Valuable

Liz Carter offers a fresh and needed voice. To the one who feels useless, the pages of this book will remind you of where your true worth is found. To the one who’s exhausted from striving, these pages will free you from the tyranny of ‘being enough,’ all while growing in you a greater awareness and compassion for the least of these. A book I definitely needed to read! | I’ve used the phrase ‘used by God’ many times, never stopping to interrogate the meaning or connotations. But Valuable has changed that. It exposes Christian culture’s misplaced obsession with usefulness. Utterly convincing in its arguments, it presents an infinitely more wholesome vision of what God has created us to be. As Carter puts it: ‘We are recipients of God’s love, and that love comes through receiving, not through what we do’. What liberating truth! | For those of us who grew up believing we must be better, bigger and the best, Valuable is a reminder of the truth of the value we all have as God's beloved. A gorgeous, heart-breaking, hope-bringing, astounding book. Read it and exhale. | Words can impact us deeply—which is why it’s so important we speak wisely and well. In this engaging book, there is encouragement to think about our language, run back to Scripture and reassess the vocabulary of God ‘using’ us. It is thought-provoking, heart-searching and conversation-starting—and a beautiful opportunity to see more of the God who gives us value, not just use. | The belief that we are validated through what we do is endemic in our culture and also in the church. Many people fall off the end of that theological cliff, exhausted, burned out or feeling like they have failed. Liz speaks a better, godly story—of value through being, strength in weakness, extra-ordinary found in ordinary, and a God who accepts and loves us as we are, not as we do. This subversive, saving, Spirit-filled message is as radical as it is one of relief. | If, like me, you’ve wanted to be useful to God, prayed that he might use your pain, or told others they can be used by God, then read this important book. With its clarity, beauty and fresh biblical reflection, Valuable is a potent remedy to a malady we may not even realise we have—of believing ourselves to be anything other than loved. What an important book this is. | Carefully applying Scripture and peppering her writing with personal illustration, Liz Carter challenges the church to reconsider its preoccupation with ‘usefulness’ and helps us grasp our value in the light of God's transforming love in Christ. Valuable is paradigm-shifting—a challenging and freeing approach to our relationship with God. | Having benefitted hugely from Liz’s writing previously, I eagerly anticipated this latest book. She writes authentically, beautifully and with great depth—as well as a thorough knowledge of Scripture. I commend this book to you—let its rich treasures of hope, truth and freedom reach deep into your soul. | A timely challenge and a profound rallying soul cry to pursue fruitfulness over usefulness. Biblical throughout, with poetic flourishes and raw, honest storytelling, Liz has done a majestic job of balancing poignant personal pain with deep teaching from the Bible. I'm so grateful to her for this message. | A brave and important book. Liz Carter invites us to explore fresh ways to approach brokenness, and to see that God’s love comes through receiving, not through what we do. With its powerful and eloquent illustrations, Valuable is both beautiful and helpful. | Stripping back the notion that ‘we are what we do’, Liz Carter takes us on a journey of discovery, guiding us to find—or re-find—our true identity. Affirming, empathetic, encouraging and real, Valuable will gently reveal to you just how much you mean to God. | A gentle and fierce call to eschew the falsehood that our worth depends on our usefulness. Liz writes with clarity, compassion and authenticity in words that will empower everyone, from those seen as ‘useful’ to those who feel broken, and anywhere in between. A wonderful book. | Liz Carter beautifully challenges our values and language, which in turn challenges our culture. We all have a choice around what culture we want to build in churches, families and communities. This book, with its personal stories and theological reflections, is a gem and will be so helpful for everyone. I thoroughly recommend it. | Liz Carter is a writer and poet who lives in Shropshire, UK, with her vicar husband and their children. She suffers with a chronic lung condition which sometimes puts her in hospital or prevents her from leaving the house for days or weeks. But she is passionate about Jesus and the hope that he brings! Her other books include Catching Contentment: How to be Holy Satisfied and Treasure in Dark Places, a collection of poems and stories.