My children are out of school in 3 1/2 days, which means that – according to my handy little phone countdown app – I have just under 74 hours to prepare for … SUMMER.

Of course, I am super excited about swimming, popsicles, going to the park, Vacation Bible School and summer reading programs, but there is also a part of me that looks into the face of summer and thinks, “Holy-moly! How in the world will I ever survive?!”

Yesterday, as our family was talking about summer and all the fun things it will bring, I encouraged each of my kids to adopt some summer goals. Reading, playing, productivity. Anything to use their minutes for good rather than wasting away every blessed day.

Yes, I realized. Wonderful things are on the horizon for summer! But in the same instant, my heart tightened. How am I going to help them grow this summer, create wonderful memories, keep the house semi-clean, keep up with blogging and make significant progress on the Bible study that I just started writing?

The combination of all of those thoughts swirled around in my mind until 4 a.m. this morning.

When I woke up at 7, I made a beeline to my coffee pot to try to undo the effects of last night’s insomnia and promptly brewed a cup of coffee – all over my kitchen counter. Note to self: coffee mugs are an integral part in the coffee brewing process.

Clearly, there are some mornings when coffee just isn’t enough.

If you’ve read my book, Guilt-Free Quiet Times, you know that I fully acknowledge the fact that sometimes your mornings are not perfect. Sometimes, shoes are lost, milk spills in the kitchen, fights break out between your kids, and your ideal calm morning routine crumbles into survival mode. It happens, yes.

But is it possible for it to happen less often?

I’m not going to pretend that a perfect routine can be executed flawlessly for an entire summer without Life happening. But I wondered if I could be doing more to set myself (and my family) up for a more successful, enjoyable, productive summer together?

Don’t you just love it when God answers your prayers before they’ve ever even left your heart?

After brewing my second cup of coffee (in a mug this time!), I turned on my computer and discovered Crystal Paine’s brand new course, Make Over Your Mornings! Here’s what spoke to me this morning:

Have you ever wondered how others seem to make time for exercise, prayer, Bible reading, planning, crafting or blogging every single day – when you’re just hanging on by a thread to get the kids fed, in clean clothes, and to the bus on time?

If you have wondered how they seem to find 36 hours within a 24-hour period, there is a new course for you!

Crystal Paine of MoneySavingMom.com has designed a 14-day course around the tried-and-true habits that she has used as part of her own morning routine FOR YEARS.  But wait, don’t mistakenly think this course will teach you how to have a morning the mirror-image of Crystal’s!

Because every single woman’s life and roles are unique to her, this course is not a one-size-fits all!  Rather, Crystal walks you through these principles and tools and shows you how to apply them to YOUR life, YOUR situation, YOUR family, so that you can make over YOUR morning.

I was so excited, I signed up right away! First, I have followed Crystal’s blog long enough to know that she is a strong Christian before she is anything else. I trust her wisdom! Second, I wanted to share this course with YOU so that you could do it too and we can perhaps hold each other accountable? And third, HER PRICE ROCKS!

The course includes a pdf workbook and 14 videos, and is only $17.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this deal is an answer to prayer! I can’t wait to get started! Who’s with me?

P.S. Not that I think you’re going to need it, but just in case you’re not sure if this will help you, Crystal’s course comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. So it’s totally risk-free! 🙂 Get all the details here.