I wanted to read this book because I loved Jordan’s Redeeming Your Time. I enjoyed the layout of this book and the bite-sized nuggets of truth and perspective to start my workday right. I really liked that it is for an entire year of work and not just thirty or ninety days. That is a great value!

I received an advanced reader copy by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great short morning devotionals relevant to work and daily activities. Each devotional relates to the prior days and they all come together well.
Would be great to complete over an entire year timeframe.

This devotional is much shorter each day than most daily devotionals. I will say that the navigation and page names are a little repetitive and not very creative with the constant repeating of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I bet some readers will like this even though ti is not my favorite part of the book. Overall, an accessible and easy devotional to keep you going through the week.

I almost like the corresponding Word Before Work website more than the book haha! Raynor does a great job at reproducing the material there and making it easily accessible from wherever you are--whether you want a phone/tablet/computer-based version, or an actual book.

The devotional is on the lighter side, with a short couple of verses and longer devotional that will certainly prompt the reader to be thinking about God, their work, and everything in between. Right now I'm looking for something a bit meatier in my devotional time--but I can definitely appreciate this devo's place in quiet time. Written by someone not in full-time ministry, for those also not in full-time ministry--like me! Yay!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Disclaimer: A huge thanks to Netgalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for my complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a perfect addition to anyone's morning routine as it is a reminder to put God first and how our work also should bring glory to God. It was a gentle reminder that God cares for our jobs and he called us to live out our purpose at work. The Devotions are structured like the work week Monday-Friday and they are short that one cannot skip devotional time. I highly recommend it!

Another great book by Jordan Raynor. This book is a great help for me to understand why I am working. It also encourages me to be excellent at everything I do since this is one of the ways in praising God. This is a great partner to get connected with God and His Words before starting my day. Thank you, Jordan Raynor, NetGalley, and WaterBrook for the opportunity to learn why we work.

This book wasn’t where I am in my walk right now. I am looking for a little more depth at this time.

Easy, quick and still impactful. This is a great devotional to help those of us who are not in ministry and feel like we are not moving towards God's word know that is NOT how God sees it. If you feel as if the work you do carries less eternal impact than the work of a pastor or missionary, you are wrong. That's not how God sees it. Whatever it looks like day to day, your work is ministry and central to God's plans to restore fallen creation.

This was a great addition to my quiet time in the morning getting in the word of God and reminding myself that even though I am not in ministry my work is still important to the mission of God. Our work matters to us and it also matters to God.

Final Thoughts:
This would be a great gift for any person who wants to explore God’s perspective on the work He has called them to do. It is a great resource to getting into the word of God every morning with a biblical focus.

Disclaimer: Thank you Netgalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I'm not technically done but I'm over halfway through, so I feel like I can give a good account of the book at this point.

I am a big fan of Jordan Raynor's work. His perspective on work is very refreshing and I like how he addresses a wide range of work in his books. This new devotional is encouraging and practical. I personally find it to be too short, so I've been reading a whole week of devotions every day, but for busy people, the bit-sized portions will be perfect. I'm frankly amazed at all Raynor is able to pull out of the Bible about work. I had no idea there was so much relating to work in Scripture.

While I have found some good things from this book, I would say it is probably not the devotional I typically would use or need, but I would recommend it because it is well written and solid in theology so for those who I think would benefit from it, I would tell them to read The Word Before Work.

Work is very much a way of life. God ordained it thus making work a gift for mankind. Unfortunately, due to the entry of sin into the world, work has become corrupted in many dimensions, so much so that for some people, work is best described as some kind of a necessary evil. You hate it but you cannot live without it. In a stressful highly charged work environment, I have also heard working people tell me that their jobs suck. Yet, they needed the job to pay their mortgages, bills, and other essential expenses. The popular phrase, "Thank God it's Friday" describes how society views the notion of work. People look forward to the weekend as a way to escape the mundane toil of work. The question remains: Is work really a bad thing? What can we do to make work more bearable? Can work be more than mere survival? How can we redeem work? The simple answer from this book is this: Let the Word of God guide us before we commence each workday. Written like a devotional over a period of 52 work weeks, author Jordan Raynor gives us a daily reflection on Scripture followed by a short exhortation to help us embrace the day with faith and hope. The first four weeks comprise foundational material to anchor readers on the biblical narrative and purpose of work. Mondays and Thursdays contain reflections on Old Testament passages. Tuesdays and Fridays are reserved for New Testament passages. Wednesdays are filled with mid-point interjections with Wisdom Literature. The book is inspired by positive feedback from the author's popular weekly devotional "The Word Before Work." This book extends the project to cover a whole year's workweek. Each week contains devotionals from Monday to Friday. Weekends are excluded. The premise behind this book is to let our faith shine as we venture into the world of work. Not just one day per week but every day of a typical five-day workweek.

