Broken & Blessed: God Changes the World One Person and One Family at a Time

by Jessica LaGrone

A little nod to those of us who are still feeling slightly those with struggling families, cracked relationships, and a world that’s showing a little wear around the seams. When God wants to create the remarkable, He chooses to work with the less-than-perfect.


Genesis is a book of beginnings. It is deeply concerned with the origins of things—of the universe, of humankind, of relationships, of sin, of civilization, of families, and of one special family created and chosen by God to be the instrument through which He would bless the world. That family is our family, yours and mine. Like all good family stories, it starts with not just a something or somewhere, but a someone.


Part memoir, part biblical inspiration story, Broken & Blessed is about how change begins when one person decides to believe God’s promises and how that makes a change in a family, like ripples on water.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2014

About the author

After earning an undergraduate degree in Biology from Southwestern University and serving in Youth Ministry for two congregations, Jessica LaGrone earned a Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. She served as an Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena beginning in 2002, overseeing the Missions and Evangelism ministries. She was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 2005.

In January 2006, Jessica began her current appointment as Associate Pastor at The Woodlands UMC, a church with over 8,000 members. She describes it as more of a small town than a church, with lots of communities within the greater congregation and an amazing gathering of people with a great passion for growing in relationship with Jesus. Currently she servest as Pastor of Worship, a position that is best explained as Worship Architect, planning and developing four of the church’s seven weekly worship experiences and working with amazing contractors with talent in music, media and preaching.

Reviews

[Teresa Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always believed that if you looked up dysfunctional family in the dictionary, you would see a picture of my family. Once i began reading the Old Testament, I found comfort in knowing that the Bible is full of dysfunctional families, and many of them have been through the same struggles and abuses as me. This book follows those first few dysfunctional families. It not only gives comfort, but also gives guidance on how to overcome those struggles, use them for good, and change the world (one family at a time, one person at a time). I would recommend it to anyone who has, or comes from a dysfunctional family (which is, by the way, all of us, since we are all imperfect humans)!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2 chapter increments as part of a bible study small group. Did a lot of highlighting in my paperback copy - many things worth noting! Especially liked the fact that, as the book progressed, the direct lineage of the biblical family tree from the "first family" (Adam and Eve) to Jesus became clearer and the blessings that came out of the repeated brokenness and dysfunction of that family lineage also became clearer. Frequent comparisons to our own past generations and current-day families, which are also never perfect, made the text very relatable.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica LaGrone reminds all of us that there is no 'ordinary' family. Using the families of Genesis as a backdrop she encourages, ignites wonder and reminds us of how blessed we are and how we are all 'becoming' what God wants us to be. I saw myself in the book, I saw my family in the book and I was reminded that no matter the make-up, family is a growing, changing work in progress.

[Susan Johnson]

Does your family seem dysfunctional? In "Broken and Blessed" the author looks at the families in the biblical book of Genesis as well as her own family and other contemporary families. All families have issues. The author shows God uses families to serve as blessing even midst the brokenness. I found this book both readable and inspiring.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I wanted to highlight so many passages but mine was a library book. Families are so different--yet all are imperfect. The reflections on the families in Genesis were very insightful. Read it, you won't be sorry

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. There are no perfect families, tho some would have you believe there are.
Reread Genesis, and see how broken their families were, but there were blessing in all the brokenness.

[Jill K Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a straight shooter when it comes to writing about families. I murmured "ouch" a few times.

[Kathy Hassig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a book I read for our woman's group at church. I wasn't sure what to expect at first. I just wanted to keep reading. I highly recommend it!

[Patricia M Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was wonderfully biblically based. It described how Genesis speaks of God's family is imperfect as most all our family's are imperfect. We all have our problems and obstacles. How true is that, we are broken and yet we can be blessed in how we tackle the problems and rise above. We have abilities to make changes in our lives and move on from our stumbling blocks. I found this book to be a good for my life's little obstacles.