What is truly important to you? In the end, it will all about relationships. Everyone longs to be treasured for who they are, understood, and valued, in spite of our weaknesses. We want deep and rewarding relationships with others.
While not written as a devotional book, One Month To Love: 30 days to grow and deepen your closest relationships could be used for that purpose and what better 30 days to choose that the ones leading up to Valentine's Day? What would you do if you knew that you had only 30 days to show someone how deeply you loved them, that in 30 days they would be stripped from your life or you from theirs? Even if you have more than 30 days with those you love, don't you want those relationships to be all they can be? One Month to Love by Kerry and Chris Shook is broken down into 30 short chapters, one for each day of the month, giving you ideas and tools you can use to ensure that those you care so much about know how important they are and that you have a truly meaningful relationship with them. Breaking it down into 30 days allows you to put into practice each strategy the Shooks bring to light before moving on to the next day.
Might you be in the position of having fragile relationships in your life, whether it be with your spouse, children, siblings, or parents? One Month To Love will offer strategies you can use to help bring those relationship to a place of mending and restoration.
The Shooks have broken the critical pieces of relationships into four categories, one for each week: The Art of Being All There, The Art of Acting Intentionally, The Art of Risking Awkwardness, and The Art of Letting Go. The ideas are simple, really, and easy to integrate into your everyday life--things such as being in the moment (definitely a shortcoming of mine), offering some intentional out-of-the box offerings of love, expressing your feelings, and letting go of hurt and pride. Uncertain how you will go about putting into practice these tools? Each chapter ends with a challenge box offering three ideas of how to do so.
If you do have relationship that aren't what you hoped they would be or if you simple want to strengthen those relationships that are already strong and healthy, One Month to Love will give you insight that will encourage you and change the way you love, not just those you do love. Will it be easy? Probably not but what relationship that is valuable to you is easy? Relationships take time and effort and God designed us to be in relationships both with Him and others. Make the most of the time you have with those who matter most to you.
For more information on the authors and other publications, visit http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=75698
I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way obligated to leave a positive review.
Hanna watched her father die in a bank robbery and we kidnapped by the robbers, escaping two weeks afterward. Molly Fisk has not been outside of the wax museum she and her mother run for three years. Her mother has sacrificed everything to protect Molly but Molly only feels safe sharing who she is with the inanimate wax figures--until Claire. Claire has lost everything--her children, who died in a car accident that she takes responsibility for and her husband. Each of these females have grief from their past that is keeping them from living a full life. Molly hides away in the wax museum while Claire escapes through crossword puzzles. 
