Meet my blogging buddy, Jamie. You can find her at http://forloveofcupcakes.com/ blogging about the love of her life! Cupcakes!  In December she blogged also about some Catholic things like why do people take down their decorations on December 26. Did we forget about the 3 kings?

She is from one of my favorite cities CHICAGO! They have GREAT PIZZA and CHINESE FOOD! Two of my favorite foods!

Jamie wrote a blog post in November about Prayer Journals. I agree with some of the points she made about writing down all the things and people who you have promised to pray for, but I like to take prayer journals one-step further. It’s not just a place to write down and record your prayer requests and intentions. We can use our prayer journals to record our reflections on scripture passages and how they are interacting in our lives.

For example, one of my favorite scripture passages comes from 1 Samuel 3:1-10. This passage is about when God called Samuel and he responded, “Here I am Lord, your servant is listening” After reading this passage you then can take out your prayer journal and journal about what this passage means to you in your call from God. For me it was very profound the first time I read this passage was over 15 years ago and it was the first time I realized that God was calling me into the ministry work of the church. He led me toward education and once I received my degree in education almost immediately I received the call to go into ministry. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t utilize the knowledge I gained while I was studying education in my job as a Director of Religious Education. It was through the process of journaling that I realized how God was calling me.

In her craft section you will find a Thanksgiving craft called “Prayer of Thanksgiving” Craft. What she did was pretty clever she used the feathers of the Turkey to name the 5 types of prayers. They are prayers of: thanksgiving; petition; adoration; contrition and love. This is an excellent activity for younger children however for the older student instead of having them name the 5 types of prayers you could have them name the 5 ways we prayer. They are Meditation, Traditional Prayers, Centering Prayer, Letters to Jesus, and Marian devotions. What is your favorite way to pray?

One of my favorite sections of Jamie’s blog is her mommy things! Here she shares all her mommy stories with her readers. She includes reflections on Cupcakes’ story, on sleep training, and on parenting. One of the greatest ways that we can learn as adults is from each other. When we share our story with one another we are sharing our faith journey with them and how God interacts in our lives. It is through these examples that we grow in faith, hope and love.

Jamie recently went back to work as a teacher and on her blog you will find some excellent teacher tips. The very first tip she gives I agree with as being the most important thing you can do for any child in your care. Teach them to READ!  Stop by and visit Jamie’s blog and look at all the terrific ways she shares herself and her story with you! We all can learn from blogs like Jamie’s today, tomorrow and always!