The latest in a long line of books from inspirational author Max Lucado is true to its title, You Can Be Everything God Wants You to Be. The underlying premise is that each of us is uniquely gifted. Furthermore, when we use those inherent gifts - to which we gravitate most - we can discover our specific purpose in life. That discovery can then produce a life that’s worth living, delighting us and God as well. It’s a solid thesis.I like the thesis very much, but there were too many picture inserts; title pages between each chapter; and too much white space around the edge of each page – which I found a bit distracting. It felt like there was only enough content written to fill a book half the size, but the editorial staff added the aforementioned layout elements to stretch the copy to 127 pages.
Regardless, the pacing and flow clipped along nicely resulting in a very readable and edifying book. Lucado lucidly explains his version of the “sweet spot” to help identify your unique place in life, while offering a clever acronym (S.T.O.R.Y.) to help the reader get there. In typical Lucado-style, the book is well stocked with dozens of relevant scriptures, anecdotes, examples and quotes.
The best quote of which is attributed to Lucado himself where he cautions, “In a desire to be great, one might cease being any good.” There are several layers of wisdom within that quote, and the book has several others with similar profundity – that alone makes the book well worth its purchase price.
The copy I reviewed had a sticker on the cover that said, “Perfect Gift for the Graduate” – to which I would agree due to its 20-something-age-appropriate brevity and heavy reliance on graphics. However, I would add that it’s also a good gift or read for anyone seeking purpose in their life – but doesn’t know where to start their search. Lucado offers a solid point of reference from which to begin.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com
May I borrow the aforementioned book? Sounds like a good but quick read. I have also been reading Spectacular Sins by John Piper. I am taking it slow, though it's only about 100 pages, it gives you so much in so little that if you go too fast you'll miss the whole point, you know? But it is really good. We can swap! :-)
ReplyDelete@Cheryl, absolutely! Lucado packs a lot into this little work. I'll have it with me tonight and Sunday!
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