Back in the fall, we made the unpopular decision to bring our two children, then 1 and 3, to a funeral. I say unpopular because none of us were really sure about how my older one would do with seeing an open casket, not remembering she’d met her before, and then seeing a lot of relatives and adults crying.

Today we’re wrapping up our Friday collaboration series “Trading Lies for Truth,” and I’m excited to share Lily’s story from @thehybridhome. You may remember this blog is run by two mama friends, and I just love how they share the load and the love in their own ways.

One of my goals for 2019 is to have a more consistent and robust prayer life. I got tired of my own drive-by genie-in-a-bottle prayers: “Dear God help so-and-so, she’s really struggling. Amen.”

Since I enjoy writing things down, fun pens, and doodling, a prayer journal seemed like a good way to combine all my loves with my new goal. This idea didn’t come to me until January 29, so I’m only a few days in, but I’m going to share what I’ve got so far.

A friend shared with me this quote from “New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional” by Paul David Tripp: “Most of what we call fellowship never really rises to the level of the humble self-disclosure and mutual ministry that make fellowship actually redemptively worthwhile.” Recently at the Mothers Ministry, we discussed meaningful friendships and building our village: a fellowship of moms, and women, rooted in Scripture.