Home  >  Family Life  >  Parenting
Ordinary Blessings for Parents

Ordinary Blessings for Parents

Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Family Life

A spiritual high-five for parents and all caregivers in every stage of raising kids

Product Code: 9045
ISBN: 9781506481517
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Broadleaf Books
Pages: 176
Published Date: 08/30/2022
Availability:In stock
N/A
Price: $17.99
Qty:
Add to Cart Add to Wishlist

Those of us who care for children- - biological moms and dads, adoptive parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, foster parents, big siblings, chosen family, and all the rest of us--know how hard and heroic caring for young people can be. But when we're caught up in the day-to-day challenges of raising children, from teething to teen relationships, we can easily miss the sanctity of these moments.

Gifted poet, empathetic pastor, and mom of three Meta Herrick Carlson names the moments we take for granted or that make us second-guess ourselves. Her blessings call out the simple struggles that remind us we are in good company and that we are loved in the midst of loving children. Ordinary Blessings for Parents is a spiritual high-five for parents in every stage of raising kids. The book includes blessings for washing bottles, for belly laughs, for the death of a beloved adult, and for the legacy we want to pass on. If you're a parent or caregiver, you are bound to find a word you didn't know you needed and to pass a blessing or two on in solidarity with other families in your life. Take this moment today to pause, reflect, and appreciate the sacred ordinary within your family.


Bookmark and Share
Contents

Preface

Blessings for Becoming a Parent
For Fertility Support
For Surrogacy
For the Adoption Process
For Fostering
For Being Surprised
For Cautious Hope
For Hearing a Heartbeat
For the Dad Bod
For a Baby Shower
For Learning Your Parenthood Later

Blessings for Birthing Bodies
For Trimesters
For Morning Sickness
For Paneled Pants
For Cravings
For Bodily Rest
For Feeling a Kick
For Making a Birth Plan
For Birth Mothers
For Physical Recovery
For Breastfeeding
For Breast Pumps
For Leaking
For Stretch Marks
For Weaning
For the Postpartum Body

Blessings for the First Year
For a Newborn
For Parental Leave
For Milk
For Bottles
For Burps
For Multiples
For Keeping Baby Time
For Naps
For Baby Gear
For the First Baby-Free Outing
For Sleep Regression
For Safety Proofing
For the Village
For a Big Sibling
For Birthdays

Blessings for Little Bodies
For Bath Time
For Wiping…Stuff
For Potty Training
For Growth Spurts
For Sticky Hands
For Haircuts
For Losing a Tooth
For Picky Eaters
For Skin
For Breaking a Bone
For Bodily Autonomy

Blessings for Big Feelings
For Anxiety
For Disappointment
For Embarrassment
For Frustration
For Gratitude
For Hurt
For Jealousy
For Judgment
For Pride
For Rejection
For Contentment

Blessings for Firsts and Transitions
For First Steps
For Finding Their Voice
For Farewell to a Crib
For The First Day of School
For Learning to Ride a Bike
For Puberty
For Their First Menstrual Cycle
For Their First Crush
For Their First Phone
For Their First Job
For Learning to Drive
For When They Move Out

Blessings for Moments
For Snuggling
For Making Magic
For Interest in Their Interest
For Reading Together
For Belly Laughs
For Sick Days
For Good Questions
For Watching Them Play
For Reminiscing
For Awe
For Telling Them about Themselves

Blessings for the Hard Stuff
For Emotional Labor
For Unsolicited Advice
For Being Wrong
For Yelling
For Projecting Your Own Stuff
For When Plans Change
For When Things Don’t Work Out
For When They Get in Trouble
For Big Loss
For When a Child is Sick
For When a Beloved Adult Dies
For Miscarriage
For When Promises Break
For When They Pull Away
For the Relentlessness
For Feeling Ordinary

Blessings for Life Together
For the Schedule
For the Middle of the Night
For Boundaries
For Sensitivities
For Safe Sharing
For Therapy
For Resisting the Competition
For Chores
For Packing Up to Move
For Family Trips
For Sibling Rivalry
For Parental Tension
For Privacy
For Intimacy
For When You Worry about Them

Blessings for an Inheritance
For Knowing Your Worth
For Living Generously
For Good Humor
For Finding the Courage
For Deep Listening
For Telling the Truth
For Staying Curious
For Being Your Whole Self
For Trusting Yourself

