One Perfect Word

by Debbie Macomber, Beth DeVries (Narrator)

In the tradition of One Simple Act and God's Guest List, perennial best-selling novelist Debbie Macomber reveals in inspiring, moving stories that the simplicity of one perfect word can become profound. When Debbie took the time to intentionally focus on a single word-such as prayer, trust, or surrender-for a whole year, this act changed not only herself, but those around her.

"The surprising thing is that when we decide to focus on one word for the year," Debbie writes, "God takes part in the choosing. That's why the word is perfect for us. We may not see it at the time, but as we look back we see that it all worked together-our word, our life, our journey." For example, the year she chose the word balance, her career moved to a whole new level. The pressures on Debbie to speak, promote, and practically live on the road were overwhelming. It was her yearlong focus on that all-too-difficult word balance that helped her refine her schedule. As you read Debbie's and others' stories, you will be inspired to find your own word and will see how one perfect word can make all the difference.

Genres: Nonfiction, Inspirational, Christian, Self Help, Christian Living, Religion, Book Club

Audible Audio

First published January 3, 2012

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.

Reviews

[Chickadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book both inspired and encouraged me. It was very timely and most of the time while reading, I felt like Debbie was talking right to *me*. Her conversational tone in this book makes it very easy to read and I really enjoyed the personal examples she shared. She is very open in this book about some of her struggles, including her weight and her marriage. I appreciated her vulnerability and transparency very much, because reading how God brought her through those hard times ministered to me.


One Perfect Word is about Debbie's practice of choosing one word from the Bible to focus on and dissect for each year. This idea was born from the breakfast group that Debbie attended for over twenty years. These ladies each adopted this practice and this book is about the powerful impact that those *one* words have had on their lives.


Debbie shows readers how to quietly pray and "listen" for their perfect word, and how to go about choosing it. Debbie wrote that sometimes the word chooses us. Is there a word that keeps showing up over and over in your daily life? In articles - devotions - blogs? If so, that might just be your word for the year that God would have you focus on. Once you find your word, this book will take you through the steps of exploring it and discovering life lessons all stemming from *one* perfect word.


Debbie's words have changed over the years. Surrender, hope, prayer, trust.....these words and more transformed Debbie's life and as she looks back over her prayer journals, she can clearly see God at work. You may not know at first why you feel led to study a particular word but down the road, the purpose becomes clear.

I love this idea of choosing a word and even as I was thinking about adopting this practice for myself for 2012, my word jumped out at me. I had struggled with finding it as I was reading the book and begin to feel pressured as the time grew closer to 2012. I didn't want to start the new year and NOT have my word but I knew this couldn't be rushed. Sure enough, on the very first day of the year, my word jumped out at me while reading a bible verse and I knew in my heart, that was the word I was to cling to this year.


I highly recommend starting the year off with this book. Debbie makes it fun by offering not only spiritual applications, but very practical applications as well, such as projects you can do with your word.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very religious, and clearly a lot of people find it inspirational. It's a pretty easy short read and I don't regret reading it.

However, I just read Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America and this is the exact kind of "magical thinking" she argues against.

I have a big problem with the line of thinking that goes, "pray and your prayer will be answered, unless it's not and then either 1) you didn't pray hard enough, or 2) God has a different plan we can't understand." But did you know that people have studied whether or not prayer works in medical situations?:

Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations, the researchers found no differences between those patients who were prayed for and those who were not.

In another of the study's findings, a significantly higher number of the patients who knew that they were being prayed for — 59 percent — suffered complications, compared with 51 percent of those who were uncertain. The authors left open the possibility that this was a chance finding. But they said that being aware of the strangers' prayers also may have caused some of the patients a kind of performance anxiety. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/hea...

So yeah, I can't get terribly excited about Macomber's message, though I don't reject it completely either. I think that focus, meditation, and determination can have big effects on a person's life, as can luck.

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a book that just came out from one of my favorite authors, Debbie Macomber, called One Perfect Word. It's about focusing the entire year on just one word and making that your personal focus for the year. Praying on it, seeking God's will for that in your life and just studying it.

