About Me
Hello and welcome!
My name is Kouria Destinie and I'm excited you are here! I use my little space here on the web to share resources I find that may be useful to others interested in bringing the life of the Church into their homes! Living out the Ancient Faith in a modern world takes intention. I will happily walk along side you, sharing what I am learning and finding, so together we can raise up the next generation of Christians who love God with all their hearts and minds!
A little more about me - my husband and I are from Southern California, but currently reside in North Carolina. We both grew up as Evangelicals and discovered the Orthodox Church in college. After a few years, we joined the Orthodox Church and our lives have never been the same. In college I studied Education and received both my Bachelors and Masters degree in teaching. Currently I have the beautiful privilege of being able to care for my family and raise my children in our home. My husband is an Orthodox Christian Priest and we have 4 young children.
Ascetic Life of Motherhood Blog: My heart has always been to serve Christ, even from a young age. I’ve always been drawn to teaching, and spent nearly 10 years as a Sunday school teacher. Once my oldest was a few years old, I felt the great honor of being the one to teach her about Christ and His Church. Since there were many aspects to the Orthodox faith that were new to me, I grew in my desire to learn more about my faith along side my children, searching for whatever resources I could find to help me teach these Truths in a way that was developmentally appropriate and simple. Thus the blog was born! I was finding all of these amazing resources but I realized after talking to my friends that many of them didn’t know they existed. One thing you’ll learn about me is, I love to over share ;) I just can’t help myself! I find something good and true and want to shout it from the roof tops! I love sharing what I find with others, and it gives me great joy to see others using these resources with their children. It’s my hope and desire that all children love God. As a parent myself, I know that is a huge task, so I hope to help other parents shoulder the burden of sharing simple descriptions to help you learn about each feast, and find fun and age appropriate resources to help share the Faith with their children in a way to engage more fully.
I’m thankful you are here! And I’m sure you know, but everything I teach I am learning too. Thank you for letting me share my heart with you!
- Khouria Destinie
Check out these blogposts to see more of our life in Christ!
If you are preparing for birth, I want to encourage you to prepare for your labor and birth - not only by understanding birth and the incredible process, but prepare by having tools (and support) nearby that will keep your focus on Christ and that remind us of our dependence on Him for strength! Here I have provided a list of recommendations for spiritually preparing for birth!
I love Theology and all things Orthodox, but in this season of life I need simplicity. A little nugget to take and slowly digest. I try to carve out a few minutes a day to read, so sometimes I get one or two pages in. I also recently subscribed to Audible and I have enjoyed listening to books while doing chores, or nursing my little one - and I have found that I am actually able to “read” a lot more through that method. So I will share my booklist on Audible as well! Below you will find my current reading list and a brief commentary on my thoughts so far!
An Orthodox Mother’s Blessing is a time for the pregnant mama to invite her close sisters to spend a quiet, cozy evening with food and prayer to carry her into her time of labor. This can be done in addition to a baby shower, but its a different than a baby shower. It’s a chance for the women in her life to slow down, pour out some love, wisdom and encouragement into the mama as she prepares for birth. We hosted our first one today, and it was so incredibly soul-filling. We laughed and cried together, and offered prayers for our sister in Christ!
In the Orthodox Christian church, we spend approximately 180 - 200 days fasting in a year. The Church has given us fasting as a tool for salvation and acquiring the mindset of Christ. St. John of Kronstadt states, “They [fasting and prayer] cleanse us from sin, they lead us to spiritual peace, to union with God, to sonship, to boldness before God.” Fasting is not something to dread, on the contrary, it’s something to help our spiritual life and help us draw closer to God.
But, what about fasting as a family with young children, a pregnant or nursing mother, and a father who all may need to fast differently? These circumstances add an element to fasting that is unique to some seasons of life. What do the Church fathers say concerning fasting and family life? Why are pregnant and nursing mothers often given a less strict fasting rule?
Do you have a notebook for taking down quotes from Holy Fathers in your reading? Do you always have a book of Holy Fathers that you are reading, and can turn to in a moment of gloom? Start now - this is essential.” - Fr Seraphim Rose.
When beginning to live the Liturgical life, you'll begin to notice new things each year, as if we're adding a new layer of rich soil in the garden of our hearts. Maybe a certain part of the feast day hymn jumped out at you this year. Or maybe you noticed something new in the festal icon. Or you heard a line in one of the prayers that you could have sworn you never heard before. Each major feast day, I try to dive a little deeper, and prepare myself for another sweet revelation to renew my heart and mind.
