Meet Kayla Craig

Author. Speaker.

Spiritual Director.

Christian author Kayla Craig with long brown hair wearing a floral dress, smiling with her hand touching her cheek. Background appears to be an outdoor setting with a muted ocean view and a light sky as she honors her new book Our Daily Breath.

Nice to Meet You.

I’m Kayla Craig — a former journalist, bestselling author, and spiritual director whose work blends contemplative faith with fierce tenderness for the world God loves.

I live in a 115-year-old former convent in Iowa with my husband Jonny, our four wild and wonderful kids, and two dogs. Our children joined our family through birth and adoption (four kids in five years, in case you were wondering why I’m always tired).

My daughter has Down syndrome, and advocating for her has made me a fiercer, more tender person than I ever expected to be.

My background is in journalism. I’ve worked in newsrooms, written for Better Homes & Gardens, covered national politics, and interviewed everyone from the Wild Kratts to top government officials.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I started writing prayers.

And I never stopped.

Kayla Craig, author of Our Daily Breath, standing with her family. A diverse group of people on a beach, smiling and enjoying each other's company during sunset.

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Kayla Craig, author of To Light Their Way, Every Season Sacred, and Our Daily Breath, with a photo of her family, including children and adults, sitting on the sand with a background of dunes and a partly cloudy sky.

What I do

Don’t have the words to pray? Now you do.

I write prayers and reflections for people who are too tired or too overwhelmed to find the words themselves. My work lives at the intersection of contemplative faith and fierce tenderness for the ordinary.

Author Kayla Craig shares a kiss and embrace on a beach at sunset with her husband pastor Jonny Craig. Kayla is wearing a long, patterned dress, and the man is in a short-sleeve button-up shirt and rolled-up pants. The beach is sandy with footprints.

Author Kayla Craig has been married to her husband Jonny for more than 18 years. They are holding hands and walking on the beach during sunset, smiling and looking at each other.

I’m a former journalist, bestselling author, and spiritual director whose work blends contemplative faith with fierce tenderness for the world God loves. I (try to) bring curiosity, compassion, and a love of connection to her writing, and my books include To Light Their Way and Every Season Sacred — both ECPA Bestsellers. My Year of Breath newsletter reaches readers in all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

My nuanced, relatable reflections appear in an array of books and devotionals and have been featured by Christianity Today and Hallmark’s DaySpring.

I created the well-loved Liturgies for Parents Instagram account and speak at retreats and conferences, helping peace feel possible, and prayer feel doable in everyday life. I’m studying Christian spiritual direction and formation at Columbia Theological Seminary.

I live in Iowa with my husband, four kids, and two dogs, where silence is…aspirational.

May all your life—your fantastic, dirty, messy, holy life—be a prayer.

xoxo Kayla

Words for Real Life

Books

Prayers & Practices for Real Life
“To Light Their Way” and “Every Season Sacred” are ECPA Bestellers. My new book, “Our Daily Breath,” is available for preorder now.
My essays are featured in various books and devotionals, including “100 Days of Strength in Every Struggle” (Hallmark’s DaySpring), “The Women We’ve Been Waiting For” (Brazos Press), “The Good and Beautiful Bible Study” (Alabaster Co.), “Disciplines” (Upper Room), “Rally: Communal Prayers for Lovers of Jesus and Justice” (Fresh Air Books), “This is Motherhood” (Sounds True).

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Newsletter

A SOUL CARE PACKAGE OF PRAYERS
My Year of Breath newsletter reaches readers in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More than 13,000 people subscribe to get weekly breath prayers and practices sent directly to their inbox.
Substack named my newsletter a bestseller, and it’s an honor to share my words with you every week. Paid subscribers receive breath prayers for the week, spiritual practices, reflection questions, curated playlists, and more.

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Speaking

Retreats, Conferences, Gatherings
I help peace feel possible, and prayer feel doable. I have more than 15 years of professional communications experience.
Whether I’m leading a morning retreat for twenty or speaking to a conference of hundreds, I bring my journalist’s curiosity and liturgist’s heart to every room. I don’t come with easy answers — but I do show up with honest questions and a stubborn hope that God is present in the right now.
I’ve spoken at women’s conferences, church retreats, parenting gatherings, university seminars, and faith formation events. I’m available for in-person and virtual engagements.

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Formation

Christian Spiritual Director
I’ve studied Christian spiritual formation and spiritual direction at Columbia Theological Seminary. As a spiritual director, my role is to simply listen, be a compassionate presence, and ask gentle questions so that you might hear God more fully in the midst of your real life.
I’m not currently taking on more clients, but in the future, I will be adding more spiritual direction appointments, both virtual and in-person.

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Liturgies

LITURGIES FOR PARENTS
In 2020, I started sharing prayers on Instagram at @LiturgiesForParents as a way to process my own faith journey and invite others to do the same. It was named an “Essential Parenting Resource” by Christianity Today.
We have more than 61,000 followers and regularly share prayers for the parenting journey that you can borrow and make your own.

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