milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background

Remember, repetition helps children internalize and make connections. It might be a good idea to read the same story every day for a week. You can add different activities every day.

Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8

James: 

Dear friends,

I want to share my opinion with you about what to do when you feel unsure, confused, or afraid. If you have a question, or you wonder if God is there, ask God. Open your hands to the Spirit of all life, and let it fill your heart. God gives generously to everyone who asks. God will give generously to you. God will not judge you. When you ask, imagine God like a mountain standing tall, or a river running fast, or a field of flowers swaying gently in the wind. Believe that God is strong and kind and gentle, and your faith will open your heart for love to rush into you like the crashing waves of the ocean and fill you up, safe and secure. 

And let me tell you something more about God. God is not far away from us. No, God is close. God is close enough to cry when we are sad, when the earth suffers, when children are afraid. And everything we do in church is really just about this. Because God’s dream is for the world to be whole, and for the lonely to be comforted, and for the hurting to be healed. So if we are following God’s way we are helping people who don’t have enough to eat, and people who are cold at night, and mothers shielding their children from gunfire. We are listening for cries in the night, and waking morning by morning, and staying faithful to this good, hurting world. 

God be with you,

James 

***

Peter:

Peter believed that to follow Jesus means to love one another. He thought that we should bless each other, as God blesses us. So today, I give you a blessing:

May your breath come easy, my love 

May your heart beat steadily  

May you inhale soft, and exhale slow. 

May you see my wondering eyes, loving you as you are, and may you know as you grow that no thing could erase the depth of my awe at your existence. 

May you rest in the preciousness of your life, knowing we longed for you, prayed for you, dreamed of you. 

May you grow in safety and health, watched over by those who have prepared your way. 

May you walk in the world softly, with curiosity and kindness. 

May you know you are a guest in others’ lives, and may you tread respectfully in their stories. 

May you treasure the gift of your body and know it is a tool for the joy of this world. May you never be a slave to its appetites. 

May you feast on life, within and around you.  

May you open your eyes to wonder. 

May you delight in the unknown and mysterious. 

May you learn to listen, pausing for the music, and may you listen to the voice of wisdom from within. 

May you know happiness, may you know peace, may you know love. 

May you trust love, 

honor friendship, 

welcome newness, 

and breathe, my love, 

loved beyond words. 

Be safe. Be healthy. Be whole. 

Breathe.  

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

• Talk about how to turn to God with questions. How do you pray?

• Share stories of how you feel close to God/when you feel God close to you

• Read blessings from John O’Donahue’s To Bless the Space Between Us 

• Watch an Irish blessing 

• Watch a Spanish blessing 

• Blessing by Elevation Worship 

• Watch The Prayer 

• Watch Grow in your own sweet way 

• Read a Cherokee prayer blessing 

• Write a blessing for your child(ren)

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

Two blessings from Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms 

A Bouncy Blessing 

While bouncing the bed around the child, and trying to get as much giggling and flipping as possible:

Parent: Dear Lord, may this child bounce from blessing to blessing, all of his/her days. Amen. 

***

A Blessing for the Body of a Child While Lying in Bed

As prayer progresses, move hands to touch each part of the body:

Jesus, bless their feet, may they bring good news. 

Bless their legs, may they carry on in times of suffering. 

Bless their backs, may they be strong enough to bear the burdens of others. 

Bless their arms to hold the lonely, and their hands to do good work. 

Bless their necks, may they turn their heads toward the poor. 

Bless their ears to discern truth, their eyes to see beauty, and their mouths to speak encouragement. 

Bless their minds, may they grow wise. 

And finally, bless their hearts, may they grow to love you—and all that you have made—in the right order. 

Amen. 

Artwork

Compiled by Caroline

Music

Compiled by Caroline

A Celtic Blessing, by Will Todd, Tenebrae

Deep Peace (Gaelic Blessing), John Rutter, Libera

Deep Peace, Carrie Grossman

Blessings, Hollow Coves

The Lord Bless You and Keep You, Slugs and Bugs

The Lord Bless You and Keep You, Scripture Lullabies