The Repurposed and Upcycled Life: When God Turns Trash to Treasure

by Michelle Rayburn

Life is frustrating sometimes. It can be hard and ugly. Hurt, frustration and regret can make everything seem hopeless. But, God has a plan for everything in our lives. He offers unconditional love and grace, despite our imperfections. He offers hope where we see only despair.

Discover the repurposed and upcycled life. This is a life where no experience is wasted. Like the best trash–to–treasure decorating project, it's a life where God repurposes our junky experiences. It's where he upcycles—turns hopeless situations into something so much better than we ever imagined—when we let him work with the trash. When we surrender to his leading, God demonstrates his creativity in revealing how our greatest disappointments, mistakes, and painful experiences can be priceless treasures.

Through humor and stories, Michelle Rayburn addresses how to unpack emotional baggage and let go of the past. Readers will learn how to confront perfectionism and negative attitudes, change perspective on circumstances, and let go of regret and shame. It's an opportunity to learn how to build positive healthy relationships, and dream big and live with purpose. Through inspiration from God's Word and examples from everyday life, readers will discover the joy–filled, hope–rich way of viewing their past, present, and future.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 8, 2012

Reviews

[Sam B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real, funny and truly uplifting

In this book, the author opens up and gets real about her daily life (which isn't always pretty). I really liked how she shared her experiences and didn't try to tell her readers that we need to live a perfect life. The truth is that life gets messy whether we like it or not and it rarely turns out the way we'd initially planned.

This book is all about making the most of our lives and repurposing our experiences to something positive. In the conclusion of the book the author sums up perfectly what it is all about:
" I wrote [this book] so you could see that no matter where you are in your faith, God offers you the same opportunity to live without inhibitions from junk in the trunk. Jesus demonstrated the ultimate trash-to-treasure story. Because he endured a horrific death for crimes he never committed, we can go from being dead in sin—living in a spiritual dumpster—to fully alive in God—upcycled to a new and joyful life filled with hope."

This is a light read, yet filled with hope and meaning. At the end of each chapter, the author offers prompts to apply the principles to our lives and creative ideas to remind us on a daily basis of God's truth.
A highly recommended read!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touched my heart. It is well written and I like how the everyday family life turns into a group study. Great for book clubs and discussions. I was very fortunate to meet Michelle Rayburn this past summer. We got talking and I was telling her how I was decluttering my home. I was giving unused items away or donating. Time passed so quickly and Michelle is so very interesting to listen to. I didn’t know she wrote a book. She told me about it and had this book with her. She signed it and gave it to me. I’m still so thankful for this gift and thankful to meet Michelle and her husband Phil in person. She has found her purpose in life.

[Ellen Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m working through The Repurposed and Upcycled Life chapter by chapter and trying to apply the lessons to my life. This book has really started to change the way I think about things and instead of seeing the flaws in everything I do, I am trying to see more of the positives. If you’re looking for a new outlook, I recommend The Repurposed and Upcycled Life by Michelle Rayburn.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: THE REPURPOSED & UPCYCLED LIFE: When God Turns Trash to Treasure
Author: Michelle Rayburn
Publisher: Faith Creativity Life Books
November 2012
ISBN: 978-0578110424
Genre: Nonfiction / Christian Living

Are there experiences you’d rather toss in the dumpster?

Life is frustrating sometimes. It can be hard and ugly. Hurt, frustration and regret can make everything seem hopeless. But, God has a plan for everything in our lives. He offers unconditional love and grace, despite our imperfections. He offers hope where we see only despair.

Discover the repurposed and upcycled life. This is a life where no experience is wasted. Like the best trash–to–treasure decorating project, it's a life where God repurposes our junky experiences. It's where he upcycles—turns hopeless situations into something so much better than we ever imagined—when we let him work with the trash. When we surrender to his leading, God demonstrates his creativity in revealing how our greatest disappointments, mistakes, and painful experiences can be priceless treasures.

Through humor and stories, Michelle Rayburn addresses how to unpack emotional baggage and let go of the past. Readers will learn how to confront perfectionism and negative attitudes, change perspective on circumstances, and let go of regret and shame. It's an opportunity to learn how to build positive healthy relationships, and dream big and live with purpose. Through inspiration from God's Word and examples from everyday life, readers will discover the joy–filled, hope–rich way of viewing their past, present, and future.

This book will show readers how to:

 unpack baggage and deal with the past
 confront perfection and negative attitudes
 change your perspective on your circumstances
 let go of regret and shame
 build positive healthy relationships
 dream big and live with purpose

THE REPURPOSED & UPCYCLED LIFE is humorous and well-written. Very engaging. It identifies issues that we’ve all struggled with—such as labels that we think describe us. Fat. Ugly. Stupid. Unlovable. Fill in your own adjective. She shows us how to let them go. Don’t try to hide behind your children in the family picture. Everyone who sees the picture will know what you look like anyway.

She also shows us not to sweat the small stuff. Let go of the things you regret. They are past. Water under the bridge. Gone. Start thinking positive. Embrace your present. Don’t live in the past or the future. Take the time to enjoy the now.

Wise advice administered in a funny way that is sure to bring the point across without beating us over the head or boring us to tears. Recommended. $12.59 paperback. Currently $0.00 Kindle. 159 pages.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this came at just the right time. We were going through things in our house to see what we could get rid of and what we could recycle or repurpose. This book does the same thing with events in our life. The whole gist of this is that when you look at your life and things you are holding onto you need to ask yourself if you need to continue to hold on to it. Is it important? Chances are it is not. Can you use it to change things in your life to improve things? I have always seen myself as a fairly positive person. However, there are areas in my life that when I bring them back up, turn into something very negative. I had to ask myself if it was doing good or harm in my life? I had to give myself permission to let go of it. It definitely was not something God wanted me to hold on to. It is like holding on to a grudge. God has so much more for us. This book is full of ways to help you do just that. If there is one book you need to read this year it is this book. I will recommend it to all of my readers and my family and friends. I need to understand that sometimes sharing the way God has helped me with something I've always seen as trash in my life can often be a form of treasure for others. We don't know how sharing will often help someone else who is or has gone through the same thing. They feel alone and need to see that God can take any trash in our life and turn it into treasure.

I received a copy of this book to help facilitate my review. I received no compensation. The opinions are my own.

[Debra Butterfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who among us hasn't been plagued at one time or another by something--fear, doubt, a bad childhood, mistakes or failures, etc.?

In The Repurposed and Upcycled Life, Michelle Rayburn does a masterful job of examining the issues that plague women and then helping them to "clear out the trash." She frames every chapter with candid examples from her own life, and then decorates that frame with how God can repurpose our difficulties.

I admire Michelle's sense of humor. I laughed out loud quite often as I read, causing a few raised eyebrows from onlookers. (I read a lot in waiting rooms.) Michelle uses her humor well in communicating the difficult issues discussed in Repurposed. Here are three chapter titles to illustrate my point: Tooth Fairy Decay, Better Homes and Varmints, and Chicken Coup for the Soul.

Included in every chapter is a "Getting Personal" section that encourages a deeper look into the Bible, and a creativity section with with a craft idea often crafted with recyled items. A good read for all women, but especially fun for those who like crafting. A marvelous example of Romans 8:28 in action.

[Mary Kenyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Michelle is my sister, separated at birth, and you will think so too. Her writing is so real and her spirituality so raw, you will come away from this book with your own faith strengthened. Highly recommended for any woman struggling to appreciate herself.

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and like the thoughts she shared.

[Andrea Polnaszek]

Fun! Enlightening. A great read.