I will be the first to admit that I don't usually delve into the nonfiction, self-help, goal-oriented book genre. But who doesn't love Debbie Macomber and combine that with a cover portraying one of my favorite hobbies, knitting, and you have a book that is a must read for me.Expertly, as we've come to expect from Debbie Macomber, I found myself glued to this book in just a few pages. I loved the personal narrative that wove threads of truth throughout this thought-provoking handbook for living. The stories of her sometimes difficult rise to that of a New York Times bestselling author, her unrelenting belief that God had placed that dream in her soul for such a time as this, was inspirational and life changing. The depth of this work not only caught my attention but helped redirect the way I look at dreams, and what to do once they've been dreamed.
This book resulted in a treasured family time in our home. One Saturday, I asked my family to join me for a family meeting. The curiosity factor generally guarantees an attentive audience. I asked them, as Macomber asks her readers, to create a personal mission statement. I went a bit further asking my family to write, quickly (first things that come to mind), five things they valued, five things they wanted, and finally, five things they needed. We then created an individual mission statement, a purpose statement, if you will, that describes what we want others to see in our lives. We then drafted a family mission statement that will in years to come help direct the activities and projects we involve ourselves in. A pinnacle time that helped define and solidify what was already in our hearts and minds, a written statement we all now carry in our Bibles on what we stand for as a family and as individuals.
One of my favorite chapters in the book is titled, "Created for Blessing." Macomber says,
"There's no amount of goal-setting, success strategy, or just plain hard work you can do to earn God's grace. And yet, it's so easy for us to fall into working to please God, instead of accepting His love and the free blessings He has for you."
Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life
"New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber dreamed of being a writer from the time she was a little girl. But she was dyslexic, a slow reader, and a just-average student. Her third-grade teacher summed up what so many thought of her: 'Debbie is such a nice little girl, but she'll never do well in school.' Today, Debbie is a wildly successful, award-winning, and beloved novelist, with more than sixty million copes of her books sold and nineteen appearances on the New York Times bestseller list. Not bad for a woman people thought would never make it."
