Equipping Catholic Families

Daytimer Prayer

February 29, 2012 by Monica McConkey 4 Comments

This Lent I have promised myself to pray more often, more deliberately, more consistently and more thoughtfully. I know that I have tried many approaches to prayer throughout my life with varied diligence and consistency! As I look back, there where times when my prayerlife was stronger…but I didn’t necessarily know it at the time! I know that I have felt happier and more peaceful when I’m praying each day…and preferably using a prayer journal to write my prayer, reflect on Scripture, ask the Lord questions and try to listen to what He is telling me. I have filled up quite a few prayer journals…but there are some times when I have strayed and fought to get back on track…and I think that this is one of those times. Sometimes I have resorted to Lenten resolutions or gimmicks=&1=&to get myself back on track. (More about prayer gimmicks to come in future posts!) With a particularly bumpy start…it looks like this Lent is going to be one of those times. Inspired by the 3 times I have been on the Lightweigh, I recognize the importance of checking in everyday and keeping myself accountable to my commitments…even if I have to resort to a checklist to keep track. Somehow a checklist motivates me…I’m not sure why. Does anyone else understand that?

Before Lent started this year, I was already trying something new. I picked up a spiral-bound daytimer calendar at the dollar store. I like it because there are only about 2 days per page, with lines to write on and even little check-circles to check. The calendar is not specific to any year…it has the months and the dates, but not the day of the week. I’m using it to keep track of how I meet my goals each day:

Filed Under: prayer

castle and catapult craft!

February 29, 2012 by Monica McConkey 2 Comments

Here’s a great craft for Leap Year Day!

I have posted about this craft before and have used it at TWO medieval birthday parties…usually this time of year! It’s a lot of fun to make and play with!

Filed Under: link-up, Catholic Bloggers Network

Just opened the Arma Dei Shoppe!

February 19, 2012 by Monica McConkey Leave a Comment

Equipping Catholic families has never been easier now that our new Arma Dei Shoppe is open! Our Catholic Family Apostolate is called Arma Dei, latin for Armor of God, referring to our favorite Scripture Ephesians 6:13-17. We have created books, paper craft kits and quizzing cards to help teach and celebrate the Catholic Faith through Feastdays, Seasons and Sacraments! Six of our favorite Cathletics Craft Kits are now available by PDF for you to download, print and copy for your family or a whole class! Check out the new Arma Dei Shoppe…or look for us at Lift Jesus Higher Rally (Toronto, ON Canada), the Mid-Atlantic Congress (Baltimore, MD), NCEA (Boston, MA) or IHM (Fredericksburg, VA)

NOW AVAILABLE at the Arma Dei Craft Kit Printables Online Store!

Color Me Catholic: New Roman Missal Edition
(printed version: $16 + shipping) printable version: $14

Catholic Lingo Bingo (English)
(printed version: $12 + shipping) printable version: $10

Filed Under: Arma Dei Shoppe, Catholic Crafts

Journey with Jesus through Baptism, Reconciliation and Holy Communion

February 16, 2012 by Monica McConkey 1 Comment

Celebrate your child’s Journey of Faith! Journey with Jesus through (Baptism) Reconciliation & Holy Communion NOW AVAILABLE by PDF PRINTABLE!

This is our Journey with Jesus through Reconciliation and Holy Communion Craft Kit.
It includes 18 already researched, illustrated and formatted templates of prompting catechism and reflection questions. As all our Cathletics Craft Kits, it comes with permission to photocopy for a whole class for one term or for all the kids in your family (who live with you) as they celebrate their First Sacraments!

There are suggestions for making your own scrapbook or using a store-bought scrapbook. There are also instructions to create an Accordian Book. In either case, there are plenty of catechism based questions, adorable cartoons drawn by 12 year old Kelly and prompting reflections about your child’s experience of the Sacraments, their prayerlife and their growing relationship with Jesus!

Work on a page a day, recording and reflecting about Baptism, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reconciliation, the Commandments, Sin, Holy Communion, the Mass, the Domestic Church, Qualities in my Family and Friends, all about Jesus, Mary and the Saints and reflections about Jesus and me and my prayerlife.

Filed Under: Catholic Crafts, Sacraments

Journey with Jesus through the Sacraments!

February 16, 2012 by Monica McConkey Leave a Comment

Journey with Jesus through the Sacraments NOW AVAILABLE by PDF PRINTABLE! This kit offers layouts of catechism questions (with answer keys!) and reflection questions to help teach and celebrate the Sacraments, including material based on the Commandments, Sin, the Domestic Church and the Stations of the Cross. This kit teaches and celebrates all 7 Sacraments… not just the ones your child has received, helping them to reflect on Marriage (what weddings have I been to? who married my parents?) Holy Orders (name the priest who gave me my First Sacraments, who is my pastor? my bishop? our Pope?) and the

Anointing of the Sick

Filed Under: Catholic Crafts, Sacraments

Catholic Bloggers Colossal Share-a-thon & Giveaway

February 10, 2012 by Monica McConkey 2 Comments

Opening Monday February 13, 2012 at Catholic Bloggers Network! Check out the First Ever Catholic Bloggers Share-A-Thon! These are the prizes that I have contributed to the giant give-away… but there are PLENTY more awesome prizes to win …all donated by our own Catholic Bloggers! 4 Chances to Win Arma Dei products! 1.