The book is really eye opening in that Debbie is very honest and forth coming on her journey to becoming a writer. Prior to having her books published, she wrote in journals a lot about her struggles and thoughts. Looking back at her own writing, she can see where God has taken her through each year and thus the reason why the personal focus on the "one word" has come into play.

She shares some of those word years with the reader in the book and encourages us to do the same. Along the way she shares with you how to go about picking your word of the year. Maybe it's something that keeps coming across your prayers, conversations and Bible study. Perhaps you should talk to friends and see what they believe it should be. She offers some interesting ways to go about seeing how that word will play out during the year as well from having it engraved in stone, carrying a reminder with you to pray about it during your days or having it written on a card or plaque.

I think the idea is beautiful and can help us to focus on smaller things, not bigger ones like committing a chapter or verse to memory each week but rather learn to see how God is working on your life through one simple word. Along with the fourteen words that Debbie shares with you in this book along with personal stories, are also scriptures, her written prayers from her journals, and even some practical tips on how to make the word come alive in a different mediums. This book is going to be an exciting journey for me this year and one I am so happy to be able to share with my readers.

I received this book compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster for my honest review and think it's a must read for anyone looking to enhance their Bible Studies! I rate this one a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and have started my own personal journey this year with the word TRUST!

[Jac (For Love and Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one came to me (un-solicited) from the publisher - Howard Books. It's not my typical read (far from it!) but my mom and I both love Debbie Macomber, and I thought "What the heck! Worst case, I pass it off to my mom. I know she'll love it."

One Perfect word is an inspirational bit, where Debbie picks one word per year (with the help of a breakfast club she has attended for more than 20 years) and spends the year focusing on it. How to incorporate it into her life, how to live by God's will with it.

For my review, I'm going to skip the whole "Closer to God" thing, because I don't really like to talk about that stuff on my blog. I'd rather focus on a few other things from this book. First being, it is inspirational. The idea of attempting to better yourself by focusing on one word. And religion aside? This is a great idea!

Take the word Hunger, for example. Hunger is much more than just a physical, fill my belly word. As a reader, I am hungry for words. As a scholar (working toward her eventual Masters in Divinity/Worship Music), my sister is hungry for knowledge. My good friend, a lawyer in Washington DC, has always had a hunger for success - be it work, music or physical fitness as she prepares for a triathlon. There are so many ways we can apply these words to our lives.

One Perfect Word is an inspiring read, quick at only 200 pages. My favorite thing about the whole book was the feeling of actually knowing Debbie Macomber. It has excerpts from her personal journal, which is a fun touch. The way this book is written, it's as if you're sitting across the breakfast table from Debbie and she is telling you her story.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good (non-fiction, spiritual) inspirational read - a great book for January to get going with your thinking about the year ahead!

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Perfect Word is a non-fiction book. The premise is that you choose (or rather God chooses for you) one word each year on January 1st, and this becomes your word for the year. You meditate on that word, which is usually a character trait, attribute, or positive action, for the entire year, and make journal entries about your experience. Debbie has been doing this for over 30 years. She is also a devout Christian, with a very strong faith walk. She gets up at 3:30 am each morning to spend an hour with God before beginning her day, which includes reading the Bible and praying.

The book is filled with the inspirational stories of others, often in the authors' own voice, as well as Bible scripture. While as a Bible-believing Christian this was great for me, those of other faiths might not get as much enjoyment from this book. Or, it might touch their hearts, who knows? I mention this only so that the reader is aware of the particular religious bent of the book.

In addition to this, I learned a lot about Debbie's life that I didn't know, and developed a new respect for her. I've read almost all of her works of fiction, and they are always light and entertaining reading. This book is far from light reading, but it is entertaining and inspirational.

