Resources

Blessing Our Children from The Beauty of Motherhood

Blessing Our Children

By Kimberly Knowle-Zeller | April 21, 2023

Many of us pray with our kids before bed. But what does it mean to bless our children? Enjoy this excerpt from The Beauty of Motherhood along with a practice, prayer, and ritual you can use to pray for your children (and others) at night. While my kids sleep, I say a prayer for their…

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Maternal Scripture Passages

4 Scripture Stories for Mothers

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | April 14, 2023

Scripture offers tender images of God caring for us like a loving mother. But we don’t often get the chance to sit with these beautiful passages. Let yourself pray with a new image of God this week. God as comforting mother “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:13) Jesus…

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prayer for a hard, long Lent

Lentiest of Lents

By Katie Cassady | April 7, 2023

Loving God, this trudge toward Easter has been long and the sustenance meager. I find myself coming to you with empty hands and aching arms, from the effort of carrying a cross I did not choose. You know all too well that choosing a sacrifice this year was a luxury. In the midst of it…

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What to do after a school shooting

What to Do After a School Shooting

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | March 31, 2023

Today’s parents in the United States are regularly confronted with the horror of yet another school shooting. Each time this happens, we feel angry and anguished, grieving the tragedy and overwhelmed by what this means for our own children. Our faith compels us to cry out against violence and evil. God promises to hear our…

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behold your child

How To Behold Your Child

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | March 24, 2023

Behold. It’s a powerful word in Scripture. An invitation to stop and pay attention. To open our eyes because God is about to do something new. What if we tried to behold our life? To behold our children. To try to see them with God’s eyes. With love. And compassion. And hope. Let yourself try…

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Lent encouragement

Encouragement for When You Want to Give Up on Lent

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | March 17, 2023

If you’ve given up on Lent, If your best intentions have fallen short, If you want to quit, If you never got started Imagine what you might say to your child… When they’re struggling with school or work, When they’re feeling overwhelmed, When they want to quit something they’ve started, When they’re angry, hungry, or…

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parent lent breath prayers

Breath Prayers for Parents in Lent

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | March 10, 2023

For fasting Inhale: Help me let go. Exhale: Let me find You. Inhale: When I feel like I lack Exhale: Let me know You are near. For alms-giving Inhale: Help me give what I can. Exhale: Show Your face to my heart. Inhale: Whatever we have Exhale: Is given to share. For deeper prayer Inhale:…

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Scripture to pray with during Lent for parents

Lenten Scriptures for Parents

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | March 3, 2023

Parents and children are at the heart of Lent. Let these Scripture passages remind you of the power of sharing your faith with your kids in this sacred season. Teaching children You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and…

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Praying during impossible times as parents

Prayers for Parenting in Impossible Times

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | February 24, 2023

School shootings. Pandemic parenting. Racial violence, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest. Parenting right now can feel impossible. When you’re fumbling for the words to pray, our Mothering Spirit writers have powerful prayers to give voice to your deepest fears and hopes as a parent. A Prayer for Gun Violence in Schools by Kayla Craig A…

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lent parent

3 Ways to Prepare for Lent (When You’re A Parent)

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | February 17, 2023

1. Focus on what’s simple Try these 3 easy approaches for Lent: Read the details here: How To Live Lent as a Busy Mother. 2. Find a good book: for yourself and for your child Here is a list of our favorite Lenten books for children (and more ideas for Easter basket books for birth-6 years and 6-12 years). Don’t forget…

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hard days of parenting prayers

Prayers for the Hard Days of Parenting

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | February 10, 2023

Angry? Frustrated? Stressed out? We’ve been there. We’ve prayed through it, too. Here are a few words for when you feel like you’re going to lose it as a parent. 1. Breath prayers Inhale: Breathe in peace (love, hope, joy).Exhale: Breathe out fear (anger, grief, stress). Inhale: You are with me, God.Exhale: I am not…

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prayers for sick child

Prayers for When Your Child is Sick

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | February 3, 2023

1. A Breath Prayer The easiest prayers for a sick child, to pray at their bedside as you keep vigil while they are suffering. Pray one line as you breathe in and one line as you breathe out. Inhale: Heal my child, Lord. Exhale: Heal me, too. Inhale: You love my child. Exhale: Help me…

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3 Ways to Pray about Your Phone Use as a Parent

