Every Little Thing: Making a World of Difference Right Where You Are

Riggs wants us to see the sacred role we have in changing our corner of the world. She invites us to see the significance of an ordinary, average life. God chooses to invite us to join Him.

She explores the issues that might keep us from entering into God's plan. She helps us understand we are free from condemnation (which is not the same as conviction). She shows that fear does not disqualify us from God's calling. God invites us to trust Him. But it is not a spectator sport.

Riggs shares many of her own experiences. One is to help us understand that, even though God may ask us to relocate, He is always with us, preparing the way. Her life is a testimony that God will bring us through. She includes the examples of many biblical characters too.

This book is a great encouragement to those who will never be on the cover of a magazine or be a mega-pastor. It is a book for those who desire to make a difference in their communities, their churches, and their families. We can take solace and find comfort in the biblical accounts of people doing seemingly insignificant things that mattered for eternity. (158)

This is a great book for the average and ordinary Christian. We are encouraged to know that God has an adventure for us. There is no thinking that we are not smart enough or that we are too old. Riggs shows us that where ever we are, God is ready to use us.

I recommend this book to those who have been discouraged by books mandating that we have to give up all to be used by God. He has a plan for us right now, Riggs writes. He delights in us and wants to use us right now. We just need to ask Him what adventure He has planned for us.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.

Once in a while among the vast array of Christian living books written by and for women one stands out. This is that one.

Riggs writes from experience and a kind of maturity I have not found in most of the others---yet anyway. Steady solid narrative that encourages the reader with calm, sure statements that come from her deep faith. Being who you are, where you are as defined by God not any other person, living life His way is the key. That includes the ordinary day to day routine things. Riggs has an excellent take on ordinary that I will let her share when you read this book.

The nits, if you find any, are far outweighed by her content. I recommend this book.

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a review.

I may possibly have rolled my eyes a teensy bit as I glanced at the 35 card from my pocket:

Sing praise to the Lord for He has done gloriously. Let this be made known in all the earth, Isaiah 12:5.

Its not that I disbelieve the first clause; no, its the scope of the second clause that triggered the response. However, today, pushing a lawnmower, hair like Medusa in a wild autumn breeze, my eye-rolling response went immediately into auto-correct, because I had already turned the final page of Every Little Thing by Deidra Riggs, and her words were still singing quietly under the injunction of that ancient prophet. The truth is that I am a small-platform kind of person, and if I want to make something known even in all the house, Id better say it at the dinner table on an evening when everyone is home and then hope that everyone was listening! Its easy to feel insignificant, even obsolete, but I am learning that God has a different message to share:

Most of us will make a difference in this world, but not because of some grand or large-scale initiative. No, most of us will change our corner of the world and make an impact that stands the test of time through the small and seemingly insignificant [to us] interactions and decisions and conversations of our average days. We make a difference where we live, and incrementally, that place begins to shift.

What a relief to be reminded that my sandwich-making, mini-van driving, vegetable canning days are not inconsequential. In our culture of go big or go home, it is a gift to hear that faithfulness to Gods daily assignments in a particular time and place can make breathtaking changes first of all, in me.

A skilled story teller, Deidra starts us out in her little yellow childhood home on Sycamore Avenue or soaring over the earth in a stylish parachute, but before we know it, were in New Testament era Palestine, witnessing a close call with an impromptu execution. The strands of a tale twine like DNA, infusing the life of a lesson into the weaving, and straightening out the crooked fibers of the lies that we tell ourselves:

We feel small when we focus on our sin and forget grace. Instead of helplessly watching the parade as your record of wrongs struts itself before your eyes, claim the truth from Romans 8:1! No condemnation!

We feel small when fear stops serving us and starts controlling us. Every Little Thing unfolds the road map revealing that trust is the pathway through fear.

I suspect that the reason Deidras words resonate with encouragement is that her high view of God translates into a high view of His people:

The voice of God breaks through the chaos, and the excellency of the power is of God and not of us, and it is so magnificent that it slips through and into the very fiber of our beings so that we have to still our hearts and catch our breath and trust that light scatters the darkness every time.

Every Little Thing trumpets the power of the timeless Gospel. We add nothing to it by all our goodness, and we take nothing away from it in all our brokenness.

Visit Deidras blog, Jumping Tandem, and read more about Every Little Thing, as well as a wealth of other encouraging words.

This book was provided by BakerBooks, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Where can I start with this book?! This book looks sweet and unassuming, yet in this tiny book has wisdom EVERYBODY needs to hear. I don't know about you, but I struggle with feeling inadequate. Even though the Bible is chock full of stories where God uses unusual people to accomplish his will, I rationalize those away, convincing myself those men and women still had to have been at least a little extraordinary. In Every Little Thing, Deidra Riggs debunks that myth. She is convinced that "you cannot do a single solitary thing about the fact that God loves you, exactly the way you are." Riggs believes that he sees his children for exactly as they are, and gifted ALL of them with the ability to make a difference exactly where they are in life. For girls like me, this is a beautiful message. Deidra opens up and and allows us to see inside her life and showcases the moments that God used her, an ordinary woman, to accomplish the God of Heaven's purposes. This can and will happen to anybody who believes that God has a plan for all of his children, even those who don't believe they are good enough! This book is fantastic and uplifting and wonderful and I want to hand it out on the street corners. This book is a 4.5/5!

This book was provided to me by Baker Publishing for my honest review.