I was hoping for something profound, but from my perspective, Packiam consistently misses what he seems to be aiming at. He fixates on some terminology and wields other terms without definitions, to the detriment of his reader and his argument. I wanted to love this book and unfortunately, it just never landed for me.

Packiam has delivered a deep, thought provoking take on the symbolism, meaning, and application of the Lord’s supper, the bread of the presence, the broken body of Jesus himself. He asks us to consider the blessing of bread, of Christ, of ourselves to each other. He challenges us to look at our brokenness in complex and new ways, including the building of a stronger spirit and life. Finally, he reminds us that the love Christ gives to us to to be then given back to Him through the giving of that love to each other and the world. Now, when I participate in the sacred act of communion, it will be with focused thoughts and a thankful heart.

We all know what it means to take a loaf of bread, break off a piece, hand it to a friend.

Glenn Packiam shows us what a sacred act it is. As Jesus created holy moments with bread in his life on earth, we discover through Packiam that we can do the same thing.

"There is more to this life than what you see. There is more to you than what you see. Nothing in this world is as common as it seems. Even bread is really more than bread."

This book breaks down each word, Blessed - Broken - Given, and gives examples from Jesus's life in the New Testament and provokes thoughts for our own ways to live out these concepts.

"Bread in the hands of Jesus is blessed, broken, and given. And so it is with you. Your life, as common and ordinary as bread, in Jesus’s hands becomes something more."

Packiam is engaging and believable in this book. You hear his heart for God and his heart for people through his words. Read it so you too can be blessed in your brokenness and can give.

My thanks to Net Galley and WaterBrook Multnomah for the review copy of this book.

So what got me about this book was one simple fact, my brokenness can and will be part of my redemptive story not just for myself but to be shared with others. For many years I was ashamed of my past and all that was done to me but once I felt that I could trust Jesus and embrace my brokenness in His light, I have now used my story as a testimony to help others realize that their brokenness does not define them. And I have used my story to connect with people so that they can overcome shame, guilt, and feeling unworthy. It has been liberating and honoring to God to allow Him to have my brokenness and to use it to better his kingdom. This book help fill in the gaps that I haven't thought about. Good book. Well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Multnomah press for early access to this book. I am never disappointed in the selections I have received from this publisher.

The author's writing style is approachable and relevant. I found the flow of the book a little disjointed, but it could be that I picked it up and put it down too many times. It is perhaps the type of book that should be read through and discussed in a small group, rather than one used for morning devotions.

The author cited some excellent sources and told meaningful anecdotes. I would enjoy hearing him preach on this topic and would definitely read more of his books.

Beautifully written book! Describes how God breaks us to use us than heals us and blessed us. A lot of highlights and bookmarks, will be rereading.

This book is powerful and beautifully written. The author has a wonderful gift of story and eloquence. I was moved many times while reading. His words on church hurt, lament, and being given out are some of the best I have read. If you are wondering how God could ever use the wreck that is your life, this is a healing balm. I loved it.

Blessed, Broken, Given by Glenn Packiam was such a powerful book and led to much processing! I loved the way that Packiam compared our lives to that of bread; something so common all over the world in some form or fashion. He explained how something so commonplace (our life and bread) seems so mundane or ordinary, but through God, can be used for His glory. I took many notes on this book, and look forward to slowly processing what I learned from it!

1 star
I was so excited to read this book. The beginning was so good but it quickly slid downhill. The concept of the correlation of bread and Jesus is a good one but Glenn Packiam quickly lost his way with his writing.
I hate it when devotional books try to “be relevant”. I don’t need a correlation between Harry Potter and the Bible; Please just present me with the truth and don’t water down the gospel! This book just goes from bad to worse. I cannot finish and I cannot recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.

This book was an interesting take on the Lord's Supper and the sacrament of communion. The metaphor of the blessing, breaking, and giving of bread in our everyday lives was an effective one. I liked how the author separated the book into the three actions and showed how all of them could be applied in our messy, chaotic lives.

This week I finished reading an uncorrected proof of Glenn Packiam’s “Blessed, Broken, and Given: How Your Story Becomes Sacred in the Hands of Jesus.”* I did see a few places where two words stuck together, but overall I couldn't tell this was a proof. (Hopefully someone catches that, but those words might have run together in the Kindle version only.) From the loaf of bread on the cover and the description, I surmised that Packiam would go into the uses of bread in Scriptures to apply to my daily walk with Christ. I left Packiam’s table feeling so full of information that I’ve had a hard time writing a review worthy of the study. I thought, “How much should I share?” Part of the joy of reading is making discoveries.

I could tell from his writing style that I would have no difficulty staying with this study. Sometimes I’ve been excited about a study topic and opened the book to find the writer may have envisioned a scholarly Bible student or theologian and not…well, me! Packiam made me feel welcome at his table. He brought out the courses, labeling each section with a word or two. I read a chapter a day and found that each time I came back I left filled with new pathways to understanding what I thought were well-trodden passages in the Bible.

