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Let’s take a moment to refresh our souls this week, month and year.

As I ask myself, “how can I “rejuvenate my prayer life” this year while twin toddlers are crawling on me

and my six year old still needs to learn how to tie his shoes . . .

I’ve come up with ways that can work in my busy life without requiring any drastic changes.

1. First, recognize that God is “among the pots and pans”.

The quote:

God walks among the pots and pans”

is attributed to St. Teresa of Avila.

I’m so glad I came across those words of wisdom – probably while scrolling through Facebook or Instagram.  What a beautiful reminder to stop, take a breath and know that even in mundane tasks, we are serving the Lord and loving our families.  Just recognizing and thinking about that truth refreshes and relieves me.  I hope it does the same for you.

2. Take comfort that a prayer is the “leap from your heart”.  Prayers can be short but powerful!

If you would like 11 Quick, but Powerful, Prayers, subscribe to prayerwinechocolate.com and enjoy a free printable.  The short prayers are typed and spaced in a way that you can simply cut out the prayers and put them on your mirror, in your car, in a lunch box and other places that will remind you to pray while you rush from here to there.

3. Add an additional prayer to your daily routine

Do you say “Grace Before Meals”?  Do you pray before you go to sleep at night?

Even though I am in constant survival mode, I pray three prayers consistently every day.

Grace Before Meals, A Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Spiritual Adoption Prayer.

I am a hot mess, so if I can do this – so can you!

You can get a free printable of all three of these prayers for free, from me!  (Click here for free prayer printables!) I feel compelled to grow in faith with you.  One of these printables was created by the very talented Meg Florkowski and the other is a more simpler document created by me.  Both are for you as a thank you for subscribing to the prayer wine chocolate newsletter!

4. Go to Eucharistic Adoration

Okay, the first two were fairly easy.  This one requires us to make a bigger move.

I’m not sure when or how I will get to Adoration this week – but I’m determined to try and think of times I can make it happen.  It’s been on my heart lately and I recently read an article that made me think about a post I wrote awhile back – Five Presents You Can Open in His Presence.

The article, titled “Why Adoration is Essential for the Soul and Body”,

sites and stresses how Adoration isn’t just good for our soul, but our physical health as well:

according to a study by Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School, people who pray enter a “relaxation response”. The body’s metabolism decreases, the heart rate slows, blood pressure goes down, and our breath becomes calmer and more regular. Our body responds to the state of our soul in the presence of God.

We’re so used to doing. When we’re with him in his presence, we need only be. He simply asks us to just exist before him. We don’t have to pray a certain way. We don’t have to say the right, holy thing. We just need to be, and he will take care of the rest. Are you in need of that rest?”

Read the whole article here: Why Adoration is Essential for the Soul and Body

I know you’re busy.  I know I’m busy.  But, I know I need to be the best version of myself.  Adoration – and certainly spending time with Our Lord – helps us to be the best version of ourselves.

Adoration can be a place we pray by sitting in silence.  It can be a place where we bring a prayer journal.  It can even be a place you bring your colored pencils and an inspirational coloring page.  So much healing, growing and renewal can happen in that little chapel. Let’s go – whether it’s for 10 minutes or an hour, let’s just do it.

And yes, you can go with children!  Check out this amazing article from Sara over at ToJesusSincerely! Why (And How) to Bring Your Kids to Adoration

5.  Embrace the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist

I still don’t want to go to confession.

But, at the same time, I do want to go.  I look at it like a “grace vitamin”.  Sure, I am not perfect and have sins to confess – but I always remember my mom telling me, “the Pope goes every day”.  I don’t know if the Pope really went to confession every day – but, I still recall my Mom telling me that.  I remember thinking, well he’s not sinning that much and he’s still going frequently.

Since I have an aversion to it, thinking about how it is a way to receive God’s grace in a special way draws me to it.

The act of going is an act of humility.  The grace I receive is real and beautiful.  The way it makes me look at my relationship with Jesus is illuminative.

When I asked a close friend, “how can you “rejuvenate” his or her faith”? She responded Adoration.

I said, I already have that one – got another answer?

She said, “daily Mass”.

I thought, that’s a great answer.  So is simply:

“Go to Mass.”

I’m certain some people have falling out of the habit of going to Mass on Sundays and, we are creatures of habit.  If you are one of those people, I urge you to go to Mass this Sunday.  I encourage you to go to Confession first so that you can receive Jesus in the Eucharist.

