In these conversational essays, Stafford (Hands Free Mama) urges readers to set aside the worlds distractions and put love at the top of their to-do lists. Stafford, who describes herself as a recovering perfectionist, reformed rusher, and multi-tasker, admits this is no easy task. With a voice that is equal measures poetry and best-friend-over-coffee, she draws from her own life as a special education teacher and mother to encourage women to seek out a less stressful, more people-focused way of living. Organized around the seasons, these essays explore topics such as renewal, growth, authenticity, connection, grace, awareness, hope, and introspection. Stafford brings a voice that is both inspirational and authentic to a topic that can often take a lifetime to get the hang of. Broken into easy-to-read chunks, this book meets todays busy moms where they live. (Publishers Weekly)Stafford (Hands Free Mama, Hands Free Life) presents a self-disclosing inspirational text that will stop her readers dead in their tracks (which is her intent). She offers minuscule glimpses of beautiful discovery for those who linger long enough in the moment to see them. The author shares the terrifying seasons of her recent physical ailments and subsequent surgeries to illustrate how God can work in even these painful elements. Staffords work here is almost an ode to her daughters unique and winsome personalities. She presents these devotions in an easy-to-digest (sometimes poetic) style that moms of every age will relate and benefit from immensely. Only Love Today is the gift book to give yourself and order several more for the moms in your life who are fresh out of perspective and overfull of self loathing and self-condemnation. Staffords ability to cut through the yuck and to the yes! of life is a rare skill indeed. (Christian MARKET)About the Author Rachel Macy Stafford is theNew York Timesbestselling author ofHands Free Mama and Hands Free Life. Her third book, Only Love Today, releases on March 7, 2017. Rachel is a certified special education teacher whohelps people overcome distraction and perfection to live better and love more.Rachels work has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show , Global News,TIME.com, andFoxNews.com. Rachel loves taking long walks, baking, and volunteering with homeless cats and nursing home residents. Rachel lives in the South with her husband and two daughters who inspire her daily. what is the best book to read Only Love Today: Reminders to Breathe More, Stress Less, and Choose Love
94 of 96 people found the following review helpful. Beautiful book, powerful hopeBy N. RossAs some of my life choices and experiences make me more qualified to recommend a decent bailbondsman than to dispense advice on parenting/spirituality/how to live one's life, I'm prone to shy away from being really open about books that really have impacted my heart. THAT BEING SAID.....I've been curling up with this gem and have read it twice already and you need a copy. Or five. Rachel wooed me with "Hands Free Mama" but this one is my new love. Who couldn't use some reminders that it's probably going to be ok and that we are not the grand total of all of our failures? So me? I'm going to Only Love Today. And probably tomorrow too.Some of my favorite parts from this beautiful book:"If I were to delete my most regretful experiences, I wouldn't be here, on this particular page, in the story of my life.....If I deleted all the poor choices, the pitfalls, and the wrong turns of my life, my story would not be what it is today; I would not be who I am. But here's the best part: despite the marred pages of my past, today is a blank page lined with yesterday's wisdoms and braveries that came from falling down and getting back up. My story is not pretty; it's flawed, but it's real, and it's still going.""Hope renews. Self-compassion heals. Forgiveness frees. Today is a blank page. I will hold on to the hope that with each page, my story only gets better."In this book, you'll find the beautiful self-compassion and hope that our world could certainly use more of today.50 of 52 people found the following review helpful. Life ChangingBy Heather A Legge*I did not receive any free product in exchange for a review*.I very rarely say that a book is actually life changing. Rachel's books Hands Free Mama and Hands Free Life started me down a path of love and forgiveness. The person I was forgiving was myself, the way I treated my own self, my kids, my friends...the distractions of life that I gave top priority to were not the things that matter. I heard my own children speaking in the same sarcastic ways as they heard from me. I saw them not listening when I asked them to do something because I never did anything that they asked. They had already defined that "just a minute" meant a mommy-minute which they had resigned themselves to understanding meant it would probably never happen. Only Love Today was even more full of simple habits to change...small things that literally only take a minute. The format of this book is such that in a snippet of time, you can find one hopeful sentence to lift your day and start along the path of change. Change does not happen instantly, but it is infinitely more easy when it's one tiny thing at a time. I have recommended this book to so many people, I cannot stop talking about it. My 8 and 10 year old daughters are reading pieces of it...and while I always think they need help with their behaviors *wink* I know that actually I am becoming accountable to them for my life choices. My choices will shape their lives and when I begin to make a bad choice, I will stop now and think for a moment before acting or speaking. Highly recommended!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great ideas for keeping a loving perspectiveBy ChristinaI am really enjoying this book!! Great ideas for keeping a loving perspective!