Texas Catholic Summer Camp

Did you know there is a Catholic Summer Camp in Texas?  And that it is the only co-ed ACA accredited Catholic camp in the Southwest?  And that it looks REALLY fun!  Watching this video of The Pines Catholic Camp made me want to be a kid again so I could go to summer sleep away camp.

(Are you singing now?  I know I am.)

Since I'm not a kid, I'm doing the next best thing to attending The Pines Catholic summer camp - I'm sending two of my kids. This will be their first summer sleep away camp experience and they couldn't be more excited (except for a little worry about being homesick). To make it even better, they are going to The Pines with their cousins, Shelly's girls.  Double excitement!!

After I discovered The Pines online, I asked my friends on Facebook if any of them had experience with the camp.  Social media came through in a big way and my inbox was overloaded with nothing but positive, personal recommendations for The Pines Catholic Camp.  Evidently, many Aggie Catholics volunteer at the camp over the summer and a few friends are former camp counselors.

A friend of mine from my parish told me her middle school daughter returned from The Pines last summer with a new attitude and a greater love for God and the Church.   I'm excited about the idea of my children attending a camp that will not only be loads of camp fun but give them the opportunity to bond with other Catholics and deepen their faith at the same time.

If you haven't signed your kids up for a week long Summer Camp and live within driving distance to the piney woods of Texas, check out The Pines Catholic Camp.  The campsite is located in the town of Big Sandy, just two hours east of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, four hours from Houston and four and a half hours from Austin, TX.  They still have 2013 Texas Catholic summer camp availability for most kids ranging from entering 2nd grade through 11th grade.  

Lisa Jones

Who knows, maybe our kids will share a cabin!

Matthew 13:43 – Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

How to Teach Children to Pray the Rosary

Teaching Kids to Pray the Rosary

This month of Mary, we are reminded of the importance and power of praying the rosary.  Children may often feel overwhelmed with the complexity of praying the rosary since it is made up of many prayers.   Not only do they need to remember several prayers but also what order to pray, how many times and have a decent attention span.  That might seem like a lot to ask of elementary age children or younger.  However, through teaching my own children, I have realized that repetition, explanation and patience are the key.

In my third grade religious education class, our lesson calls for us to teach the children about the rosary.  Rather than simply explaining the rosary to my third grade class, we take the time to pray the rosary together as a class.  Through trial and error, I’ve come up with 8 tips to help you teach praying the rosary to kids in a religious education class setting.

1.    Prepare a handout with the words of the prayers they will need. Even if they know the prayers, it is helpful for them to see the words in front of them in the beginning.

2. Go over the mechanics of praying the rosary; which prayers, when and how many times. I also use a handout with a diagram of the rosary with prayers listed.

3. Explain that we pray the rosary at the urging of our Heavenly Mother and that our purpose is to meditate on the mysteries of Jesus’ Life, Death and Resurrection. It can be helpful to have a book with the pictures and description of the scripture to pray with each decade.

4. Before handing out the rosaries, instruct them in the proper respect and reverence we show toward any sacramental, especially a rosary. Do not expect them to know this. I missed this step the first time and quickly realized how important is can be with young kids.

5. Devise a way for the children to take turns reciting the prayers: go around the room with each prayer for a different child, or have one child recite all 10 Hail Mary’s in a row. Don’t be afraid to change it up mid-stream if it isn’t working for the class. 

6. Take it slow. Answer questions, offer explanations as needed. Some of the kids will be very familiar with the prayers and the rosary and for others, this might be their first real introduction.

7. Only pray as much or as little as works for your class and age. My first time teaching the prayer, I anticipated only praying through one decade, but the class was doing well and paying attention so we kept going and completed the prayer. 

8. Pray for patience and guidance and invite the Holy Spirit to guide your instruction.

Just remember, teaching kids to pray the rosary is about inspiring them with your love of Jesus and for his mother, Mary.  Trust in God, ask for His guidance, be patient, and pray.  

Lisa Jones

How do you teach kids to pray the rosary?  What tips would you add?

Finding God in Random MOMents of Grace

Shelly and I are so thrilled to be part of the Blog Tour for fellow CatholicMom.com contributor, Ginny Kubitz Moyer’s new book, Random MOMents of Grace.   When I read the tagline of the book – Experience God in the Adventures of Motherhood – I knew this was a book for me.  All moms know the crazy that is motherhood and how hard it can be to carve out a little one on one time with God with little people running around. 

Ginny has an absolutely beautiful way of weaving personal, mom stories into the bigger spiritual picture.  We are all living our faith in the way we minister to our families, it can just be a little difficult to see at times while we are sleep deprived in the midst of it. 

