Amy Grant loves Christmas.  She’s recorded three holiday CD’s in her career and this year has released a new collection, compiling four new tracks and her favorite songs from her previous CD’s. 

Many artists who achieve her stature as a grammy-winning and multi-platinum selling performer are obliged to add their takes to the traditional favorites to the holiday music lexicon.  Often while listening to Christmas music on the radio, I wonder if the singer really has a heart for the material.  It’s clear Amy does.

What sets Amy apart is that she really means it when she invites us to have a merry little Christmas.  Whether joyful or solemn, Amy’s beautiful pop voice strikes the right tone.  Her heart is in all these songs.  Clearly, her faith and family traditions hold profound meaning for her this time of year.  When we join her in the music, we’re uplifted with the spirit of the season as well.

The new tracks on her current Christmas CD continue her heartfelt holiday spirit.  Of the four contributions, my favorite is I Need a Silent Night.  It gives voice to the unspoken wish of all frazzled moms this time of year:

I need a silent night, a Holy night to hear an angel voice

Through the chaos and the noise I need a midnight clear

A little peace right here to end this crazy day with a silent night

The song features Amy’s daughter Corrina reading the Luke account of the birth of Jesus.  Her sweet voice harkens to the angel Amy wants to hear during her silent night.  Like Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas, she reminds us of the reason for the season. Perhaps Corrina also reminds us to be attentive to all the angels in our lives, and not get so caught up in the bustle that we brush past them and miss tender moments. 

Amy’s other new tracks include her covers of Jingle Bells, the arrangement made famous by Barbra Streisand, and Count Your Blessings, a tender song from the classic movie White Christmas.  Amy and husband Vince Gill composed Baby, It’s Christmas, a soft jazz, slightly sexy ode to the one you’ve been meeting under the mistletoe. 

Our family has grown up with Amy through her Christmas recordings, and the new collection spans the decades from Tennessee Christmas to Breath of Heaven and A Christmas to Remember.  With her new collection, Amy invites us celebrate the season with her, right where we are.  She’s real, she’s hopeful; her heart is in all her work.  We know Christmas has arrived when Amy’s voice fills our home.

Having trouble getting it together for the holidays? 

Sign up for your 7-Step Action Plan for a Great Christmas now!  Scroll down the left side of this page to have it delivered to you electronically.

The plan was created by Julie Hood, the “Information Organizer,” who works with people who want to use technology and the Internet to save time and get the right things done.

She has to be incredibly organized at the holidays since, in addition to Christmas-ing with her husband and two children, she celebrates her mom’s birthday, her mother-in-law’s birthday, her Grandma’s birthday, and Christmas—all within five days! She is author of the best-selling ebook, “The Organized Writer: 30 Days to More Time, More Money and Less Frustration,” Fortune 500 consultant, a former CPA and an office supply addict.

The organizing division of Finally Organized LLC includes a suite of web sites to help people get organized including FinallyOrganized.com, JoyofGoals.com, OrganizeYourBusiness.com, and OrganizedWriter.com.

Dear Readers:

Join me these Advent and Christmas seasons for daily conversations to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Richard Bach said we teach that which we most need to learn, so part of the reason I wrote this book is because I need it, too!  I’ll be praying and reflecting with the book and posting my gratitude lists and new reflections on this blog.

Please join us and be assured that you don’t pray alone!

It’s exciting to see this beautiful little book reaching so many people this year!  Busy moms around the country will use it to help them stay in the Christmas spirit.  Take a look at who’s talking about it:

Susan M. Heim is an author and editor, specializing in parenting, multiples, and women’s issues. She is a former Senior Editor for a major publishing company, where she specialized in the bestselling “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, as well as religion and teen books. Susan is the author of the books, “Oh, Baby! 7 Ways a Baby Will Change Your Life the First Year”; “Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families with Twins, Multiples and Singletons”; “It’s Twins! Parent-to-Parent Advice from Infancy Through Adolescence”; “Boosting Your Baby’s Brain Power”; and, “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More.”

Author and speaker Trish Berg reminds moms to keep it simple and keep it biblical. In the midst of sleep deprivation and Cheerio dust, she wants moms to embrace the wonder and privilege of being a mom.  Trish has been featured on ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson, Focus on the Family, Moody’s Midday Connection; 100 Huntley Street, That’s Life with Robin Swoboda and The Harvest Show.

My thanks to Susan and Trish for featuring the book on their blogs.  Please visit their sites for more inspiration!

What else would you expect?  Oprah has great holiday stress-busters online.  Tip #1:  Get Enough Sleep.  I knew I liked that lady! 

