A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul [Paperback]

Holly Pierlot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2004

If you have every heard of or tried "Fly Lady" and are looking for a Catholic dimension to the ideas, this book is for you. For links to more information about A Mother's Rule of Life, please visit http://www.mothersruleoflife.com On January 1, 2000, Holly Pierlot pounded her fist on the kitchen table and yelled at her husband, "I can’t take it anymore!" Motherhood and homeschooling had overwhelmed her. The house was dirty, the laundry undone. Holly felt frustrated, discouraged, and alone. She couldn’t find time to snuggle and have fun with her five children or to go out with her husband. Yes, she loved Philip and she did love God, but she had come to resent Philip’s freedom and she almost never found time for prayer. Today, everything’s better. Holly still home schools, but the house is cleaner, she gets more done, and the kids are happier. There’s less stress, less strife, and less housework. Holly’s been healed of past wounds that troubled her soul and her marriage. Best of all, she spends at least an hour each day in prayer and time each evening with Philip. Holly brought about these changes with what she calls her Mother’s Rule of Life, a pattern for living that combines the spiritual wisdom of the monastery with the practical wisdom of motherhood. Holly’s Rule is not just another set of schedules; it’s a way for Christian mothers to answer God’s call to holiness. With the help of your own Rule, you can get control of your own household, grow closer to God, come to love your husband more, and raise up good Christian children. In these wise and practical pages, Holly shows you how. Do you want to be a better wife and mother? To have more order in your life? To grow in union with God? Are you desperate yet? With your own Mother’s Rule of Life, you’ll transform motherhood and its burdens into the joyful vocation it’

Product Details

• Paperback: 205 pages
• Publisher: Sophia Institute Press (April 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928832415
• ISBN-13: 978-1928832416
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Guide for Catholic Moms, October 25, 2004

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PB (Forsyth County, GA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul (Paperback)

A Mother's Rule of Life is such a wonderful resource for all Catholic moms. Holly Pierlot really brings to light the many challenges that mothers face, offering both personal examples from her life as well as practical advice. She points out that while following a schedule can make life more ordered, following a schedule in and of itself is not as sanctifying as following a schedule in order to become closer to God. Ms. Pierlot tells not only what works for her but also how to make your own rule of life that will bring you the peace and serenity of getting everything done and growing on your faith journey at the same time. A wonderful book for all Catholic moms, and especially for those who homeschool or have young children at home.

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Life Changing - A True Gift to Mothers!, July 15, 2005

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Kelly "kelly" (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul (Paperback)

This book has made a radical positive difference in my life. It has shown me how to order my life so that I am doing all the things I'm supposed to be doing, and doing them well. Mrs. Pierlot's perspective on the meaning of our lives as wives, mothers, and children of God was astounding - and it seems so obvious now that she's pointed it out to me, but it never occured to me on my own. She teaches us how to prioritize and truly value all that we do. My home has been a much happier, holier, and cleaner place since I read this book!

I think every Catholic mother could benefit from reading this book. Every Catholic mother could benefit from instituting her own "rule" of life. I wish I could afford to hand these out to every mom who walks in the door at Church!

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing God's Order Home, April 10, 2006

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Genevieve Kineke "feminine-genius" (New England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul (Paperback)

Our God is a god of order. He brought order out of the soupy chaos, as chronicled in Genesis, and in order to fully embrace Him, we must do the same. This review is later than it should be because of the [fallen] response to a book outlining schedules, priorities, and order in the home. In the year 2000, Holly "pounded her fist on the kitchen table" and demanded a change in her life - resulting in this well-thought out and comprehensive book. Your reviewer was slower on the uptake, thinking a little chaos was healthy thing, until she finally hit the wall as well. The beautiful surprise is that surrendering to order is a victory for freedom.

Once the book is actually cracked and begun, the reader discovers a soul-mate in Holly - a good-hearted woman with oats to sow, with sins to confess, and an aversion to constraints. Like most mothers of orderly households, there is the breadth of humanness, from self-absorption to heroic generosity and everything in between. Most importantly, like any radical alteration, she had to really want to change.

For my children, I've defined maturity as "doing the right thing for the right reason." As I age, I've seen more and more that people often do the right thing for the wrong reasons. For example, it is entirely possible to see to your children's hygiene, your house's spotlessness, and your family's punctuality for the sake of human respect. We all succumb to considering "what others think of us" to some degree, and yet there is an inverse response - to flout convention for the sake of "not going with the crowd," or (especially with women) to be mired in a perpetual "passive-aggressive mode" with our own dear mothers.

The beauty of maturity is to face God as a grateful child and to ask Him, "What would You have me do - out of love for You and those who depend on me." As Holly's life disintegrated, she finally took it to prayer and came up with a set of priorities: God, herself, her husband, her children, and then other important things, such as work. I must confess, putting herself second on that list won me over. (It has been a sneaking suspicion of mine for decades that I am supposed to come last, and that has led me to constantly carve out for myself snippets of time and comfort, which made me feel both safe and enormously guilty.) What did she mean?

Putting herself second was practical step in acknowledging that she could not give of herself to her family and her work - both inside the home and outside - unless she were taken care of. Taking care of herself was not indulgent (shopping, pedicures, vacations, and idle gab-fests with the girls) but necessary (prayer, rest, down-time, and generally recharging the batteries). In that context, knowing that she is not to be the local doormat, a woman can face the calendar and ask what she genuinely needs. With herself taken care of, the rest comes tumbling after - without panic, oppression, or fear.

The days are just as full, the chores are just as pressing, and the children are just as needy. But there is comfort in knowing that in God's good time there is time for all. Be not afraid to consider a schedule. Mine will never be as detailed as Holly's - but at least there is one now, complete with firm bedtime and reserved reading hours. God separated the light from the dark, and on laundry days I do the same. But on the other days it just sits in the basket - and that's okay. All in due time.