The Beauty of Grace

Back Cover

In this hectic life, it’s easy to forget that God is always near at hand, even though He sends us frequent reminders.  The beauty amid the mess, the well-timed word of encouragement from a friend, the memories that won’t let go of our hearts—they’re all ways God extends an open hand to us.  But if we’re not paying attention, we can miss it.

Combining heartfelt stories from some of today’s foremost writers with Dawn’s stunning photography of God’s incredible creation, The Beauty of Grace is your haven of calm contemplation amid the chaos.  This inspiring collection includes stories of cultivating friendship, waiting on God, choosing joy, staying connected, learning to trust, and much more.

If you’re in need of a little peace, a little quiet, a little beauty, find comfort in this:  you’re invited to experience them all within the pages of this soul-stirring book.

Review

I really, really enjoyed this book.

The Beauty of Grace is a compilation of various stories from different authors whose purpose is to cause us to pause, breathe deep, and remember the love and grace of God.   In today’s world, with hectic schedules, endless to-do lists, and no shortage of worries, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, drowning in a sea of busyness and losing sight of the Lord.  Some of the stories in The Beauty of Grace include daily struggles, and the writers share how they found calm in the midst of the storm, and hope in the chaos.  Other times they are of personal “aha!” moments or times of reflection. 

Split into seven themes, “Purpose”, “The Big Picture”, “Surrender”, “Trust”, “Lessons Learned”, “Hope and Encouragement”, and “Worship”, the various memoirs highlight Biblical principles, with the constant reminder to keep our eyes fixed upon the Saviour, who will guide us through life – from the daily “mundane” to the bumps in the road.

Beautifully written and very encouraging, this book will make the great addition to anyone’s reading list.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Revell and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from BakerBooks, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

Hope Runs

Hope Runs, by Claire Díaz-Ortiz and Samuel Ikua Gachagua

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She went to Kenya to climb a mountain.

But God had other plans.

When Claire Diaz-Ortiz arrived in Kenya, she decided to climb Mount Kenya and then head back home.  She entered an orphanage, seeing it as little more than a free place to spend the night before her mountain trek.

By age ten, Sammy Ikua Gachagua had lost his father, his mother, and his home.  He entered an orphanage, seeing it as a miracle with three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and clothes on his back.

Hope Runs is the emotional story of one American tourist, one Kenyan orphan, and how one day became one year that would change the course of both of their lives forever.  It’s about opening your hear to outrageous possibilities.  It’s about what it means to hope for the things you cannot see.  It’s about how God can change your life in a blink of an eye.

Review

When I finished reading Hope Runs, I felt very inspired.  Inspired to go out and do something for God, to help others, and make a difference in society.  Hope Runs is a picture of how God can work in your life and the lives of others.  We should never pass up opportunity to do something for someone else, whether it be buying them a cup of coffee to let them know you are thinking of them, or sponsoring a child in a third-world country - every single act of kindness goes a long way. 

A moving read, Hope Runs will encourage and inspire, and remind us all of the good we can do if we only say “Yes” to God’s leading.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Prepared for a Purpose

Back Cover

870 children waited in fear as their elementary school rushed into lockdown mode.  As the nation faced yet another Sandy Hook story of tragedy, one woman rewrote the ending.

Yet the story doesn’t start with those first steps Michael Hill took into that Atlanta elementary school.  It starts with Antoinette Tuff, a woman who faced her own pain, hurt, and rejection, yet held onto grace, faith, and hope.  A hope that anchored her in the most high-stakes moments, a grace that allowed her to empathize with a hurting young man, and a faith that gave her the courage to love him back from the brink.

This is more than just the amazing account of tragedy averted.  It’s the evidence of what we can do when we allow ourselves to be used by God.  And it’s a story of how God uses all of our life experiences—the good and the bad—to prepare us for our own moment of divine purpose.

Review

Antoinette Tuff did what many of us couldn’t.  She faced a man who was threatening the lives of hundreds of students and teachers with courage, poise, and calmness.   I know when I’m faced with tense and confrontational situations, my heart starts to race, thoughts sometimes turn cloudy, and my hands start to shake.  While I’ve never encountered situations with people wherein I felt physically in danger, I can only imagine what it would feel like to be in the position that Antoinette was in.

But Antoinette didn’t do it on her own power.  As she states, “…they weren’t my words.  It was God speaking through me.”  God was with her every step of the way, leading her, giving her the words to say, and telling her what to do.  Antoinette further illustrates that not only was God with her at that moment, but he was with her previously in her life, using her own circumstances – good and bad – to prepare her for this very moment.  She knew how to communicate with kids as she worked in a school and was a parent; she knew how to deal with difficult personalities and emotions through various people that filtered in and out of her life; and, she also had plenty of experience in soldiering through difficult, heart-rending circumstances, as she encountered many throughout her life.  I loved how she pointed out the key to it all - to trust God.  Antoinette started each day with her Bible and talking to Jesus.  When you set your day in a firm foundation, God will give you the strength to take whatever life throws at you.

An inspiring memoir, Prepared for a Purpose, is a story I will not easily forget.


Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Heroes and Monsters

Back Cover

Heroes and Monsters is an unforgettable memoir of passion and redemption, a ragged look into a world at once wildly twisted and profoundly beautiful, an expose of both the hero and the monster within all of us.

 

In this stunningly honest, thoroughly unconventional, and ultimately hopeful book, Josh James Riebock explores issues that form us into the people we are – issues of family, love, intimacy, dreams, grief, purpose, and the unexpected stops along the journey.  With artful prose and vivid storytelling, he shows that pain and beauty are so inextricably linked that to lose the former costs us the latter.

 

If you’re grappling with life’s inconsistencies and trials, if you’re struggling for an encounter with something real, if you’re craving a story that’s just a wee bit odd…

 

Heroes and Monsters is a fresh and exhilarating perspective on the uneven nature of life and the equally uneven people who inhabit it.

 

Review

 

I was readily intrigued by this book.  While I have not read many personal memoirs, there was something about this novel that caught my eye.  Josh James Riebock’s writing in this book was absolutely fabulous.  I loved his style and wonderful use of words and imagery.  I could see the words, the pictures, and the story all unfolding right before my eyes.

 

There was one thing that threw me off a bit.  Taking into account that this is a personal memoir, and there must have been a reason behind it, I still don’t fully understand the substitution for the name of “Jesus” as “Jack”.  Or the necessity of writing at one point from God’s point of view.  To me, God is an awesome, all-powerful God who deserves our constant love and respect.  He is the Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End, the I AM.  So, to not even address the Son of God in His proper name is rather counter-intuitive in what I imagined the proposed purpose of this book is to be – a light, a beacon of truth in a world of gray. 

 

In all, I was left with mixed feelings regarding the book.  As with any piece of writing, it will affect each person differently and leave its own unique mark on the reader.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.