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jfraser82's review against another edition
4.0
This book makes you realize we're all meant to create....not just those in the stereotypical vocation of "artistry" ....everyone. Mom's, teachers, accountants....we create in all these rolls, and more.
Emily Freeman is so calming and lovely. She's someone I want to have on my couch as we each have a big oversized blanket, coffee and share about life. She is full of wisdom and God was kind to share her with us.
Emily Freeman is so calming and lovely. She's someone I want to have on my couch as we each have a big oversized blanket, coffee and share about life. She is full of wisdom and God was kind to share her with us.
freckleduck's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book there were parts that resonated with me more than others but I thought it was an interesting take on life and how our attitude and viewpoint can be game changers.
caitlin_lore's review against another edition
5.0
A reread to help encourage my writing soul this year. Emily’s prose is beautiful & encouraging in all the right ways. A great read when you need a push towards your art & a remin
reneesmith's review against another edition
5.0
This weekend I soaked in Emily P. Freeman’s A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live.
I had eagerly signed up to review this book. However, once it arrived, I approached the content warily, thinking I’d find it filled with popular advice about how to find your voice and make it heard and rise above the crowd . . . you know, the things people who get paid for their art tell the rest of us.
But Emily’s insightful take on art encompasses all expressions of God’s beauty and includes all of us who bear His image.
Here’s one of my favorite parts . . .
“The song lyric.
The exchange between actors on the screen.
The image of Paris in the snow.
The tuning of the strings before the show.
Art coming from honest hands shows us beauty, stirs up longing, and touches us deeply.
But what about this:
Or . . .
Cashiers and cellists are capable of making art because they both have the power to influence, to be fully awake to their Maker, and fully aware of His making them.
What about your own influence? What about the conviction of your true self, pointed out, accepted, and poured out as an offering??i>
It is my intention to introduce practices to help you uncover the art already alive within you.”
MY TAKE: Emily’s words resonated with me. An image that lingers is her description of showing up at the church nursery to find a violinist—a talented professional musician—playing for the toddlers. As the man passionately poured out his music, the kids continued playing, seemingly oblivious to his song.
Yet his efforts were not a waste—no matter the reception of the audience.
THE BOTTOM LINE: This nonfiction work strengthened and inspired me. I give it my highest recommendation and encourage you to grab a copy for yourself. ***Thanks to Revell for providing a copy for me to review.
I had eagerly signed up to review this book. However, once it arrived, I approached the content warily, thinking I’d find it filled with popular advice about how to find your voice and make it heard and rise above the crowd . . . you know, the things people who get paid for their art tell the rest of us.
But Emily’s insightful take on art encompasses all expressions of God’s beauty and includes all of us who bear His image.
Here’s one of my favorite parts . . .
“The song lyric.
The exchange between actors on the screen.
The image of Paris in the snow.
The tuning of the strings before the show.
Art coming from honest hands shows us beauty, stirs up longing, and touches us deeply.
But what about this:
The extra care the cashier takes with your order,
The way she looks you in the eye,
Asks how you are,
If you need help or a price check,
As if her work is important
And she knows it.
Or . . .
The teacher who makes history come alive,
Telling stories filled with facts and truth and background,
While students learn without even realizing.
Cashiers and cellists are capable of making art because they both have the power to influence, to be fully awake to their Maker, and fully aware of His making them.
What about your own influence? What about the conviction of your true self, pointed out, accepted, and poured out as an offering??i>
It is my intention to introduce practices to help you uncover the art already alive within you.”
MY TAKE: Emily’s words resonated with me. An image that lingers is her description of showing up at the church nursery to find a violinist—a talented professional musician—playing for the toddlers. As the man passionately poured out his music, the kids continued playing, seemingly oblivious to his song.
Yet his efforts were not a waste—no matter the reception of the audience.
THE BOTTOM LINE: This nonfiction work strengthened and inspired me. I give it my highest recommendation and encourage you to grab a copy for yourself. ***Thanks to Revell for providing a copy for me to review.
dajenny's review against another edition
3.0
Emily Freeman writes well, in the style of Ann Voskamp or other similar bloggers. Her words are beautiful and lyrical - which works well for some and not so well for others. If you've read her blog, both the writing style and ideas presented in A Million Little Ways will be familiar to you.
