Compiling personal prayer books

[Mary]

I've been gathering prayers that I like, or that seem to particularly fit someone I know. I pray a few short prayers for my family and children and my friends-who-are-closer-than- brothers, everyday. But then, I thought it would be nice if I could pray a few longer prayers for those dearest to me, at least on their birthdays (and/or namedays).

Do any of you have favorite prayers that you pray for your loved ones, that you could share with me?

Thank you!

In Christ,
Mary

[Paul Cowan]

Dear Mary,

Here is a daily prayer I have. It is probably not canonically correct but then neither is my heart...

Oh Holy St. Panteleimon: Through your prayers pray for my wife to heal her in her mind, heart and body. Pray to God to forgive her her sins and allow her body rest in Christ from her pains and illnesses. Pray for me to Christ for forgivness of my sins and to help me to help her.
In the name of the Father+, and the Son+ and the Holy Spirit+, Amen.

[Irene]

Hi Mary, I love the prayer that follows, I bought a second prayer book, about 20 years ago, just so I could have this one prayer, it is a prayer for parents to say for their children and since once you are a parent - your children will always be your children - no matter how old they are, it's one I will always keep with me. ...Irene

A PRAYER OF PARENTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN

O Holy Father, eternal God, from Whom all goodness and blessings flow, I humbly pray to Thee for the children Thy clemency hath granted me. Thou hast given them substance, Thou hast through an immortal soul given them life, and regenerated them through holy baptism, by virtue of which they are able to obey Thy commandments and attain the kingdom of heaven. Preserve them in Thy grace to the ends of their lives, and sanctify them, that Thy Name be hallowed in them. Co-operate with me by Thy grace that I bring them up for the glory of Thy Holy Name and for the benefit of our neighbours. Grant me the necessary means for this, patience and fortitude.

O Lord, enlighten them by the light of thy wisdom that they love Thee with all their soul and Thought. Plant into their hearts the fear and repulsion of all wickedness, that they wend their way without corruption. Beautify their soul by Thy chastity, kindness, humility, industry, patience, and all virtues. Guard their lips by truth that all slander, falsehood and wile be repugnant to them. Sprinkle them with the dew of Thy grace, that they prosper in virtue and holiness, and that they grow up in Thy favour and in the love of upright men.

May their Guardian Angel ever be with them and protect their youth from vain Thoughts, from the attraction and seduction of this world, and from all snares of the evil spirit. And if at any time they were to sin before Thee, turn not Thy face away from them, but be merciful to them, awaken in their heart contrition, and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, cleanse them of their sins. Do not withdraw from them the bounties of the earth, but grant them everything necessary for their temporal needs and for the gaining of eternal salvation. Protect them from affliction, anger and misfortune, harm and pain through all the days of their life.

O good Lord, I pray to Thee grant that I have joy and gladness in my children; vouchsafe that I appear with them before Thy terrible tribunal and without fear say: “here I am, O Lord, with the children Thou has deigned to give me;” that together with them, praising Thy ineffable goodness and eternal love, I may glorify Thy Most Holy Name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

From the Orthodox Prayer Book 1959, published with the blessing of Metropolitan Leonty New York July 1 1957 by the Russian Day Committee Pennsylvania.

[Effie Ganatsios]

I've been gathering prayers that I like, or that seem to particularly fit someone I know. I pray a few short prayers for my family and children and my friends-who-are-closer-than- brothers, everyday. But then, I thought it would be nice if I could pray a few longer prayers for those dearest to me, at least on their birthdays (and/or namedays).

Do any of you have favorite prayers that you pray for your loved ones, that you could share with me?

Thank you!

In Christ,
Mary

Mary, a few years ago I decided to compile my own book of prayers because I couldn't find the Orthodox Prayer Book in english here.

I compiled a morning prayer book and an evening prayer book. I bought two medium sized photo albums (those with clear plastic pockets) with deep maroon covers and a plain gold stripe. I downloaded most of the prayers in the orthodox prayer book online. I included other things as well : e.g. Let us learn to pray by Holy Theofan the Recluse, Theological virtues, Chief Spiritual works of mercy - etc.

I spent a very long time on these two books and wondered at times whether I wasn't being a little childish - mainly because I also made sure that what I was doing was visually beautiful e.g. I used very light lemon rice paper to print on - also another type of paper with silk threads in it, and so on.

