Almost Holy Mama: Life-Giving Spiritual Practices for Weary Parents

With the honesty of a close friend, the hilarity of a late-night comic, and the humility of a mom up to her eyeballs in diapers and dishes, Courtney Ellis invites us on a journey to draw closer God amid the joyful, mundane, exhausting days of young parenthood. Probing ancient Christian practices for renewal, Almost Holy Mama chronicles one mom's quest to discover an answer to her most pressing question: Can God use the challenges of parenthood to grow your character?

You long to spend time with God and catch your spiritual breath, but you find yourself honestly wondering--how and when? Ellis gets its. It's hard to carve out space for a quiet moment with God, let alone a quiet time Instead of adding more tasks to your plate, Almost Holy Mama will help you integrate your spiritual practices into your daily life. From studying Scripture in the shower to listening in prayer at the foot of Laundry Mountain, Ellis finds that meeting God in sacred disciplines can breathe new life into one of life's most joy-filled and trying seasons.

Paperback, 256 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, ISBN 9781628627909.

1. Running on Empty, Longing for More
2. Car Rides & Contemplation: Finding Jesus on the Freeways
3. Sleepytime & Service: Sacrificial Love at the End of a Long Day
4. Eating & the Examen: Finding God at the Dinner Table
5. Laundry & Listening Prayer: Because Sometimes the Voice of God Sounds a Lot like the Dryer
6. Showering with Scripture: Wash over Me, Lord
7. Fasting from Facebook: Giving Up to Gain
8. Suffering & Stillness: Because Sometimes All You Can Do Is Nothing
9. Getting Ready with Gratitude: Thanksgiving amid Chaos
10. Travel & Pilgrimage: Going Away and Coming Home
11. Ceasing & Celebration: Discovering the Playful God
12. Almost Holy, Fully Loved: Where Do We Go from Here?

• Parents
• Gifts for expecting parents
• Single mother/father groups
• Foster parents and guardians
• Pastors and counselors
• And more

Courtney Ellis serves as associate pastor for spiritual formation and mission at Presbyterian Church of the Master. She holds degrees from Wheaton College, Loyola University of Chicago, and Princeton Theological Seminary, and has been published in Marriage/Partnership, Rock & Ice Magazine, and Christianity Today Women. She's a contributor at The Glorious Table and The Mighty. Courtney is a sought-after speaker for leadership and women's retreats, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), and young adult ministries. She's a gifted storyteller with strengths in bringing parents, marrieds, singles, and millennials together. Courtney lives in southern California with her husband (and co-pastor) Daryl and their children.