Revolution of Love

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

How I Use My Blessed Is She 2021-2022 Liturgical Planner

 

Normally I’d write my new planner post in August, but since Blessed is She added an extra month in this year’s academic planner, I’m setting it up a month early. And it’s not a moment too soon since I have numerous things to plan now that Covid restrictions have been loosened and traveling and school activities are back on the schedule.

Photo credit: Blessed Is She

I’ve been using the Blessed Is She planner since Day 1. I’ve switched to various sizes (sometimes mid-year) depending on my season of life. Blessed Is She has three options for us this year: the Standard size, the Mini-size, and the new perfect bound (non spiral) Mini-size. Last year I used the larger Standard size since we were all home-bound. However, this year I am returning to the Mini, specifically the perfect bound. I just love the portability! I need something I can throw in my tote for appointments and meetings and this does a great job.

I like making the planner my own by adding decor. I always add photos of my family to the inside cover of my planner.ย  They are my inspiration to strive for harmony and order, and they motivate me to conquer my messy tendencies. When there’s some order in the house, it brings more peace into our busy family life.

I also wanted to add a photo of St. Joseph, since he’s my saint of the year, but since the Holy Family has been working alongside of St. Joe, I added all of them in there.

I like to color code the items in my planner. For years I’ve been using five goal categories so I use five basic colors to correspond. Red (Daughter of God) is for spiritual activities such as Holy Hour, Confession, special Masses, Retreats, etc. Orange (Wife) are things like date nights. Green (Mom) are school events, violin and piano classes, after school practice, play dates, etc. Blue is a combo of Homemaker and extended family – work on house projects, shopping/errand days, or activities with extended family members. Purple (Woman) is for me – work outside the home, girls night out, self- care, etc and for BIS (Blessed Is She) activities with other women.

There is a small key on the bottom of my calendar page. It may seem complicated, but I’ve been using the color code so long that it is now natural to me.

After the monthly view, there is a goals page for three main areas: faith, family, and fun. I take some time to think about the things I want to accomplish this month. I find it best to pray about it first. Then I try to be specific and schedule it. For example, in my faith, I’d like to deepen my love of God. As a means to do that I will do a weekly Holy Hour and Monthly confession, which I listed in my goals. Then in my monthly calendar, I scheduled those days and keep them just as I would an appointment.

I use the following notes page as my monthly brain dump. I write down the things I know I have to get done that month. Then I schedule those things on my weekly calendar.

For the weekly view, I divide each day into two sections. The first column is my To Do’s. I use the second column as a schedule for appointments or activities.

Each day has a series of five dots. These are habit trackers. You can chose what you want to track – prayer, exercise, water. You can use all 5 dots for one thing (like cups/jugs of water) or use each dot for a different item. For me I use the dots for the following – morning prayer, water/hydration, vitamins, walk/exercise, bed on time. (I have a lot more leeway on that one since it is summer right now.) Because I am at the beginning of the my planner, I color coded it, but as time goes by I’ll just use one color. And to be honest, on busy weeks, I just leave them blank. It’s okay to use what helps you and to cut back, when you feel overwhelmed.

If there is a day when I have a lot of out-of-the-house activities I will use Erin Condren hourly schedule sticky notes.

There is a space from 6AM to 10PM, although I cut off the bottom part since I didn’t need the evening spaces.

Photo credit: Knock Knock

If I need more space for To Do’s, then I’ll use one of these Knock Knock To Do Sticky Notes and add it to the weekly page.

I also use the weekly spread to keep track of activities or meals for the liturgical year. I subscribe to the monthly Feast Day Liturgical Boxes and the Catholic All Year Liturgical Living Box.

After opening up our boxes (it feels like Christmas!) I take out my planner and mark the days we’ll be celebrating. Below the dinner section of the day, I add the meal, dessert, or activity and the feast/saint we’re honoring. It makes things a lot easier when I am planning the week’s meals and activities. Otherwise, the day may slip by and I’ve forgotten the special meal or activity. (Ask me how I know ๐Ÿ˜‰ )

Other features include a year at a glance page, a notes section in the back, an elastic band closure, and (added bonus) – a pen holder!

There are a lot of great planners out there, but I love all the Catholic aspects in the Blessed Is She planner. The theme of this year’s planner is the Litany of Trust written by the Sisters of Life.

Each month has a line from the Litany to pray about…

…and reflection questions to ponder.

Other Catholic elements include a list of feast days, how to make a Holy Hour, how to pray the Rosary, and an Examination of Conscience.

* * * * *

Your Questions Answered

Whenever, I post photos of my planner on Instagram, I’ll often get the same questions. Here are the most common ones with my answers.

I have the larger Standard-sized planner. Any tips for using it?

