Catholic Sprouts

A Community For Catholic Families

Advent

J1ST 072: A Year Later

by · 2 Comments

LISTEN ON ITUNES

LISTEN ON ANDROID

Hey there friends!

I am taking a break from all of the wonderful guests (I hope you loved hearing from them as much as I enjoyed talking with them!).

So, instead of having a guest, I am taking minute to share personally (yikes!). I am actually an introvert, and would rather talk about other people, but since it has been a year since we lost Max at 20 weeks.  That loss was a tremendously transformative event.  I talk about the amazing experience I had while loosing that baby in this episode: https://www.catholicsprouts.com/2017/12/j1st-022-on-still-being-here.html.

It has been a very full year since we lost Max. Life has kept moving forward, that is for sure! We suffered another miscarriage, and are now about 27 weeks along with another little boy.  I shared about that miscarriage in this podcast episode: https://www.catholicsprouts.com/2018/05/j1st-046-when-trusting-feels-foolish.html

Most profoundly, though, both my husband and I have really grown in a devotion to Mary. We aren’t perfect, but we are at the point where if we slack in our devotion for even a day, we FEEL it. I really feel like we depend on her. I thank our little Max in heaven and St. Maximillian Kolbe for helping me embrace this devotion.

If you have yet to listen into the Catholic Sprout’s Podcast, I really encourage you to tune in! Find all of the listening options here: https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-sprouts

In the episode I also discuss a major shift that I plan to take in the coming year. I plan to focus more on Catholic Kids and Catholic Families, and will be producing more content under the banner of Catholic Sprouts.  Find all of the listening options here: https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-sprouts

My first major project is a new Youtube channel! Crazy, right?!?  The channel is called Catholic Sprouts for Moms. It is a channel for Catholic Parents, where I hope to help you raise saints, and answer questions we all have as Catholic Parents.  I would love to have you jump over to Youtube and watch the first couple videos. Head here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC45d_VVnoX-VMYNy7OECo2A

And finally, if you are still looking for Advent ideas, head here! I’m obsessed with Advent: https://catholicsprouts.com/advent

Thank you for all of your love and support!!

Your sister in the small things,

Creating a Christ Centered Christmas for your Catholic Family

by · Leave a Comment

Do you struggle to keep your children’s hearts and minds focused on Christ at Christmas time? I do too. But we can do this, and it is SO important. So, watch this video and I will share 3 simple and doable ideas that will help you keep Christmas Christ-Centered.

1. Make sure YOU, the parents, are focused on Christ…not all the other stuff that goes with Modern Christmas. Avoid stress and materialism and stay grounded in the WORD!

2. Encourage your children to GIVE this Christmas, not just GET.

3. Limit your children’s gifts to 3 this year.

I know that these are simple ideas, but we need to do everything that we can to keep our children’s eyes on Christ at Christmas–and our own eyes too!

If you are craving community to support you as you raise saints in your Catholic home, I encourage you to join the private Facebook group right here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21255…

Have a very blessed Christmas!

https://youtu.be/rSSGcLvMrWc

Your sister in the small things,

 

Making Advent Real for Catholic Kids

by · Leave a Comment

 

Make Advent REAL for your Catholic Children this season with these simple, meaningful and totally doable ideas! Engage the minds and hearts of your children and help them see the beauty of Advent while enjoying all that the liturgical season has to offer.

In this video I offer three simple ideas for making Advent REAL for your Children:

1. Embrace the Silence and Darkness of Advent. The best way to do this is to turn the TV and devices off a bit more, turn down the Christmas Music, and use your Advent wreath. Kids love lighting candles!

2. Encourage your children to play with the Nativity Set and imagine what these characters were doing BEFORE Christmas, as many of them were asked to wait, just like we are. Here are a couple of the Nativity Set featured in this video:

3. Sing an Advent song each night as a family. Even if singing isn’t your talent, try to sing during Advent. The best song for this purpose, I feel, is “O Come, O Come Emanuel”. Your kids will love hearing you sing, and this song really helps the season become REAL for your children.

