This Sunday reminder we hear during Diving Liturgy...it is chanted by the reader during the singing of the Beatitudes. "Having risen from the dead on the third day, the Lord bestowed His peace upon His disciples; and having blessed them, He sent them forth, saying: lead all into My Kingdom!" I just love the fact …
Author: Susan
I am an Orthodox Christian, a deacon’s wife, a mother, and an aspiring Kindler of Joy.
Over the last year or so, I believe I’ve begun to understand, by the grace of God, where we can begin to find happiness. True happiness. My heart longs for a deeper connection to those around me and to creation. I want to feel joy not only in myself but to see it on the face of people I love and those that God brings my way.
Thus, begins my journey to become a Kindler of Joy. It is a journey, a path of learning and growing. So I’ve created my blog as a reminder to myself, daily, to open my eyes and find the beauty and joy around me.
Akathist of Thanksgiving Day 5
Music, indeed, is one thing that almost always can draw me out and up, towards Him. Towards grace and peace and light. I love music. I love to sing. All kinds of music. Whether it be church music, classical, or even Disney music. Music makes joy! And also, music can be felt in beauty. In …
Thanksgiving Day is Here
O give thanks unto to the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever! This phrase, found 6 times in scripture, fills me. We sing it nearly weekly in Matins. It makes me filled with joy and happiness in the Lord. It fills me with thankfulness. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He …
Thanksgiving Day 3
I have started noticing a habit in myself I do not like. I have begun picking up my phone to just see if I have any messages in any way, shape or form...Instagram message, email, text, any at all. It has started bothering me how often I do this and I've tried to pay attention …
Akathist of Thanksgiving Day 2
Oh! This one is one of my favorites. This beautiful hymn, as mentioned yesterday, was written in the 1930's in the midst of terrible times. Glory to God for All Things! What a tool of gratefulness, a tool to open our eyes to His beauty all around. This one here, the 2nd Kontakion and Ikos …
Akathist of Thanksgiving
In honor of it being the week of Thanksgiving I would like to share with you, each day, an excerpt from a beautiful hymn called "Glory to God for All Things". Another title is Akathist of Thanksgiving. Last year I shared the hymn in its entirety in one post. This year I want to share …
Sunny Sunday
Welcome to Sunday, the Lord's day. The day we are reminded that Christ is Risen. Everyday. He has conquered death. I love Sundays. One of my favorite parts of the hymnography for the Resurrection is that over and over again we hear how Christ has conquered death. He has brought light from darkness. It is …
New in the Shop Today!
Reminders! I am excited to introduce my 5x7 print "Reminders" for sale in the shop starting today! These 5x7 prints of various Psalms, prayers and quotes are really the heart of Kindler of Joy and key for my own "journey to joy". I want to share them with you. They are reminders of His beautiful …
Letter Writing Christmas Prep
Letter Writing Wednesday brings us to Christmas Prep! Last year I had created a tradition to bring back the good, old-fashioned idea of sending Christmas Cards in the mail! Many still do this, but many do not, thinking that social media photos and greetings are just as good. I beg to differ. Send joy! Send …
Sunny Sunday
Good morning and welcome to Sunny Sunday! Each Sunday I write and post about Resurrection hymns we sing each Saturday evening and Sunday at Liturgy. I absolutely love being able to do this. It has truly been influential in my climbing out of the darkness. And as I was trying to come up with a …