Last year I used the larger planner. You can get tips from my previous post – How I Use My Blessed Is She 2020-2021 Blessed Is She Planner. The planner looks a little different, but it has the same basic features.

What kind of pens do you use?

 

When I write in my planner, I MUST be able to erase. I used to use pencil until I found these awesome erasable pens a few years ago – Pilot Frixion Ball Knock Retractable Gel Ink Pen, 0.5mm, 10 Colors Set. I have been using them ever since.

There are various sizes available on Amazon, such as this larger pack ofย  Clicker Erasable, Refillable & Retractable Gel Ink Pens, Fine Point, Assorted Color Inks, 15-Pack Pouch. I have also seen single colors at Staples and Michael’s.

(One note: It has been said that the ink of these pens disappear in extreme heat, but the ink will reappear if book is placed in the freezer. I have never had an issue, but I also don’t live in extreme heat.)

Where do you get the planner stickers in you planner?

My favorite regular planner stickers include the Happy Planner sticker pads. You can find them at Amazon or craft stores like Michael’s. They are expensive so I wait until they go on sale or I have a coupon/ gift card.

Photo credit: Bloom

I also found some cute year round stickers from Amazon like these bloom daily planners New Holiday Seasonal Planner Sticker Sheets – Over 250 Stickers that cost about $10.

Photo credit: Zicoto

However, I just discovered these – Aesthetic Greenery Planner Stickers – 1100+ Stunning Gold Foil Design. Talk about happy mail! They come in a cute cardstock envelope and there are So. Many. Stickers. You get 12 sheets of monthly themed stickers and another 13 sheets of various planner stickers. They are so lovely! Most remarkable is the price. All of that for only $13! Sorry if I sound like an infomercial, but the sticker collecting nerdy girl inside me is geeking out. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Where do you get Catholic planner stickers?

I love these Catholic planner stickers from Blessed Is She. So pretty!

The other day I received the Catholic Planner Sticker Set from the kind and generous Jessica of the Sweet Little Ones Shop. Talk about a Catholic treasure trove! The planner pack has so many pretty Catholic stickers for the liturgical year, as well as saint quotes, Scripture, and much more. The set has 70 2×2 stickers, a 5×7 Liturgical Living Calendar print, and the option of adding square rosary stickers. I’m so pleased with them and the other goodies from her shop!

Photo Credit: Un Corazon Que Arde

I love these Catholic planner stickers from Un Corazon Que Arde. I ordered the first and third sheet since the middle one was in Spanish. They are so pretty!

Photo credit: Oh Hello Paper & Gifts

Oh Hello Paper & Gifts has numerous planner stickers that anyone can use, but she also has a sheet specifically for Catholic planners. What I like about these is that they are small, so they’re perfect for Mini-sized planners!

I asked on Instagram for suggestions of shops that sell Catholic planner stickers. I have not tried these shops myself, but they were recommended to me. Go check them out! (Note: There are numerous shops that sell single Catholic stickers. I was looking specifically for paper planner stickers sold in a sheet or package.)

Do you have a favorite shop for Catholic planner stickers? Let me know!

Where did you get the planner book marks I saw on your Instagram?

I like to use magnetic book marks, such as these…

…and cute paper clip book marks such as these. (Note: I love these, but the shorter metal loop of the paperclip pops out just a bit. I’d wish it had been straight as the other loop is.)

The perfect bound planner comes with a ribbon bookmark. However if you are using one of the spiral bound planners, then I highly recommend the Avery Spiral Slide-In Plastic Bookmark Divider. It can be used full size with the regular planner.

If you have a mini planner, you can easily cut off the end as I did in the photo above. They come in a pack of three, colored red, yellow, and aqua blue.

Where did you get the Catholic washi tape?

This awesome Catholic washi tape is from Tisa Mui Co. Right now some of the products are sold out, but if you sign up for the newsletter you’ll know when the are restocked.

When do you find time to decorate and update your planner?

Ideally, I try to do it on Sundays. I go over the week’s schedule, make my meal plan, my grocery list, and plan out my week (with room for unexpected changes.) I listen to music or watch a favorite movie to make it more relaxing. If I can’t do it on Sunday, then I’ll take time on Monday morning instead, but it is usually more hurried.

How do you keep yourself motivated to use your planner?

This is part of the reason that I decorate my planner. I’m more likely to use it when I put a little extra time into decorating it. Plus it calms me and brings me joy to add a little personality to the blank pages. But, honestly, there are weeks when I don’t have the time or energy to do anything with it and I’m okay with that. Plus, some people hate all the busyness of stickers and washi so decorating is definitely not a motivation for them!

Whatever your preference, I recommend keeping your planner close. For me, I keep it open on my desk or in the kitchen because I must write things down or I just forget. This way I can jot items down when they come to mind.