I don't regret even one minute spent on these two books because not only do I use them every day but I can also go through them and come across things I read and loved and included - things I would forget if they weren't included in these prayer books.


One prayer that is included and that I use frequently is the following that I found in Mother Gabriela's book :

"Lord, You know how much I love this person. This love is not mine for You are the Source of Love that I draw too, and I offer you this person.

Lord, I pray to You, grant him Your Light, grant him Your Mercy, grant him Strength, grant him Faith, grant him all the abundant Blessings that you grant. All I can offer is my humble love.

After this introduction, you take a knot of the Komboskini and say : "I pray to You for so and so... for so and so".. visualizing each of these persons at the Feet of Christ, praying on their knees before Him.

For someone you are worried about :

My Lord, give him Your Pardon, give him Your Mercy, give him Light, give him Health of Body and Soul. Make Your Will manifest in his life."


Effie

[Irene]

An older Russian lady that I know and deeply respect, was once really excited to show me something that she dearly treasured - it was her collection of cut out and hand written prayers stuck in a book. I thought it was really sweet that this was her treasured possession and I kind of know how she feels. Photos, Icons and collected prayers are the things I'm likely to grab if we ever have to be evacuated or something.

[Effie Ganatsios]

An older Russian lady that I know and deeply respect, was once really excited to show me something that she dearly treasured - it was her collection of cut out and hand written prayers stuck in a book. I thought it was really sweet that this was her treasured possession and I kind of know how she feels. Photos, Icons and collected prayers are the things I'm likely to grab if we ever have to be evacuated or something.

Maybe it's something to do with age!!!!! This older Greek lady loves her books and they are permanently on her bedside table.

Love
Effie

[Nina]

If the person is alive:
'God Jesus Christ, Son of God, please have mercy on ... (insert here the name of the loved one)!'

if the person is departed:
'God Jesus Christ, Son of God, please have mercy on the soul of ...!'

May be repeated continuously throughout the day.

[Mary]

Irene, that's a really good prayer for children! =) I like it. Thank you.

Effie, I love what you did for your prayer books! For so long, I've been wondering how to put my own together. I always start and then I have to re-do it, whenever I find another prayer that I really like, that I'd like to tuck into the middle instead of at the end. I like that idea of using a photo album. Did you print out the prayers on cards? Could you post pictures of your prayer book on your profile?

I really like that prayer from Mother Gabriela too.

Thanks so much. I'll add whatever I find as well.

In Christ,
Mary

[Effie Ganatsios]

I love them too Mary. With my method, you can rearrange your prayers whenever you need to. The photo albums I selected have 50 pages which means 100 as you use both sides of each page. As I explained I have two books - one for morning prayers and one for evening prayers. I used special paper that I found at the stationery shop. They have many kinds of beautiful A4 paper. I used rice paper and another kind that has silk threads through it (I only used a little of the latter because of the price). I chose a very light lemon rice paper and as this paper is a little transparent, it looks beautiful when printed. I measured the size of the plastic pockets in the photo albums ( mine are 12,5 cm X 18,0 cm. ) I then selected the same size approx. in the printing options. There is a little waste because of the A4 paper but perhaps you can find a smaller size over there. I didn't want a file with A4 paper because it is too large and I wanted these books to be manageable. They sit side by side on my bedside table and are really beautiful because they are identical with deep maroon covers and a gold edging.

I also used my Microsoft Word art clips for the headings. Most of the pages have a maroon line as a frame. I used the tables option in my Microsoft Word for this. I also downloaded quite a few orthodox icons and have also used some for decoration.

I'll try to photo and then transfer images to my computer with my camera. My son gave it to me just before my trip to Australia but I still haven't figured out how to transfer the images to my computer.


Effie

[Effie Ganatsios]

Mary I downloaded some photos. Transferring photos from my camera to my computer was very easy. All I had to do was plug it in!!!

Effie

[Amy]

Ah! Effie!

God has blessed my soul through you today!

Your prayer books are beautiful.... hands to work, hearts to God.

I have been working on a prayer book too, for over a year, with my photographs. You have inspired me to continue on. Thank You!

Blessings,
amy

[Nina]

Effie!

Your prayer books are beautiful.... hands to work, hearts to God.

Blessings,
amy

Yes! They are really beautiful! Such a great idea, and such a noble look.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Ah! Effie!

