Dear Mom,

What a wonderful goal. It is for the reason that you just described that I have found homeschooling to be such an uplifting and comforting experience. When we are the 'masters' of our day so to speak then it is possible to schedule time as you describe. Time with the Lord in a quiet moment is so important. To help your son foster the spirit of resting in the Lord and allowing the good Jesus to inspire him with thoughts is such a blessing.

I would suggest that you make this time very simple. I like to read the lives of the Saints as they follow the day to day calendar. The saints have much to teach us and contemplating their lives and the meaning of their sacrifices in relation to our modern lives is indeed important. I believe that it is very important to read the daily the scriptures and to spend time thinking about the meaning. We like to begin our quiet prayer time in the morning with prayer. My children are much older so we prefer to pray the rosary (some mornings we only pray 2 or 3 decades). I love the rosary as it is so easy to meditate upon the Mysteries and allow the Lord to calm our hearts and spirits. After prayer (which quiets our spirits and sets the mood) our spirits are ready to listen to the gentle teachings of the Lord as they are found in the daily readings. We like to read the saint for the day and then each child is encouraged to spend a few moments jotting down their personal reflections. This is our routine, however, keep in mind that my girls are quite a bit older and naturally have more patience for longer prayer times. Adjust your time in prayer and contemplation according to your son's needs.

Journal writing is a discipline that is fostered over time. Do not expect to see dramatic results right at the start but keep in mind that if the time alloted for journal writing is consistent, your son's inspirations will improve and he will feel more confident in his writing. Do not expect him to read aloud what he has written but instead ask him if he would like to share a portion of what he has written. He may or may not chose to do so and this is perfectly fine. As his confidence improves he will gladly share his wonderful thoughts.

I think that until you determine the 'style' of prayer and the amount of patience that your son is willing to give over to this exercise it is best to go easy on purchasing materials. You can find all the information that I have mentioned on the internet. You can print it off the night before for his use the next day (He can save the pages and make a binder of the information). If you like to invest in one thing at the start I highly recommend a book about the lives of the saints as it follows the yearly calendar. I purchased a book such as this the very first year we began homeschooling and it continues to be a wonderful and much loved resource. If you find a resource that seems to be above his level do not fret. You can read the narrative aloud to him and ask him if he understands what you have read. This is a lovely way to open up discussion.

I admire you very much and think that you have chosen a worthy goal and certainly the better portion.

Let us pray for all those families that find themselves in the middle of turmoil. Let us ask the dear Jesus to send them times of peace and quiet so that they may rest in the arms of the Lord and in so doing find their great comfort. Jesus we love you and long to see Your face during our lives as we strive to draw closer to You each day. Amen.

Sending out a prayer,

Rita Munn

P.S. You may enjoy browsing CHC's selection of devotional items, especially Devotional Stories for Little Folks, at this link.