(RNS) — When sharing about the book she co-authored with the Rev. Kimberly Knowle-Zeller, Erin Strybis has heard “The Beauty of Motherhood: Grace-Filled Devotions for the Early Years” referred to as “just another motherhood devotional.”Strybis, a Chicago-based writer with two kids ages 1 and 6, said she could see that. But she also sees motherhood — and parenthood in general — as “a pretty important story that we need to continue to return to as a society.”
“There are lessons that can be taught in these early years about unconditional love and support that I think the world needs right now,” she said.
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Strybis has read books that have flipped traditional messages about motherhood on their heads and books connecting creativity and motherhood that became devotionals for her. She’s found healing in the words of picture books she’s shared with her children.
In “The Beauty of Motherhood,” she and Knowle-Zeller hope moms of babies, toddlers and young children will find honesty about the hard parts of parenting alongside the picture-perfect moments often shared on social media. And they hope — as they share reflections from their own parenting journeys alongside Bible passages, spiritual practices and prayers — others will be inspired to share their stories, too.
The two connected when Knowle-Zeller, a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and mom of two, was writing for Living Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA, where Strybis previously was an editor.
As Mother’s Day approaches in the United States, here are a few more books released this year that celebrate the subject of faith and mothering.
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‘Feminist Prayers for my Daughter’ by Shannon K. Evans
What words do you pray when your own daughter becomes a mother? Or when she experiences the loss of a pregnancy?
Shannon K. Evans, the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and author of “Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality,” puts words to prayers for things many women encounter in life in her latest book, titled “Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life.” The prayer book, published in March, includes prayers for when she takes her first steps, leaves home or hits menopause alongside pray …
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