God has blessed my soul through you today!

Your prayer books are beautiful.... hands to work, hearts to God.

I have been working on a prayer book too, for over a year, with my photographs. You have inspired me to continue on. Thank You!

Blessings,
amy

Thank you Amy. You have no idea of how practical they are. They are my daily companions. I find things in them that speak to my heart.

I hope that you will also post photos of your prayer book Amy.

Effie

[Effie Ganatsios]

Yes! They are really beautiful! Such a great idea, and such a noble look.

Thanks Nina. I love them.

Effie

[Amy]

Thank you, Effie, for asking. My prayer book is still in pages (or, rather, individual files) on my computer. I keep changing things as I go and have not put it all together yet. I will try to post some individual pages...

[Amy]

..have patience, I am still trying to learn all the features here =-)

[Mary]

Effie, what lovely books!

I'm a paper lover. I like to go to the stationery section just to feast my eyes on all the delightful kinds of papers, wishing I could justify spending money on them. But I never could think of a good use for them. I think scrapbooking is a terrible waste of time... (Please don't be offended scrap-bookers. I've got issues.)

I have been collecting my cookbook in a photo album - writing down our favorites on pretty recipe cards, so I don't have to go wandering through my vast collection of recipes everytime I want to cook, and it's working well. So far.

But I never thought about putting my favorite prayers in an album. I think I'll borrow your idea and start delighting in elegant paper. Can't think of any better way to use pretty paper! (and expensive paper!) http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/69.gif

Thank you!
Mary

[Effie Ganatsios]

Effie, what lovely books!

I'm a paper lover. I like to go to the stationery section just to feast my eyes on all the delightful kinds of papers, wishing I could justify spending money on them. But I never could think of a good use for them. I think scrapbooking is a terrible waste of time... (Please don't be offended scrap-bookers. I've got issues.)

I have been collecting my cookbook in a photo album - writing down our favorites on pretty recipe cards, so I don't have to go wandering through my vast collection of recipes everytime I want to cook, and it's working well. So far.

But I never thought about putting my favorite prayers in an album. I think I'll borrow your idea and start delighting in elegant paper. Can't think of any better way to use pretty paper! (and expensive paper!) http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/69.gif

Thank you!
Mary

That's a good idea about recipes written on recipe cards and then inserted into the plastic pockets of larger albums. My recipes are all over the place and this idea of yours is wonderful Mary. There are A4 sized photo albums with two plastic pockets on each page and now thinking about it, small recipe cards would fit perfectly in these.

What a terrific idea!

I am going to start this project soon because it seems very practical - at the moment I am working on some lace for pillows, a large cross-stitch portrait of the Theotokos (I'm having great difficulty with Her face and have tried praying before each stitching session), and woolen socks for the men in the family.



Mary, what exactly is scrapbooking?

I have separate files for my housekeeping hints, herbs, gardening, and health food etc. (all came into existence after the Internet). I also have a lot of stuff on my computer. Isn't this another form of excess, of greed. Do we really need all these things? Same with books - my passion and I can't even count them, there are so many - but is this not just another example of greed. Did our mothers need all this information? Do we benefit in any way? Isn't concentrating on one thing better than this need for more and more information?

The above is something I have frequently thought about and it concerns me. Reading the lives of the various saints, it seems they all have one thing in common - simplicity in their everyday lives and few possessions.

Sorry for the long post.

Effie

[Irene]

Mary, what exactly is scrapbooking?

- but is this not just another example of greed. Did our mothers need all this information? Do we benefit in any way? Isn't concentrating on one thing better than this need for more and more information?

The above is something I have frequently thought about and it concerns me. Reading the lives of the various saints, it seems they all have one thing in common - simplicity in their everyday lives and few possessions.

Sorry for the long post.

Effie


Hi Effie, Scrapbooking (http://scrapbooking.about.com/od/pagestarterideas/ig/Scrapbook-Techniques) is preserving memories, eg photos, newspaper articles, maybe favourite quotes, whatever you want in a album and decorating it with pretty paper or bits of material/lace. It is a handcraft from history that has been brought back into fashion in recent years.

I had a peak at your prayer books and I love them too. Hoping to start working on something myself soon, now that I've been inspired.

Part 2:

I'm listening to an interview about Father Seraphim Rose at the moment and the Monk is saying that Fr Seraphim advised keeping everything simple.

