Liturgies for Parents with Kayla Craig

For this week’s episode, poet and speaker Tanner Olson shares a beautiful blessing with us in our waiting. Tanner’s writing weaves together faith, questions, humor, and hope as he encourages us to slow down and remember that life is meant to be enjoyed, even amidst all of the unknowns. If you find yourself in a season of waiting, may these words speak to your heart and spirit.   Find Tanner on Ins...

As we take time to celebrate freedom this week, we invite you to reflect on what freedom means for you and what living into God’s freedom looks like. May you and your family embrace a posture of abundance, extending love to others and working toward their flourishing.   Kayla’s new book, Every Season Sacred , is an invitation to ask big questions, embrace faithful rhythms, and experience God’s mys...

Whether you’re setting off on a faraway destination, enjoying a staycation, or doing something in between, family vacations are an adventure. This week, we offer this prayer for your time together. May you savor the details of road trip snacks and unexpected pit stops and delight in the memories you’re making with your children. May your family practice generosity and hospitality with those you me...

Work and rest can feel at odds with each other, especially when we consider work through the lens of productivity and rest through the lens of retreat. But what if we took these concepts and instead rooted them in belovedness? This week’s prayer comes from Justin McRoberts, a speaker, author, coach, musician, and podcast host. Join us for this special liturgy as we ask the One who calls us beloved...

Summertime is here. The days stretch and often don’t seem as hurried. Join us for this prayer from Kayla’s upcoming book, Every Season Sacred . We ask the God of all seasons to help us be present to summer’s ordinary moments and released from the pressure of producing the “perfect” summer for our family. May you be awake to the glory surrounding us in these coming months.   Every Season Sacred is...

Could there be another way to be strong, something different from bearing every burden on our own? This week, writer, speaker, and licensed professional counselor Aundi Kolber has offered a prayer for those of us who are parenting while healing from our own trauma. We pray these words meet you and feel like a balm in the tenderest places of your heart.   You can order Aundi’s book, Strong Like Wat...

With the end of the school year, we want to pause and offer a prayer to mark this transition. Join us in giving thanks, looking back on what was, and asking for compassion and curiosity for the world and all who live in it.   Kayla has a new book coming this September! Every Season Sacred is an invitation to ask big questions, embrace faithful rhythms, and experience God’s mysterious, loving prese...

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’ve invited Korean American author Tasha Jun to lend us her words this week. In this prayer for belonging, we are reminded that we are not outsiders to God, who divinely knit us together. Let us pray to the One who makes visible what is kept invisible that our children would feel seen and that their stories—and ours as parents—would...

It’s so easy to let “doing good” obscure our hearts, especially when it comes to trying to take care of children. While we so want to do what it takes to raise our children well, we also want for it to flow out of a clean heart. Let’s pray together, asking God to renew and refresh our hearts and those of our children, so we may enter into rhythms of righteousness and justice, goodness, and peace....

May marks another seasonal shift, as school years start to wind down and summer comes into view. Perhaps you’re planning graduation parties, making vacation plans, or scheduling carpool for sports games. It certainly can feel like a lot—because it is a lot. Join us for a brief pause to reflect on God’s presence through it all and ask for help to be awake to it.   Kayla has a new book coming this S...

We’ve got a special guest host for this week’s episode: Jonny Craig, husband to Kayla, who was out sick during our time of recording (real life, right?). You’re invited to pray with us about self-doubt, which so many parents experience. Let’s ask the God of tender compassion for help in being gentle with ourselves and our children.   Kayla has a new book coming this September! Every Season Sacred...

With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, we want to offer a prayer for stewarding and celebrating the goodness of God’s creation. Join us as we ask the One who birthed the cosmos to help us connect with creation with the awe and compassion of our children, who delight in every marvelous detail. May this sacred connection spark hope and action to care for the earth that future generations will inher...

