World at Prayer blog from Family Rosary - Reflections of Family and Faith

Ginny Kochis

Ginny Kochis is a Catholic wife and homeschooling mom to three differently-wired children. She founded the Not So Formulaic community to support Catholic moms raising out-of-the-box kids. Ginny believes God gives curious, creative, intense children the exact mother they need to thrive.

Spiritual Works of Mercy | catholic family life | corporal works of mercy | family Lenten activities

Catholic Kids, the Works of Mercy, and a Hands-on, Fruitful Lent

By: Ginny Kochis April 6th, 2025

I'm not a pro when it comes to liturgical living, especially as it's viewed today. I grew up in a home that was solidly Catholic, but celebrating feast days throughout the year wasn't something we regularly did. We had an Advent wreath. A Christmas tree. We went to Stations of the Cross and gave things up for Lent. But there were no sweet buns for St. Lucia, no shoes for old St. Nick. We didn't dress as saints on All Saints Day; our evening meals didn't reflect the feasts of the Church. We were a solid, loving, traditional Catholic family. Our faith was simply yet devoutly lived. But a decade ago, when I had my first toddler, the idea of living liturgically — doing more than my family did — was pretty intimidating. The dawn of Pinterest and Instagram made me even more shell-shocked. Three active kids, a work-from-home, homeschooling schedule, and I'm supposed to make a crown of thorns centerpiece from scratch? Truthfully, I was ready to throw in the towel, especially when it came to Lent. Advent was easy — there was a baby, and there were farm animals — but 40 days in the desert? Our Lord's scourging?! His gruesome death?! Guiding my family through this season eluded me, and it brought me a whole lot of guilt. That is until I figured out how to approach it, and it's gone well for us ever since.

24 Ideas for Family Prayer Time

By: Ginny Kochis September 24th, 2023

If your family prayer time feels more chaotic than cultivated, take heart and don't give up. Here are 24 ideas for family prayer time from Catholic moms just like you. Let's be real for a minute here. Family prayer time does not look like a scene from the St. Joseph Picture Books. Aside from the fact that no one is wearing plaid pajamas or brown bell bottoms, praying with children is not always the peaceful, angelic scene a book might depict. Most of the time I've got one kiddo chewing a wooden rosary, one hanging upside down from the couch, and one surreptitiously drawing in her notebook while my husband and I work to stay awake through decade number five.

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Marriage | family life | sacrament of marriage

Five Ideas for Refreshing Your Marriage in a Weekend

By: Ginny Kochis August 19th, 2023

Certain things in life are easy. Finishing off that pint of ice cream. Scrolling through your Facebook feed. Giving the kids screen time so they’ll stop asking you five million questions. Clearly, these are choices along the path of least resistance. Most days, they take zero effort or thought. And then there’s your marriage: the foundation of the vocation chosen by God. There’s no easy button for prioritizing the covenant you entered before God and your loved ones.