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was younger, I was more of a “deep thinker” than I am today. I spent a lot of time thinking, often about my place in the world. Being an analytical person, there were times when I noticed repetition of a theme or concept in my thoughts and concerns over a short period of time. On reflecting on these repetitions (meta thinking?) I came to a realization that I had somewhat annual themes that caught my attention. Themes were identified by a word and a phrase, like ‘justice’, or ‘good vs evil’, or ‘role models’, or ‘building a career’, or, strangely, 'shopping mall'. So being analytical, I focused on that theme, often for a year, reading things that related, watching TV shows with awareness, and discussing with friends. When I read the description of Debbie Macomber’s “One Perfect Word”, I believed I had found a fellow traveler. Macomber has gone through decades focusing on a single word over each year. Her words, or themes, were generally chosen from Bible passages, but tied to events happening in her life. She says that words felt like they were chosen for her. I have had that feeling as well, although my sources tended to the non-secular, especially music lyrics that caught my ear. I appreciated her examination of this habit, and found her sources from scripture and the ways she examined her world through the lens of that year’s theme to be different than mine, familiar yet interesting in the differences. I would have appreciated her take on the non-secular influences on her word, but Macomber aimed this squarely at Christian readers with repeated scripture quotes. Many of the stories she relates sound like those that you'd hear in a local news feel-good human interest story, or a sermon. This very much feels like a book by a religious publisher.

I would also have appreciated more of a description of the positive consequences of decades of this practice. I knowingly followed this practice for about a decade, yet I still find myself referring to the things that I think I learned, especially when I am trying to relate a learning to my grown children. To me, this is a, if not the, source of wisdom. Anything that can convince people to approach their world with the level of awareness this practice provides is a good thing. Glad I found the book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debbie Macomber shares her experiences with choosing one word a year and how that word affected her life. She includes real life situations, suggestions for ways to remind yourself of that word throughout the year, and entries from her own journals.

If you journal, are a planner enthusiast or even just someone who wants to know more about God, you will enjoy this book. This is a book I want to reference often.

The real life stories touch your heart and encourage you. I had known some of the stories, but there were more I didn't know. I found all of them wonderful. This isn't a feel good book, meaning that everything in life is perfect. It's a book to encourage getting through rough times and to encourage growing in character as we grow closer to God.

I highly recommend this book as you can take it one chapter at a time and ponder it or you can read it through all at once. Either way it's encouraging and uplifting in a practical way.

[Mary Kenyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second read-through this wonderful book, as I prayerfully discern what my word will be for 2021. I read with highlighter in hand and took notes in my journal. I've chosen a word every year since 2011 until 2020. I won't make that mistake again!

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Ellie had just been talking about choosing to focus on one perfect word and then this book appeared. Macomber, in short chapters, presents words that she has used over the years. This has been a lifetime practice for her. In each chapter, she shares something personal such as hard times she has experienced, and also a story of someone in the past (missionaries, religious leaders, etc.)who has overcome extreme difficulty. Some of the historical stuff does not seem as applicable to current times, but her own experiences are highly relevant.

The lighter side of this includes tips on how to focus on a single word for an entire year: journaling, scrapbooking, and other creative ways to keep the word in front of you. Macomber talks a lot about the discipline of prayer and setting/working your goals. Nicely done.

[Julie Derby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Mrs. Macomber is known for her many, many novels she has also written a few other books on cooking, hospitality and her faith. I am not quite finished with this book, but love the concept. Years ago, she decided to choose a particular word to focus her prayers. For example, at one point she used the word hunger. We often first think of hunger because of our need for food; but in this case, she also prays over her hunger for God, her hunger for meaning, etc. Each year she chose (or was led to) pray with a new word and the results are inspiring and fascinating. Would definitely recommend this to my Christian friends.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very inspirational book. Debbie Macomber choses one word to focus on each year. In this book, each chapter deals with one of the words she has chosen in the past and touches on the things God has taught her over the year. You'll be inspired to choose your own perfect word. I can also see using each chapter as a sort of devotional and then doing your own deepter study into the word in that chapter. Ms. Macomber includes tips for choosing your perfect word and creative ways to bring your word to life. I think this is a book I will come back to in the future.

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read and loved Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove and Blossom Street books, so I was looking forward to this devotional. Her premise is that we should take one word a year as central to our spiritual life, and she gives very helpful suggestions about choosing and using these words. What I especially enjoyed were the stories she told to illustrate her examples--from her own life and many outside sources. I came away from reading the book feeling as if Debbie had become a well-known friend. Her prayers and insight into this useful devotional tool were much appreciated.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debbie Macomber brings us into her daily devotional and her journey to find meaning and purpose in her life. She picks one word each year and tries to study what the word means and keeps a journal of her thoughts. I enjoyed different parts of the book more than others and some of the advice was very good such as balancing our lives. It is good to help other people but we can't let our batteries get too low or we are no good for anyone. Much of the book is about believing in yourself and learning to feel God in your everyday life.

