Own Your Life:
Living with deep intention, bold faith, and generous love
By: Sally Clarkson
Resource By: Ashley Davis
So it’s February. How are your 2024 resolutions and goals coming? Was January a tough month? Do you need some encouragement and refreshment to continue with this first quarter? I highly recommend Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson. My personal word for this year is “steward,” and when I was looking for some books to help facilitate the implementation of this word, I discovered Own Your Life. If you’ve been around here a while, you know I am a fan of Sally Clarkson. I especially like her books, like this one, that are not specific to only to motherhood or homeschooling.
This book is broken into five different parts with two to five chapters in each part. The parts are:
1. Barriers to Owning Your Life: Don’t Settle for a Mediocre Life
2. Owning Your Vision: Mapping Your Life on Purpose
3. Owning Your Life by Giving Control to God: What Only He Can Do
4. Owning Your Life by Partnering with God: Attitudes and Actions that Transform
5. Owning Your Life by Loving Well: Create a Lasting Legacy
In each section of the book, the chapters within are designed to help you with critically considering how you are (or aren’t!) owning your own story and stewarding your one life well. Each chapter begins with an inspiring or convicting quote and a scripture verse that is connected to the theme of the chapter and concludes with an “Own Your Part” section, where the author introduces a few though provoking questions for readers to consider along with a prayer.
If you’re aiming to move from chaos to order, understand your true identity according to God’s Word, and craft a vision for your future, you need to read this book!
Here are some quotes I liked from Own Your Life:
“Once I understood that my integrity was built when no one but Christ was looking, I was motivated to remain faithful in moments alone with him and my Bible” (12).
“Determining what good works He created for you to do is essential to understanding how God might use you. Unless you evaluate your life, count the cost of serving God, and make a plan for how you will move ahead, reading this book will be of no help” (51).
“God will not share the throne of your heart, because he is the only one who rightfully belongs there” (75).
“Fear is often related to concerns about our performance or failure, and it quickly kills enthusiasm with the ‘facts.’ Yet God has gone to great lengths throughout history to show that we are not limited by human constraints” (117).
“When you learn to take responsibility for your own well-being, you will produce a harvest of influence and grace in every other area that is influenced by your heart health” (140).
“Whatever you practice, cherish, believe, habitually think, and speak every day is what you’re becoming. Your life cannot be separated from your character” (165).
“In the moment that you love well, you are most like Jesus” (181).
Audience: women; while this book isn’t specifically for mothers/married women, a few of the chapters are specifically directed at those groups.
Usefulness Rating: Very practical and useful!
Entertainment Value: This book is meant for learning and personal development, not merely for entertainment.
Good for groups: I think this book could easily be adapted for group study, especially with use of the “Own Your Part” conclusion section at the end of each chapter.
