Coptic Holy Week 2014

If you remember, last year I was really bummed because I couldn't find my Holy Week Book. I was miserable because it sunk in that I would have zero time with my husband. I called Pascha juicy, and in the end I made it out alive.This year, I'm prepared to be prepared because I have not one, but two children to entertain. I have all the Pascha Prayers on my handy-dandy iPhone via Coptic Reader (also android). I picked up a nearly perfect journal for Holy Week meditations (It's hot pink. I'm going to need to fashion an appropriately-subdued cover). [Update--I got tired of the pink and made myself a custom journal. You can check it out at holyweekjournal.com]I'm going to have a mega-stocked diaper bag for the baby, and plenty of snacks for the five-year-old. I'm digging in for the long haul. I have also planned our meals for that week, so that I don't have to scramble in the short rest stretch between Morning and Evening Pascha Prayers.The real goal--and hence, the real challenge--of this Holy Week is to get serious, loud-and-clear moments with God. In the church, bathed by chants and incense, open to the Holy Spirit, I hope to refresh my soul for the coming year. A few rough things happened in my life immediately after Holy Week last year, and I believe that I drew strength from having been so close to His presence that week. But there were a lot of distractions, and I intend to manage my distractions (and my children) to benefit the most from this time.I know my Catholic friends have "intentions," focusing and dedicating their prayers to a certain matter in their life. This year, I will be asking God to guide and direct me in my role in the church and in my service. Remember me in your prayers.