One of the most profound things we can learn from our children is embracing audacious imagination and unbridled joy. So much of our faith is wrapped up in mystery, free of pat answers and tidy solutions. There is an invitation to step into that mystery, where—somehow—life conquers death and miracles are possible. Pray with us this week that we would live as Easter people, filled with joy and hope...

What would it look like for us to invite God into the suffering we’re holding? What if we were honest about our pain instead of silver lining it? Before we can fully celebrate Easter Sunday, we must go through Good Friday—which is considered the darkest day of the year for Christians around the world. Join us this week as we ask the Light of the world to help us remember and sit in the tension of...

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. We enter this space holding two things: we celebrate how Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem subverted cultural norms of power, and we solemnly remember his suffering. As you and your family prepare for Easter, we invite you to sit in that tension with us, acknowledging that a life in Christ encompasses joy and sorrow, life and death.   Exciting news...

Every March 21st, we celebrate Single Parents Day: a day set aside to honor the hard work and sacrifices of single parents who–for whatever reason–raise their children alone. If you are parenting alone, know that you are seen and you are not alone. For those of us who are not parenting alone, consider this an invitation to show up for your friends, family, and neighbors who are. This week, we come...

How much do you know about Saint Patrick, whose feast day we observe on March 17? Saint Patrick, a fifth century Christian missionary, is remembered for his humility, compassion, and commitment to spreading the message of Christ's love. His steadfast faith and dedication to service in the face of challenges and obstacles he encountered is something we can look to as parents. Let’s take time th...

We often think of Lent as a time of doing without, but what would it look like if we intentionally added on? This week, we encourage you to incorporate creativity as you move through the Lenten season with your family. Join us as we come before the Maker God, asking for help to cultivate our children’s creative lives and to also be inspired by it.   You can check out Liturgies for Parents on  Inst...

It is the season of Lent, a time for spiritual preparation and renewal. We join generations upon generations of Christians who have embarked on this forty-day journey, asking God to examine our hearts and help us to reorient ourselves toward Christ. This week, let us pray together for God to illuminate the way for us and for our children as we turn away from the world and toward the One who leads...

The Lenten season begins with the sign of ashes—the fragility and uncertainty of human life. For this prayer for Ash Wednesday, we come to the God of dirt and dust who meets us in our humanity—in our everyday lives, work, and parenting. We ask for cleansed hearts and give thanks for compassionate, infinite love.   You can check out Liturgies for Parents on  Instagram for more prayers and encourage...

In the spirit of St. Valentine’s Day, this week’s prayer is one about love: love for one another that is patient and kind, humble and gentle, forgiving and compassionate, protective and trusting, hopeful and persevering. May we model for our children what it means to love bravely, and let us leave a legacy that is marked by love.   You can check out Liturgies for Parents on  Instagram for more pra...

As parents, we long for our children to inherit a world that’s full of goodness and beauty. While we can’t fix everything that’s broken, we can help usher in hope and plant seeds of healing. Talking with our children about racism may seem intimidating, but it’s necessary and holy work. This week, let us pray for wisdom, openness, and honesty in such conversations, embracing our humanity and showin...

Parenthood is messy, and in the depths of our most stressful and exhausting times, doubt can creep in. All of those worries that accumulate wear us down, and it’s hard not to feel like we’re just trying to stay afloat. We invite you to come to the God of rescue and restoration, acknowledging our doubts and asking for hope in the midst of them.   You can check out Liturgies for Parents on Instagram...

With these dark and cold days, many of us experience the weight of loneliness—the feeling of not being seen, being misunderstood, or simply being alone, even in the midst of a noisy world. This week, we share two offerings: a simple breath prayer and a longer prayer asking to be reminded that we are loved and held. May you find comfort in knowing you are known, and may you extend the warmth of fri...

In the United States, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday of January. Join us in reflecting upon his subversive teachings, moving beyond the out-of-context quotes and instead challenging ourselves to do the costly work of justice. May the God of truth continue to give us prophetic imagination, so that we may envision and co-create an equitable world for a...