Jesus truly thirsts for you in this way.  Trust Him.  He has a plan for you and our faith is rooted in His Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Every Gospel speaks of it.

He is the Bread of Life!

Let us all run to Him!

The post 5 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Faith This Year appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

She then listed the 5,000 things she had to do on a daily basis.  After that she said some sweet things and stated that she had to run to “bathe the dogs”.  Not one dog – plural dogs.  She had to go bathe more than one dog and that did not make it on her first list of things that made her feel overwhelmed.

Part of me thinks she may have written to the wrong person.

Maybe she thinks I am that cute organization blogger.  Maybe she just needs about two more days of knowing me before she realizes how unqualified I am to write a post about finding time for anything.

Or maybe . . . God just wants her to stop being so hard on herself.

God has a huge sense of humor, so it is quite possible that He thought – “Oh honey, you are not a mess . . . I’ll show you a MESS! . . .”

And here I am  Always here to provide a good laugh.  Like that time I was at a bar/restaurant and thought I was walking over to my friends but I was actually walking into a glass wall.

Since I know I am bad at time management, and organization in general, I can share advice that other people have given me.

1. Pray the Rosary – I did not say – nor has Our Lady said – “pray the Rosary well”.  I read a quote in the past year that said something like, “A distracted Rosary is better than no Rosary”.  I can’t find who said it (because I am disorganized), but I know that was the gist of it.  So, I took out the two year old and the three year old and let them play while I prayed the Rosary.  I knew I would have to stop to break up an argument, remind them they can’t run down the street, answer three hundred questions, and “watch this” fifty five times.  But, I read that quote and thought, “any Rosary is better than no Rosary”! ** Check out “Gracious Words” on Christian Bling’s Website; it is a gorgeous bracelet that is also a complete Rosary.  I LOVE it.  It would be a great reminder to pray the Rosary everyday!
2. Go to Adoration – Before I became a parent, I went to adoration on a regular basis.  I usually stayed and prayed for an hour.  After our son was born, I found that I just couldn’t do it.  I was under the impression that I had to go for at least an hour.  But, then I had the pleasure of meeting Crystalina Evert at the Wine, Wisdom and What Now? Conference in Philadelphia. (Imagine that, I went to a conference with the name wine in the title).  Anyway . . . I got talking to Crystalina, who had her youngest baby with her.  Somehow we were talking about adoration and I must have said I can’t find the hour.  Crystalina said, “It doesn’t have to be an hour! It can be 10 minutes!”  I thought – 1. She totally gets it and 2. Oh.  Yeah.  1o minutes is better than not going at all!  Then I probably said, “duh”.  Why did I need someone else to tell me this?
3. Prayer does not have to be formal – I recently went to confession and my priest told me to be careful about how much I judge myself.  He said, “people ask me how I pray – I say I read Reader’s Digest”.  He was reminding me that prayer can be in many forms.  One time I was walking up the stairs with a load of laundry and had a thought – the thought was, “how can my prayers for women considering an abortion matter.  I know I don’t love them as much as God loves them.”  I thought it was just a thought – but God answered me in a BIG way.  God knows our hearts.  He is listening.  He is with us when we are matching socks, writing lesson plans, paying our mortgage and wiping snot.  It may not sound like the Gregorian Chant to us . . . but to Our Lord, who loves us more than we can ever imagine, it’s music to his ears.
4. Remember to “bloom where you are planted: Mother Teresa said, “It is easy to love the people far away,” . .. “It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.”
5. Stop being so hard on yourself! – Okay, so this one is from me.  Trust me, you are doing a good job.  Yes you, you – if you are reading this – you are doing a great job!  You are so wonderful!!! God LOVES you!  I have to tell you what Father Shelly said (an awesome priest that has since retired) at every Mass, “Ladies and gentlemen, my parents loved me sooo much.  But their LOVE DOESN’T COMPARE TO THE LOVE GOD HAS FOR US!  Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, what God has ready for those who love Him!” You chose to read a post titled “When There is No Time for Prayer”.  You’re doing what you can – just keep going!

Thank you so much for reading this!!  Please feel free to leave prayer intentions and I will pray for you while I clean this horrifying office!!!

Update:  Still cleaning my office; but have to share this beautiful bracelet with you again.  I don’t earn money if it is sold – I just really love it that much!  Click her to purchase: Christian Bling – once you are on the website; search for “Gracious Words”.

The post When There is No Time for Prayer appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.