Clutter, keeping too much stuff, yes I wonder about that too. They say that if you put it away and haven't touched it after a year or two you should get rid of it, you don't need it. I have boxes and things in my garage and I don't even remember what's in them.

My collection of handy hints and recipes that I realised I never use I threw out and I write out what I do use in a nice spiral back book my daughter bought for me.

[Kypreos]

compile my own book of prayers
Effie

that is such a good idea, thank you.

[Paul Cowan]

Dear Effie,

I have to ask...is your home always that clean and spotless or did you clean up just for us, visitors???

Paul :)

[Nina]

Dear Effie,

I have to ask...is your home always that clean and spotless or did you clean up just for us, visitors???

Paul :)

Paul, I think that it is that spotless always. Typical Greek nikokira and typical Greek home.

[Paul Cowan]

In that case, both of you please come stay with us for awhile. It will take both of you to clean this place. ;)

Paul

[Nina]

In that case, both of you please come stay with us for awhile. It will take both of you to clean this place. ;)

Paul

I know that Effie will make the place immaculate.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Paul, I think that it is that spotless always. Typical Greek nikokira and typical Greek home.

I see you know Greeks, Nina.


Paul, that was my sitting room and yes, I like cleanliness and neatness. It makes me feel nice.

Of course, I did not take a photo of my spare room which is full of ironing, files, computers, etc. I usually close the door of this room when guests come.............................................. ......

Effie

[Mary]

I see you know Greeks, Nina.


Paul, that was my sitting room and yes, I like cleanliness and neatness. It makes me feel nice.

Of course, I did not take a photo of my spare room which is full of ironing, files, computers, etc. I usually close the door of this room when guests come.............................................. ......

Effie

Could you give me some of your Greekiness? My whole house looks like your spare room...

[Nina]

I see you know Greeks, Nina.


Paul, that was my sitting room and yes, I like cleanliness and neatness. It makes me feel nice.

Of course, I did not take a photo of my spare room which is full of ironing, files, computers, etc. I usually close the door of this room when guests come.............................................. ......

Effie

I know Greeks??? :) I lived with them! The houses of my aunts, cousins, relatives, and parents and grandparents and their friends and many others' looked like that. They all had centerpieces handmade by the lady of the house, and not only her house had to sparkle but also the area near her front door (public property) had to sparkle even more - because as the teaching from grandmothers goes that area indicates how clean the lady of the house is and how meticulous she is in taking care of things. But of course things have changed a lot. :)

When I tried to buy an embroidered centerpiece in Greece for the coffee table, my fiance tenderly suggested that it does not match with the modern flair of the place and that it reminded him of grandmothers' things (he loved dearly his grandmother though, but has a different taste, understandably). Although that centrepiece was modern according to my evaluation :). However I obeyed at the moment. But after sometime not only there was one centerpiece on each table, but they come in various colors for different seasons (many are gifts from my mother and my fiance's mother). :) And now he loves them too. At first I tried to convince him to accept them by mentioning what St. Chrysostom says in his book "Marriage and family life" about such things, but he did not react. I found out that the other way was easier. One day I just decorated for a celebration and placed a centerpiece (he loved it) and it continues. Now the color is red because we (in my family) keep Christmas decor until January 7 (although this year I did not decorate much because we were away most of December).

[Amy]

I am going to try to post a few images of my little book:

http://heartjoys.fcpages.com/images/prayerbook_1_e.jpg


http://heartjoys.fcpages.com/images/prayerbook_2_e.jpg

http://heartjoys.fcpages.com/images/prayerbook_3_e.jpg


I hope you can read the text ok.


And, Effie, with regards to cleanliness, could you please come and help me with my mess?! I spend too much time creating and not enough time cleaning.....

[Nina]

Beautiful! Did you take the pictures yourself Amy?

[Yuri Zharikov]

I am going to try to post a few images of my little book:

http://heartjoys.fcpages.com/images/prayerbook_1_e.jpg


http://heartjoys.fcpages.com/images/prayerbook_2_e.jpg

http://heartjoys.fcpages.com/images/prayerbook_3_e.jpg


I hope you can read the text ok.


And, Effie, with regards to cleanliness, could you please come and help me with my mess?! I spend too much time creating and not enough time cleaning.....

