The Orthodox Christian Network has recently launched a new blog called The Sounding. I am very excited to be writing the Orthodox Home and Family channel for it! I will be posting my posts from that channel on Adventures of an Orthodox Mom as well (though they may be slightly altered and some things you may already be familiar with if you've read this blog for awhile).

The following post was published last week. Be sure to check out The Sounding for lots of great information and encouragement. There is a channel on missions, Youth ministry, Basics of Orthodoxy and more!

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Yesterday we celebrated the second Sunday of the Triodion, Sunday of the Prodigal Son. Which means in just two short weeks we will begin our journey through Great Lent.

I love this time of year. For me, it’s a time to get back on track, yet another chance to start anew, so to speak. The next two and a half months are a chance for all of us to cleanse our hearts and prepare the glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This also means that we will be attending church more…a lot more. Needless to say, as a mother of two small children and one on the way, the biggest challenge I face is how to keep my children involved in the services, or at least quiet enough so that I can enjoy a portion of them. I’m sure there are families that have no problem keeping their children quiet and vigilant...though I have not yet met such a family. If you know of one, please send them over my way. Please.

I personally don’t like to bring “toys” to church, especially the kind that light up, make sounds or noise when hit against a chair. I learned this through trial and error when my first son was little. I quickly learned that he associated toys with playing and so every time we went to church and I pulled out his favorite toy, he took that as a signal for playtime to begin. He would start laughing and screaming and making truck noises as he rolled his little Tonka trucks across the pews, causing everyone within earshot to turn around, whether to smile at him or scold me.

I immediately began trying to think of things that would occupy him (and distract others less) while keeping his little heart and mind on the things of heaven.

While I’m still figuring out how to do this consistently, there are a couple things that have actually worked well for me over the years.

• ICON CARDS. I laminated, punched holes through them and placed them on a ring. Both of my boys enjoyed them much more than I expected and they have learned the names and stories of many beloved saints.

• ORTHODOX CHILDREN’S BOOKS. It’s especially helpful if it is a “Liturgy book”. My favorite one for children toddlers and preschoolers is called "It's Sunday, Shall we Go to Church?". It has great illustrations and helps little ones understand a little bit more about what's going on during church. Books about the saint(s) being commemorated that day are great as well.

• FAMILY SAINT BOOKS. I bought a cheap photo album and filled it with different icons of the members of our family. From Mommy and Daddy and siblings to grandparents, and so on. This was a great tool for teaching them the stories of our patron saints.

• PRAYER ROPES. My children, and many others I’ve seen, love prayer ropes. They pretend to use them as censers, to pray on, and on occasion they’ll use them to tie up their younger siblings (though I try to discourage that.) I still think it is a good idea for them to get used to holding them in their hands though. Even if a child is very young and is unable to learn the Jesus Prayer, it is still a beautiful thing to hear them simply utter the sweet name of our Saviour. Jesus.

Of course, as soon as I think I have something figured out, they go and get older and I find myself trying to master the next stage. Right now, I am working on ways to help my seven-year old understand and become more familiar with the different parts of the Liturgy and other services. I’m still on the hunt for a Liturgy book for early readers that explains what actually happens during the Divine Liturgy. Any suggestions?