You know how we never seem to have enough time for everything?  Well, we are giving you back your Saturday!  Don’t worry about getting a sitter or missing the two soccer games that morning. You’ve got the day back. Last week was a tough one for the Great Christmas Event, as economic conditions proved too challenging for attendees and exhibitors alike, and we had to make the tough decision to cancel the October 18th event.
We are so grateful to everyone who supported the event and who spread the word to their friends and coworkers.  Thank you!

We will provide some content from the workshop online, and will be in touch with that information in the very near future.  And, please register to receive the 7-Step Action Plan for a Great Christmas, email updates, and join the holiday conversation on my blog.

The Great Christmas Event 2008 is the day for you: a chance to collect your thoughts and get ready for the best holiday season yet. The workshop will take place on October 18, 2008, 9:00 a.m. ‘til 2:30 p.m. at Spazio’s Westport, 12031 Lackland Road St. Louis, Missouri. 

Presented by two working moms who’ve “been there, done that,” the Great Christmas Event will help you not only survive but enjoy the holidays with your mind, heart and soul intact.  Maria Rodgers O’Rourke, speaker, columnist and author of Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas, will share her reflections on the reason for the season, and how God is working in our hearts and actions during the hectic Christmas days.  Julie Hood, the “Information Organizer” and author of The Organized Writer, will lead us in her tried and true organizational secrets to take the stress out of holiday preparations.

The Great Christmas Event will be a delightful mix of activities, spiritual reflection and delicious food catered by Russo’s! There will be music, trivia, great giveaways, and select exhibitors with fabulous gift ideas.

Here’s what the workshop includes -

Part I: ENVISION your perfect holiday season. Spend some time reflecting with Maria on what a “Great Christmas” really means for you and your family.

Part II: CREATE your plans and schedule.  We’ll walk you step-by-step through Julie’s Christmas Strategies and Action Plans so you can create a customized plan for a Great Christmas.

Part III: you will work out what to GIVE this year, in spirit, in charity, in time and in gifts. We’ll also have terrific exhibitors on hand with gift ideas.

The keys to a great Christmas season are inspiration and organization:  inspiration to reconnect with the mystery and joy of Christmas; and organization to pull together all that needs to get done.  At the Great Christmas Event, everyone will leave the workshop filled with the Christmas spirit and motivated with a plan for a great holiday season!

Hurry!  Tickets are selling fast.  Great savings on tickets through October 10th.  Visit www.GreatChristmasEvent.com for more information, or call 1-877-528-0636.

We’re at half time!  During July we’ll cross the halfway mark on the calendar year countdown to Christmas Day 2008.  Most women I mention this to respond by saying, “OH!  I can’t think about that right now!”  When they hear the word “Christmas,” the first thought is not of the joy of the season but of the work involved to pull it off!

My friend and colleague Julie Hood has some excellent tips (below) on how to get a jump start on all those tasks.  Before you dive in, take a few deep breaths and remember last year–what worked well, what would you do differently, what’s something new you’d like to happen this year?  Once you have a clearer vision for Christmas in place, you can choose the tasks that will make that vision a reality.  Don’t let this wonderful season sneak up on you again this year!

From Julie – When is the best time to get organized for Christmas? Right now! Here are a few of favorite things to start now in the lazy days of summer (Remember how frantic it gets in the fall when all the kids activities kick in? Let’s do some of this stuff now so we can have a peaceful holiday season this year.)

Start thinking about where you will spend the holidays.  Will you be traveling? If you will be flying, set up travel alerts now to shop for the best airfare. I use Travelocity.

Will you be hosting? What home improvements do you you need to start now? Do you need to clean out or spruce up your guest room?

Get some gift lists going (and start setting aside your budget).  Now is a great time to start looking for ideas. Why? Because all the stores are clearing out their inventory to make room for the holiday items so you can really get some bargains, especially at Toys R Us and Current Catalog.You can even start setting aside a few dollars each paycheck for the Christmas Fund. Then you won’t have giant credit card bills in January!

Will you send a Christmas newsletter this year? If so, spend 15 minutes jotting down the big events for the first half of the year… or consider going digital. We’re sending an electronic newsletter this year so we can share more photos.

One last thing… Make sure you mark October 18th on your calendar for the Great Christmas Event 2008.  We have a wonderful day of fun, laughter and inspiration planned for you.  And order your tickets before September 1st to save half price!

Want to save even more?  Get a free ticket as a Table Captain.

See you then!

Maria and Julie

Today’s St. Louis Post Dispatch includes Maria’s op-ed column to help you answer your kids’ questions about Santa.

There’s a delightful article in this month’s Java Journal on preparing your heart for a great Christmas!  Written by Maria, it features a couple of holiday horror stories freely told by her friends Renee and Julie.  Take a look and see if you don’t recognize a Christmas Past of yours in the article!