A Help on the Journey

I am re-reading Graced and Gifted by Kimberly Hahn, and I highly recommend it to all of our readers.

Kimberly writes like a big sister who gently guides you in what you need to know, humbly sharing what she has learned through experience. The introduction, which could stand alone as an article and which I plan to use with my mothers’ group, explains the Five “P”s of the motherly vocation that Holly Pierlot introduced as part of the Mother’s Rule of Life. These priorities — prayer, person, partner, parent and provider in that order — help a mother to get her bearings and create her plan. This concept was, to me, the best part of Holly’s book, and Kimberly explains them beautifully and helps us to fit them into a life that feels more familiar to me than Holly’s jump from total chaos to total structure. If, like me, you have read A Mother’s Rule of Life and walked away inspired but totally confused and overwhelmed, you may find this book more helpful.

In the rest of the book, Kimberly leads us through a bible study of one of B-Mama’s favorites, the Proverbs 31 woman, and uses anecdotes and advice to help mothers try to be like this woman. In each chapter she also explains one of the Catholic Church’s seven sacraments. I have to state that the connections are a bit forced in some places, but still the explanations of the sacraments are a useful reference and reminder, helpful in apostolate to non-Catholic christians and also as we teach our own children.

Please note, you do not have to read A Mother’s Rule of Life before reading this book, it stands alone and in fact is more helpful, in my opinion. Kimberly also has a bible study tape series on the subject of A Mother’s Rule of Life, and which is more closely connected to that book.

Graced and Gifted by Kimberly Hahn is available from Catholic Company.