I hope this video was helpful!

We also love doing the Jesse Tree during Advent! You can find out more about that Advent Devotional right here: https://youtu.be/891eT7yD8hs

Also, I would love to have you join us at Catholic Sprouts, the DAILY Podcast for kids! Each episode is just 5 minutes long! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm7n…

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! https://www.facebook.com/groups/21255…

Thanks for being here, and I hope these ideas help you create a beautiful Advent for your Catholic Kids!

https://youtu.be/y90qfj2pEes

Your sister in the small things,

Advent Ideas for Catholic Families

by · Leave a Comment

Advent can be a fun, beautiful, and meaningful time for Catholic Families. It can be very hard to wait to celebrate Christmas, especially when the rest of the world is already doing just that, but with these simple ideas that ANY Catholic Family can do, your kids will fall in love with Advent and remember it fondly.

I share three basic ideas for celebrating Advent with your family:

1. Set up the Advent Wreath and light it. I also encourage you to share the meaning of the Advent Wreath with your family–the darkness of our sin and the light of God’s grace even while we are surrounded by that darkness.

2. Resist putting up ALL of the Christmas decorating…for as long as you can. This is hard, but if we want to stay in Advent, our homes and hearts need to be aligned. Wait to put up the tree and pull out all of the decorations for as long as you can and instead embrace the quiet and the darkness, key elements that allow us Catholics to wait during Advent.

3. Create a daily prayer routine for your family. Advent is a great time to create a prayer time for your family. I encourage you to set aside time every day and to keep your prayer simple.

A great prayer to use during Advent is the NAMES OF JESUS ADVENT COUNTDOWN. This is a scripture-based countdown that your kids will love. Grab the FREE activity right here: https://pages.convertkit.com/e34aecf6…

The Jesse Tree is also a great daily devotional that you can do with your family! To learn more about the Jesse Tree, watch this video where I answer all of your Catholic Jesse Tree questions! https://youtu.be/891eT7yD8hs

You can also grab the FREE QUICK START GUIDE FOR THE JESSE TREE right here: https://pages.convertkit.com/4b39e2c3…

Also, don’t forget to tune in each day for the Daily, 5 Minute Podcast for Catholic Kids, Catholic Sprouts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm7n…

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! https://www.facebook.com/groups/21255…

I’d love to hear what you think of these ideas in the comments!

Have a blessed Advent!

https://youtu.be/x4rDuVq20dI

Your sister in the small things,

 

The Jesse Tree: Explanation for Catholic Families

by · 1 Comment

The Jesse Tree is a beautiful Advent Devotional that many Catholic Families use during the season of Advent. But, what is the Jesse Tree…and is there a way to use this devotional that is EASY and MEANINGFUL for Catholic families? I strive to answer both of these questions in this video.

First of all, the Jesse Tree is a walk through the ancestors of Jesus Christ, starting with Adam and ending with Jesus Himself. Each day of Advent is assigned a different character from Jesus’s family tree (the Jesse Tree) and the family will spend time looking at that character through some Bible Verses and a symbol that is often portrayed on an ornament that is hung on the tree.

If you would like to use the Jesse Tree with your Catholic Family this year, I encourage you to download and use the FREE QUICK START GUIDE TO THE JESSE TREE. It lists all of the characters, verses to read for each and a symbol as well. You can grab the guide right here: https://pages.convertkit.com/4b39e2c3… But, many families struggle with the Jesse Tree once they get into weeks two and three of Advent. The characters aren’t very familiar, and the verses can be lonnnnnggg. However, I have discovered, that they REAL point of the Jesse Tree is NOT to memorize all of these characters from the Old Testament.

The point is to get to know GOD THE FATHER so that we are ready to welcome His Son on Christmas, Jesus Christ. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! https://www.facebook.com/groups/21255… I encourage you to get started with the Jesse Tree and pray that you have a blessed Advent season with your family!

https://youtu.be/891eT7yD8hs

Your sister in the small things,