The full text of this review is at Meridian Magazine.

New Year’s Resolution: Walking with the Savior Daily

By Carolyn Allen · December 31, 2017

Cover image: “A Thread of Faith” by Howard Lyon.

...

I know I need a little OOMPH of my own New Year’s plan to cherish and secure my DAILY walk with the Savior through meaningful Scripture study prayer time is to be successful.

This year I’m including a special book I intend to draw on for a few moments BEFORE my Scripture study period.. Its title is absolutely perfect: “Sacred Soul Space” by Melanie K. Tidwell.

This lovely book is like a Siri app on your phone to gently guide temporal application of spiritual, scriptural, Christ-centered lessons related to 1) time management, 2) dealing with emotional stress and 3) achieving a healthy physical lifestyle. A quick paragraph or page at the beginning of personal study time from this book can pave the way for a much richer scripture study and prayer experience. This year “Sacred Soul Space” will sit with my scriptures and Conference report in my own scripture corner. It will notreplace the scriptures themselves or the personal revelation there-in, but it will serve as a simple, delicious appetizer to warm up my heart and spirit for the feast of the actual scriptures and words of the living Prophets. I intend to have a new colored pencil in its own special color to mark the scriptures that have come to me from “Sacred Soul Space.” That way I’ll be able to easily find them again for application and reference.

Most important: Her first section of time management and expansion is going to be my foundation to make sure that I SPEND adequate time each day this year in my daily walk with the Savior.

I did a brief review of this marvelous book back in September of 2016, CLICK HERE but in pondering what I would personally like to achieve this next year, it’s worth sharing with everyone again how she addresses all of the January 1 resolutions for health, weight and life management in her marvelous spiritual, yet actionable way!

The three titles in her “fundamentals” opening section lay a quick foundation for the most unique time management and expansion system I have ever seen: 1) “Have it Your Way … or Try His”, 2) “Small and Simple Saves Souls”, and 3) “The 3 Ps: Principles, Patterns and Personal Revelations.” This time management system is then broken down into seven short chapters that bring frequent “aha!” revelations that are very applicable to busy lives. Even a light summary of these first sections will open your mind to how much more time and how many more opportunities there are within each of our allotted personal 24 hours to become better and to more easily and creatively fulfill the measures of our personal creations.

Her second section on emotional health is equally rich with her personal experiences (from her growing up years, the growth and lessons of infertility and living internationally) are extremely well written and touching. They will provide a loving and positive spiritual direction for your own emotional well-being.

Her third section, entitled “Bodyworks” takes on the importance of the stewardship of our mortal bodies. In a most refreshing way, Sister Tidwell’s emphasis on healthy eating and exercise is not to lose weight at all, but to create and maintain physical health for emotional and spiritual strength! And personal peace. Reading these chapters are renewed inspiration to turn to healthy food in healthy quantities which ultimately play their essential part in establishing and maintaining a healthy weight.

(Sister Tidwell has never been overweight but exercise and smart eating is a critical part of her emotional health.)

She teams these principles with interesting and encouraging scientific health information to make it just the right day-brightener and motivation for healthy choices. A few paragraphs or pages in the health management section are excellent reminders that health is a top priority AND an important daily personal choice! This is especially true when we’re surrounded by others and environments where healthy living is not everyone else’s priority or choice and we feel alone.

Her concluding chapters are just as beautiful. This last section launches both a review of the book and a review of the new scriptures that will have become much more meaningful. These reviews open the door for your own expanded view into the Savior’s ways and provide personal tools for discovering the infinite power of the Atonement to comfort our hearts and direct our actions, thoughts and choices … for Christ-sustained self-improvement that cannot and will not fail when life gets busy and demanding.

I’m not the only Meridian columnist who just loves this book! Our beloved Darla Isaacson says:

Sacred Soul-Space is perfectly crafted for busy people in a busy world. It is composed of short, bite-sized chapters, and each is self-contained. When you have just a few minutes, it is easy to enjoy any one chapter separately, but the messages are so compelling you might find yourself reading on and on, as I did. Catchy chapter titles and pithy beginning quotes summarize each message. I like to compare the book to a patchwork quilt because it is made up of so many interesting pieces, yet as a connected whole it is warm and comforting to the soul—just as a quilt is to the body.

Sacred Soul Space is available at Sister Tidwell’s website: http://www.sacredsoulspace.info and at Amazon.

Happy New Year! The Best of Life Is To Be Seen in 2018 – with the Savior as our walking partner to help us every day.