If the planner isn’t within my reach, I make a note (audio or typed) on my phone. Later (usually in the evening) I add those notes to the planner. The more I do this, the easier it is to keep the habit of using it. Plus, when I don’t do this, something inevitably falls through the cracks and that’s just no bueno!

I also try to see the spiritual side of writing things down and planning my day. My life can get busy and I can get stressed over it, but saying the prayers in the planner and repeating the lines of the Litany of Trust reminds me that I have one life and I don’t want to waste it getting stressed, or being disorganized, for that matter.

A planner won’t magically change my life, but it can be used as a tool to help me be a more efficient wife, mom, friend, and daughter of God. And if it looks cute as it’s doing that, all the better. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Well, I think that covered the basics! If you have the Blessed Is She planner, which version do you have? What’s your favorite feature or best planning advice/hack/accessory? Let me know!

Happy planning!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, ๐Ÿ˜‰

(NOTE: Revolution of Love is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I purchased these items on my own and am sharing my honest opinion about them.)


How We Celebrate Dia de los Muertos, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day as a Catholic Family

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Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) is a Mexican holiday celebrating life and death, specifically remembering loved ones who have died. Traditionally, it is a two-day holiday that believes we are reunited with our loved ones. Families build altars called ofrendas (โ€œofferingsโ€) with photos of their beloved deceased and decorate it with yellow marigolds, and their favorite foods to encourage them to visit from the land of the dead.

The origins of Dia de los Muertos is non-Christian and we, as Catholics, donโ€™t believe the souls of our loved ones will โ€œvisitโ€ us on these two days (as portrayed in the popular movie Coco.) However, we do believe that our loved ones remain alive in Christ (John 11:25) and we can (and should) pray for them. In the Catholic Church, our celebration of life after death is especially evident during All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. These feast days emphasize the Communion of Saints and the fact that we are still connected to those who died before us.

Dia de los Muertos is celebrated during these feast days and the traditions of praying for the dead, visiting and cleaning graves, making commemorative altars, enjoying a special meal to celebrate their lives are all meaningful acts that unite our hearts to theirs.

Although Iโ€™m Hispanic, I’ve never celebrated Dia de los Muertos. My first real glimpse into the holiday was during the aforementioned movie Coco. We were visiting my parents at the time, and the kids and I accompanied them to watch the movie. I loved it! A year and a half later, my mom passed away from cancer and the desire to honor her life inspired me to incorporate Dia de los Muertos with our Catholic feast days.

We started by building a Catholic version of the ofrenda, emphasizing praying for the dead.

 

RevolutionofLove.com - bis_altar_1First I cleared off our normal prayer table and switch the icon from the Sacred Heart to Divine Mercy.

Then I found boxes to serve as tiers for our altar.

I covered the boxes and the table with a yellow table cloth and some Mexican style table runners and place mats that I bought at Target a couple years ago. I also found similar ones in a local Mexican market. We added items such as:ย  Photos of deceased family members, papel picado (colorful paper flags), yellow marigolds, and (battery operated) votive candles.

There’s also a crucifix, icon of Our Lady of Sorrows, holy card of St. Joseph (patron of a happy death.)

I used PicMonkey to create the pictured prayer for the dead. (PicMonkey has a “day of the dead” theme with appropriate graphics.) I placed the prayer in a 5×7 picture frame.

I saved the photo as a PDF and put it in my Google Drive if you’d like to print it out and use it for your prayer table.

 

We placed another frame on the altar that has the names of family members and friends who have died.

Together these are a reminder that our loved ones are gone, but not forgotten. Our prayers and love for them remains strong.

If you don’t want to make a big ofrenda, you can do a smaller version with the a few photos, a candle, and the prayer card on a shelf. A couple years ago, before we created an ofrenda, I made this print (using PicMonkey) to display the photos of relatives who have recently died, along with the Faithful Departed prayer. We placed the photo on our little prayer table in the family room (next to where we eat) and we recite the prayer when we say grace before eating dinner.

 

All Souls Day Prayer & Family Photos

I downloaded the photo to Google Drive. You could download the photo template and use PicMonkey to make your own version, like I did, or you can simply print out a copy and write in the name of your loved ones or even tape their photo(s) to it.

 

All Saints Day

 

On the feast of All Saints Day, we celebrate the saints of the church, both known and unknown, who have reached heaven.

When the kids were younger, they’d dress up as their favorite saints and attend All Saints’ Day parties.

Now that they are older, they don’t dress up, but we attend Mass together as a family and during our evening prayers, we pray the Litany of the Saints.

The kids may be too old for costumes, but they’re never to old for special treats! The cute tableware and the paper decorations are from Be A Heart.com.

All Souls’ Day

The Communion of Saints is comprised of three group: The Church Triumphant, the faithful who have died and are now in heaven. The Church Militant, those of us on earth still on our journey to Heaven. And the Church Penitent, the faithful departed who are still expiating their sins in Purgatory. All Souls Day is dedicated to this, often forgotten, portion of God’s family.

