The Lives We Actually Have 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

Warm and witty blessings found within the struggles of our shared humanity, from the New York Times bestselling authors of Good Enough

Blessed are you, the strange duck.
You with the very intense hobbies.
Or the collection of movies or mugs or sneakers.
You with the hometown or home team that makes you very, very proud.
You, my dear, in all your intricacies . . . are a marvel.

We live in a world that demands relentless perfection. Happy marriages and easy friendships. Bucket list–level adventures and matching family photos. But what if our actual lives don’t feel very #blessed? Might our everyday existence be worthy of a blessing too? Even an average Tuesday?

Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie offer creative, faith-based blessings that center gratitude and hope while acknowledging our real, messy lives. Formatted like a prayer book, The Lives We Actually Have is an oasis and a landing spot for weary souls, with blessings that focus on the full range of human moments: garbage days, lovely days, grief-stricken days, and even (especially) completely ordinary days. These heartfelt blessings are a chance to exhale when we feel everything from careworn to restless, devastated to bored. Let’s have a reminder that we don’t need to wait for perfect lives when we can bless the lives we actually have.

Kate Bowler is the three-time New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason, No Cure for Being Human, Good Enough, Blessed, and The Preacher's Wife and hosts the popular podcast Everything Happens. A Duke University professor, she earned her undergraduate degree at Macalester College, a master's of religion from Yale Divinity School, and a PhD at Duke University.

Jessica Richie is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller Good Enough, the executive director of the Everything Happens Initiative at Duke Divinity School, and the executive producer of the Everything Happens podcast. She received her MDiv from Duke Divinity School.