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | January 27, 2023 |
ways to pray about phone use as parent

Holly’s essay about video games and Meta’s blessing for a child’s first phone got us thinking about more ways to pray about technology and our families. What would you add to the list to approach our own screen time as parents from a faith perspective? 1. Pray about your own screen time 2. Make a…

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3 Practical Tips When You’re Wrestling With Faith

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | January 20, 2023 |
wrestling with faith as parent

1. Turn to well-worn prayers. Try these by Thomas Merton and St. Anselm of Canterbury if you need words for your wondering or wandering. 2. Pray with the story of Jacob wrestling with God. The same night [Jacob] got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the…

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Want to Pray through Birth?

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | January 13, 2023 |
how to pray through birth

At Mothering Spirit, we believe mothers need more resources for pregnancy and birth, both the beautiful and painful parts of bringing new life into the world. Here are a few of our favorites: 1. When you’re preparing for birth Get a copy of our e-books: Prayers for Pregnancy & Prayers for Birth. The collections feature prayers for pregnancy…

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3 Ways to Pray through Epiphany

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | January 6, 2023 |
pray Epiphany mother

1. Light a candle before dinner tonight. Ask your kids to see if you can sit in silence together for a whole minute. Enjoy whatever moment of quiet you can get with this symbol of Christ’s light. 2. Write down one new thing you have learned about God in the past year—even a small “epiphany.”…

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3 Ways to Pray through Christmas

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | December 30, 2022 |
pray through Christmas

1. Pray with Luke 2:41-52 that inspired Anna’s essay. What word or phrase speaks to you as a parent here? Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started…

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Advent Week 4: Prayers & Practices for Parents

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | December 23, 2022 |
Advent ideas for families

Easy Advent Practices: Week 4 Surprise neighbors with Christmas cookies. Talk with your kids about what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Give your child one extra hug each day. With all the bustle and busyness of December, we can forget that the simplest practices bring the most joy. “If I have all…

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Advent Week 3: Prayers & Practices for Parents

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | December 16, 2022 |
Advent practices with kids

Easy Advent Practices: Week 3 This year we’re sharing easy (and free!) ways to deepen your prayer as a parent in Advent: an activity to share with your children and a Scripture verse for you to pray later.  Pray before you buy for each person on your Christmas list. Or keep a prayer list of…

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Advent Week 2: Prayers & Practices for Parents

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | December 9, 2022 |
advent for parents

Easy Advent Practices: Week 2 This year we’re sharing easy (and free!) ways to deepen your prayer as a parent in Advent: an activity to share with your children and a Scripture verse for you to pray later.  Print religious images to pray with. Try Google Image to find artwork with Advent themes, or check…

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Advent Week 1: Prayers & Practices for Parents

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | December 2, 2022 |
Advent practices for parents

Easy Advent Practices: Week 1 This year we’re sharing simple (and free!) ways to deepen your prayer as a parent in Advent: an activity to share with your children and a Scripture verse for you to pray later. Light a candle when you get up in the morning, in the bathroom as you get ready…

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The Fabric of Families: Creativity Across Generations

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | November 25, 2022 |
how to create across generations

This Week on Mothering Spirit Alissa’s essay reveals the power of discovering a new piece of your family’s past. Rachel’s prayer speaks to the creativity of all who will “bake and be blessed” in the holiday season. Resources to keep reflecting “The Way It Is” by William Stafford is a poem about the threads running through the…

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Creativity in Motherhood

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | November 18, 2022 |
creativity motherhood

This Week on Mothering Spirit Kimberly’s essay weaves together her pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago and the unfolding journey of motherhood, creativity, and prayer. Rachel’s prayer reassures every mother who’s longed for the creative callings of her past. Resources to keep reflecting Want to create in this season? Check out Rachel’s brand-new book Let There Be Art:…

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Forgiveness in Families: Your Turn

By Laura Kelly Fanucci | November 11, 2022 |
forgiving families

This Week on Mothering Spirit Karianna’s essay invites us to consider how we forgive our families—our parents as well as our children. Rakhi’s prayer beckons us into the shadowlands of our own hearts, to ask for God’s mercy.  Resources to keep reflecting A forever-favorite essay from Brian Doyle on forgiveness as a father: A Sin. From the Mothering Spirit…

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