25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple Ideas For a More Thoughtful "Pay It Forward" Type of Life!, November 7, 2009
"One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity" by Debbie Macomber is a completely wonderful book that uses scripture and stories to show the reader that a life of generosity is not only possible, but very powerful. I was touched more than once by the personal anecdotes shared by the author, examples of how to live in a generous way and value other human beings.
This book taught me that the little things really do matter. It gave me ideas of things to do to show others that they matter, as well. This book should be a must read for every person on the planet. If everyone read it and adopted even a small bit of what is written between these covers, the world would be a much better place.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You don't have to be rich to be generous., November 13, 2009
Debbie MaComber, best known for her fictional books, has written a wonderful non-fictional book about discovering the power of generosity. Using her gift as a story teller, Debbie weaves little stories throughout this book. Debbie talks about being generous in the acts of gratitude, sharing, encouragement, good deeds, forgiveness, seeing others through God's eyes, giving, listening, hospitality, hope, celebrating, caring for others, taking time for eternal things, prayer, sharing our faith stories, and serving.
Debbie describes how she has applied these different acts of generosity in her life, and how it has blessed her and those around her. She gives practical advice on how we can learn to be more generous in our lives. The gift of giving isn't just about monetary giving. I know that I walked away with more ideas on how our family can be more generous to others. Debbie concludes the book with study questions for each chapter and a list of her favorite charities.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Daily Devotion-style inspirational readings about generosity, January 9, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This was my first Debbie Macomber book, though my wife is a huge fan.
"One Simple Act" is a non-fiction book about why being generous is good for givers, with lots of practical tips. Better, it is not just another ode to guilt. Rather, it gets into the science of why generosity is also good for givers, along with numerous stories of actual instances of generosity, with plentiful tips for those interested in becoming more generous.
Many of the included stories were already known to me, such as the opening one of Corrie Ten Boom and the fleas. Others were new. I was happy to read (re-read) them all, and glad to have them all together for future reference.
The book includes useful chapters on gratitude, forgiveness, listening, hospitality, correspondence, care-giving, and prayer. Notably, many of those require little or no money, just time and attention.
This book could be read as a daily devotional, perhaps a chapter a day. I recommend that approach, as some ideas soaked in better in small doses.
Some ideas I particularly liked:
Science documenting benefits of gratitude, forgiveness and prayer
The difference between praise and encouragement
Keeping good deeds simple and meaningful
The idea that heroes are more likely to be empathic than courageous
Fred Roger's idea for explaining 9-11 to children: "Tell them to watch the helpers."
My favorite line from the book is this: "very often the ones asking loudest are not the ones the Lord would have us support." Amen, sister! Contributing to some causes only accomplishes being asked to give more.
Overall, a worthy read.
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