Flip Flops

Yesterday I was thinking about the Blog and realized not everyone is as excited about All Saints Day as I may be. If that is the unfortunate case, maybe I should also (not instead of) talk about others things right now too.  We will move on to other feast days and seasons after the All Saints Day planning but for now I hate to bore anyone.

I just finished up a 3 year run as the Youth Coordinator at our parish.  I LOVED that job. Maybe one day you'll find me back in a similar position, but for now I am very happy at home with my family, loving on them and living out my vocation as mother and wife.

The first time I ever taught in a Faith Formation/CCD/Religious Education classroom was 5 years ago. A beautiful bunch of rowdy 2nd graders preparing for 1st Communion. People warned me about the lack of knowledge among both the students and the parents.  Unfortunately they were correct. But the hope and joy of teaching young people the faith is what made me love it, even though I was saddened by the lack of education.

After spending 3 years working with Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers I found it to be the same as teaching in a 2nd grade classroom. But, the adults who stepped up to teach them all are amazingly wonderful people.  And the kids themselves teach us adults while they are learning from us.  These young people are our church. Not our future church but the here and now.  They are trying to find their way, understand the gift being passed onto them, all while navigating their teen years.  Not an easy thing. Some of them don't want to be there, some are unsure whether or not they want to be, and some know a lot and forget that we will never know it all and the only way to really grow in your faith is to dig deeper into it.   I think the adults sometimes fall into these same categories.

We are all called to serve, to share, and to love.  Through our Baptism and Confirmation we are called to pass on this faith of ours to the next generation ... to the world.

Do you help with your parish Faith Formation Program? Are you willing to take a step closer in fulfilling your commission? You were called to do just this thing.

Programs all over the world can use help.  Volunteers are in short supply in many places. Adults worry they don't know enough, they think the kids are bad, etc.  But there are so many ways you can help (lead a class, assist in a classroom, monitor the Hall, help with service projects, help with socials - good clean catholic fun).  None of us know it all and we are all on a journey that started at different times.  We are all in different places.  If you have even the tiniest pull to maybe, possibly help pass on the faith, please take time to look into it at your parish.
The job is worth every moment and not only will you be helping others to grow in their faith, you will grow in yours as well.

We are God's hands and feet on this earth.  I call it being God's Flip Flops.

All Saints Day - Shall We Play a Game?

I used to use the old stand by games.  Those games you scour the internet for and use year after year.  We find them on Catholic Blogs, websites, and the like and they are good when you're starting out. I will link some sites below for you to check out.  There are some great game ideas out there, especially if your little ones are all little. But, our kids have gotten older. Our guest lists have changed. So what's a mom to do?

Scour the internet, of course

There are sites for All Saints Day games, food, and costume ideas.  Use them as you get started but once you grow beyond the basics (or if you're adventurous right now) there are a plethora of games out there just waiting for an All Saints' Day make-over.  I headed to carnival games and party games and found a treasure trove of ideas to start with.  (No worries, we will get back to that saint list of yours tomorrow.)

For now, make a list of games that seem appropriate for the age group you're shooting for. You won't use them all, but it will give you options and future games.
Also, don't stray too far - yes, there are some good leads to other lists but follow at your own risk.  This is the internet... user beware.
Check out:

Sites that share All Saints Day ideas

• Catholic Icing
• Catholic Inspired
• A Knotted Life
• Waltzing Matilda
• Blair's Blessings
• Writing.com

Sites that offer game suggestions you'll need to work a little harder on

• Carnival Savers
• The Spruce
• Tip Junkie

Tomorrow? Matching saints and games

All Saints Day - Pick a Saint, Any Saint

Hello!  It's been a long time but I am excited to be back and writing again. Our oldest daughter (now 17!) suggested I get back to writing and sharing some of my favorite things with the world, or at least our little corner of it.  

All Saints Day
It's one of my favorite things.
All Saints Day is a favorite in our house and has been for a very long time. I am not going to over load you with a long list in this one post, we are going to walk together through the planning and prep for this fabulous feast day and party over several weeks. We Catholics love a good party, especially if you can bring the joy of faith, family, and fun into it. Sometimes though, sometimes, it does take some extra planning.


Pick some Saints
Every year we go over the lists of Saints - those we know and those we find. I have organized a Martyrs walk these past couple of years at our parish in conjunction with the All Saints Day Party so we've had to look for lots of martyred saints.  We learn a lot about our friends the saints just in the planning process!

• You want to put together a list of between 10 - 15 saints for games.  You may not end up using them all but it gives you a good number to choose from. The size of your party place will determine your final number of saint games.  
• A long list of saints is also helpful for future years.  We try to rotate our saints through a 3 - 4 year rotation. 
• Pick a variety of men and women, martyr and non-martyrs, ancient, modern, and in-betweens. 
• Try to pick a few new ones each year as this should not only be fun but also be teaching us about our heavenly friends. 

That's it for now!  Go find those saints!  A list can sometimes be more challenging to make than we'd like to think.