Many moons ago, when I was in college, I loved getting my new planner along with my books every fall. The blank pages were so inviting, so intriguing. I relished recording my schedule of classes, contact information, random pictures, and doodles. Then, I’d look ahead in wonder at what the year might hold.
I got that same feeling last month when it was time to open my brand new Blessed is She Liturgical Planner for the academic year. Now that I’m a mom of four big, busy kiddos and working part-time myself, I looked at those gorgeous blank pages and knew that they would be so full by the time the year ended! They would end up telling the story of my family, recording a “year-in-the-life” of our own special brand of crazy. And I couldn’t wait to dive in.
This planner is my meal planner, day runner, to-do list, prayer journal, and so much more!
Read along while I show you my favorite parts and how I use them, will you? Of course, one of the beautiful things about this planner is that it is so easily adaptable to every woman’s needs. How you use it could very well be different than how I do, and that’s fantastic!
Blessed is She Planner Monthly Layout
Now, most people probably use this page for future planning of events, trips, and so on. For me, it’s a tool for working on a monthly meal plan! Here’s how I do it.
As one month comes to an end, I flip to the next month and write important memos in the “Don’t Forget” section. In the day boxes, I’ll add in notes about what is going on in the evenings and mark any Holy Days of Obligation or feast/fasting days.
Then comes my family’s favorite part. I ask everyone to give me 2-3 requests for dinner that month. Once I have all requests, I try to match them up with appropriate days on the calendar. I make sure to include a night for leftovers and a night of FFY (Fend For Yourself) in each week as well. The rest of the nights are for me to fill in as I see fit with new recipes, favorites of my own, or pantry meals.
It’s really cool because the kids get to take some ownership of our dinner times! They know when it is “their” night because the meal is circled in their own special color (more on that in a minute) and they are given the honor of leading the mealtime prayer.
Weekly Overview
Sisters, I just love this section! There is so much good stuff here!
Weekly Bible Verse
Confession time. I am terrible about memorizing Bible verses. So it's wonderful to have 52 verses beautifully printed at the top of a page I look at on a daily basis! It’s just one of the special touches that makes having a Catholic planner so lovely.
Groceries
There have been a couple changes to this section from last year’s planner. First, in last year’s edition, the grocery list area was too short for my hungry family. This year, it’s nice and long. Last year, it was buried in the middle of the page, so you had to take your whole big planner to the store with you to make use of it. Now, it’s conveniently located on the side of the page, so you can simply cut it off one little strip of paper and take that! Genius!
Meal Planning
Broken down by day, this let’s you have a space to plan for the week ahead (or simply copy over from your monthly view!).
To-Do
Raise your hand if your to-do list seems to grow by the minute? Mine too. Thankfully, this planner gives us 21 lines on which to write all of the stuff that keeps us hopping.
Goals
It’s good to have goals, right? And I’d wager that you come a lot closer to accomplishing them when you actually write them down!
Intentions
If you’re like me, you have lots of people and things to pray for. But sometimes we forget or it slips our mind. How many other planners have a built-in reminder to pray for others?
Notes
Last but not least is the area for notes. Fill this up or leave it blank. This area is for you to use however you see fit. Here are some ideas for using this section.
Daily Breakdown
No, this is not a commentary on my day-to-day mental state. (Well, maybe sometimes…)
This is my very favorite part of the Blessed is She planner!
Each day of the week is broken down into hour or half-hour segments so that you can literally plan your day to the minute! In planning for my family, each of the six of us is assigned our own unique color that I use to fill out who is where and when (it’s also used for meal planning, remember?).
Using my handy-dandy colored pens lets us all know at a glance if it’s going to be a busy day or not and who has commitments that day. It works like a charm for our busy family!
Each day also includes a Today I Will section for those to-do items. There’s also a self-care reminder section to see how you have loved your body, mind, and soul for the day. And each day ends with a mini gratitude journal.
I love that saints’ feast days are written at the top, right under the date and that each Sunday is labeled by its place in the liturgical year. Honestly, it makes attempting to live liturgically seem a little more in reach for those of us to whom that practice doesn’t come easily.
Other Highlights of the Blessed is She Planner
First, the practical.
The durable pockets inside both the front and back covers are so useful. I hid my Christmas receipts in those last year.
I've used the entire section of Notes in the back for everything from lists of what meat we currently have in our freezer to reminders of gift ideas for my husband and kids.
Now, the spiritual.
Honestly, I never thought a planner, of all things, would enhance my spiritual life. But this planner certainly does! There’s a beautiful gathering of favorite prayers contributed by Blessed is She writers, a complete listing of feast days, novena start days, Holy Days, and a list of the Mysteries of the Rosary. Not to mention all of the beautifully hand-lettered Bible verses on each month’s cover page!
And that’s it, folks! A virtual walk-through of both the Blessed is She planner and how I use it! I hope it provides you with some inspiration to keep your own days a little more organized, a little more spiritually focused. Happy planning, friends!
P.S. If you’re looking into making your planner a little craftier than mine or if you’d like to see the mini version, devotional writer Bobbi at Revolution of Love had some great ideas!
Have you ordered your Calendar Year Blessed is She Planner yet? Let me know how you use your monthly layout section in the comments below!
A Busy Mom Uses the Blessed is She Liturgical Planner #BISblog //Click to tweet
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Beth Williby is a mom of four pretty amazing humans and has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years. She does her best praying through singing and feeding the people she loves. Having grown up in the Midwest, she now calls Northeast Florida home. You can find out more about her here. Read all of Beth's posts here.
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