Saturday, September 30, 2017

Book Review: Daring to Hope Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, text, outdoor, closeup and nature

Releasing October 3, 2017

No automatic alt text available.

Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful is a wonderful book that testifies to wrestling with God in a season that no one would hope for, a time of wonder, grief, death, and struggle, and yet a time where God is present, near, seeing and providing all that is needed, so much that this season could be viewed as a gift and a blessing. 

I love the 'feeble words' and stories of Katie Major's daily life parenting 13 girls, helping those who stay with her for a season with medical needs, or resources, and how she learns that hungering for God in her weakness is a blessing and provision to claim in the joy and the grief. Her life as a single parent missionary in Uganda to a group of girls, creating a ministry to serve the under resourced, and living with an open door policy in a world of poverty and need is pretty unique to us. But the struggles are the same as I have in the comfort of a first world country, with food, medical insurance and resources, and living as one who seeks to serve the Lord where He has me today. 

Katie Majors has become more of a stay at home mom, one who turns away a suitor, as she feels with all her girls, it would be too much to ask, thankfully the Lord had other plans, and way into the book you hear how she met and courted her husband Benji Majors. She wrestles with what the Lord is calling her to do from her home, how to serve Him and her family. But she learns and shares how to find gratitude in the struggle, how the Lord provides and guides someone's life in the hard and grief stricken seasons, as well as in the happy joyous ones, and how all seasons with His strength can be grateful joyous times. 

Katie Majors shares how her heart wonders about God's goodness, and how she claims scriptures & gratitude on post it notes, all over the kitchen to remind herself that God is near. The Lord will provide, that God loves us, that we can be Prisoners of Hope, experiencing the love, grace, kindness, and strength of a God who is here rescuing us. She shares the passages and verses that she finds in the struggle and in her deep relationship with God- of discovering every bitter thing is sweet, that a shoot can grow out of a dead stump and that she should choose to be captive to a King who gives us His promises to focus on, instead of focusing on our sin, our worry, our pain, there is beauty and His splendor in all things. 

Her perspective, her wonders, her questions could be things that I'm asking in my head, but her learning, responses, and integration of the Word of God in her heart and her very being, are inspiring, are testimony of the true influence of the Holy Spirit, and those too I may claim, and learn to live as she has a prisoner of Hope, seeking a coming King, and trusting that His way, even if it breaks me, empties me, and makes me weak is one that will lead me to depend on Him, and live in His strength each day. 

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It fits well with Sara Hagerty's Unseen book released in August 2017, it pairs with Ann Voskamp's book The Broken Way, and these authors mentor my heart and help me grasp the Words of scripture lived out in all the moments of life. It's my pleasure to launch this book, and I was surprised at the full message and depth in this book, but it's my opinion that this book would be useful to anyone whose hands it falls into, and I will work to help it be in many people's hands. Thank you Multnomah for the joy of launching this book! 

Friday, September 29, 2017

Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful

Abstract yet needed life concepts... made simple...

Faith...

Image may contain: bicycle and text


Image may contain: text and nature

Beauty

Image may contain: text, outdoor and water

Courage
Image may contain: text

Joy
Image may contain: text

Bravery

Image may contain: text

Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful

I statements.....to process, explore, and perhaps adopt....

Image may contain: one or more people and text

Image may contain: sky, text and nature

Living Truth....

Image may contain: cloud, sky, outdoor, nature and text

Image may contain: 1 person, baby, text and closeup


Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful part 4

Daily living...perspectives for hope in the broken, seeking the beauty....

Image may contain: text


Image may contain: text

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, text

Image may contain: text

Image may contain: sky, nature, text and outdoor

Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful

The Word of God applied ...

No automatic alt text available.

Image may contain: text

Image may contain: text

Image may contain: one or more people, ocean, text and outdoor


Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful part 3

Hopeful Perspectives for ME!

Finding Jesus....

Image may contain: text, nature and outdoor

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, text


Image may contain: text


Image may contain: shoes and text

Image may contain: text



Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful part 2

Lessons about Who God is in our lives....

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, text

Image may contain: text, outdoor and water

Image may contain: cloud, sky and text

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, ocean and text

Image may contain: text

Image may contain: text

Stay tuned.....

Book Launch Photo Preview: Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful

This book.... it moves my heart...it pushes me to know Him more...to be intimate with Him...a testimony of Hope sharing that we are all broken, yet beautiful.... worth the investment...
Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling

A meme walk through concepts of the book, that I need to review, focus on, internalize, and live... Katie Davis Major has a gift with words and puts concepts into real life perspective with power and motivation....

Image may contain: one or more people and text

Image may contain: one or more people, sky, text, outdoor and nature



All day I'll be adding more meme's to inspire you to order this book, or ask your local library to order it for you!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Book Review: Walk it Out by Tricia Goyer Releasing October 1st

The Lord is speaking to me this summer, through many book launches, around similar concepts, each written from a different person's perspective or lens of the world.  This book is another book that reminds me where my focus needs to be....on Him, Who He is, In His Word, Hearing His call...  This theme is addressed again in a book that shared new strategies on following God in the broken, real, struggles He puts in our lives, and then seeing Radical responses!

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, text

You can still pre-order the book and get these free gifts....

