And It Was Beautiful: Celebrating Life in the Midst of the Long Good-Bye (David C Cook, March 2016)

Book Description:

"I was here. I saw beauty. I embraced it." -Kara Tippetts

How do you live out extravagant love in the everyday moments? How do you celebrate grace when your life turns out differently than the one you dreamed?

Kara Tippetts discovered how to find joy in the small moments of life. She learned how to hold tight to hope even while battling intense physical and emotional pain. And she lived out the truth that God can redeem any story.

In her final book, Kara offers gentle reflections on living and dying well. She invites us to cultivate soft hearts even when we face great disappointment. Her ideas for living are hard-won, wrestled with in the crucible of family, illness, and faith. And her constant reminder is that whether we are in the midst of dark days or mundane moments Jesus is always there, life is surprisingly beautiful, and God is forever good.

My Review:
Kara Tippets final book is a gift; beautiful, sad, and insightful. I'll admit it's not an easy read because of the emotion packed in every page, but was it worth the tug at my heart? Yes! Kara's story is a tough one. She struggled with pain and the knowledge that her days were numbered. Yet amidst the difficult days she found reasons to rejoice and times to find peace. She shares her family's life and the joy they share as well as the sorrow. Life through Kara's eyes includes her strong faith and the love she shared with her family and friends. Through her attitude about life I'm reminded to take the mundane and find the joy. Take the everyday and find beauty. Be honest and never stop thanking and loving God. My heart is blessed by Kara's story.

I received this book in exchange for a fair review.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1QVAvgz 

About the author: 

Kara Tippetts was the author of The Hardest Peace and the co-author of Just Show Up. She blogged faithfully at mundanefaithfulness.com. Since her death in March 2015, her husband, Jason, has been parenting their four children and leading the church the couple founded in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Who's Your Ringmaster?

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Recently, I've heard people say, "That's not my circus and they aren't my monkeys."  Then whose are they? I'm pretty sure the circumstances that surround my life are mine. The question is what am doing with them?

I've been to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus a couple of times. The discipline and practice that goes into each act amazes me. The performers who swing from the trapeze bars in sync must have rehearsed for hours on end. They didn't miss a beat. Even the clowns moved in trained step.

Living a spiritual life sometimes feels like a circus act. Imagine walking the highwire, holding onto a balancing pole. You're holding steady until Satan adds the weight of worry to one end. The pole begins to dip and tugs you down. The Holy Spirit nudges and says trust your master. Whew...back in balance. A few steps later, boom...fear is hanging on the other end of the pole. No, I'm going to fall. Then I remember to pray and seek God's guidance. Back in step just a little farther to go. My footing slips. Anger tips the balance. I think on a scripture that fills my heart with peace. He's straightened my path. I'm almost to the platform. With joy, I step onto the safe surface and bow before Jesus, my Ringmaster. If I trust him, lean on him and submit to him, he'll be with me every step. Praise God for his son!

Nonfiction Book Review: I Want It All: Exchanging Your Average Life for Deeper Faith, Greater Power, and More Impact by Gwen Smith

Book Description:

God created you for exceptional impact. Exceptional power. And exceptional blessings.

Gwen Smith knows how easy it is to dismiss God's plans with the thoughts, I can't make a big difference for God because I'm just an ordinary woman with an ordinary life. Yet God created us to join Him in doing amazing work in the world. He created us to live with abundant joy, courage, and influence. But not the joy, courage, and influence of the world. He offers His grace for each failure, His love that shatters hate, His peace that soothes the turmoil, His comfort, guidance, wisdom, rest, power, and significance. Every blessing He has for us is ours for the taking.

I Want It All will ignite a fire in your heart to experience more faith, more power, and more impact. More of Jesus. All of Jesus. Everything that God has for you.

My Review:

I.Love.This.Book.
When I first saw the title of this book, I wasn't sure I wanted to read it. I've read many books about living a better life for Jesus and figured this was one more book that told me to pray and serve more. But the Holy Spirit nudged me to select it. It didn't take me long to realize Gwen's book was so much more than a how-to book. In her transparent and honest voice, Gwen touches on several areas of what it means to have a relationship with God. Not just any relationship, but a deep friendship with the creator. An understanding of all he offers. In every chapter she zeroes in on his truth. As a follower of Jesus, I can have all the love, peace, joy, and grace God has to offer. All of it! Through life examples, scripture, and friendly conversation Gwen opens her heart to share how to have all God has to offer. If you are seeking a closer walk with the Father I highly recommend I Want It All. It's filled with wisdom from a humble writer who's chasing God with all her heart.

