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Jan 23, 2018
Faith· Resources

The Ultimate Lent Guide for Busy People

The Ultimate Lent Guide for Busy People

This article contains affiliate links.  Please see disclosure policy on About Me page for more details.

I have 9 month old twins, a five year old and for the past few days, my husband was sick.

I need a shower.  I need to clean my kitchen and the amount of laundry that needs to folded reminds me once again that we own way to many clothes.

I also am trying to work from home.

For me, prayer happens right in the midst of all the crazy.

Going to adoration regularly is on the list.

My list might be longer than Santa’s.  It’s intimidating and today it is not yet on paper – so it’s on my mind, and “write a list” is on the list.

Once Lent begins, my schedule will be a lot of the same.

Crazy, busy, chaotic.

In order to truly prepare for Easter, my soul needs to engage in more prayer and fasting.

In order to do that, I’m looking to others that have found the same challenges and have created

The Ultimate Lent Guide for Busy People!!

1. Pray while Parenting

Kirby Hoberg, who blogs at Under Thy Roof, suggests:

“Invest in some good children’s religious books”

I love this idea.  We read to our son daily.  Reading books that discuss the the teachings of Jesus, lives of the saints, and how to live a life of faith can fit into our schedule without a problem.
And honestly, can remind us of important lessons we often forget or simply don’t think about.
One book I suggest purchasing is:
If You Had Five Minutes…What Would You Do?
I would also suggest a Children’s Bible:
My Catholic Children’s Bible
And, of course, Be Yourself: A Journal for Catholic Girls

Jessica, from Sweet Little Ones, suggest:

“Start small and make it fun!”

By starting small, Jessica suggests starting with one decade of the Rosary and working your way up to a whole one.  Jessica also discusses how her children play with relevant toys (like a teething rosary  or a plastic statue of Mary).

2. Find time to Pray the Rosary

Busyness doesn’t just cramp my prayer life, it intrudes on healthy habits, like exercising too.

Allison, from Reconciled to You, suggests we:

” . . .head outside to walk and pray.

 

A Rosary typically takes about 17 minutes to recite, most people aim to move 20 to 30 minutes a day – this equals (roughly) a rosary and a few extra laps. “

Going for a walk is already good for our bodies and our minds – adding prayer to the walk is an added bonus, and a wonderful idea. Added bonus, you can do it alone or pushing a stroller!

Monica from Equipping Catholic families reminds us:

 

There are also plenty of Audio Rosaries to listen to …or Catholic apps to keep track of the prayers so that you can focus on the actual prayer and reflection and leave the accounting to someone else.

Monica gives an extensive list in her article, “Reluctant to Regular Rosary Prayer”.  She includes CDs, Apps and links to digital downloads.

Here is a newer digital download to check out: The Kitchen Rosary

and a CD for your commute to work and to listen to at home: The Catholic Rosary

3. Remember that not all prayers are lengthy and time consuming!

Check out this post from earlier and print out 11 short prayers!
11 Quick, but Powerful, Prayers (free printable)

The Bloggers at Hail Marry  creatively recommend to incorporate prayer in daily actions, such as:

Pray while washing your hands.  By the end of the day, the time spent praying adds up!

Becky Roach from Catholic Link states:

There are certain moments in life when a short prayer is what we need to restore our focus on God and bring forth a sense of calm.”

Check out 15 Powerful Prayers You Can Say in Just 15 Seconds! when you are in those certain moments!!!

4. Follow Faith Based Social Media Accounts  for Reminders to Pray

 

For an entire directory of Faith on Social Media, check out Catholics Online: A Directory of Catholic Social Media Influencers

Want a short cut? Follow on Twitter – Catholics Online, Prayer Wine Chocolate on Instagram and Catholics Online on Facebook

Leslie, from Life in Every Limb, reminds us to stop and pray for others while on our smart phones:

the thing about Facebook is that you see daily the friend or acquaintance for whom you have promised to pray . . . I see regular updates which remind me to keep that person’s intention in my prayers”

5. Prayer Journal

How does Prayer Journaling fit into a busy person’s schedule you ask?

One of the best answers comes from Dianna Kennedy over at The Kennedy Adventures

I spend a lot of time in that particular workspace and on my computer, so it sort of made sense back in August 2012 when I started incorporating Evernote into my daily prayer routine.

More ideas for prayer journaling on a busy schedule: WHEN DO REAL WOMEN FIND TIME TO PRAYER JOURNAL?

DaySpring has AWESOME PRAYER JOURNALING PRODUCTS!

Kids can prayer journal too!  Have you checked out my first book Be Yourself: A Journal for Catholic Girls?  It’s available on Amazon with Prime shipping as well as right here!

5. Sign up to be somewhere with others

Many, hopefully most, parishes provide opportunities to pray and reflect with the community during Lent.  Sign up for something, make the commitment and remember, people are expecting you there!  Runners do this for accountability, surely we can use this tactic to light a fire under our bottoms too 🙂

Last year a group of women in our parish met at a home, discussed a book and enjoyed some snacks (of course wine and chocolate, of course)!!!

This year, a group of us will hopefully do the same!

Find out what your parish is offering and vow to do one thing.  Perhaps, host a Scripture study, Rosary night or faith sharing group yourself!

Looking for more help this Lent?  Here ya go!!

39 Ways to Keep Lent Holy (Without Giving Up Sweets)

40 Prayer Journal Prompts for Lent (Part 1)

40 Prayer Journal Prompts for Lent (Part 2)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alicia says

    January 24, 2018 at 7:25 am

    Oh, don’t forget Molly McBride and the Purple Habit. It is a lovely book! All these ideas are wonderful for me as my youngest is expecting our first grand-baby and we are so excited! Enjoy every wonderful, busy, overwhelming moment because it does pass too fast. Blessings!

    • Amy says

      January 25, 2018 at 6:52 am

      Great reminder – those books are awesome!

  2. Fouad says

    January 25, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    This is encouraging. I go to mass every morning and pray every night before bed, but should adopt some practices to pray during the day.

  3. Sara @ To Jesus Sincerely says

    January 26, 2018 at 7:59 am

    So many great ideas! We’re going to try to pray the whole Rosary as a family for lent…. we’ll see how it goes!

  4. Tammi says

    February 2, 2018 at 11:00 pm

    These are such simple and effective ways to journey into Lent. Thanks for sharing.

    • Amy says

      February 12, 2018 at 5:37 pm

      Thank you Tammi!

  5. Jeanie Egolf says

    February 6, 2018 at 9:22 am

    Oh my goodness, Amy, I love reading your blog and am glad that you are on the mend. I’m praying for you! BTW what a nice surprise to come here to read today and see the above comment from a Molly McBride fan, lol!! I was going to comment “I especially agree about # 1!” and then I saw Alecia’s comment. LOL! Hi Alecia! I’m the creator of the Molly McBride series, and I’m glad you’re enjoying them. Blessings!

  6. Fouad says

    February 6, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    Very good tips!

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