She shares some good ideas in this book, though it gets a bit repetitive. She uses some phrases over and over again (intentionally, I'm sure) - fully alive, the art you were meant to live, the poem you are, etc - to the point where they started to feel a touch meaningless to me.
Still, there's solid encouragement here if you haven't read similar kinds of books. She has a passion and desire to see others living well for God, and that shows.
She shares some good ideas in this book, though it gets a bit repetitive. She uses some phrases over and over again (intentionally, I'm sure) - fully alive, the art you were meant to live, the poem you are, etc - to the point where they started to feel a touch meaningless to me.
Still, there's solid encouragement here if you haven't read similar kinds of books. She has a passion and desire to see others living well for God, and that shows.
ddejong's review against another edition
3.0
[Probably a solid 3.5 stars.] I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was on track to be a 4 star book but it kind of petered out for me in the last 2-3 chapters. Emily is quite a good writer, which is not something to take for granted in this world of bloggers publishing memoirs and other spiritual books en masse, often (in my opinion) of quite mediocre quality. In summary, Emily explores the idea that according to the Bible we are all God's "workmanship" or "masterpiece" -- the Greek word poiema -- and so we live out art into the world. I would say this is fundamentally a book about identity-- Emily writes a lot about the idea that God has wired us in unique, specific ways, given us desires and longings, and shaped our personalities, lives and vocations/avocations to reflect his glory into the world. This is not a book about being a literal "artist" or "creative" (in the traditional sense of the word). The chapter on waiting particularly resonated with me.
katieproctorbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Not just for the artists in the traditional sense, but for the people who just want to do everything they do with passion and grace and the spirit of the Lord who gave each of us our gifts. It is beautifully written and inspiring. Loved it.
brendaclay's review against another edition
4.0
Emily Freeman's second book for adults, about expressing your vocation or "art" in your everyday life, was right on time for me as usual. She encourages paying attention to our own unique design and what moves us, promotes the value of the everyday, and looks at the different things that hold us back from our art and creativity. I've been studying these topics all year, but still found many revelations here. A good companion to this book would be Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking, which I also loved and which is really about bringing beauty to ordinary life.
misstessamaye's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone is an artist. It may not be in the arts of paint or clay or music. Our art is simply what we were meant to do, the way we were meant to live as our completely genuine selves. It doesn’t have to be something we do in the future; it’s something inside us that we learn to release. Emily P. Freeman’s book "A Million Little Ways" is dedicated to helping us discover our art and learn to create it courageously.
The Lord knew I needed this book. For a while, He wasn’t really speaking to me through the Bible. I continued to read it anyway, but when I would read "A Million Little Ways". . . He was always so loud. He let this book be His main form of communication with me for that period in time, because I needed to know that my dreams are good. I needed to understand that I am supposed to follow my dreams despite what people have told me, because my dreams are His gifts and direction for me; they’re a huge part of me. I’m slowly learning how to do that, and Mrs. Freeman’s book has helped me so much. I would so recommend it for anyone who struggles when they think of the future or their dreams, who feels stuck in their life. Mrs. Freeman and her book are going to be life-speaking friends for you.
[Originally reviewed here: https://misstessamaye.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/discovering-a-million-little-ways/]
The Lord knew I needed this book. For a while, He wasn’t really speaking to me through the Bible. I continued to read it anyway, but when I would read "A Million Little Ways". . . He was always so loud. He let this book be His main form of communication with me for that period in time, because I needed to know that my dreams are good. I needed to understand that I am supposed to follow my dreams despite what people have told me, because my dreams are His gifts and direction for me; they’re a huge part of me. I’m slowly learning how to do that, and Mrs. Freeman’s book has helped me so much. I would so recommend it for anyone who struggles when they think of the future or their dreams, who feels stuck in their life. Mrs. Freeman and her book are going to be life-speaking friends for you.
[Originally reviewed here: https://misstessamaye.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/discovering-a-million-little-ways/]