[Margaret Fraleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book..... would recommend this bork for everyone to read.
What an awesome idea to meditate on one word for a whole year.
There are stories here I will be able to share with the ladies in my church group... problem is which beautiful story to use first. There are so many.

I am a fan of Debbie Macomber and she sure didn't disappoint with this book. Have never read a Macomber book that I didn't love.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just want to add some quotes as my review.
Page 84: As E.M. Bounds once said,"No learning can make up for the failure to pray. No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply it's lack."

Page 134: Proverbs 4:7 says "Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

Yes, I liked the book. I had hit a rough spot lately and this book brought me around once again to my harmony.

Thank you ever so much Miss Macomber.

God Bless You!

[Kitty Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Title: "One Perfect World”
Author: Debbie Macomber
Published By: Howard Books
Age Recommended: 17+
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5



Review: A devout Christian and a wonderful writer, Debbie Macomber writes all of her stories with a lesson in mind. This highly spiritual book is one you’ll cherish and want to keep around to read again and again.
Definitely pick up this amazing novel and re-discover your own spirituality.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sweet. Author Debbie Macomber explains how she has spent the past many years meditating on a single word for 365 days, and how that has brought her closer to God. She uses anecdotes and definitions to talk about some of the words she has used in the past. Macomber also shares some of the journal entries and prayers she has written. While I'm not sure whether I will pick a word for this upcoming year, it was a nice thought.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often have a word to guide me through each year. How funny to find out others have it, too. This book is full of great stories associated with Debbie Macomber's "perfect words" for a number of years. She also gives great hints on how to get the most out of your word for the year. Her writing style is very engaging. Loved this book.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. I have been doing “the Word” this year and it has made a huge impact on my life. I did let God choose it for me and I have been so impressed with how this adds to my spiritual life. I did get the idea from an article written by Debbie Macomber and now reading the book it gives me more ways to let this inspiration work. Thanks to Debbie for the help and sharing her story.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

read my review here:
http://reneesuz.blogspot.com/2011/12/...

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of the best books I have read in a very, very long time. It made me think, as well as inspired me to be more focused in my thoughts and plans. Highly recommend this to everyone.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I could afford to buy all my friends and family a copy!

[Glenette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Debbie Macomber gives us food for thought. Would never have thought about the importance a word can be and how we can use it to shape our lives.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Very inspiring and thought-provoking.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very inspirational book. Loved how she quoted from her prayer journal. Gave me encouragement to keep moving forward in my spiritual walk.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a treasure! I found Debbie Macomber's personal accounts inspiring and the anecdotes and stories she included fascinating. I wish the book had been a bit longer. I want to read more!

[Jules Hollis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book so very much. If you believe in the power words and faith can have, then you must read this book. It is very Christian (in case you are not).

[Jennifer Mitchell-Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, would make a good focus book for a study group. Amazing woman is Debbie Macomber. Will be reading this again I am sure.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth nonfiction book I've read by Debbie Macomber. It was good, but she repeated several examples from her earlier books so it wasn't totally original material. I think that I would have liked this one more if I had read it before reading the other books. The premise of this book is that each year Debbie intentionally focuses on one word, "one perfect word," and because of this she ends up learning and growing in her faith and her life. Some of her words in past years have been "prayer," "trust," and "surrender." Debbie's writing style is engaging as she tells stories to make her point, often drawn from her own life. I would recommend reading one of her other nonfiction books if given the choice, as I think they provided more impact.

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd heard of people, mostly women, who will choose a compelling word for the new year. I never consciously did it, but noticed that for a last couple of years, a word sort of chose me. It's interesting to take note of it, mull over it, take it to heart.

Debbie Maccomber has chosen a word at the beginning of over a dozen years. She shares how it came about, how she's prayed abut it, and her process. She also tells winsome stories about what's happened to her surrounding the special word.

There are notes in the back for each chapter, discussion questions, and also a conversation with the author.