In case you wonder, the bird in the middle picture is called the barn owl... but maybe you know, in which case I shut up.

happy Nativity to everybody,
Yura

[Amy]

Yes, thank you, Nina, the photos are mine. I am a professional photographer and have been wanting to put my images to prayers and favorite quotes for a long time. A work in progress! =-)

And, yes, thank you Yuri! You are correct, that is a barn owl. That particular one is named "Twister" as he is part of a wildlife education program at an Avian Center near my home. Isn't he a beauty?!

[Effie Ganatsios]

Amy! How beautiful! Thank you for posting these pages. Can I steal them and use them in my own books? I already have the prayer of St. Ephrem in one of my books but the snowdrops(?) look so wonderful next to it.

Sometimes when some people look only on the gloomy side of things and tell us that we need to do this or that, mainly strip our lives of everything beautiful, I look at nature and I see s master artist who created things of beauty. God Himself, by creating the beauty around us has made us creatures that need beautiful things to enjoy. Glory to God Δοξα σοι ο Θεος

Thank you again Amy. I believe that your beauty of spirit has been transferred to your art.

Effie

re cleaning : do you know the old Rosemary Clooney song : Come on-a my house, my house a come on??????????? I plan to tackle my spare room next week...................................... does anything more need to be said? I might take a picture of the mess - if I am brave enough to do that.

[Nina]

Effie, Amy, Paul, Rick, Marie and many others who love the beauty of creation,

Do you know about Saint Irene Chrysovalantou?


On great feasts (http://orthodoxwiki.org/Feast) it was the custom of Irene to keep vigil in the courtyard of the monastery, giving thanks for the awesome beauty of creation. During one of these vigils one of the nuns, who was unable to sleep, left her cell and entered the courtyard. The nun was blessed to see Irene motionless, in prayer and levitated a metre off the ground, with two cypress trees bent to the ground before her. After Irene had finished, she blessed the trees and they returned to standing upright.


At first, the nun thought this to be a vision of the evil one. Afterwards, when others of the sisterhood noticed handkerchiefs at the top of those trees, the nun who saw Irene related what she saw. In response to this the whole sisterhood was so excited that Irene rebuked them, focusing on the need for concentration of their own prayer rule and ordering them not to relate any miracles until after Irene's repose.


Irene Chrysovalantou's Life (http://orthodoxwiki.org/Irene_Chrysovalantou).

[Effie Ganatsios]

Effie, Amy, Paul, Rick, Marie and many others who love the beauty of creation,

Do you know about Saint Irene Chrysovalantou?



Irene Chrysovalantou's Life (http://orthodoxwiki.org/Irene_Chrysovalantou).

It is truly amazing what we learn on Monachos. Thank you so much Nina for telling us about Saint Irene Chrysovalantou.

How can one love God without loving nature? How can one love God without wanting to protect his creation. We have been given responsibility - stewardship of nature, but instead of enjoying and protecting we are determined to maim and destroy. And why? Because profit is today's god.

Effie

[Amy]

Effie,

I am so sorry. I forgot about this thread!

Of course you may use the images for your prayer books. I am honored that you would ask.

And, thank you so much for the kind words that lifted my day!

[Justin Farr]

I couldn't see the pictures on page one. :(

This is a project I would love to get started on, but do not really know how to go about it. Right now I have my own prayer book, but all on plain white paper in plan font in a plain white three ring binder. :p

[Nina]

This is a project I would love to get started on, but do not really know how to go about it. Right now I have my own prayer book, but all on plain white paper in plan font in a plain white three ring binder. :p

Justin do not blame the girls for being girls. :P Although you all with prayer books are ahead of me since I have no prayer book like you guys here. I just know everything by heart. :P I am kidding, I do not even know the shortest prayer (Jesus prayer).

[Mary James]

Dear Mary,

Here is a daily prayer I have. It is probably not canonically correct but then neither is my heart...

Oh Holy St. Panteleimon: Through your prayers pray for my wife to heal her in her mind, heart and body. Pray to God to forgive her her sins and allow her body rest in Christ from her pains and illnesses. Pray for me to Christ for forgivness of my sins and to help me to help her.
In the name of the Father+, and the Son+ and the Holy Spirit+, Amen.

This is such a beautiful prayer! I cried when i read it.. thank you so much for sharing that with us. I'm going to write this one down. :)

[Effie Ganatsios]

Dear Mary,

Here is a daily prayer I have. It is probably not canonically correct but then neither is my heart...

