Ordinary Blessings for Parents - (The Ordinary Blessings) by Meta Herrick Carlson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Ordinary Blessings for Parents is a spiritual high-five for parents in every stage of raising kids. In this beautiful collection of blessings, poet and pastor Meta Herrick Carlson names the moments we take for granted, makes space for the hard times, and reminds us we are in good company and are loved in the midst of loving children.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"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

"With a tender heart and a wise soul, Meta has written a bevy of blessings for the ordinary moments that mark our days as parents. What a gift to have these words to accompany us through mundane and holy moments. These blessings will serve as faithful traveling companions in your parenting journey." --Danielle Shroyer, author of Original Blessing and The Boundary-Breaking God

"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

"Here are blessings for dad bods and breast pumps, sticky hands, stretch marks, broken hearts, and first apartments. With a simplicity that belies their depth, Meta's blessings, prayers, and meditations are able to frame up a house for your soul that feels as familiar as home while at the same time proving surprising and new." --Marc Olson, author of The World Jesus Knew: A Curious Kid's Guide to Life in the First Century