
-Elder Ephraim of Philotheou & Arizona
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