Happy kids are safer kids, because happy kids have adults they can ask for help.

We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.

This is a "love saves" story.

Make sure, both at Christmastime and in other times, that you ask for that which you really want.

We seek blessed assurance through pandemic chaos, relentless loss, and unimaginable stress.

We teach girls to be likeable, to be nice, to be false. And we do not teach boys the same. This is dangerous.

One day, I’ll have to care for my mother as she once cared for me. I’m not ready to handle the truth that our relationship must change.

This is a prayer for working parents zooming another meeting with a little face joining in; for new parents, waiting for new life without support; for the single parents, doing all this alone.

What once seemed certain is now unpredictable, even dangerous.

Our conversations about the history of our country—the actions of our ancestors—can be made new and relevant and understandable. We can and must have these conversations.

Sometimes, I know I'm hanging onto a part of my life that I'll eventually need to let go of...but not just yet.

Sometimes grief sends notice ahead of time; sometimes, it shows up as an unwelcome, uninvited guest.

We can’t always predict which choices will wind up having a huge impact on us, whether it's bringing home a stuffed animal or taking a particular train to Oxford Circus.

For all the mothers and mother figures The grandmothers, aunts, and extended family members who mother The soon-to-be mothers, the wish-they-were mothers, the never-wanted-to-be mothers, the “it’s complicated” mothers The birth mothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers The “used...

I’d gotten in the habit of keeping my head down and hardly noticing where I was or who was around me. On this day, I decided to greet the world differently.

Tell me the story of my birth, and help me understand how you were changed the day I entered the world. Help me know love, deep in my bones.

My heart broke the day my son stood in the bathroom crying. He handed me a pair of scissors and told me to just cut it. I told him how beautiful his hair was and how sad I would be to see him cut it.

I wanted so much to believe that God was watching over this boy, that God was tender and protective and fiercely on the side of life and that this boy would not slip away.

"When it comes to our children, we do not have the luxury of despair. If we rise, they will rise with us every time, no matter how many times we've fallen before. I hope you will remember that the next time you fail. I hope I will too. Remembering that is the most important work as parents we can...

Once upon a time, a baby was born. Even before that baby was born, there were people waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby. The people who were waiting and wishing and hoping for that baby didn’t know exactly what that baby would be like. And so, they wondered: Would the baby have a smile...

I’m not the same person who stood in that tattoo parlor eleven years ago. Still, I don’t for a minute regret being permanently marked with this snapshot in time, of my wounds and my hope.

Liking somebody, even loving somebody, is not enough to protect them from shade that you cannot even see, much less understand.

We were all children once, and we carry fragments of our childhood times with us. Today, let us honor those children who walked before us, who transformed into who we have become, who led us to this place, who have lessons for us still.

“If I ask you a question, do you promise to tell me the truth?" For future reference, if a child asks you this question at Christmas time, EVADE.

We, the willing, follow the threads to one another; past rightness and quips and tweets. We will find one another and persist past sunrise.

Let us listen deeply to what is on our hearts, Let us listen to what our fears are; Let us listen to the young children, Let us listen to the teens, Let us listen to the elders. Let us listen when the world is sick. Let us listen....

"Fear's pronoun is singular: I've got to watch out for me and mine. Love's pronoun is plural: we're in this together, and together we can grow things that will blossom even in a time of drought." —Kathleen McTigue My son, Caleb, and I went to Starbucks on a recent Saturday morning. We often do...

What DO we do in the face of evil? Anything. Everything. Pray, protest, bake, hug, grieve, wail, laugh, explain, linger, research, fight, cry. What we absolutely must not do is ignore it.

I believe in the radical idea that men have the full human capacity to nurture.

Today—and on all other days—may we give thanks for the fathers, papas, pop-pops, dads and daddies who represent for us the steadfast presence that holds us in love and launches us into the world, whether we encounter it when we are small or already grown. May we be mindful of those for whom this...

From the time I was a baby, my mother often displayed her love for me by reciting a list of endearments such as: mi chiquitica linda, mi preciosa, mi criaturita hermosa, mi alegría, la hija más amada en el mundo, el tesoro de mi corazón. Loosely translated, her litany would go like this: my cute...

When my 85-year-old parents moved into their retirement home five years ago, my Dad found a comfortable role schlepping mats, blocks, and straps into the room where the Sunday yoga class was held. He was the only male, but it didn’t take him long to be an active member of the class instead of...

We recognize and honor today every dad who stood as their child shouted at them in anger or frustration. Every dad who tried to understand their child’s clothing choices, new hairdo, or new tattoo. Every dad who suddenly realized their child might be right and was willing to listen, and every dad...

Each of us has gifts and wounds from those who fathered us. This is inevitable; even the best fathers in the world disappoint their children sometimes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow up. But I know that some wounds are deeper than others. Some people’s hearts have been broken by their...

Every mother has a different story, though we tend to group them together. We like to think that partnered moms have it good and single moms have it rough, but the truth is that we're a diverse bunch....

Kristin Kany wrote this multi-voice poem in 2016 to be read by a group of "diverse moms." I am mother Mother 1: I am Mother Mother 2: I am Mother Mother(s) 3: I am Mother Mother 4: I am Mother Mother(s) 5: I am Mother Mother 6: I am Mother I am Mama, I am Mommy, I am Chinese, Jewish, African,...

I am ever grateful for the friends who are my family; who have pieced me together each time I’ve fallen apart; who laugh, cry, dream, and age happily by my side.

Original version in English by Tracy Bleakney, traducción en español por Theresa Soto A child journeys far from home Fearful and brave, in need of safe harbor. Guided by this chalice, may we seek to understand the causes of flight. Like the comfort of a candle flickering in a window of darkness,...

Spirit of Love and Power, we are gathered today in beloved community that we might manifest in our lives the values and truths that we hold dear. Let us rejoice that we are together for this time is holy time, the transformation we seek is holy work, and the bonds that hold us together are sacred.

What is the history of any thing? This apple, let's say, that my grandson just picked as he sits on my shoulders, feet dangling like parentheses around my heart?...

"Our children did not get their wounds alone. They were created by the actions of our family, our communities and our world. They were created by the things we choose to believe in, the causes we chose to champion and the despair we chose to neglect....

The Birthday Circle is a ritual that shows children that they are loved, known, and appreciated in our families and communities....

Mother's Day is complicated. Joyful for many, yes, but complicated. It's right there on the calendar, even if your mother has died....

Today is Father's Day, a day in which we honor and offer gratitude for our fathers, in whatever form or fashion they come into our lives—biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster fathers, grandfathers, spiritual fathers, and all of the uncles, brothers, and friends who, whether they...

We invite each of you to take a deep breath into the present moment, and, realizing that not everyone will have the functions to enter into all of these movements, but grateful for the skills that we do have, we invite you, as you are willing and able, to participate in this interactive meditation.

Spirit of Life, Today, the advertising tells us what to buy for mom, instead help us listen to and honor the deeper voices. Today, let us honor all of those who have made this world possible for us. Those who did the hard work of building a better world for future generations. Today, let us honor...

Note: This ritual combines fresh water with water from the previous year that has been boiled and filtered. The combined water is poured over the hands into the common bowl. Minister: The ancient Greek philosopher Heracltus of Ephesus is famous for one belief. He taught his students that...

Wind that whispers through the willow trees Sun that sustains us Water that washes over willing earth and weathered stones A smile shared and savored A child’s squeal of delight as she dances in the daisies and daffodils The quiet joy of gathered community This, this is the spirit of life and lov...