Carolyn Allen is the Author of 60 Seconds to Weight Loss Success, One Minute Inspirations to Change Your Thinking, Your Weight and Your Life. She has been providing mental and spiritual approaches for weight loss success both online and in the Washington, DC community since 1999 presenting for Weight Watchers, First Class, Fairfax County Adult Education and other community groups. She and her husband, Bob, are the parents of five children and grandparents of eleven. They are now happy empty nesters in Jackson, Tennessee, close to Memphis, where they center their online business for an amazing herbal detox. CLICK HERE

Sacred Soul Space – Making Room In Your Life For What You Have To Offer This World by Melanie Tidwell

When new author Melanie wrote and asked if I’d review the PDF of her book and contribute a comment for the cover, I was glad to agree. Little did I know that I’d be quoting from this book before it was even published! I was writing an article on laughter at the time, and flipped the PDF document to the chapter “Humor Me” which included a brief but hilarious account of a road trip with her sister-in-law and four young nieces and nephews that left me giggling for days. The next thing I knew, I was finding quotes and scriptures from other chapters to share with my husband at dinner, then with the missionaries as they came to visit us, then with a friend on the phone. I was so glad to get my own hard copy after it was finally published.

A book that can make you laugh and cry in quick succession, provide enriching thoughts for conversation and leave you not only feeling BETTER immediately about your own life but equipped with quick, gospel-centered tools to continue to progress is a winner in my book. And much cheaper than professional therapy.

My only real problem with this book was that I thought it was a bedside book and would lull me to sleep. WRONG. It revved me up with ideas and inspiration that provided excitement and encouragement for my own life. After several sleepless nights, I moved it to my morning reading pile to launch, rather than conclude, my day.

While Melanie may be a novice at putting her experiences and ideas into writing, she draws from a deep well that will bless all who drink from it.

It turns out I’m not the only Meridian author who loves Sacred Soul Space. Our beloved Darla Isaacson says:

The three major sections: Time Expansion and Management, The Emotional Promotional, and Bodyworks offer timely insights, guidelines, and eye-opening tips. I found it easy to scroll down the Table of Contents and find topics that reached out to my current needs. Surely there is something for everybody in this book. Because it is well-written, thought-provoking, clear, and encouraging, I highly recommend Sacred Soul-Space.

I completely agree with another Amazon reviewer:

Sacred Soul-Space is filled with knowledge and tools that are helping me finally make changes I’ve been attempting to make for years. I believe in the concept of expanding time, but until now did not know how to actually accomplish it. Melanie makes it clear with practical steps to take to improve every area of life. Sacred Soul-Space is filled with sage advice, delightful humor, and the wisdom of great minds—past and present.

The many merits of this book for personal understanding and progress stand on their own, but this book is also an absolute treasure box of resources for Sacrament Meeting talks and lessons with quotes from LDS leaders and outstanding leaders to launch each chapter.

Her fresh perspectives on things we know, love and have discussed for a lifetime left me wide-eyed:

When was the last time you heard this quote from Harold B. Lee: “Most men do not set priorities to guide them in allocating their time and most men forget that the first priority should be to maintain their own spiritual and physical strength; then comes their family; then the Church and then their professions, and all need time.” (Bishop’s Training Course and Self-Help Guide, sec. 2, p. 7)

What a blessing that is for acknowledging that personal time to eat wisely and exercise are not selfish! The good thing about Sister Tidwell’s book is that it has a plan for seeing the time that Heavenly Father has already allowed for this.

Another personal favorite in the book was her break-out from understanding the Atonement. Yes, we know and love the “At-One-Ment” perspective. But she goes beyond to see “A-TONE-Ment,” (as in toning and firming muscles) and describes how the Atonement helps us to firm up our understanding of who we are to strengthen our lives and relationship to our Heavenly FatheHer thoughts on favorite scriptural passages and stories are fresh and meaningful. Had you ever considered that the story of the feeding of the five thousand, with a few fish and barley loaves was not only the story of the Savior’s miraculous powers, but also his love for us through, once again the Atonement. He takes the little bit we are and have, i.e., the five barley loaves and 2 fishes) and magnifies them into something marvelous that blesses all within our reach.

I love this and I love this book. I look forward to learning and growing with it.

Please don’t ask to borrow it, as with this one, I’ll have to say, like the five virgins, “I’m so sorry, but you need your own.” The good thing is, there are plenty of copies and it’s NOT too late!

Sacred Soul Space is available at Amazon, and at Melanie’s website: http://www.sacredsoulspace.info/

Carolyn Allen is the Author of 60 Seconds to Weight Loss Success, One Minute Inspirations to Change Your Thinking, Your Weight and Your Life, available HERE. She has been providing mental and spiritual approaches for weight loss success both online and in the Washington, DC community since 1999 presenting for Weight Watchers, First Class, Fairfax County Adult Education and other community groups. She and her husband Bob are the parents of five children and grandparents of ten. They are now happy empty nesters in Jackson Tennessee, close to Memphis where they center their online business and Carolyn serves in the Primary Presidency.