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I am soooooo happy the warmer weather is here,
but I am going to miss the structure the school year provides.
I’m looking forward to time on the beach, at my favorite park (it is so peaceful there), morning coffee out on the deck and time at Eucharistic Adoration.
Eucharistic Adoration has been on my mind and heart lately, and I am thinking a regular scheduled visit would be one way to put structure in our family’s summer vacation.
Five Presents You Can Open in His Presence is a blog post I wrote about Adoration
Not only do I see value in time away from a screen; I see value in time close to Our Lord.
As a mom of 3 young children ( my oldest is 5), I don’t get much down time.
And, I must admit, the smart phone culture has sucked me in. I must confess, I look at my phone more than a healthy amount.
That distraction creates a lot of noise in our lives.
The problem I am facing, and maybe you and your family are facing too, is that I can not hear God if I do not hear silence.
The value of silence is so important. This video, The Value of Silence (click to watch video), featuring Father Mike Schmitz is short and full of information and wisdom!
So, I want to be intentional and really enjoy my time with Jesus.
I started thinking about creating an Adoration Bag – or Prayer Bag and I got really excited!
A bag I can bring to Adoration and use to prayer journal, meditate, read – or possibly not open at all.
A bag I can bring out on the deck with me in the morning with my coffee.
A bag I can bring to the beach if I ever get there alone.
A bag I can bring to the park while I enjoy God’s creation.
My bag was made by RoseSewsbyJennifer check out her Etsy shop!
As part of my excitement about the idea of a prayer bag, I started to brainstorm: what I would put in my bag?
and what would be put in my husband or a teenager’s or even my 5 year old’s prayer bag.
This is what I came up with!
Here are my suggestions for what to put in your Adoration/Prayer bag!
Women:
A prayer journal
I actually love to use an old fashioned composition book (or as I call it a Marble Notebook)
Looking for a more guided journal? Check out: 10 Best Journals for Busy Women
Inspirational coloring pages – here’s a free one from me if you subscribe to Prayer Wine Chocolate: Love is kind coloring page
A book about faith (the ones on my summer reading list are):
The Rosary : The Prayer that Saved My Life by Immaculee Ilibagiza
The Other Side of Beauty by Leah Darrow
One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler
The bag: Tote Bags by RoseSewsbyJennifer
The idea of a “prayer bag is not just for women”! Here are some suggestions for men, teens and children too!
Men:
Pen and pencils
Spiritual Readings
(A Manual for Spiritual Warfare;
The Bag: Vanlison Crossbody Bag
Teen and Tween Boys:
Boys, from my experience, do not enjoy writing as much as girls. Encouraging a young man to sketch what he sees in the chapel will help him quiet his mind.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi first described this phenomenon as flow: a few moments in time when you are so completely absorbed by an activity that nothing else seems to matter.
Perhaps it won’t be a long moment, but some time to forget whatever might be stressing him out or worrying him . . . will go away. The hope is in that moment of silence, He will hear God’s voice; or at least, walk away spiritually, mentally and emotionally refreshed.
Although I am still working on a boy’s version of Be Yourself; this book (Lectio Divina for Teens) may be a great tool for your son or God son this summer.
This prayer journal is all about learning to “read” God’s letter to you in the Scriptures, using an ancient prayer method known as lectio divina. In the pages of this journal, you’ll get a crash course in lectio divina, and then you’ll have a chance to practice it yourself. The seven guided meditation sessions provide readers with the following pre-selected readings – some topics include “Depend on God”, True Friendship and “Seek the Lord”. The full text of each reading is provided right in the journal. In addition, the introduction walks readers through the process of lectio divina using Psalm 23, and a list of additional Scripture texts is provided in the back of the book so that readers can choose their own readings for the seven blank guided journal entries.
The bag: CrossBody Bag
Teen and Tween Girls
Full of prayer prompts and coloring pages galore. Some content is light, some is more deep. Depending on a her mood, she can choose what to do that hour. I strongly believe the freedom to go anywhere in the book will make her prayer experience more fruitful.
Lots of gel pens and colored pencils.
Pictures, scrapbook supplies and stickers. The Be Yourself Journal has a two page spread that encourage girls to design their own prayer room; the back of the journal is blank so that it can be personalized and there are quite a few pages that encourage pasting photographs. For some, this may not be an “adoration activity”; for others, it may be a way that helps Adoration be a time of peace and creative prayer.
An illustrated faith kit and supplies from DaySpring.
I love this Canvas Tote bag from DaySpring and a cute pen and pencil pouch
You can also order a cute zipper pouch from RoseSewsbyJennifer – tell her what pattern you like and she will make a custom one for you!
The bag: Tote Bags by RoseSewsbyJennifer
I am still brainstorming for what I could put in my 5 year old (who is turning 6 this week!) bag. Do you have any suggestions??? Please, share!
We love Lara Casey’s write the word for kids journal! As well as Val Mari papers prayer journals (adults and kids)
I love the rosary coloring book as well!
And lots of pretty pens for the littles (and me too)
Great lists and the first two books on your TBR list – I have read them both and you are going to love them. They are such great reads!
Awesome! Thank you Alicia!!
I love the idea of a bag for adoration – normally I stumble into adoration with my arms full of books!
Wow.. I love it. The bag is super cute! Great ideas. Thank you so much!
I allow my son to take a composition notebook to Mass with us – I will extend that to Adoration this summer. He also takes his ChewsLife finger Rosary, and we pray it together – just the decade. He’s also been allowed to take a couple books with him – when he was younger, they were any book he wanted to read, but he knew I would only read his faith-based books. Other families I’ve known have brought the Saints books from (I think?) St. Joseph’s Press? The small books, each featuring their own saint…
For me, I have had (until it broke last year, and I stopped attending Adoration because my kids got too disruptive) a pencil pouch. It held my Rosary and Rosary book, a pocket-sized book with a pen that I loved – whichever one I loved that particular day, a finger Rosary, headphones, and a couple prayer cards. Then, I also take my phone and listen to whatever music stirs my heart with the headphones, on days that I need to listen to some music; other times, I sit quietly and just soak up the Presence without listening to music. The music I play is always worship and praise – or, a fantastic version of the Tantum Ergo and Salutaris by a religious community of sisters.
These are all great ideas! Thank you for sharing… Your bag is super cute, too!