A Treasure Chest of Traditions for Catholic Families (book)

Filed Under: Catholic Bloggers

HAPPY SAINT valentines

February 4, 2012 by Monica McConkey 10 Comments

When Victor from =&0=& graciously gave me permission to use his awesome saint pictures in a craft, I was so excited! I just love this company and their adorable saint pictures! Immediately, I wanted to make a cuter version of my=&1=&=&2=&with frozen juice lids. These would make an awesome matching game to help my 5 year old learn more about the saints…(she has already started playing with them!) …and the circle format is perfect with my 2.5″ hole punch! With Valentine’s Day coming up,=&3=&=&4=&Valentine Cards! I formatted the pictures and printed them myself and used a 2.5″ hole punch to cut out the circular images. I printed “HAPPY SAINTS Valentine Day!” on red paper and we’re thinking about embellishing the little cards with hearts made with my little heart hole punch. Instead of Happy St. Valentine…how about HAPPY SAINTS Valentine Day! These are WAY cooler=&5=& =&6=&than Barbie or Buzz Lightyear! My daughter can give these away…and I know that the kids will love them! Maybe just one little card will entice a child to learn more about the Communion of Saints! Happy Saints has a wonderful collection of these adorable saints, identifying each saint in the illustration and offering a favorite quote. Check out their =&7=& available…both e-books and greeting cards that will make you HAPPY! Thank-you to Victor for letting me use these adorable pictures! How about “liking” the Happy Saints Facebook page…or subscribing to Happy Saints? You’ll be among the first to know when new Saint pictures are released! I’m linking up to Converted 2 Catholicand CeleLINKY thru the SAINTS and Catholic Icing’s First Friday Link-up. Check them out and add your Catholic crafts too! read more...for Equipping Catholic Families!

Filed Under: Saints

What are you doing for Lent? {LINK-UP}

January 31, 2012 by Monica McConkey 8 Comments

April 1: HOLY WEEK is here! Holy Week Fiestas de Enlaces

Here’s your chance to link-up your favorite Holy Week posts…with time for others to prepare for their own special Holy Week, maybe with a little help from YOUR post! This is the same page as the Fiestas de Enlaces Lent Link-Up…but feel free to grab this button and link back to this page.

Filed Under: link-up, Catholic Bloggers Network

Guest Post for St Brigid’s Feastday Feb 1

January 31, 2012 by Monica McConkey Leave a Comment

Tomorrow is February 1st…the Feast of St Brigid! I thought it would be appropriate to have my daughter Kelly offer a guest post.This was Kelly’s (grade 4) speech in 2008 at St Brigid School. Lion, dog, cow. What do these living things have in common? For one thing, they are all animals. If you’re a genius, maybe you were thinking they’re all mascots, and that’s true. The lion is the mascot of St. Mark’s Catholic School. The dog is our mascot. A bulldog to be exact.

And, last but not the least, the cow is the mascot of Williams College in Massachusetts. But not just any cow, (get this!) a purple cow with gold polka-dots, named Ephelia!

But, what if, our school mascot was also a cow?

Teachers and students, my speech will explain why I think our school mascot should be a cow.

I would expect that some people here don’t know what a mascot is or don’t understand the point of them. But I can explain all that. A mascot is an animal or person that represents something and is sometimes used to make another team nervous and build school spirit.

Now that you know all that, it’s time for me to talk about why I don’t really like our bulldog. On the one hand, the bulldog seems too frightening and I have to admit, it’s also pretty ugly. Next, I think this bulldog wastes to much of its time being shocking that it’s hardly active. I’ve heard nearly every teacher at the school say “it’s not about winning, but having fun!”, so why do we need a really fierce mascot? Why can’t we just have a fun mascot? Like…a cow.

OK, now you’re probably wondering how exactly a cow is fun and, I reckon you’re still wondering why our school mascot should be a cow. Well, I can explain that too. Cows are fun because of their cool spots and the awesome sound they make. They are intelligent and can sense danger before other animals. They’re tough because they can withstand the weather, even when we have indoor routine. They are patient and persistent. As you know, they give us milk which has vitamins A, B, C, D and E.

It would make sense for a cow to be our mascot because St Brigid lived in Ireland and like lots of other people in Ireland, she lived on a farm. It was common to have lots of cows in the pasture.

However, it was said that St. Brigid and her family owned a white red-eared cow that provided them with all the food St. Brigid needed, to grow. She also gave milk and other food from the farm to the poor. One time, she gave water to a thirsty stranger, and it turned into milk! Maybe all these stories explain why a cow is sometimes used as a symbol of St. Brigid.

And that is the exact type of cow that should be our school mascot…a white, red-eared cow. Isn’t that perfect?
I mean, our main school color is red!

I’d like to go on, but my time is up. Thanks for listening.

Filed Under: link-up, Catholic Bloggers Network

and the winner is…

January 30, 2012 by Monica McConkey Leave a Comment

…queue the Happy Dance… …and the winner for the 2012 Bilingual Bingo GIVEAWAY is… Sherri M from Baton Rouge, Louisiana! Congratulations to Sherri! She won our Catholic Bilingual Bingo GIVEAWAY! She chose to receive the Catholic Lingo Bingo in English…and the

Color Me Catholic: New Roman Missal Edition!

Filed Under: Catholic Crafts, giveaway