"I am free and forgiven because of Jesus, not because of me. When I say that grace changes everything, I mean everything."

Now that I've read I Want It All cover to cover, I plan to go back and use the chapters for study. At the end of each chapter Gwen asks probing, personal questions and at the end of the book is a study guide. I look forward to re-reading the chapters and digging deeper into God's word. Every woman should read this book as she seeks out God.

I received this book in exchange for a fair review.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1oDu9W9

About the author: 

Gwen Smith is an author and volleyball enthusiast who lives in sunny North Carolina and has been married to her college honey, Brad, for 23 years. They are tired parents to three competitive-sport-playing teens who keep them on their toes and on their knees. Her online friends meet at GwenSmith.net to connect and be encouraged, and her goal is to help women think big thoughts about God and be inspired to live out the grace and truth of Jesus. Gwen speaks, leads worship, and eats potato chips at women's events everywhere, and she is a co-founder of the conference and devotional ministry Girlfriends in God.

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Nooks and Crannies

Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

from wikipedia

Steam rose from the toasted English muffin. I popped it onto my plate then scooped butter from the plastic tub. As I spread the dairy goodness over the muffin, the butter melted and oozed into every nook and cranny and soaked deep into the bread.

The way the butter melted into every space and filled up all the dips reminded me of the way Jesus' love pours over me. His compassion saturates my heart, mind, soul, and very being. He replaces the emptiness in my soul with his power and strength. I wish I could say everyday life is easy because of Jesus' love, but that would be a lie. Pain and sin creep in. Despair and stress take over. But we have the promise to be filled to fullness, totally drenched with the love and joy of Jesus. Praise God for sharing his love through Jesus. 

Me and Dr. Seuss

“Step with care and great tact, and remember that life’s a great balancing act.”-Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. You could say he helped me learn to read. When I was a child, my mom bought me a subscription to the I Can Read It All by Myself book club. Dr. Seuss wrote many of the books, like Hop on Pop and the Cat in the Hat. I loved receiving a new book in the mail and couldn't wait to see what crazy story he had to tell.

Fast forward several years and I would be reading the same books (literally) to my children. We giggled over Green Eggs and Ham and didn't let a Christmas pass without reading and watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”-Dr. Seuss

As a children's librarian for many years, I shared my love of Dr. Seuss with my students. We read The Lorax and The Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and many others. I even dressed up like the fish in the bowl in the Cat in the Hat, with the help of bubble wrap one year.

And I don't know how many copies of Oh, the Places You'll Go I purchased for graduates.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”-Dr. Seuss

I also credit Dr. Seuss for giving me a love of poetry. Reading his rhymes is still great fun.

So I say thanks and Happy Birthday to one of my favorite authors of children's literature.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”-Dr. Seuss

Juvenile Fiction Book Review: Love, Lexi: Letters to God by Sherry Kyle

Publisher's Description:

What is a girl to do when her rival wants to nab the attention of the one boy she’s liked since he shared his peanut butter sandwich with her in the first grade? Love, Lexi follows seventh grader Alexis Dawn Cooper (Lexi) as she navigates middle school and being a middle child. But this is no ordinary middle-school novel. Love, Lexi is a unique combination of a fictional story combined with a devotional and journal to allow readers to watch Lexi learn to seek God first above all else, while writing their own letters to God. Love, Lexi draws young people into Lexi’s life as they contemplate their own place in God’s eyes.

My Review:
Sherry Kyle has a gift for writing for tweens and teens. Love, Lexi is a delightful story written in the form of letters to God from a seventh grade girl. She pours her heart out like most girls her age with a sincere and sweet trust. God's response through scripture creates a great dialog and will help the reader understand how God's word can work in their life. I like that there's space for the reader to answer questions and jot down thoughts. I can't wait to share this with my granddaughter. I think it will be a great tool to help teach her that God is there for her, along with the many encouraging scriptures and thoughts. The hot pink lettering and doodles will make any girl smile as they read Lexi's story. As a grandmother, I'm happy the book emphasizes friendship and relationship in a positive way. I can't say enough good stuff about Love, Lexi. I hope Sherry Kyle write more Lexi books.

I received this book from Tyndale House in exchange for a fair review.

Spring is Sure to Follow

photo by Hailey Jowers