Acknowledgments

"Meta Herrick Carlson has done it again. Ordinary Blessings for Parents is for every person who loves a child. In a society that gets judgy about parenting, where fear, shame, and not-enoughness reign, Meta says what we are desperate to hear about the tiny and holy moments, reminding us to pay attention to this sacred role. Superb and true, a refreshing gift." --Ellie Roscher, author of The Embodied Path and Play Like a Girl,and coauthor of 12 Tiny Things

"Four things anyone in a parenting role needs: patience, love, community, and Meta Herrick Carlson's Ordinary Blessings for Parents. This is a book that I plan to keep as a close companion as my child grows, and give to anyone who needs encouragement on their own path of parenting. There are times on this journey when it's hard to find the right words. Having Meta's words close by helps me feel better equipped to continue on, wherever the path may lead next, always finding the holy in the ordinary." --Heidi Barr, author of Slouching toward Radiance and coauthor of 12 Tiny Things

"My tears began with the table of contents. They continued as I read and envisioned not just my own story but all the people in my life who 'fit' each blessing. Meta has a gift with words, with saying what needs to be said and speaking the truth of the inside-outness of being someone who loves a kid. She writes to all the different ways of becoming and being a parent. To have your role so clearly seen, validated, and then blessed is such a gift--to all of us." --Pastor Natalia Terfa, author of Uplift: A Little Book of God's Promises to Give Hope and Uplift Your Soul and host of the Cafeteria Christian podcast

"Parenting is like driving on a dark road, blindfolded, with no map. Meta Herrick Carlson knows this in her bones, and has written a blessing for every curve. With words of celebration, grief, questioning, and other partners on the parenting journey, Meta reminds us that wherever we are, whether we have it all together or feel it falling apart, we are connected by the holy experience of guiding these beings who have been entrusted to us." --Colleen Lindstrom, host on MyTalk 107.1

"Pastor Meta Carlson offers hope and strength to parents in the face of both the anticipated and the unimaginable, the joys and hardships of being a parent. Her honesty and vulnerability are refreshing, beautiful, and grounding as she offers language for bringing the sacred into the day-to-day experience of raising children." --Jill Crimmings, associate rabbi at Bet Shalom Congregation, Minnetonka, MN

"These simple prayers validate the often overlooked emotions and invisible struggles parents go through - reaffirming that you are enough and you are not alone." --Sarah Stromberg Flier, elementary school counselor
Be the first to submit a review on this product!
Review and Rate this Item

Those of us who care for children- - biological moms and dads, adoptive parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, foster parents, big siblings, chosen family, and all the rest of us--know how hard and heroic caring for young people can be. But when we're caught up in the day-to-day challenges of raising children, from teething to teen relationships, we can easily miss the sanctity of these moments.

Gifted poet, empathetic pastor, and mom of three Meta Herrick Carlson names the moments we take for granted or that make us second-guess ourselves. Her blessings call out the simple struggles that remind us we are in good company and that we are loved in the midst of loving children. Ordinary Blessings for Parents is a spiritual high-five for parents in every stage of raising kids. The book includes blessings for washing bottles, for belly laughs, for the death of a beloved adult, and for the legacy we want to pass on. If you're a parent or caregiver, you are bound to find a word you didn't know you needed and to pass a blessing or two on in solidarity with other families in your life. Take this moment today to pause, reflect, and appreciate the sacred ordinary within your family.


Bookmark and Share
Contents

Preface

Blessings for Becoming a Parent
For Fertility Support
For Surrogacy
For the Adoption Process
For Fostering
For Being Surprised
For Cautious Hope
For Hearing a Heartbeat
For the Dad Bod
For a Baby Shower
For Learning Your Parenthood Later

Blessings for Birthing Bodies
For Trimesters
For Morning Sickness
For Paneled Pants
For Cravings
For Bodily Rest
For Feeling a Kick
For Making a Birth Plan
For Birth Mothers
For Physical Recovery
For Breastfeeding
For Breast Pumps
For Leaking
For Stretch Marks
For Weaning
For the Postpartum Body

Blessings for the First Year
For a Newborn
For Parental Leave
For Milk
For Bottles
For Burps
For Multiples
For Keeping Baby Time
For Naps
For Baby Gear
For the First Baby-Free Outing
For Sleep Regression
For Safety Proofing
For the Village
For a Big Sibling
For Birthdays