My Thoughts
==============
This is a great resource for helping us get a sense of God's purpose before starting the day. In a fast-paced busy society, it is tempting for people to just rush off without pondering upon why how to begin the day. People drink coffee as a habit. They eat breakfast as a routine. They take transit or drive their cars to work as a normal activity. Some Christians swear by a daily Quiet Time before they begin their day. Others do so at different times of the day, like lunchtime, break time, or even at the end of the day. Raynor does not insist that we must begin at the start of the day. In fact, the chapters are quite open for anyone to read at any time of the day. I like the way the book makes me pause to reflect upon the significance of work in the light of God's Word. The uninitiated should find this book a gift to help them in their devotional life. Older believers who already have a devotional routine like Bible reading or using some other classical devotionals can adopt this book as a supplement. Whatever it is, having this book is one thing. The discipline to use it is another. The way to benefit from this book is to actually take time to reflect on the content on a daily basis. Perhaps, after several weeks, we get a hang of the framework and would be ready to come up with our own creative devotionals.

What I appreciate about this devotional is how the author has prepared himself to reflect not just on individual passages but on the whole Bible. He had combed the whole Bible a few times prior to the writing of this book. Readers should feel more assured that Raynor has a pretty good idea of the biblical thrusts as he looks at individual passages. While he is not a biblical theologian, his efforts would make biblical scholars proud.

Our work matters to us. They also matter to God. I loved the way Raynor entitles the book, putting the Word first prior to any forms of work. It reminds us that a good start provides a helpful impetus for the rest of the day. Of course, some might say that the chapters are too brief to really create any impact. My answer would be to see this book as a conversation partner. That way, we let the questions guide our thoughts of God so that in prayer, we can get inspired for whatever work laid before us.

Bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his books (The Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create), podcast (Mere Christians), and weekly devotional (The Word Before Work)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth. In addition to his writing, Jordan serves as the executive chairman of Threshold 360, a venture-backed tech startup which he previously ran as CEO following a string of successful ventures of his own. Jordan has twice been selected as a Google Fellow and served in the White House under President George W. Bush. A sixth-generation Floridian, Jordan lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters.
Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Waterbrook and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

This book is a year-long devotional on the topic of work, viewed from a Biblical perspective. It is obvious that the author and his team (which he specifically mentions in one of the chapters) have done a huge amount of research and put a lot of thought into the format. The writer illustrates his points with Scripture from both the Old and the New Testament. The book is very structured and divided into different themes. Daily devotionals are provided for the work week and are just long enough to read, even when you’re in a rush to get to work. So much wisdom and truth has been packed within the pages that one actually just might need a whole weekend to digest what has been read in the previous week. What the author writes rings true and corresponds with my own experience. When you’ve finished reading, you’ll want to start over again. Very well done!

Thank you Waterbrook and NetGalley for making an ARC available to me, I was not required to leave a positive review (but gladly did!)

Jordan Raynor has been one of my favorite nonfiction writers for over two years. Everything he releases, I am excited to read — Redeeming Your Time is a GAME-CHANGING book I highly recommend everyone reads. In his latest release, Word Before Work, Jordan has complied his weekly email devotions into book form. Hoping to encourage Christians to start their day in God’s word, Jordan opens the scriptures to explain why our work matters.

We will never love 100% of what our favorite authors release, and that’s okay. As much as I respect Jordan and the products he’s putting out to inspire believers to stop coasting through life and treating their callings like hobbies, I don’t love everything he does or always agree with his theology. While it was an interesting concept to do one topic throughout the week, I found the daily entries too short and stop-start. For me, the subject would’ve been more received if it had been written in one day rather than five. Nevertheless, I tried to persevere and managed to read the first six weeks, but I couldn’t push myself to go further. I still love Jordan Raynor, but this book wasn’t for me.

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!*

This is the devotional I didn't know I needed until I read! It is hands down, one of the best devotionals I have read all my life! The narrative is so clear, well structured and extremely relevant for believers of Christ about Our daily mission here on earth. It was delightful , inspiring and a blessing to the days I was invested in the reading. Good Job, guys!


Thanks To netgalley for the gift of this ARC. It was a true appreciation!

Jordan Raynor does a wonderful job in "The Word Before Work". He is a committed writer and has a great system which he describes in a different title. His system may not be for everyone but he definitely shows it works for him as he continues to release new titles.

Have already dove straight into this one. Love the format of this book and have been really enjoying reading this each morning before work. Highly recommend it for those looking for a morning devotion to help get your heart centered on the tasks ahead each day.