💌 Care Package of Prayers for Our Wonderings

Can we really count EVERY season sacred? 📖

Parenting is such a wild swirl of holding close and letting go.

As we shift seasons, many of us embark on new journeys as families. Whether your four-year-old is starting preschool or your sophomore is going to the homecoming dance, this time of year likely holds fresh fall promise — and a little heartache riding those winds of change, too.

In this care package: I'm sharing another sneak peek of something close to my heart: My upcoming book, Every Season Sacred. This contemplative collection invites you to dive deep into reflections, prayers, and prompts that speak to your real-life experiences.

By preordering Every Season Sacred before its release on Sept. 19th (just a week away!), you're not just getting a book. You're investing in a journey—an intentional (but low-pressure) path winding through the whole year, inviting you into reflection and connection. 

What’s the deal with preorders, anyway? Your preorder tells bookstores that parents care about this book and the conversations nestled inside. Your support helps ensure that the message of intentional, soul-nourishing parenting reaches families far and wide.

Preorder your copy of Every Season Sacred and be part of a growing number of us undoing the knots of our own wonderings about faith while nurturing connection and presence in our families.

Direct Links to Where You Can Order*

(*Of course, my heart beats the loudest and proudest for independent bookstores!)

• Amazon 

• Goodreads 

• Barnes & Noble

• Books-A-Million

• Christianbook 

• Target

(Once you’ve ordered, head over to download bonus material and take the first step toward a richer, more intentional experience this yea.)

Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Your support means the world.

Let's make every season sacred together.

An Air of New Beginnings

I write this in Every Season Sacred: 

Fall often brings forth an air of new beginnings. School starts; schedules shift. Our children are surrounded by new invitations to independence, and we must accept that as much as we want control, it was never really ours in the first place.

We take photos of our backpack-wearing kids in their freshly laundered clothes (and secretly cry when our teens are over those first-day-of-school pictures). We feel our hearts beating out of our chests, full of worries and wonderings as they embark on new adventures.

But where we cannot go, God already is.

For Your Wondering Spirit

Each chapter in Every Season Sacred includes prompts for spiritual conversations with your family to help you notice and name your experiences of God in your, messy, holy lives.

When we’re willing to sit in the messy middle with our kids and resist the urge to tie up faith conversations with a bow, we permit our families to be in process.

You don’t have to have all the answers; if we’re honest, many answers aren’t ours. This is faith: holding on to the promise of what we cannot see, like constellations only revealed at the coordinates.

Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

I hope these questions spark some thoughtful conversations:

• What’s something you’ve been afraid of this week? How can you let God’s love cover that fear?

• What does God say about our fear?

• What is your fear holding you (or those you love) back from?

• Does our family lean toward being overprotective or overpermissive?

• What are you having a difficult time releasing control over?

• How can you invite Jesus into your need for control?

• Why is it important for us to experience both pain and joy in our lives?

• How does it change your perspective if you know that wherever you go, God is already there?

Borrow this Prayer

This prayer is from the Helicopters chapter, one of the weekly chapters in the FALL section of Every Season Sacred:

O God, we know You are trustworthy,

But so often, we forget.

Remind us that our family

Belongs to You and You alone.

When the day is done

And the sun begins its slumber,

And we return from our separate adventures,

Will You bring us back home?

Cover our fears with the blanket of Your love.

Loosen our controlling grip with Your gentle embrace.

Help our family name our wounds

So we may tend to the woundedness of others.

O loving and merciful God,

You haven’t given us a spirit of

Fear or timidity.

Help us to remember this

So we may more fully and boldly

Love those

You’ve placed among us.

Amen.

Pray This with Your Kids

There are certainly times to pray for the children in your life, but the prayers nestled into the pages of Every Season Sacred are meant to be shared.

Each week, you’ll find two prayer options:

1. The first is more conversational and uses more straightforward language. It may connect better with younger readers.

2. The second is longer and more poetic, and it may be a fit for older children.

Pick what works for your family. Below is the younger version of the prayer above.

​​Dear God, You are good.

Thank you for caring for us, even when the world feels dark or scary.

When our family is apart, help us to remember that we are never alone.