Oh Holy St. Panteleimon: Through your prayers pray for my wife to heal her in her mind, heart and body. Pray to God to forgive her her sins and allow her body rest in Christ from her pains and illnesses. Pray for me to Christ for forgivness of my sins and to help me to help her.
In the name of the Father+, and the Son+ and the Holy Spirit+, Amen.

Dear Paul, I have also downloaded this prayer - following Mary James' example - and have also found a picture of an icon of St. Panteleimon which I have inserted just under it. I have printed it and will insert it in my prayer book. I have adapted it for a family member whom I dearly love. Thank you so much for posting it.

Effie

[Anthony]

I love them too Mary. With my method, you can rearrange your prayers whenever you need to.

Many thanks for the tip. One thing that puts me off starting something like this is that after a couple of months I would almost certainly decide that the whole thing should have been organized differently. And a book isn't like a word-processed document where you just click a few buttons and things fall into place.

Plus the fact that sooner or later I would spill my coffee on it...

[Paul Cowan]

Dear Paul, I have also downloaded this prayer - following Mary James' example - and have also found a picture of an icon of St. Panteleimon which I have inserted just under it. I have printed it and will insert it in my prayer book. I have adapted it for a family member whom I dearly love. Thank you so much for posting it.

Effie

Please don't you and Mary James give me any credit. I said the words. St. Panteleimon put them in my mouth. You really think I can come up with stuff like this? Don't fool yourself or try to make me look good. I am the worst of sinners and rely solely on God and His saints to teach me to pray. I have NO original material to pull from. It all comes from people Bigger than me. Even the groanings in my heart.

Humbly Paul

[Effie Ganatsios]

Please don't you and Mary James give me any credit. I said the words. St. Panteleimon put them in my mouth. You really think I can come up with stuff like this? Don't fool yourself or try to make me look good. I am the worst of sinners and rely solely on God and His saints to teach me to pray. I have NO original material to pull from. It all comes from people Bigger than me. Even the groanings in my heart.

Humbly Paul

Paul, you posted it on this forum. And I thank you for that.

Effie

[Justin Farr]

I bought a spiffy 8x8 scrapbook to use. I bought nice marbled paper to print the prayers on, and will decorate it with icons and such. I am hoping it will turn out to be a much more resourceful and nicer looking prayer book than what I have compiled now. :)

[Effie Ganatsios]

I bought a spiffy 8x8 scrapbook to use. I bought nice marbled paper to print the prayers on, and will decorate it with icons and such. I am hoping it will turn out to be a much more resourceful and nicer looking prayer book than what I have compiled now. :)

Justin, be sure to post a picture of it so that we can see it.

Effie

[Justin Farr]

It's turning out awful. :P I probably should've just ordered the Jordanville Prayer book instead. LOL

[Paul Cowan]

Nothing done from a Christ like heart can be aweful. It might not be an Emmy Award winning work, but I am sure what you have created is actually pretty good. Don't be so hard on yourself. and don't compare yourself to Effie's work. She is a long time perfectionist when it comes to these things adn has many more years under her belt than you do. (That's a compliment Effie!)

Paul

[Justin Farr]

Well, I never saw the pics of her book.... they won't show. xD

I might just give up and order an actual one. lol.

[Paul Cowan]

Well, I never saw the pics of her book.... they won't show. xD



Dear Effie,

Can you repost your albums in your online album so we can see them again? I went back through this thread and can't see them anymore either. Thank you.

Paul

[Effie Ganatsios]

Dear Effie,

Can you repost your albums in your online album so we can see them again? I went back through this thread and can't see them anymore either. Thank you.

Paul

OK Paul. And thank you for the compliment - I love growing older.

Justin, you will find the photos on an album in my personal profile file. I used a photo album with plastic pockets, which means that once you adjust the size using your Microsoft Word you can then print, cut out and put the prayers in the plastic pockets. This means you can add new prayers e.g. I added Paul's lovely prayer a couple of days ago. I have a morning prayer book and an evening prayer book, but I don't have just prayers in them. Anything that inspires me and that I want to remember and read often is included i.e. How to pray, the beautitudes, the virtues, etc.

Again using Microsoft Word and the clip art section - to which I added a lot of religious images - I decorated some of the pages. I'm sorry the photo close-ups aren't clearer. I'm still getting used to my camera.

Effie