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" Oh, I get it"  replied a small girl.  "The Saints are like stain glass windows because the light of Christ shines through them." For another easy and creative project, use your traced transparency sheet icons to make beautiful stain glass windows of the Saints. With a pack of tissue paper and glue, layer multiples colors and shapes behind the transparency, and secure them easily with a touch of glue. The more layers, the better really, if you begin with the lightest colors first. Be sure to have a few references to copy for accurate vestment colors, etc. Here's a sample with St Nektarios of Aegina. When completed, tape these lovely projects in your windows to get the full effect! I couldn't bare to part with any of the ones our kids made. They were each beautiful in their own way, even the slightly unfinished ones. I've also tried markers with this project but didn't like them as much. Hope you enjoy!

Here's a quick and easy way to create your own hand drawn icons for various art projects and Orthodox coloring pages. Purchase a pack of overhead projector transparency film from your nearby office supply store, and a black sharpie marker with a thin tip. Then, find all your favorite icons, preferably size 8x10, and begin tracing! For younger students, tape one sheet to each icon. It's best if the sheet is a bit bigger than the icon so that you eliminate the risk of drawing on the icon itself. Don't forget to include the name of the Saint, since God knows each of us personally! These sheets can easily be photocopied onto white paper to distribute to many students. Just look for the transparency setting on your photocopier and be sure to keep your original tracings for future use. Who knows, maybe this project could encourage the creative kids and teens out there to become iconographers! Stay tuned for another creative project using this method! *Special attention should b...

What are the things you do daily without thinking twice? We brush our teeth, we put on clothes, and we never leave the house to begin our day without a pair of shoes on our feet to equip us for the road ahead. In the same way, we can strive to see prayer as an essential part of our day, for the benefits are greater than fresh breath or comfortable feet! Let us teach our children to start small, with an icon of Christ and just five minutes, but strive for consistency. The goal is to remember, thank, and glorify God each and every day by coming to meet Him face to face. By doing this, we grow to rely on Christ and He becomes the center of our lives. Remember, when we pray, we open the communication between us and God in a very personal way. There’s no one who knows us better than our Lord. He is with us each step of the way, and He knows exactly what we need. The Blessed Elder, IERONYMOS of Aegina +1966 encourages us in his writings "Do not leave off prayer. No matter how tired yo...

Have you ever said to yourself, where are the miracles of today? Or wouldn't it be something if we were able to witness a miracle in today's day and age? What was it like to be in the presence of our Lord during His Transfiguration (which we celebrate today) or at His first miracle at the Wedding in Cana? Without a doubt, that water became wine to all who witnessed His first public miracle, and to all who called themselves followers of Christ. Then it happened. This morning, as we knelt for the consecration of the Holy Gifts. We too witnessed a miracle. In fact, the greatest of all miracles. The same One who was capable of transforming water into wine, displayed His glory again and continues to do so for us in every Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church. He accepts the bread and wine from our hands, and offers us Himself in return. How? By miracle. Just as the disciples, we too become eyewitnesses of His majesty (Peter 1:10-19) Therefore, if you believe in the God who transfo...

Every Orthodox Christian must visit this link - then get to work for Christ! FOCUSNorthAmerica.org What an absolute blessings to see Orthodox Christians working together for the homeless, the orphaned, and those in need. If we're not involved, we should be.

Here's another fun game for kids and teens that can be tailored to our Orthodox faith and gets everyone moving! Begin by creating a circle with chairs facing in and use one less than the number of kids you have, including yourself. Then start by having everyone take a seat, except you who begins in the middle. Explain that a question will be presented by the person in the middle, and if it applies to them, they have to get up quickly and run to a new seat. Whoever is left standing without finding a seat, becomes the next person in the middle. Here are some fun questions... "Whoever is wearing a cross around their neck...." Go! "Anyone who has been baptized an Orthodox Christian..." Go! "Whoever has white socks on..." "If your Patron Saint is in September..." "If you own a Bible..." "Anyone who has brown hair..." "If you know what Theotokos means..." (be sure to follow up by asking for the answer) Remember, no...

Whoso Eatheth My Flesh and Drinketh My Blood Hath Eternal Life (quoted from pages 29-35 of Elder Ephraim's text linked below) "So much has been said about this "controversial point" of the Holy Eucharist that the faithful wonder what they should do in the long run. Two questions mainly arise: a) how often and b) after what preparation may and should the faithful receive the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? The answer has been given by the Church, which has been guided, is guided, and shall be guided by the Holy Spirit "to the whole truth"...(read more here ) "... Fasting means continual temperance. In other words, we should not only fast on the set days of the year when we want to receive Communion and then eat so much for the rest of the year so as to replace in the shortest possible period what we had been deprived of on the days of our preparation for the Holy Communion...." "...It is through this Sacrament that we define our relationsh...