You are the Maker of all things, and You are with us always.

In all our adventures, help us to be brave, loving, and kind.

Because You love us with the most immense love, we can share that love with others, too.

And when we’re scared, help us to remember we can trust You. Amen.

Book Sale Alert!

If I’ve learned anything from To Light Their Way, we LOVE GIFTING BOOKS!

Whether you want to have copies of Every Season Sacred on hand, you’re already looking ahead to Christmas (eek!), or you’re a pastor who is grabbing books for parents in your congregation, my friends at ChristianBook.com are running a STELLAR sale:

• Copies for just $16.99!

• Retail is $22.99

• You save 26% ($6.00)

(I was recently on a podcast with pastor and author Steve Carter, and I was so humbled to hear that he ordered copies to hand out for baby dedications at his church!)

Listen While You Work (Or Walk, Or Commute, Or…)

You can hear me share this benediction (along with the prayers I’ve offered here) on this week’s episode of the Liturgies for Parents podcast. These short (10-15 minute) weekly episodes offer a chance for parents like me and you to reflect on scripture and pray together.

Thanks again to our sponsor, Bethany Christian Services.   Don’t miss the chance to see Bianca Juarez Olthoff, Dante Bowe, and more—all at Bethany’s annual virtual event, Family Changes Everything. Mark your calendars for Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 pm Eastern. I just know you’ll be refreshed and inspired on your parenting journey. This event is totally free, but registration is required. Save your spot.

I also have had the joy of hopping on some podcasts to explore all manner of things. (If you know me, you know I don’t have a problem chatting it up!)

I’d love it if you’d take a listen!

A Benediction as You Go

When the world’s unknowns feel heavy on your shoulders,

May you remember God’s love is big enough to hold it all.

When you read the headlines and wonder what the future holds,

May you rest in the comfort of God’s presence.

When you struggle with control,

May you remember the goodness and gentleness of the Lord can be trusted.

And may all your life—your fantastic, dirty, messy, holy, life—be a prayer.

Preorder Gifts Only Available for ONE More Week!

We’ve compiled a collection of gifts to thank you for preordering my brand new book, Every Season Sacred, if you order ANY time before Tuesday, Sept. 19, my publication day!

Preorders play a huge role in the success of a book (they help ensure that retailers stock enough and don’t run out!). When you preorder, you don’t pay until the book actually releases and you’re guaranteed the lowest price, as book prices often fluctuate online. 

Remeber: You can get the preorder gifts by preordering Every Season Sacred from any retailer! (And yes, Kindle counts!)

Share your preorder information to get the following: 

• 100 Family Conversation Cards (Professionally designed and ready for print!)

• 5 Daily Liturgies to Share With Your Family (in little booklet form!)

• Every Season Sacred fall playlist (9+ hours of cozy goodness!)

• Early access to the first 3 chapters (So you can get reading now!)

A Prayer Request (If You Made it This Far)

Publishing is a weird world. Being an author is a gift. A privilege! And also just…weird.

It’s a vulnerable act to put your heart on the page and offer it up to the world.

It’s a stressful space to feel the weight of book sales on your shoulders.

It’s a confusing vocation to infuse marketing into what you hope is deep, honest, and soulful work.

My life is chaotic. (Four kids, my daughter’s significant disabilities and needs, my writing, my husband’s ministry, etc.) I do not doubt that yours is, too.

If you think of me this week, would you pray for me?

I want to stay rooted, grounded in God’s love that doesn’t care how well the book sells, how many reviews I get on Goodreads, how wise I sound on a podcast.

I want to steward this book well into the world and rest in the truth that I’ve done my very best.

I’m seeing perfectionism and anxiety in one of my kids, and it absolutely breaks my heart, because these are things I’m still working through now.

It has been an absolute honor and joy of my life to share prayers with you. I’m so grateful to know you’ll share your prayers with me, too.

Until Next Time

May all your life — your fantastic, dirty, messy, holy life — be a prayer.

Kayla

PS…

I’m brainstorming and praying about a special private weekly Substack community to journey through Every Season Sacred together. Part book club, part accountability, part prayer care package, part community.