Mercy’s Light

light of Advent

As Advent approaches and it gets darker in the northern hemisphere, the daylight in South Africa, where I live, stretches longer and longer. I haul out my Advent candles, which in the summer heat often end up slumped over by Christmas Day, and place them on the table.  I need the light.  South Africa is…

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Praying for Your Foster Children

foster parenting prayers

Cultivating a Heart of Gratitude With Our Foster Children On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them…

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Loneliness, Jesus, and My Mothering Spirit

motherhood loneliness

I fell apart in my kitchen a few nights after another school shooting that left children and teachers dead. My kids were asleep, and I was washing the dishes when my tightly leashed emotions finally broke free. Anger, grief, and hopelessness washed over me and my soapy, shaking hands. The weight of the vocation of…

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4 Scripture Stories for Mothers

Maternal Scripture Passages

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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Lingering on Saturday: As a Hen Gathers Her Brood

On Holy Saturday God longs to gather us close like a mother hen

I lean back at the bottom of the blue plastic slide, aware of my hair sticking to the static, the sandburs piercing the soles of my shoes, and our English words echoing off the wall that lines the perimeter of the park, our clunky foreignness flittering up to the open windows. The playground in this…

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Joy Shows Her Finest

To be created is to be good

Lessons on Goodness from the Basketball Court and Beyond And God saw everything that was created, and, indeed, it was very good. Translation inspired by Genesis 1:31 (The New Interpreters’ Study Bible)  I stand at center court in an old, smelly elementary school gym as eight first-grade boys stand along the baseline, squirming with energy,…

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How To Behold Your Child

behold your child

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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Comfort Me, Know Me, Hold Me

maternal image for God

Lord, when I pray to You as my Father, do not allow my human mind to limit You to my human understanding of what it means to be father or mother. I pray that our limits of human language do not hide who You truly are to every one of Your children. You are Spirit,…

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A Turn of the Kaleidoscope

mothering God

It was a long-overdue dermatologist appointment. With my pale skin and family history of melanoma, I really need to be checked every year, but it had been more than five since I’d donned an open-backed gown; this was just one of many things that got lost in the shuffle of mothering small children. When I…

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Lenten Scriptures for Parents

Scripture to pray with during Lent for parents

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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Prayers for When Your Child is Sick

prayers for sick child

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

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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