Make My Life Simple: Bringing Peace to Heart and Home

by Rachel Balducci

From the outside looking in, Rachel Balducci's life was enviable. A mother of six beautiful children, she had a career as a writer and speaker and was married to a busy attorney with his own practice. She was organized, capable of handling it all, armed with a killer to-do list and an up-to-date calendar. But those on the outside couldn't see that Rachel was a mess, a bundle of anxiety and exhaustion. She was present physically to provide for her husband and kids, but far from present emotionally or spiritually. She stared down every day wishing it were already over. One night, in desperation, she cried out to God, and he answered in a startling, freeing, and life-changing way. If you are feeling more chaos than peace, more panic than joy, take heart. Make My Life Bringing Peace to Heart and Home gives you down-to-earth practical pointers to achieve peace and ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rachel Balducci and her husband Paul have five strapping sons and one precious daughter. Rachel is a newspaper columnist for the Southern Cross and blogs at Testosterhome.net. She is a co-host of The Gist, a talk show for women on Catholic TV and the author of How Do You Tuck In A Superhero and other delightful mysteries of raising boys. In a former life, Rachel was a newspaper reporter, and she has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Georgia. These days she writes about faith, family and how keeping her bathroom clean will make her a saint.

Genres: Catholic, Christian, Faith

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 25, 2018

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hits the sweet spot of memoir/tip book combination: it’s practical and encouraging without talking down to the reader. Three sections focus on practical peace (order within the home), personal order, and peace and order in our spiritual growth. This is not a long book, but you’ll want to spend a while reading it so you can let ideas sink in, or scribble in your notebook about it. Read my full review. (Advance review copy received from publisher.)

[Lisa Suit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in less than a week! So inspiring and so practical at the same time; I think I highlighted at least 50% of the book! The last few months of 2018 were very overwhelming to me, but implementing the few things I’ve already started from this book are really helping! Also, heads up to other homeschool moms-usually I read organizing/simplifying/spiritual books by non-homeschool moms and find myself frustrated by half of the advice, because our house is filled with small, mess making, wonderful children all day long, and I don’t have any pockets of time when they’re out of the house to clean, have quiet devotions, or just time to myself, etc., but I found all of Rachel’s advice and thoughts to be practical despite our differing situations!! I HIGHLY recommend this book, it may be only the second week of January but I have a feeling this will be one of my top reads of the year!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that this book would be like having Rachel talk me though life and it didn't disappoint in that aspect. I was pleasantly surprised that sometimes her suggestions were to *stop* doing things rather than suggest that some new organization system would change my life. I plan to go back to a few of the sections and think about how I can implement changes to make my own life more peaceful.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this as daily spiritual reading. There were some things that didn’t apply since I’m not a mom or a wife, but I’ve found the small household tips useful in keeping me organized and more at peace at home.

[Leslie T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel’s writing is conversational, funny, practical, and honest. I loved the personal stories she shared. Everything in this book felt so relatable! I’d highly recommend for anyone wanting inspiration to simplify life- home, body, family, spiritually.

[Shealyn Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. As a mom of three and one on the way, I really appreciated her take on simplifying and not over loading yourself. I also have two little boys and I feel like she is talking about my boys when she writes of her own haha.

[Lee Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book is like having coffee with a wise, witty, and insightful friend. It is full of practical tips and food for thought.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book resonated with me more than almost any other simplicity book I’ve read. I really enjoyed it.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I'd had this sweet guide in my earlier mothering years. Still, Rachel gives the mom of any experience level tips to gain traction when life feels overwhelming. Short, sweet, and simple.