On Our Bookshelf: Every Moment Holy by Douglas Kaine McKelvey

When my dad passed away in April 2024, a friend mailed me a copy of the devotional Every Moment Holy Volume 1 written by Douglas Kaine McKelvey and published by Rabbit Room Press. There are several volumes in the series, and I have since purchased Volume 2 which is entitled Every Moment Holy – Death, Grief, & Hope. I have found each volume to be a deep treasure trove of thought-provoking and spirit-stirring liturgies.

Review

In Volume 1, the liturgies span a broad variety of topics such as labor and vocation, creation and recreation, blessing and celebration, petition and provision, sorrow and lament, and liturgies of the moment. For every unique experience in life, McKelvey has written an apt liturgy so that you can include God in that moment through prayer.

One that has stood out to me is “A Liturgy for the Ritual of Morning Coffee” where you invite Christ to quiet your heart from yesterday’s harms and resurrect your peace, hope, strength, faith, and love. 

Another stand-out for me personally is “A Liturgy for Those Who Have Not Done Great Things for God.”  I love this passage:

“Be content in the station he has appointed you to in

this season, and yet be ever ready to move at the

impulse of his love. Tend well those things

that are before you, however humble they be, and

he will lead you in time to other good works

he has appointed for you.

Whether big or small is of no matter.

He attaches no numbers to your service.

It is your heart and faithfulness he appraises.”

I pray that I will tend well the humble tasks in my life and remember that God is most concerned with the condition of my heart not my “statistics” of service.

There is even a liturgy for fiction writers. I loved it! Here is a short excerpt:

“Take these my small offerings:

my pen,

my paper,

my words,

my willingness

to be still and present.

Fill my imagination

Be to me both fire and wonder,

inspiration and guide.

Take these my small offerings.

Take and multiply them into a story that might stir

or salve, that might shape or strengthen, that might name

hidden wounds or secret hopes, that might open hearts to your

mysteries. May your Holy Spirit meet me in the process

of creation, for even as you called into being all things

from nothing, so would I now step into the nothingness

of an empty page, trusting that your Spirit might be manifest

in this act of faith and stewardship.”

Do you love these liturgies as much as I do? This is just a small sample of the riches that are within the pages of these books. They have become a helpful tool for me to use in my prayer time. If you are looking for something fresh and new to revitalize your prayer and devotional life, I highly recommend this series.

What other devotional books have encouraged you? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Mindy Baker resides in Indiana where she is a high school Spanish teacher. She is the author of Mouse’s Christmas Gift, Zonderkidz 2018, and has contributions in multiple Guideposts publications over the past four years. Her middle grade novel Soledad and the Curse of the Phoenix will be published in November 2025 with Chicken Scratch Books. You can connect online with Mindy here. She also has a mini-magazine for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of children. You can sign up to receive it here.