Kate Orson spent a week with her Bible to see if it improved her mood. Here’s what she discovered

God is patient, kind and slow to anger. Perhaps as a parent you’ve noticed that parenting goes a lot more smoothly when the Holy Spirit is doing the talking. At other times there’s anger, frustration, or regretted words.

There is so much in the Bible reminding us to be slow and careful with our speech, yet in the moment it’s easy to forget. I decided to spend a week praying on being a calm parent, and meditating on scripture to see if it would make a difference.

I’ve noticed that as my daughter has grown older, life has become more time pressured. There’s more time in school, more homework, more after-school activities. There’s less time for connection. Interactions feel more hurried, and stressful. To add to the stress we just added a new puppy into our house, along with two cats, so it felt like time to make a change.