Blessings for Little Bodies
For Bath Time
For Wiping…Stuff
For Potty Training
For Growth Spurts
For Sticky Hands
For Haircuts
For Losing a Tooth
For Picky Eaters
For Skin
For Breaking a Bone
For Bodily Autonomy

Blessings for Big Feelings
For Anxiety
For Disappointment
For Embarrassment
For Frustration
For Gratitude
For Hurt
For Jealousy
For Judgment
For Pride
For Rejection
For Contentment

Blessings for Firsts and Transitions
For First Steps
For Finding Their Voice
For Farewell to a Crib
For The First Day of School
For Learning to Ride a Bike
For Puberty
For Their First Menstrual Cycle
For Their First Crush
For Their First Phone
For Their First Job
For Learning to Drive
For When They Move Out

Blessings for Moments
For Snuggling
For Making Magic
For Interest in Their Interest
For Reading Together
For Belly Laughs
For Sick Days
For Good Questions
For Watching Them Play
For Reminiscing
For Awe
For Telling Them about Themselves

Blessings for the Hard Stuff
For Emotional Labor
For Unsolicited Advice
For Being Wrong
For Yelling
For Projecting Your Own Stuff
For When Plans Change
For When Things Don’t Work Out
For When They Get in Trouble
For Big Loss
For When a Child is Sick
For When a Beloved Adult Dies
For Miscarriage
For When Promises Break
For When They Pull Away
For the Relentlessness
For Feeling Ordinary

Blessings for Life Together
For the Schedule
For the Middle of the Night
For Boundaries
For Sensitivities
For Safe Sharing
For Therapy
For Resisting the Competition
For Chores
For Packing Up to Move
For Family Trips
For Sibling Rivalry
For Parental Tension
For Privacy
For Intimacy
For When You Worry about Them

Blessings for an Inheritance
For Knowing Your Worth
For Living Generously
For Good Humor
For Finding the Courage
For Deep Listening
For Telling the Truth
For Staying Curious
For Being Your Whole Self
For Trusting Yourself

Acknowledgments

"Meta Herrick Carlson has done it again. Ordinary Blessings for Parents is for every person who loves a child. In a society that gets judgy about parenting, where fear, shame, and not-enoughness reign, Meta says what we are desperate to hear about the tiny and holy moments, reminding us to pay attention to this sacred role. Superb and true, a refreshing gift." --Ellie Roscher, author of The Embodied Path and Play Like a Girl,and coauthor of 12 Tiny Things

"Four things anyone in a parenting role needs: patience, love, community, and Meta Herrick Carlson's Ordinary Blessings for Parents. This is a book that I plan to keep as a close companion as my child grows, and give to anyone who needs encouragement on their own path of parenting. There are times on this journey when it's hard to find the right words. Having Meta's words close by helps me feel better equipped to continue on, wherever the path may lead next, always finding the holy in the ordinary." --Heidi Barr, author of Slouching toward Radiance and coauthor of 12 Tiny Things

"My tears began with the table of contents. They continued as I read and envisioned not just my own story but all the people in my life who 'fit' each blessing. Meta has a gift with words, with saying what needs to be said and speaking the truth of the inside-outness of being someone who loves a kid. She writes to all the different ways of becoming and being a parent. To have your role so clearly seen, validated, and then blessed is such a gift--to all of us." --Pastor Natalia Terfa, author of Uplift: A Little Book of God's Promises to Give Hope and Uplift Your Soul and host of the Cafeteria Christian podcast

"Parenting is like driving on a dark road, blindfolded, with no map. Meta Herrick Carlson knows this in her bones, and has written a blessing for every curve. With words of celebration, grief, questioning, and other partners on the parenting journey, Meta reminds us that wherever we are, whether we have it all together or feel it falling apart, we are connected by the holy experience of guiding these beings who have been entrusted to us." --Colleen Lindstrom, host on MyTalk 107.1

"Pastor Meta Carlson offers hope and strength to parents in the face of both the anticipated and the unimaginable, the joys and hardships of being a parent. Her honesty and vulnerability are refreshing, beautiful, and grounding as she offers language for bringing the sacred into the day-to-day experience of raising children." --Jill Crimmings, associate rabbi at Bet Shalom Congregation, Minnetonka, MN

"These simple prayers validate the often overlooked emotions and invisible struggles parents go through - reaffirming that you are enough and you are not alone." --Sarah Stromberg Flier, elementary school counselor
Be the first to submit a review on this product!
Review and Rate this Item

You might also be interested in: