“You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of how you are uniquely gifted to contribute to the world, and why it’s imperative that you honor your creative calling.” ~Michelle DeRusha, author of Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runway Nun and a Renegade Monk“TH Meyer delivers on her promise to help people embrace uniqueness, explore boldness, and encourage faith.” ~Amy … faith.” ~Amy Young, author of Looming Transitions: Starting and Finishing Well in Cross-Cultural Service
What might be sabotaging your uniquely gifted contribution to the world around you? Discover the obstacles and barriers standing between you and your God-given purpose. In this book, you’ll learn how to identify ways to strengthen your calling that’ll encourage you to confidently operate in the gifts and talents that God designed you to do. Through the lens of T.H. Meyer’s own journey, you’ll recognize the universal struggle in embracing your whole person as she encourages you to live a life without regrets.
For the individual reader looking to examine more deeply their life purpose or a group seeking to collectively spur each other toward their God-given gifts, talents, and life. This book can be used as a 12-week, 6-week, or 4-week study guide, with exploratory questions at the end of each chapter the assist you in listening to God’s voice and revealing your unique purpose, path, or direction.
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Ever open a book expecting it to go one direction yet you find it going another? Before I opened the cover of this book I actually feared I was going to walk into one of those “best life now” books where it’s more about self than God. I was pleasantly surprised that what I walked away with was more of a concept of being “mold-able” by God, and not allowing fear to thwart you from exploring God’s design for you and your life. Ever heard the phrase “you’ll never know until you try?” If you are still trying to figure out what your gifts are and what God is calling you to, be flexible! Seek God always, but don’t let fear dictate what you are willing to try and explore. Sometimes trusting God means taking leaps of faith! It’s not about doing whatever we want and being blessed, but about taking the gifts the Lord has given us and using them for His purpose and His kingdom.
My only complaint was that I wish the verses shared at the beginning of each chapter weren’t in The Message translation. It’s too liberal of a translation for my comfort. (No, I’m NOT a ‘KJV only’ person).
I was pleasantly surprised with this book and can honestly say that I enjoyed it. It’s a fairly short read but one that has plenty of content for you to meditate on long after you’ve closed the back cover. Definitely recommend!
*I received a copy of this book through CelebrateLit. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
A life of creative purpose
A book like this always make you think and compare to things in your own life. I don’t read nonfiction very much. This is a very good one and definitely one I need to read again.
At the end of each chapter there is a Personal application and reflection. For example after the first chapter that was a statement that I thought was really good. It says to write down the wildest, grandest, scariest things you would do if you knew you wouldn’t fail. That is something to really think about.
I loved the reminder in chapter 5 that there are seasons for everything. A time to rest and a time to work. A time to mourn and a time to play. There is more, read the book to see what it is.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
One of the main things I got from this book was to give yourself time to rest and spend that time in God’s presence. Oh how I wished I had heeded those words years ago when I volunteered for everything at the church. I eventually became the children’s pastor. I was there on Saturday’s get all the classes read and , during the week I was up there copying lessons and other duties that were required of me. If Thanksgiving came., I spent my time at the church decorating the children’s church for Christmas. What I did leave out of my life was my family and obeying what God had called me to do. I was so busy doing “works” I forgot to listen to God.
God did get my attention and I learned a hard lesson I i was created to do something, but not to glorify myself. One of the chapters that really spoke to me was titled, ” Giving Yourself Permission.” I also had been deeply hurt by a church. I felt alone in the wilderness. I was taken from a church family and abandoned. It took a long time to heal from that. In the midst of it, I learned to depend on God and really listen to Him. As the author talked about, I didn’t reach out to anyone and was left to bouts of depression and loneliness. I loved how she talked about, ” mourning the death of a community I loved.” Allowing yourself to mourn releases pain and therefore you can start to hear the clear voice of God.
Have I been participating in my life or just a spectator? Am I ready to hear what my true calling is and what I was created to do? The book does give great examples of how to listen to God and find your purpose in life. He needs us to listen with an open heart. Sometimes we may be put in difficult situations that help us grow and become stronger to fight against the enemy. I did like some of the examples she used from the bible to show how God used people even though they didn’t think they were capable.
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Overall a good book that looks at finding our purpose and allowing ourselves to listen to the call on our lives. There are questions at the end of each chapter that help you reflect on what the author talked about. There are some good points in the book and others I may not have fully agreed on but I did think the author does a good job of helping readers ask themselves what they are created to do.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
I didn’t plan it this way. I didn’t plan to read this book, this week. I didn’t plan to read A Life of Creative Purpose, while wrestling with my own. I signed up to review this book months ago, put it on my calendar, and forgot about it. But God knew what he was doing. It was the book I needed to read this week, and I’ll be spending the next few weeks journaling through the reflection questions.
Could it be that creativity that you have is a gift from God, given to you on purpose? Could it be that he is calling you to do something special and unique? A Life of Creative Purpose will give you the prompting you need to explore what God is calling to you to do. What is his calling your life? Maybe not a call to the mission field. Maybe not a call to “pastoral ministry.” Maybe, God’s call on your life is all of those things. Or maybe it’s none of them. Maybe it’s being a mom. Maybe it’s being a writer, maybe it’s painting, maybe it’s crafting, maybe it’s running your own business.
But there is a unique way God has called you to bless the world. A Life of Creative Purpose will help you explore what God is calling you to do. It will help you dig through the roadblocks that are keeping you from getting started. Or even the things that have caused you to quit. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling to understand God’s purpose for their life, or anyone who, like me, knows some of that purpose but is struggling to take the next step. And especially to anyone who identifies themselves as a creative person, but doesn’t really know what to do with that, or how it will serve God’s kingdom.
I received a review copy of this book; all opinions are my own.