For the tired, loving parent

Your kids don't need a flawless parent. They need a present one.

Somewhere along the way, parenting became a performance: the right words, the right rules, the right amount of screen time. Here you can set that performance down and rediscover the grace that makes real connection possible.

Get the devotionalGet 7 free prayers
A 30-day devotional journal
PresenceoverPerformance

Scripture, reflections & daily practices for parents of tweens and teens

Lyndsey Cornell

The shift

What changes when you trade performing for being present

Performance says

  • I have to have the right answer before they finish talking.
  • Their grades and choices are my report card.
  • A busy calendar means I'm doing it right.
  • If I just try harder, I can keep them from struggling.

Presence says

  • I can listen first and answer later.
  • My worth and theirs is already settled in Christ.
  • Unhurried time is where trust grows.
  • I can walk with them through the struggle, and so can God.
A 30-day devotional journal
PresenceoverPerformance

The devotional journal

Thirty days to set the performance down

In about ten minutes a day, you'll find:

  • A short Scripture passage (ESV) to read slowly
  • A devotion written for the real, messy middle of raising tweens and teens
  • One simple Presence Practice to connect with your child today
  • Guided journal prompts and space to write
  • A breath prayer to carry with you through the day
Order on Amazon7 × 10 paperback · 80 pages

A Presence Practice for tonight

Ask a car-ride question

Tweens and teens often talk most when you're side by side, not face to face. Ask one, then let the quiet sit.

Want more? Instead of "How Was School?" has 32 cut-out question cards.

What's something that happened today that nobody asked you about?
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Free download

Prayers for the Teen Years

Seven prayers for the hard moments of raising tweens and teens, each paired with an ESV verse. Print them, keep them close, and pray them when you don't have the words.

  • 7 prayers for hard moments
  • An ESV verse with each prayer
  • Free when you join the email list

You'll also get occasional encouragement by email. Unsubscribe anytime.

Printable resources

Tools for the tween and teen years

16 cut-out cardsBreath Prayer Cards

Breath Prayer Cards

Sixteen short prayers to cut out and tuck in a mirror, wallet, or car visor.

$5Coming soon
32 question cardsInstead of “How Was School?”

Instead of “How Was School?”

Thirty-two cut-out question cards in four sets, for car rides, dinners, and bedtime.

$6Coming soon
30 daily practicesPresence Practice Tracker

Presence Practice Tracker

Thirty daily practices with checkboxes, plus a Day 30 reflection page.

$7Coming soon

Best value

The Presence Bundle

All three printables in one download: Breath Prayer Cards, Instead of “How Was School?”, and the Presence Practice Tracker.

$12$18Save $6Coming soon

Printable PDFs to use again and again. The shop opens soon.

Hi, I'm Lyndsey.

I'm a mom of four: one girl and three boys. Two are teenagers and two are preteens, which means our house is full and loud.

I have been on my knees more this past year than at any other time in my life. And through all of it, His grace has proved sufficient.

I'm not writing from the other side of these years. I'm sharing from the middle of the mess, learning right alongside you that presence means more than performance. And I'm finding that Jesus feels the same way about me.

You don't have to be the perfect parent. You get to be a present one, held by a perfect Father.