Eighth Day Prayers
A review - and a giveaway for Ordinary Time!
God himself has given us the gifts of agricultural seasons and the rhythm of the Christian year. Let that rhythm draw you more deeply into a prayer-filled life with God.
Sally Breedlove, Willa Kane, Madison Perry, and Alysia Yates, excerpt from Eighth Day Prayers
Edited 6/6/2025: Giveaway closed, and a winner has been chosen at random! Thank you all for entering!
Friends, I’m delighted to get to review this beautiful three-volume set of books today - and I hope that my thoughts can help a wee bit as you discern the devotional resources that you’ll be leaning on throughout the year! Many thanks to McClure Muntsinger Public Relations & Forefront Books for gifting me these lovely books.
Pax+bonum, Kristin
Trying to harmonize habits is a daily struggle for me.1
Seasons like Advent & Lent help to reveal some of the spaces in my life where devotion and attention are misaligned, spaces where my heart has grown callused & complacent. Trying to make that a sustainable practice, though - trying to release all of the flotsam & jetsam that I trip over on my way to God - is ongoing work. With kids and a farm and art (fill in the blank with your own full, varied vocations), goalposts and needs are constantly shifting…which is fertile ground for distraction.
I don’t actually need to prioritize another iced coffee, zero-in on random minutiae at the expense of everything else, or complain & bemoan: I do need to prioritize time to sit at the table with Jesus, though. I wish I could say that I have a Rule if Life2 scaffolding my days, or that all the devotional books sitting on my shelf haven’t been plaintively looking at me while they collect dust…but, well, here we are! (I admit: I tend to have a collect-em-all mindset with books, which often leads to overwhelm…it turns out I can’t actually read them all through osmosis, and I can’t sustain 10 daily devotions each day! Go figure.)
As we walk through this mysterious space between the Ascension and Pentecost, approaching a long stretch of Ordinary Time, it’s easy to feel like the season ahead can be daunting…it might seem like we don’t have the visible prompts and anchors so obvious in other liturgical seasons (but, friends, we do - I promise).
I’m feeling hopeful as I look toward Ordinary Time, though: I’ve managed to build a new habit over the past few months - which is no small feat for me. I think I’ve actually grafted a devotional into my daily life, after years of wrestling with that rhythm. I know the wrestling will continue & shifts will happen, but I’m thankful to have ancient-yet-new pools of resources to help me re-order my days toward Christ.
Several months ago, this beautiful set of Eighth Day Prayers was gifted to me. Knowing myself & my own struggle with daily devotional habits, I was dubious of integrating a new set of prayer books into my routine…but the offerings in these books have flowed so naturally, have stuck with me like a good meal, and have become something I look forward to every morning. I wake up wanting to see what today’s daily reading is - not wanting to check my email.
From the moment God created the world, he rooted it in time. The six days of creation are endowed with beauty, meaning, and purpose, leading us to the seventh day of divine rest. But what of the eighth day? For Christians the eighth day is the day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead - Easter - on the first day after the Jewish Sabbath. The eighth day marks a new way of keeping time shaped by the inbreaking of a new creation.
Sally Breedlove, Willa Kane, Madison Perry, and Alysia Yates, excerpt from Eighth Day Prayers
I’ve waited quite some time to share more about these books with you - I wanted to have ample time to really explore them in the quiet, plumb their depths, and see how organically they blend into my daily life. And, as a habit-challenged gal, I’m delighted to report that these books have indeed been transformative, practical, beautiful tools in helping me to reimagine my daily routines and realign my focus.
Originally compiled during the pandemic by four Christian friends (Sally Breedlove, Willa Kane, Madison Perry, and Alysia Yates), the daily devotions in these three volumes draw fresh perspective from an ancient well of tradition, helping to place each day’s reading & reflection within the wider context of both the liturgical and the natural & agrarian seasons.
In this beautiful series, the framework of devotions reflects that of the liturgical calendar:
Daily Hope for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany
Daily Mercy for Lent and Eastertide
Daily Joy for Ordinary Time
In so many ways we have lost our ability to keep time. Perhaps this loss results from the movement away from an agricultural world, where land was left fallow for a season before it was sown and where sowing necessarily preceded growing, which resulted in harvest. It was impossible in the agricultural world to divorce one season from another; each season contributed its own gift and preparation to the next.
Sally Breedlove, Willa Kane, Madison Perry, and Alysia Yates, excerpt from Eighth Day Prayers
You can imagine my absolute delight in finding a devotional series written and compiled from this perspective: where the agricultural heritage of the Church calendar is re-invigorated, breathed back into the pattern of devotions through each inter-connected season.
Each daily devotion features Scripture, an impactful reflection, and a prayer for the day’s journey. The reflections are provided by the author team, and though I’m new to their writing, I’ve been consistently dazzled by them, often finding their prompts re-visiting my thoughts throughout the day. The prayers come from a variety of sources - some are original to the authors, and others are from our faith’s incredible heritage of hymns, homilies, theological pieces, and more. The selection is ecumenical, balancing sources from a variety of family trees within Christianity.
One of my favorite features is simple: each daily reading has the calendar date listed at the top of the page, from now till 2035. (Yes, I’m already over-thinking how I’ll need to write-in the next decade - that’s how much I’m enjoying these books). The pre-coffee version of myself emerging in the morning each day very much appreciates the aid of dates, since I don’t have to do any extra thinking to recall which Monday of which week we’re on.
Each volume also provides thoughtful, illuminating introductions to the liturgical seasons it holds, helping to transition us seamlessly from one season to the next.
Helpful reflections on the Church year in general, as well as introductions to prayer prompts like lectio divina, give us a fresh start and gentle reminder & reset with each volume.
Because the past few months spent with these books as my aids in daily devotion have led me to be so thankful for these resources, I want to pass that joy onto you: though I was fortunate to receive these as a gift, I’m so delighted with them that I’ve purchased a copy of Eighth Day Prayers: Daily Joy for Ordinary Time to offer as a giveaway to you!
This particular volume was only just released in March of 2025, so it will be ploughing fresh soil with the approach of Ordinary Time this summer. I’m excited to have a hand on the plough alongside you!
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
To enter to win Eighth Day Prayers: Daily Joy for Ordinary Time, please read this bit of nitty-gritty…
Giveaway is open to all Hearthstone Fables Substack subscribers
Paid subscribers’ entries count as 5 entries
Open to worldwide shipping
This giveaway is not sponsored by Substack, the authors, the publisher (Forefront Books), or the publicist (McClure Muntsinger PR); I loved these books so much that I bought an extra copy of Ordinary Time for you!
…and then leave a comment below, with one thought or question about Ordinary Time!
Giveaway closes on Friday, June 6 at 2 pm Pacific Time, and a winner will be chosen at random.
READ ON
I’ve been steadily letting go of the idea of “balance” and gravitating more toward “harmony”…balance feels a bit like an illusion most days, haha!
Growth and renewal and a focus on the life of Jesus. What a special time.
I've been reading your articles off and on for a while now and find them so peaceful and encouraging. I too am one who craves a quiet rhythm immersed in God's word in the midst of a busy world and often feel I was born in the wrong era. I'm often looking for beautiful devotionals to share with my three teenagers but struggle with something that is the right length and depth for all of us. These look ideal. Thanks for sharing!