It Is What You Make of It

Creating Something Great from What You’ve Been Given

By: Justin McRoberts

Narrated by: Justin McRoberts

Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Dare to move beyond “it is what it is” thinking and become an agent of love and redemption in your household, neighborhood, and workplace.

“It is what it is” - a common phrase you hear and maybe even say yourself. But the truth is that there is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence that simply is what it is. Justin McRoberts invites you to embrace a new mindset: it is what you make of it.   

With warmth, wisdom, and humor, McRoberts shares key moments from his twenty-plus years as an artist, church planter, pastor, singer-songwriter, author, neighbor, and father, passing on lessons and practices learned about making something good from what we’ve been given rather than simply accepting things as they are. 

Thought-provoking but actionable, It Is What You Make of It declares that love doesn’t just win, mercy doesn’t just triumph, and light doesn’t just cast out shadow. Rather, such renewal requires the work of human hands and hearts committed to a vision of a world made right (or at least a little better). When we partner with God in these endeavors, we love the world well and honor the Creator in whose image we are made.

We will not be remembered for who our parents were or where we were born or what our socioeconomic circumstances were. We won’t be remembered for our natural talents and strengths or the opportunities we were given or the challenges we faced. In the end, each of us will be remembered for what we made with what we were given.

Reflection questions are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.  

©2021 Justin McRoberts (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

Critic reviews

"In this amazing book, McRoberts does what all great artists do: he invites us into the transformation that he's been willing to do first. That transformation is the hard, vulnerable, and life-giving work of not letting things just be as they seemingly are, but performing the alchemy of turning it into creative gold. The journey of learning how to do this is essential, and McRoberts is the best of guides." (Scott Erickson, author of Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-With-Us Then, Here, and Now)

"Justin McRoberts is a consummate storyteller, and through story It Is What You Make of It imparts its gift - to remind us that we are made in the image of the Creator, that we are beloved works in progress with infinite opportunities to make more of what we have and who we are." (Cameron Dezen Hammon, author of This Is My Body: A Memoir of Religious and Romantic Obsession) 

"Throughout the years, Justin's words have deeply resonated with me, and this book is no exception. With humility and honesty, Justin opens our eyes to see the often forgotten truth: we are beloved children of God, created by a God who created us for more than we can imagine. Throughout these pages, we are beautifully reminded that our time on earth deeply matters, and this life is not for nothing but most certainly for something. If you're looking to be inspired and encouraged, this book is for you." (Tanner Olson, poet and author of I'm All Over the Place) 

Highly recommend for artist/ recovering creatives

This book is Brilliant. Celebrating this work by sharing it with my circles has been such a joy. I’ve organically begun to fold it into different aspects of the curriculum I’m creating for this artist cohort I started in San Diego in May 2021, called “the table”. It’s on our list now for recommended reads for the year. I’m excited to see all the ways God continues to use this book…. Particularly in the lives of artists and people who are recovering creatively.