Let us set out with joy upon the season of the fast, and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat. Let us purify our soul and cleanse our flesh; and as we fast from food, let us also abstain from every passion. Rejoicing in the virtues of the Spirit may we persevere with love, and so be… Continue reading Clean Monday
The Book of Joel
During this week before Great Lent begins, called "cheese week", the Church prescribes some reading from the book of Joel on Wednesday. This year the first of the 2 readings caught my attention. Centuries of tradition never ceases to amaze me. Now says the Lord your God,“Turn to Me with all your heart,With fasting, with… Continue reading The Book of Joel
Women’s Retreat Notes-Lenten Disciplines
On February 23rd I attended a women’s retreat at a local church. The title of this retreat was The Three Great Lenten Disciplines: Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer. Mother Melania from Holy Assumption Monastery in Calistoga, California was the speaker. This retreat was very much a blessing to me. I thought I’d take the time to… Continue reading Women’s Retreat Notes-Lenten Disciplines
Love Your Brother
This week during my scripture readings the Church prescribed to us 1 John. We read the whole book this week with the start of it at the end of last week. We don’t read 1 John very often but as I read it this year it really struck me. Here are the verses I was… Continue reading Love Your Brother
By the Waters of Babylon
By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down & wept, when we remembered Zion. Alleluia. https://youtu.be/d6teZcK4YZs This past Sunday (Saturday evening matins to be exact) we sang this hymn. One of 3 times in the entire year. It is part of the Lenten Triodion and only sung 3 Sundays in a row prior to… Continue reading By the Waters of Babylon
Congratulations!
On Monday I posted my celebratory post for one year of this blog! I wanted to share some goodies in honor of my 1 year! I love this spot to share my journey to joy. Getting followers is not the goal. I just want to share for His glory and honor. I want to share… Continue reading Congratulations!
Triodion
This past Sunday in the Orthodox Church we celebrated the first of the 3 Sundays leading us up to the beginning of Great Lent. This period is known as the Triodion and has a very specific set of readings and hymnography that goes along with it. It is a time of preparation that is meant… Continue reading Triodion
It’s Time to Celebrate 1 Year!
One year ago today I launched this project, my blog, with my very first post, That Feeling. I began writing because I wanted to share with the world around me this joyous feeling I get whenever the Feast Day of Pascha comes. That Feeling we get as midnight approaches on Easter. That Feeling is pure… Continue reading It’s Time to Celebrate 1 Year!
The Snowy Week
“One winter morning Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see.” ― Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day For my entire upbringing I lived in MN. Snow was just what happened in winter. We were used to it. It didn't… Continue reading The Snowy Week
I Love Bees!
Bees! Bees! Bees! I've talked about it before and you can see them all over this blog. Pictures. Quotes. I know I’ve written some about why, but I thought I’d touch on it again. Mostly because I thought it would be fun to share my pictures of bees. These beautiful creatures live a life of… Continue reading I Love Bees!
Kindler of Joy! 