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030)”

The Church encourages and gives us ample opportunity to pray for the dead in the month of November. Our prayers, Masses, indulgences, sacrifices, and works of mercy are our way of loving and helping the Faithful Departed.

On All Souls’ Day, we visit our local cemetery, where my father-in-law is buried. We clean his grave and add fresh flowers. It’s interesting to see other graves and how families have decorated them with flowers and items that they loved.

I give each of the kids a handful of flowers and allow them to walk around the cemetery and choose people who don’t have any flowers or decorations.

They offer a prayer for them and leave a flower at their grave.

Their choices have included older persons, young kids, soldiers, priests and religious, and a teen who recently took his life. One of the people I prayed for was a woman with the same name as my mom since her grave was too far away for me to visit. It was a moving experience.

Together Dia De Los Muertos, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day remind us that this life is a journey towards Heaven and death cannot separate us from the love we share with each other. The grief of loss is tempered with the knowledge that, God willing, we will all be together again one day.

How do you celebrate these feast days? I’d love to hear your traditions. ๐Ÿ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. ๐Ÿ˜‰

PPS – (Note: Revolution of Love is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

 


Added to My Calendar – St. Joan of Arc Catholic Women’s Conference in Pasadena, CA

This Fall is a busy (and fun) time for me and I’ve just added one more anticipated event to the calendar. Today I registered for the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Women’s Conference on October 14, 2017 in Pasadena, CA. Yay! Not only will I be there but my mom is joining me too! Double yay!

revolution of love blog - cwbn_amigas_1

CWMNCA in 2015

I attended the CWBNCA conference that Kendra and Micaela hosted back in 2015 (it was a blogging conference then) and it was such a time of personal and spiritual growth – I wrote all about it here.

Then last year they changed it to a women’s conference so any Catholic woman could attend, not just bloggers. I wasn’t able to attend then but this year doors opened and my awesome hubby said he’d watch the kids and gave his blessing, so I’ll be there. That fact that my mom was available and willing to join me makes it all the more special!

If you are free on October 14th and can head on over, you really should! The day will begin with morning Mass celebrated by Fr. Matthew, OSJ, who has a daily radio show on Immaculate Heart Radio and happens to be Micaela’s little brother. ๐Ÿ™‚ Micaela will be MCing and speakers include Blythe Fike and Kendra Tierney.

For more details about the conference, click over here. To register, click here.

I do hope you can make it. If you plan to attend, let me know so I can find you and say hi! If you see me and my mom, come on over and say hi! See you then. ๐Ÿ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, ๐Ÿ˜‰


31 Days of Gratitude 2016 (Day 1): Introduction

RevolutionofLove.com - 31_days_2016_logo2

For the third year, I will be participating in the 31 Days Writing Challenge. If it is new to you, here are the details from write31days.com.

31 Days is an online writing challenge started by home blogger, Myquillyn Smith (The Nester) and now hosted by Crystal Stine, where bloggers pick one topic and write a post on that topic every day in October.

I have really enjoyed doing 31 Days of Gratitude (with photos and words) the last two year, so I decided to do it again.

RevolutionofLove.com - quote_gratitude_m_t

My inspiration for this year is this quote:

“The best way to show my gratitude is to accept everything, even my problems.” – St. Mother Teresa

It’s easy to be happy and thankful when things are going well in life but when I am stressed, feeling overworked or upset that things are working out as I had planned, I tend to get upset and complain. Over the month, I want to work on being more grateful, specifically by taking a moment each day to stop and reflect on one thing I can be thankful for that day. I will share those little thank you’s with you. Most of my posts tend to be short but since I’m hosting the Weekly Writing Link-up in October, one post each week will be longer and more thoughtful. I hope this time writing will help me become more reflective and thankful, as well as getting me back into a writing routine.

I’ll be posting each day on the blog but this page will be my landing page with links of each post for easy reference.

If you want to read past 31 Days of Gratitude, click here for 2015 and 2014.

I hope you will join me along the way! ๐Ÿ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Quick Family Update & Message of Gratitude (6/8/16)

Today is an exciting day with Andrew turning 9 years old and Bella graduating from the 8th grade. My parents were supposed to be here but my mom is too sick to travel. Yesterday she had another test to see if the cancer has stayed in one place or moved to other areas. We should have results by late tomorrow afternoon. My emotions today are intertwined with excitement, anxiety and hope. And even though my parents are not here I know that their prayers, thoughts and love have traveled the miles to surround us.

My mom asked me to specifically thank all of you who have been praying for her. She wanted to send you this message.

RevolutionofLove.com - thanks_mom2Thanks again and I’ll keep you posted.

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, ๐Ÿ˜‰