A Pace of Grace contains a four-part program to help us live our best, most grace-filled life:
1. Purify Your Life
2. Pace Yourself
3. Practice the Presence
4. Plan a Sustainable Life

“When we are running on empty, we simply don’t have enough time or energy in the day to experience the abundance, or grace, or joy of life.”

Purify Your Life is practicing 10 Rules for Health to lift ourselves out of the overdone life. We can purify our bodies with water, healthy eating, breath and exercise. We can purify our souls by replacing negativity with virtues, in our way of life and our language, including the powerful language of our thoughts. We need to replace the Internal Critic with a Gentle Observer. We can overcome needless pain and negativity in the “Troubled C’s” of relationships – Criticism, Control, Contempt and Contention with the healing virtues of Assertiveness, Acceptance, and Appreciation.

We also need to create a Space of Grace by sustaining order and beauty around us. Purification includes financial healing by replacing addictive patterns of spending with an attitude of gratitude and the practice of responsible abundance.

“Failure to pause for a moment of grace, if chronic and constant, leads inevitably to fatigue, no matter how healthy you consider yourself.”

Pace Yourself is slowing down to the pace of grace through Proactive Rest – resting before we get tired, indulging in perfect naps, taking regular time for Play, Setting Clear Boundaries, and responding ably to the Stress of Success by learning to ride the waves rather than being engulfed by them. It is learning to Pause for Applause when we finish a project or reach a turning point. It is a choice to structure our lives gracefully and consciously rather than reacting to the endless demands others place on us.

The exercises in each Chapter of A Pace of Grace give us opportunities to create new habits, such as how to do a personal spa treatment at home, complete with a Virtues Massage.

“When we demand that the Almighty fix things that aren’t going according to our will, we are asking for far too little. Prayer is not meant to be demanding, but discerning.”

Practice the Presence is about our profound need for reverence and reflection, and the vital importance of honoring our spiritual needs every day. The RPMS of a routine of reverence include reading, prayer, meditation and service. Taking regular sacred time and creating a sacred space for reflection allows us to ground ourselves in grace every day. We can turn to our A-Team -- our ancestors, angels and advisors -- for continual guidance. Experts say that we typically use only 10% of our intelligence. In the author’s view, we tap only 1% of the spiritual power available to us.

We can also be the presence of grace to others through daily acts of kindness and offering the Art of Spiritual Companioning – listening from the heart. We all need to receive the presence of grace by Creating Community -- surrounding ourselves with a circle of friends.

“Are you at a crossroad in your life? This is a signal that it is time for a change, one that will allow you to pursue your true calling.”

Plan a Sustainable Life is discerning “What is My Yes?” rather than living life reactively. It is Putting Our First Passion First, placing joy and meaning at the center of our lives. It is doing what we do best and delegating the rest. It is organizing and prioritizing our day, our month, and our year to balance mind, body and spirit. It is finding our true calling and doing what gives us joy and makes a difference in the world.