“Every Day Deserves a Chance” – A Book Review

I had planned to do more book reviews this year, because I have so many great Christian books in my collection that I would love to share with all of you. Since it’s been a while since I wrote a book review, I decided it was time to take a look at the old book shelves and see what to share today.

I decided on “Every Day Deserves a Chance” by Max Lucado. I selected this book for our church Women’s Retreat several years ago, and it was a big hit. I still have one of the rocks that one of our retreat volunteers made for this retreat sitting next to my computer monitor at work. On one side of the rock she wrote “GOD” and on the other side she wrote each attendee’s name in lower case letters (so mine says “linda”). The rock was designed to always remind us of what we learned from this study.

One of the great things about this book is that it does include a Discussion Guide in the back with questions that can be used in a small group setting. But the book can also be used for personal reading.

There are three main sections of the book, which correspond with the letters “G” for grace, “O” for oversight, and “D” for direction.

• Saturate Your Day in His Grace
• Entrust Your Day to His Oversight
• Accept His Direction

One of my favorite chapters is titled “Gratitude for Ungrateful Days.” The chapter begins with an excerpt from the diary of a (very grateful) dog. Throughout the day, each entry in the dog’s diary says “Oh boy, the _______ — my favorite.” No matter what’s in the blank, whether it be the kids, a car ride, a nap, or dog food, the dog is grateful and excited. Following this is an excerpt from the diary of a (very ungrateful) cat:

Day 283 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat while I’m forced to eat dry cereal. I’m sustained by the hope of escape and the mild satisfaction I derive from ruining a few pieces of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant. Lucado pg. 23-24.

This complaining continues for another half a page and is quite amusing. But what’s the point, you might ask? The point comes in the next paragraph:

The day of a dog. The day of a cat. One content, the other conniving. One at peace, the other at war. One grateful, the other grumpy. Same house. Same circumstances. Same master. Yet two entirely different attitudes. Lucado pg. 24.

The lesson to be learned is that whether you have an attitude of gratitude for the life God has given you, or live grumpy, ungrateful, and at war with God, is up to you. We often can’t change our circumstances, but we can change our attitude about them. And God notices a grateful heart.

This wonderful little book is filled with anecdotes and stories such as this one that help to make a point. It is also filled with scripture to support his points and to help us be more grateful and forgiving, to help us have less anxiety and fear, to help us see God’s purpose and direction for our lives. This small book is only 157 pages, including the Discussion Guide, but it is packed with godly wisdom highlighted with wonderful stories (both contemporary and Biblical) that speak directly to the circumstances and heart of every person.

Whether you are planning a retreat or just need something to read to lift your spirit, I highly recommend this book.