Every year I save all of our Christmas cards from that year with the intention of praying for those families by face and name throughout the year.  Know how often I make it past January??

Embarrassingly un-often.

The kids’ prayer life has been greatly enhanced by the addition of our prayer table to the school/living/dining room.  Mine, however…..

Yup, embarrassingly un-often.

I have to be honest that I find very little I do that doesn’t somehow end up as a group activity.  I try to get up between 5-5:30 every morning and since we are guessing things in the post, guess how often I am alone during that time?

Forget un-often…more like never.

I have realized (with lots of help from those in my life who I consider good spiritual examples) that I need to focus less on quantity or even perhaps quality and focus more on simply doing.  Living, breathing kind of stuff!   Like if I am vacuuming for the third or fourth time today, who might need a few prayers lifted up on their behalf?

Obviously the point of this post is coming to our new chalkboard in the above picture, so I won’t ramble any longer.  Tim brought it home for me from the thrift store, isn’t it perfect??  A place to post photos (remember the Christmas cards, don’t you wish you sent us one now?), important things happening to our extended family far away, and to jot down general intentions of our local parish and special requests from friends.  The white bookmark sized piece of paper next to the photo of Pope Benedict XVI (which ironically came in a Christmas card from a friend who spent some time in Italy this fall) is actually the list of his intentions published each month in Columbia magazine.

It’s on the door to the closet where I keep the vacuum, broom, and all of the Tae Kwon Do uniforms.  Any guesses how many times each day I open that door?

Suffice it to say, embarrassingly often.