The first sentence I underlined in the book was during the introduction – 

“The ability to find God everywhere, even in places like toy-strewn living rooms, is a spiritual muscle that has been a bit flabby up until now.”

That put a huge smile on my face.  What a great way to think of it.  I mean, who hasn’t fallen asleep while trying to have quiet time with God at the end of a long day?  Why does it have to be quiet and alone time when we reach out to Him?  Motherhood means needing to recognize God working in our lives in ways we don’t expect or haven’t seen before. 

The back of the book states in part, 

"For any mom wondering if it’s possible to be fully engaged in the lives of her children without sacrificing her spirituality, Random MOMents of Grace offers a definitive “yes” as it shows moms how to see God’s grace at work in even the silliest, messiest, and most frustrating moments of motherhood.”

Ginny accomplishes this task in spades.  She writes as if she is a personal friend sharing her joys, frustrations, hopes and spiritual dreams with you.  There were many moments when I cried (as only a mom does) because I recognized the same worry, concern or revelation in my own life and other times when I smiled and laughed thinking she knows my children. 

I didn’t want to rush through this book, but wanted to savor the stories and wisdom shared in its pages.   This became my “carpool line” book that enticed me to leave the house a little early so I could spend daylight time reading it.

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching and this book would be an excellent gift for all moms with kids underfoot wishing they could dedicate more time to their spiritual life.  And, if you run over to Loyola Press' website right now, you can get a special price until May 5, 2013.  Shhh, don’t tell Shelly, but I’ve got her a copy on the way. 

Thank you Ginny for giving other mothers and me this book.  It is refreshing to hear you voice some of the same concerns, frustrations and joys of parenting that we all face with grace that only God can bring.  I love being reminded to look for God working in the midst of the chaos of motherhood.  He is there always in little ways that we sometimes miss. 

Lisa Jones

from "Random MOMents of Grace"

Claim Your Joy

Do you ever wonder if God works in your life?  I know I’m always looking for signs of Him around me.  One day, I told a friend that I needed to be more Joyful in my life.  My focus was distracted by  misdirection that was getting me down.  The words flowed from my mouth as I walked out the door at attend Mass that Friday morning.  Lo and behold.  God had a plan for me.

The Gospel reading at Mass was John 16:20-23. 

Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

As I read the Gospel immediately before Mass began, my focus pulled to John 16:23, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”  There was much on my mind and heart that I felt I should be giving up to God at that time.  Here was what I needed to hear, or so I thought. 

John 16:23

 In his homily, Father John instead picked out John 16:22 to speak on, “no one will take your joy away from you.”  As soon as he pointed out verse 22, I was stunned I hadn't noticed the word Joy, especially in light of my conversation that morning.

John 16:22

Father John told us that our Joy is a gift from God.  Joy is different than just happiness.  Joy comes from knowing God is triumphant, from knowing He is working in our lives.  We have Joy even when things aren’t going well because God is always with us, working within us.  Our Joy that bubbles inside is due to the Spirit of the Lord bubbling inside of us.

Our Joy cannot be taken away from us, though at times we will surrender it.  It is always there for us, just as God is always there for us.  It is up to us to claim our Joy and recognize that God triumphs. 

Wow.  What a message.  It was as though God inspired Father John’s words just for me to hear.  I was once again reminded that God still sendsAngels to give us messages. 

That day I heard loud and clear that I needed to claim my Joy and recognize God working in my life.

Lisa Jones

Sisters of Mary on GSN American Bible Challenge

The American Bible Challenge season two

Last August, GSN introduced a new game show titled, “The American Bible Challenge” hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy where teams compete by answering questions based on the best-selling book of all time, The Holy Bible.  Instead of playing for personal riches, cash prizes are awarded to charitable organizations selected by the teams. The questions are posed in an entertaining and humorous way, ranging from the (seems to be) obvious to the obscure. 

If you’re one of the over 13 million viewers who tuned in last fall, you might be excited to know that Season 2 premieres tomorrow night, Thursday, March 21, at 8 p.m. central time.

Sneak previews available online reveal that a trio of habited sisters from The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, will compete as Team Sisters of Mary, for retired sisters of the order.  In the previews, Sister Peter Joseph (novice), Sister Maria Suso (professed sisters) and Sister Evangeline (novice) bear happy smiles even as the tattoo artists “Anointed Ink” from my hometown are faster on the buzzer.   (Start at 5:22 in the below video)

 

I’m looking forward to seeing the whole episode tomorrow night because each team always has a moving story on what being Christian means to them. I also can’t wait to see how the Sisters rise to the challenge and how the other teams respond to competing against them.

 Check out the sisters in the Season 2 preview here: http://youtu.be/CwRK4T5lBg4