The weather may be warm, but Thanksgiving is nearly here and the stores are already focused on Christmas. Will you have a great Christmas, or will the season be a frazzled, hair-pulling extravaganza of shopping, planning parties, cooking and baking, volunteering at school and church events, collapsing on the sofa the day after December 25? If the answer is the latter, you are probably a woman, and probably a mother.
Maria Rodgers O’Rourke of St. Louis has created a small, attractive booklet to help women take a few minutes of meditative time for themselves each day to calm their souls and energize their spirits to have a good day and a good holiday season. With Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas, Rodgers O’Rourke hopes to help busy women take care of themselves and rediscover the joy of the holidays with their families. The book is a mixture of Christian inspiration, journaling and to-do lists, a simple soul survival guide for everyday women struggling with holiday expectations on top of family and work obligations. The short daily readings are personable and meditative chats, and even include the inevitable Santa questions and dilemma. Morning seems to be the best time to make a quiet space in life for readings and for writing notes on blessings, intentions and checklists. “Carry it with you throughout the day, crossing off your to-do list and rereading your gratitude list and intention statement.” The entries begin on Thanksgiving Day – and what woman doesn’t need to take a big breath at the start of that day – and end at Epiphany, the sixth of January, with blank pages at the end for further notes and journaling.
Rodgers O’Rourke is an inspirational speaker, ministry and spirituality leader and a columnist as well as a wife and mother. Judging by her calm, pleasant demeanor she seems to have found the secrets to a fulfilling daily life as well as surviving the holidays with a happy heart. “Is your heart open to a miracle this season?”
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