Tag Archives: Grace

#BookReview: And It Was Beautiful by Kara Tippetts

8 Mar

and it was beautiful

And It Was Beautiful by Kara Tippetts

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

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.

 

Quote- And It Was Beautiful

My thoughts:

It’s hard to find words to describe the love and grace Kara Tippetts shared. After reading her first book, The Hardest Peace, I followed Kara’s journey of living and dying with cancer. Her words made me laugh, they made me cry, and they left a deep and lasting impression.

And It Was Beautiful is Kara Tippetts’ final book and a compilation of her writings and blog posts.  “The entries are arranged according to “acts” like the acts in a play. The acts do not represent a strict chronology, but they do follow the arc of her story. This approach may seem very basic, but Kara would have approved heartily. She liked the simple and the mundane, believing that it was in the ordinary that she saw the beautiful.”

The title, And It Was Beautiful, is a perfect summation of this reflective memoir. Kara Tippetts’ story is filled with heartbreaking and breathtaking beauty! 

 

Kara Tippetts

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.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 

 

 

and it was beautiful

Click here to read what other Litfuse reviewers are saying about And It Was Beautiful.  My thanks to Litfuse Publicity for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.  All thoughts expressed are my own.

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Guest Post + #Giveaway: Vannetta Chapman

28 Jan

Guest Post- Vannetta Chapman

It’s my pleasure to welcome Vannetta Chapman back to Buzzing About Books!  Thank you so much for visiting with us today, Vannetta, and for graciously offering a copy of Joshua’s Mission to one of my readers.  

Thank you for allowing me to visit your blog today, Britney. I’m very excited about the release of Joshua’s Mission (2-1-16), which is book 2 in my Plain & Simple Miracles series. This book is a Christian romance story, but some of you may wonder … how do you find romance in the midst of a disaster? And how is this sort of story about the grace of God? Great questions!

Joshua's Mission

Joshua’s Mission – Finding romance and grace in the midst of disaster

Joshua Kline travels from his farm in Oklahoma to offer aid to an Englisch town on the gulf coast of Texas after a category 4 hurricane has ravaged the area. What will Joshua find when he arrives in Texas? A budding romance? A call from God? A possible healing of his relationship with his brother? Joshua’s Mission is a story of love, forgiveness, and the grace of God that carries us through even the worst situations.

1. Romance? I love writing romance. I adore happily-ever-after, and I can find those stories in just about any situation. Middle of a hurricane? No problem. While your brother is intent on finding trouble with the law? Yeah. I can do that. During a recovery mission? Absolutely! I think love is, literally, all around us. And sometimes, it’s when we have trouble in our lives that we’re most open to a new relationship.

2. Grace? Disasters are a terrible thing. If you’ve ever experienced a first hand natural disaster, or been on site soon after one, you know what I mean. It’s heartbreaking to see people’s lives ripped apart. So how can we possibly have a story about grace in such a terrible situation?
The answer is in the way that we comfort one another. Christ told us to be His hands and feet, and during disasters we find people doing that very thing. We put down our cell phones, unplug from the internet, turn off the television, and we become involved with each other’s lives.

wimberley

I had the awesome chance to experience this recently after we had massive flooding in central Texas. On May 25, 2015, the towns of Wimberley and San Marcos were hit by catastrophic flooding from the Blanco River. The river crested at an estimated 41.5 feet, nearly 30 feet above flood stage. Lives were lost. Homes were destroyed. But the people in the area pulled together. Volunteers showed up in droves. Donations came in. Rebuilding began. The experience I had helping one family certainly changed my outlook. As one of the men told my husband, “We had no idea where to begin, and then you all showed up. You gave us hope.” Wow. Grace in the midst of disaster.

3. Fiction. Joshua’s Mission is a fictional account of a hurricane that hits the Texas gulf, but I was able to use first hand testimonies of hurricane victims in other areas, my own experience working on an emergency response team, and interviews with people in the area to weave together a story. There’s a little romance and a whole lot of grace. I hope that you’ll give it a try.

 

Giveaway graphic- Joshua's Mission

GIVEAWAY DETAILS – (US only)
One lucky reader will win a print copy of Joshua’s Mission!

To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment below, and be sure to include your email address. The giveaway ends Monday, February 1 at midnight CST. The winner will be drawn and announced on February 2nd.

To earn additional entries:
Follow this blog, Buzzing About Books, and/or share the giveaway via social media. Be sure to let me know what you’ve done to earn additional entries!

Have you ever experienced a natural disaster or helped in a recovery effort? If not, maybe you know someone who has. Tell us your story.

 

VC

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her novel, Falling to Pieces, was a 2012 ACFW Carol Award winner for best mystery. Chapman was a teacher for 15 years and currently writes full time. She lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.

Connect with Vannetta:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Purchase a copy of Joshua’s Mission:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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