*I received the book Love Where You Live: How to Live Sent in the Place You Call Home from Revell in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links*
Love Where You Live: How to Live Sent in the Place You Call Home by Shauna Pilgreen was a great book for me to read at the place I am at in my life right now. Sometimes I wonder if I’m where I’m supposed to be- doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I even recently shared with some close friends that sometimes I feel that it’s hard to find purpose and meaning as a stay at home Mom- and wondering where I fit in the whole furthering God’s kingdom plan.
Shauna’s book gives us practical and hands on ways to see how we can live sent, where we are in life’s journey at the moment. Her book even has areas to sketch, doodle, and draw out your dreams- where you live and who you can reach, and how you can affect your town, city, world.
It doesn’t have to be difficult to live sent.
She reminds us that a lot of the time you can live sent by being vulnerable. But, it also “gives our community the opportunity to watch how to walk through hard times rather than looking elsewhere.” And how we can open our homes and share our blessings with people who LITERALLY live right beside us. Just by being ourselves and opening our homes and lives up to others we can touch so many people. A seed planted about Jesus to our neighbor, may be watered in the future by another believer. We can be the start of someone’s eternity.
This was such a blessing to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough to further God’s kingdom. But, I also remind myself that by raising a child that loves Jesus, I may be helping to bring more people to Him. That by sharing our lives, our stories, our heartaches even, may touch someone and further their walk. The line that MOST touched me in this book was almost on the last page. It talked about who we would thank when we get to heaven- who might thank us. She mentions people thanking the mother of the little boy who Jesus used his lunch to feed the 5000, for packing him a lunch that day. I immediately teared up at that line. All she was doing was packing her son some food. Think of the impact his lunch had that day!
In order to live sent, you don’t have to pack up and move across the country like the Pilgreens. You can start in your community. Right where your family goes every week. The grocery store, the office, the school pick up line. Maybe it DOES mean picking up and leaving our comfortable lives and going somewhere else. And, while I have no current plans to move away- you just never know. But, we can start by living sent where we are and see where that takes us.
Go and live sent.
I definitely recommend this book if you’re needing some encouragement in your walk. Or you are searching for practical ways you can be the hands and feet of Jesus in your community. It was a fairly quick read and I’ve quoted it several times- even when I was scared it was just going to be a book shaming me on not selling everything I own and moving my family somewhere else. (WHICH IT IS NOT!)
