Little Oratory + prayer journal + Sheenazing!

So tell me you read Like Mother, Like Daughter. You do, right? It's one of my favorite blogs and you all know how excited I was to meet Auntie Leila a few months ago.

I bought her book when I met her, and ever since then, I've been trying to think of a way to make the kind of little "home altar" she talks about. Tricky when you're as tight on space as we are. But on Saturday when we were (fiiiiinally) taking down our Christmas decorations, we put away the Nativity set that had been on the table next to our front door and suddenly it sat empty. And I looked at that open tabletop right next to Frank's icon wall and I went "Ah-ha!"

So this happened:

I wish we could have the table UNDER the icons but Frank says that it crowds the door too much, so this will have to do. I also wish we didn't have the printer and all that other stuff under it, but there's no where else to put them so it's working for now. Hey, I'm just so excited we finally have the beginnings of a "little oratory"!

Here's a closer look at the table:

We've got a picture of Popes Benedict and Francis that Frank and I purchased when we went to Rome on our honeymoon (shhhh... it's actually a postcard), we've got an image of a saint's funeral (can't remember which saint) that one of our artistic friends painted, we've got our nicest Bible, a candle... and see that little white envelope poking out of a vase on the far right? That, my friends, contains a relic of St. John the Baptist, a gift from a former professor. So cool, right?! We're hoping to get a nice icon of St. John the Baptist that we can attach the relic to.

And see that little red notebook underneath on the right side? I got the idea from Mrs. Lawler's book to start a family journal of prayer intentions and keep it with the little altar.

On that note, I have a question for you. Lately I've seen several people mention on social media that they use "prayer journals" as part of their spiritual life. I will be honest, I don't exactly understand what a prayer journal is, but the concept sounds fascinating! If you use a prayer journal or know someone who does, would you mind sharing a little bit about what it is and how you use it? Thanks!

Finally, here is Frank's beloved icon wall, the inspiration for this whole thing:

Guys. This is only part of his icon collection. Yesterday he said, "It's lucky for me that you like icons," and I was like YUP.

Finally, I'm so honored to share that some kind soul nominated me for the Sheenazing award for under-appreciated blog! I've admired these awards from afar for several years so it's a HUGE honor to be included. Thank you so much to whoever nominated me, and please go check out the other amazing nominees!

Update: And now I'll be sharing our (very preliminary) Little Oratory on Leila's "my Little Oratory" page. Link yours up too!