A Prayer Over the Church for Mother’s Day

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A Prayer Over the Church for Mother’s Day

Dear God,

We see your fingerprints all over the precious mothers around us! They have loved us by sacrificing their bodies—you loved us the same way on the cross. They have loved us by preparing homes and meals for us—and you do the same for us in heaven. They have loved us by caring deeply for seemingly insignificant details in our lives—and you do the same for us every moment. They are doing the things that you placed in their DNA to show the world what YOU are like. We praise you for mothers, God, because you came up with them in the first place, because they bear your image so faithfully by the way they love, because you didn’t have to give the world the good gift of mothers—but you did. We praise you for they are fearfully and wonderfully made!

We’re celebrating mothers today not because we deny the pain and loss that many in the room are enduring—but we celebrate because pain and loss do not win and do not have the final say.

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A Prayer for the Writer on Publication Day

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A Prayer for the Writer on Publication Day

The more writers I befriend, the more I realize how exposed and fearful we feel on the day our content is published. It's incredibly vulnerable to put your voice out into the world, and we need extra prayers on those days, whether we’ve posted a blog post, shared thoughts on a podcast, released a book or product, or spoken to a group.

So, writer friends, this prayer is written for you, and especially for the precious friends in my writing group. (HI, PALS!) You can download a copy to keep saved on your phone or desktop by clicking here or just saving the image below. It may be a good addition to your publication day process. I hope that it offers perspective and encouragement to you on publication day as you bravely surrender the words you’ve been given.

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A Prayer for Those Who Hurt on Sundays

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A Prayer for Those Who Hurt on Sundays

“Easy like Sunday morning” are lyrics that can grate. Not because it’s hilariously difficult to get everyone ready and into the car on a Sunday (it is!) but because of something much deeper. Because church, for some, is a place of deep loneliness. Of profound wounds. Of rejection. Of distrust. Of having to stand next to offenders and hear their voices proclaim worship. Of realizing your own role as an offender and having to encounter those you’ve hurt.

Once, in a room full of people, we were asked the question, “Is it easy to love the Church?” Everyone around me nodded quickly and happily, saying, “ Yes! We love our church!” My jaw dropped.

This is not my experience. I am bloody from my attempts to love the Church.

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