Icon corners are where it is at! Last week we talked about how to make your prayer life great again with your guardian angel. This week we are talking about deepening our prayer life with icon corners!
Great Practice Two – Spice Up Your Icon Corner
So before we can talk about how to improve our prayer lives with an icon corner, we need to pause. Let’s evaluate how our icon corner prayer life is right now.
First: Location
How is the location of your icon corner working for you? Is it in a family space, or hidden away? Are you using it often? If the answer is that it is hidden or you aren’t using it, it is time to do some rearranging. Take some time to go through my Crash Course on Organization article. After you have purged some items and made space in an area of your home where you could use an icon corner, move it there! Seriously! If you have space for a computer, TV, and books in your main living space, you can find a way to make room for an icon corner. God is the priority! *That was my attempt at an encouraging pep talk. How’d I do?*
Second: Layout
So now is the time to think about giving your icon corner a new layout. We rearrange our icon corner about once a year. Mostly this has been due to actually moving. However, I think it would be good for us to do this anyway. Rearranging the icons and the other items helps make them seem new again. Or in other words, it helps us to like at the icons/icon corner with new eyes. If you need some inspiration for different layouts, check out our Facebook page. There are over 4 icon corner set-ups in our main post. And we are hoping you’ll show pictures of your icon corners in the comments!
Third: Pour Expensive oil on Jesus’ Feet
Everybody is motivated in different ways. The challenge by Chews Life to reach 1 000 000 rosaries is what convinced me I could pray the rosary daily. Others, like my husband, are motivated by the promises and help of Our Lady. Some people are motivated by investment. Did you know that if you host an event where you charge $10 in advance tickets to enter, people are more likely to attend than if they had RSVP’d to a free event? This is where our third step for deepening your prayer life with your icon corner comes in.
Pour expensive oil on Jesus’ feet.
Now, I don’t literally mean buy some oil. But set aside a portion of money – a large chunk of change. Think more like the widow who gave all she had. And not the wealthy folks just giving from money they didn’t feel they needed. So come up with an amount of money that is going to mean you need to make some sacrifices this month. (Perfect for Great Lent, right?). And then find a way to invest in your icon corner. Buy something special to draw your attention back to this important space in your home.
Need some ideas on what to get? Consider an icon house like the one pictured in our Pinterest image. We have two of these icon houses… one for us, and one as a baptismal gift for someone else. You can buy an icon house from Etsy, here (same seller as ours are from). If you aren’t interested in an Icon House, you could get a quality icon, or even a special lamp/lantern for your icon corner. Just find something that is beautiful, and also an investment in your icon corner.
Time to Pray
Now it is time to use that spiced up icon corner! Make a plan for how you want to use your icon corner. Are their prayers you say daily? Do you want to start a devotional here? Read scripture in front of the icons with the saints? By making an investment in your icon corner that you can really feel, the icon corner will be on your mind. And that is exactly what we want. Our icons remind us we aren’t living this life for earthly things, but for our life to come with God.
The Byzantine Life
Thank you for checking out this week’s article! If you missed it, check out our first article about deepening your prayer life (On Guardian Angels) here. You might also be interested in reading our article on praying with icons if you need some more tips on how to use your refreshed icon corner.
And now Part Three is availible here!
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