Packiam started out with a course on the uses of bread in Scripture, as well as some background on some of the ways scientists and philosopher in the past have influenced how we see God today. Some people think of God as having created people, animals, and the Universe, but then leaving us to fend for ourselves. Others know they need God, but feel like they should help Him out, become more self-reliant, a master or mistress of their own design. Packiam said as children we had a great imagination, but lost that imagination as adults. (Think of all we fail to see today, things that would fill us with wonder.)

I felt as I started this study that Packiam was taking me through information I learned from Bible stories, or even prayers learned as a child, and then, like Dr. Charles Stanley during one of his sermons, was saying, “Look here! Don’t miss this!” Examples are:

God is the giver of our daily bread. (Matthew 6:9-13)
God provides the Israelites manna from Heaven that they gather in the wilderness each day during their exodus from Egypt. (See Exodus 16)
Bread is the law of the Lord, the 10 commandments, “…man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to the disciples in what is the first communion/last supper. (Matthew 26:26-29)

The words "Blessed," Broken," and "Given" from the title make up the three “movements” then of this study. Packiam started with the first word – blessed – and explained it as something more than “#Blessed” seen in social media posts. That kind of “blessed” means you’re living what many consider to be “the good life.” It’s not that he thought that a bad thing. We recognize when God gives us gifts of a beautiful day, a great meal, or time with family. What he focuses on is the second kind of "blessed." Those who follow Christ are blessed even if their circumstances don’t look #Blessed, and even if those circumstances stay the same.

Packiam said that when we accept Christ we have a new identity, a “renaming.” The second word from the title – broken – comes in here. The brokenness we experience whether from sin, illness, abuse, poverty, etc. -- all are valuable to God. Packiam shared the story a friend told him about the Japanese art of Kintsugi, or “golden joinery.” The artist took broken pieces of pottery and with a mixture of gold dust and resin filled in the cracks and made repairs. What resulted was something more interesting and beautiful. He said some people were accused of purposely breaking pottery in order to have the repairs done that made their vessels more beautiful. Like the technique of Kintsugi, God fills in the broken places in us with His grace. Packiam said Jesus uses our brokenness in a way that we get the opportunity “to participate in the work” of showing others He is for them. He loves them. (location 665).

“When your life becomes blessed and broken in Jesus’ hands, He gives you out for the life of the world,” Packiam says. “You become the way others find the Bread of Life. But to be that way, you must first experience the blessing and embrace the brokenness – only then will you be consecrated to bring change in powerful ways.” (Location 274)

What he said here resonated with me. From an early age, I knew when I became a Christian that I became a messenger for Christ. I didn’t know what that meant until I’d walked through some valleys with Jesus and then saw opportunities to talk to others with similar struggles whether from depression, anxiety, chronic illness or pain. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) I do have parts of my life’s story I would love to bury. At times I have thought that I didn’t have anything to give to others. So much of society labels our worth with our achievements on the job, in school, or how many “likes” we have on social media. Who wants to talk about their failures? I don’t always jump at the chance to share my struggles with depression or anxiety. Nor do I like to talk about the symptoms I experience daily from chronic pain and illness. I sure wish my life looked #blessed.

Packiam would tell me I am blessed even if Jesus doesn’t restore me physically while I’m still here on earth. I know that some day that will change. (I wish that some day were now!) But we have this “treasure in jars of clay”(2 Corinthians 4:7-9), he said, and that's what makes us blessed even when broken. The biggest periods of spiritual growth in my life have happened during the worst periods I’ve experienced. Jesus understands my brokenness and that becomes part of my testimony.

Finally, Packiam changed the way I view the accounts in the New Testament of when Jesus took the loaves and fishes from someone’s small lunch and multiplied them. He blessed them, broke them up, and gave them to the disciples to share with the multitudes. The disciples had to do their part in sharing the lunch. All were fed and the disciples were even able to gather up a dozen leftovers. Jesus took things that were ordinary and transformed them to satisfy the hunger of people who were seeking Him out. He can take all my experiences, no matter how ordinary they seem (like bread) and bless them, break them, and hand them to me to give out to help others who are seeking Him.

glenn packiamPackiam is one of the senior pastors for New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He gives some background about his life in Malaysia, as well as details about his family life. He also told stories entrusted to him by people he (or his church family) ministered to in order to demonstrate what it looks like to be blessed, broken, and given out for others. He said this study shaped the mission and worship time for his church family.

I can't wait to share this book -- and review my Kindle notes -- when this is published. *Thank you to the publisher for the free electronic copy I received of this proof to review from Netgalley.com.

An excellent devotional guide from a refreshing perspective. This is the journey of Christianity. The walk through life and our daily reading/ bread.