One of my goals for the New Year is to “write it down”. Check out these Orthodox resources that will aid in this goal including the Journal of Thanksgiving by Ancient Faith which has lines to record gratitude for every day of the year for 3 years.
Recently I heard a story about St John Maximovitch that has stuck with me and I think about it all the time now. He was a humble clergyman who lived in California for a time, always seen carrying around 2 large brief cases everywhere he went, and faithfully serving the Liturgy daily. It became a habit, that each time he would serve the Liturgy…
You might be wondering, “What exactly is Ascetic life of Motherhood?” What does that mean exactly? Good question! I’m happy to explain! An ascetic life is one characterized by a rigorous life of prayer and repentance.
In the Tradition of the Orthodox Church, when a baby is born, prayers are done at the following times: On the day of Birth; On the 8th day (Naming Prayers); On the 40th day (Churching), and their baptism. I love that the Church so tenderly cares for each child - they are prayed for, cherished, embraced and are full participants in the Christian life from birth! In this blog post, you’ll find information about the Churching (40 day blessing), book recommendation and my own personal reflection as a mother to 4 children.
1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and yet it remains perhaps the most under discussed tragedy in our culture. In this blogpost, you will find some resources both for the one who is grieving and the one who wishes to help but doesn’t know how. These resources are intended for those who are Orthodox Christians, so the resources will be through that lens
As apart of our homeschool routine, we say prayers together before we begin. These are some of my favorite morning prayer/student Orthodox prayers. I wanted something beautiful we could hang up so the prayers were easy to find and pray together. Another aspect that was very important to me was that my children has a way of visually tracking their various tasks throughout the way.
Welcoming a new baby is a blessed time for families, but during this time, they will need support from their communities to help them through. For my family, we have had a meal train after the birth of each of our children. It was such a tangible experience of love from our community. In this blogpost I’m sharing the basic information on how to get one started for the family in your parish who just welcomed a new baby!
Baby William, named after St William of Gellone, and his middle name is shared with his Godfather, Father and Grandfather. He was born at home, after only 45 minutes of active labor! Glory to God! Enjoy these newborn pictures on his 6th day of life!
Last week we celebrated the feast day of St Elizabeth the New Martyr (July 5th/18th), who is my oldest daughter’s patron saint. I thought I’d share how our family celebrates name days!
If you are preparing for birth, I want to encourage you to prepare for your labor and birth - not only by understanding birth and the incredible process, but prepare by having tools (and support) nearby that will keep your focus on Christ and that remind us of our dependence on Him for strength! Here I have provided a list of recommendations for spiritually preparing for birth!
Choosing a patron saint: As an adult convert to Orthodoxy, I was tasked with choosing a patron saint for my baptism. By choosing a saint, we are assuming their name as well as our Christian name. I chose my saint because her feast day happened to be the same day as my birthday. Although at the time it felt like a mystery, I felt drawn to her
The following is an excerpt from St Paisios in Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 4 - Family Life :
It isn’t enough to merely love another; we must love the other more than ourselves. A mother loves her children more than she loves herself. She will stay hungry to feed her children, yet she feels greater pleasure than they do. The children are fed materially, but she is fed spiritually. They experience the taste of food, while she experiences spiritual rejoicing.
As a mother of 3 small children, sickness comes up every now and then. But how ought we care for our children spiritually when they are sick? My perspective changed on how we ought to approach sickness with a Christian perspective, particularly sickness of children, after reading the Canon to the Lord for Sick Children. Read more...
In order to consistently read the scriptures or daily saints with my children, I’ve found that having a cookbook stand with either the Bible or a Saint book that lives on the table has helped tremendously!
Looking for a simple tradition for birthdays and name day celebrations? I want to share a recent discovery of the Blue Blessing Plate with you!
Discover the beauty and meaning of the Orthodox Christian 8th day naming tradition for newborns. In this post, we explore the three early prayers offered for infants in the Orthodox Church—including the first-day blessing, the 8th day naming prayers, and the 40th day churching—highlighting how each invites Christ into your child’s life from the very beginning. Learn the significance of naming your child on the eighth day, how to prepare, and how to coordinate with your priest to participate in this sacred and often overlooked tradition.