LDS Living recently sat down with new parents Michael and Gina Kane to talk about what their spiritual routines look like after having a baby. They shared a phrase from Gina's mission leader that has especially inspired them during this transition.
Michael: Now that we have a baby, our spiritual routines mean the world to us. I need to be very diligent in them because I have this little human being that looks up to me now. I remember coming back from work one day, and she just smiled. She was happy to see me. That’s the first of many moments that helped me realize that she is definitely going to look at us and how we live the gospel. If she sees us praying, if she sees us exercising our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I feel like that’ll help her do the same. She’ll be able to say, “Hey, I can root myself in the Lord. I saw my parents do this. I saw my dad read these scriptures. I saw him pray, even when he was tired.”
In my home office, I have a picture of Jesus Christ. I always try to show it to her. I don’t know if she knows who He is, but for her to know His name, to know the picture, to be familiar with it—I feel like one day it’ll be nostalgic to her. She’ll realize that she knows this picture from somewhere.
Gina: Even though she’s just a little baby right now, we try to tell her, “We’re going to say a prayer,” and we hold her as we’re praying together. She probably doesn’t know what’s going on, but we love actively involving her in our routines so her brain can learn these words.
My mission president’s wife always told us to be brilliant at the basics. She wanted us to remember to be the best at the simple things, like prayer and scripture study. And that doesn’t mean your prayers always need to be long and elaborate. A brilliant prayer can be offered silently in your heart. Scripture study is so convenient thanks to technology. It is so simple to be brilliant: You just need to open your phone and read a chapter or listen to a talk. I see the difference in my life when I’m not reading my scriptures or praying. It’s not that Heavenly Father won’t bless me even on the days I don’t—He continues to give tender mercies. But I notice them more when I pray.
Every time we experience a miracle, we do a gratitude prayer together immediately afterwards to thank our Heavenly Father. That has opened the windows of heaven for us.
Michael: When I think about the blessings I’ve experienced because of spiritual routines, I feel like my whole life is a blessing. I’m so grateful for the basic things that I kept doing, like going to church and reading my scriptures, even when it was not easy. I don’t think I would be living where I am and married with a baby if I hadn’t done the basics. At each stage of my life, I’m amazed at the blessings of doing small and simple things.
Note: This article first appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of LDS Living magazine.
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