lydiajlong's review
inspiring
fast-paced
2.5
"A personal mission statement acts as both a harness and a sword -- harnessing you to what is true about your life, and cutting away all that is false."
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There are some very helpful items in this book for people struggling to figure out their mission or vision in life. I would encourage other books that would be more helpful -- to start, I would much rather encourage someone to read Garden City by John Mark Comer and I believe something like that would be more meaningful for someone.
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My concern is how Laurie Beth Jones uses Scripture and even at one point, I think she tries to summarize the gospel and very clearly has the gospel all wrong. Or at the least, she crafts a confusing paragraph that can point people in the opposite way of the gospel.
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There are some helpful exercises Laurie provides that could help people create a mission statement for their life, but I would encourage you to go into this book with a lot of discernment.
·
There are some very helpful items in this book for people struggling to figure out their mission or vision in life. I would encourage other books that would be more helpful -- to start, I would much rather encourage someone to read Garden City by John Mark Comer and I believe something like that would be more meaningful for someone.
·
My concern is how Laurie Beth Jones uses Scripture and even at one point, I think she tries to summarize the gospel and very clearly has the gospel all wrong. Or at the least, she crafts a confusing paragraph that can point people in the opposite way of the gospel.
·
There are some helpful exercises Laurie provides that could help people create a mission statement for their life, but I would encourage you to go into this book with a lot of discernment.
nickjonesreadsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I believe that it is good for people to know themselves, to know their strengths, and to find fulfillment in work that God has made them to do. It was a process like this that helped me surrender to my calling to ministry. However, there are several factors that keep this book from being ideal and they all stem from the fact that Laurie Beth Jones is trying to write a "Christian/spiritual" self-help book. (1)If she is going to use the Bible as a basis for points, that is fine, but her conclusions often seem forced. (2) Though she later hints at the idea that God is the One who calls a person to their mission, this is absent from her original discernment process. As one of my colleges stated, its as if we are to define our own mission and then ask God to bless it. (3) She shades into the "name it and claim it" camp. (4) Her use of Scripture reflects the overall feel of the book--using the Bible to make your point rather than the other way around. Still, there are some useful exercises in here for honing a knowledge of your gifts, but I feel like they have been better stated elsewere.
dijames_76's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone has a path they must find and follow. Laura Beth Jones takes you as reader on and introspective, deep self- work journey to the core of you. It’s a mess and challenging one but the reward is worth the work! The Path helped me meet myself- the real me and my mission.. so that I can live my life on purpose! This is one that I will revisit again and again as I continue to grow and discover more about me!
evamadera1's review against another edition
2.0
This was a book given to me earlier this year when I had recently lost my job and was unsure of the career path I wanted to follow. I am not always the most prompt person as evidenced by the fact that I am reading it six months later and have already figured out where I am heading, at least in the near-term.
That being said, even if I had read this book six months ago, I think my opinion of it would be the same. I have never been a "workbook" kind of reader. I want to read a book cover to cover, not stop every few pages to answer questions.
I also had some issues with Ms. Jones' characterization of several of the Biblical stories. She seemed to turn all these various miracles into things that the various Biblical actors did because they followed their "path" or various other things that she mentioned. (I will admit that because I was less than impressed with the book, I stopped paying detailed attention after a while.)
This book took me less than 40 minutes to read. There are over 200 pages. Text complexity this book does not have.
I do not recommend it.
That being said, even if I had read this book six months ago, I think my opinion of it would be the same. I have never been a "workbook" kind of reader. I want to read a book cover to cover, not stop every few pages to answer questions.
I also had some issues with Ms. Jones' characterization of several of the Biblical stories. She seemed to turn all these various miracles into things that the various Biblical actors did because they followed their "path" or various other things that she mentioned. (I will admit that because I was less than impressed with the book, I stopped paying detailed attention after a while.)
This book took me less than 40 minutes to read. There are over 200 pages. Text complexity this book does not have.
I do not recommend it.
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