Image may contain: text

This book is Tricia Goyer's testimony of learning that serving God (feeling she owed Him so much for her salvation) but yet being completely unfulfilled and feeling distant from God, she discovered that she needed to know God intimately and have a relationship with Him, and that through time in His Word and prayer, her life is very different. It's a common struggle for many of us 'doers' we get caught up in the busyness of serving God, that we stop sitting at His feet and looking at Who He is, and recognizing He alone meets all our needs, and our service bring glory to Him, but only if we serve with His perspective and control, and that requires time with Him. 

It's Mrs. Goyer's testimony of recognizing her life needed to be structured differently. It shares her story, her brokenness and vulnerability, as she learned to walk out her faith by stepping into the Word of God before serving Him. Each chapter covers different aspects and seasons of life, and you feel like she's your best friend, and you are having a heart to heart in the messiness of life, as she shares how she's learned to Walk out her faith in the midst of joy, suffering, struggles, adoption, etc. 

Image may contain: one or more people and text


Written as a plan and with ideas and reflections for each chapter/theme,Walk it Out, is a wealth of content and ideas to live your faith as the author shares how in different seasons and opportunities she learned to obey Gods plan for her life. 

Since a picture is worth 1,000 words... here are some book chapter themes...

Image may contain: text


The style is prescriptive with big picture ideas and strategies to walk out your faith in many dimensions of life. It'd be a great Bible study or book study to process through with your mentors and friends. 

Image may contain: one or more people and text



A great perspective shared in the book, but for all us Bible Whisperer's to our children...
Image may contain: one or more people, sunglasses and text

Blessed to get an arc PDF to review. All opinions are mine alone.

Need help figuring out your life's purpose, a quiz here to help you process how to Walk Out your faith..

for more info: a podcast

Image may contain: shoes

Are you ready.... if you read this book it might help you...
Image may contain: one or more people

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Book Review: Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle

My blog has become a series of book reviews and launches, and yet I believe these books are true to my vision- helping us learn to whisper the Word of God into our own souls, and then to the children we love and influence on a regular basis.  Books encourage my heart.  Today, I want you to meet an Author of four books, three of which I've enjoyed thoroughly.  Her name is Melanie Shankle, from Texas, and I was introduced to her as "Big Mama", as her daughter referred to her, (that daughter started high school this fall) and that's how her blog started.  She's grown a bit, and now goes by her given name.  But I still think of the attention that an author called "Big Mama" made me decide I needed to read her book.  I read Sparkly Green Earrings first a book about seeing Christ's light in parenting, as my end of year school's done celebration in 24 hours. Then I had the library order The Antelope in the Living Room, a book on marriage. Which I also adored and read in a few days!  Somehow in the busyness of life and kids, I missed No One's Cuter than You, but it's on my to read list!  

This book releases October 3, 2017.  Counting down the days, til you can all appreciate it for yourself!


Fun. Relatable. Laugh out loud funny. Easy read. Great vacation or stress reliever book. 


Nothing too convicting, but good pauses to look at God in our day to day lives. 









Spiritual encouragement with lighthearted humor.  But also helps the reader identify purpose in her life, and makes her smile at the author's stories of discovering God in her mundane (which may not seem all that mundane with her humor!)  

Simple biblical truths, encouraging the reader to see God in the little things because "being faithful in the small things, because those are the moments that prepare us for the next thing."


It's a book presented with stories, humor, and even a few tears written in an enjoyable manner with a bit of sass and reality that it takes many by surprise at the humor and boldness. But we all relate and keep reading. In "big mama" style! As I first learned of this author. And loved relaxing with her book.  You can see more about her and her blog at:  ChurchOfTheSmallThings.com   

Quotes I loved as lessons (but you have to read the book to see how the author makes these memorable!): 

  • "Because every moment in what some might consider a small life was a moment painted with great love." 
  • "When we open ourselves up to the life God has for us, it probably isn't going to feel safe, but it will be infinitely better because it's a life filled with purpose...
  • "We can never underestimate the grace and the strength he will give us for whatever he is calling us to do and whatever challenges we'll face."

As a 45 year old woman, we are in the same season of life and history, so I have many connections to her memories and life experiences, but even if you are much younger, you'll get it, she's funny and real. And I enjoy seeing her faith grow wings and her stories share her heart for God. Blessed to join the launch team, but the opinion is my honest review.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The Unseen Way Day 3

Sometimes you read a book and you love it, but you can't talk much about it a few weeks later.  But other times a book inspires you, motivates you, or captures your heart, and somehow you can't leave it behind.  That's how I'm feeling about Sara Hagerty's new book, The Unseen Way, the gift of being hidden in a world that loves to be noticed.

I'm a woman of the Word. I've had a love for it since I learned to read it every day at camp, at age 11, and came home and read through the whole Bible over the next two years.  But I'm also a woman who wants to be productive, to get things done, and sometimes, being in the Word has been a checkmark off the to do list.  But in this season of my life, I've learned it's so much more.  It's the air and nourishment I need to make it through the day.  It's the only source that helps me find joy in the journey and parent with connection and kindness as my focus.  If I miss my time in the Word, the people I love see it very clearly in my behaviors.

I remember a sermon a few years ago by Dr. Fish.  He made the same conclusion- that we are changed by the Word of God and our behavior reflects it.  It can be seen in us.

That's why this book has resonated with me.  Sara Hagerty not only shares her personal testimony of the impact the Word has in her heart, but also illustrations of how God impacts her children in those hard and unseen moments.  She's focusing her heart and theirs on adoration of who God is.  And she shows me how simple and easy it is to walk and talk the Word all through the day and nights of our lives.

On her website, she shares how she's learned to adore God, and even has created a tool that helps teach children the habit of adoration.


I'm learning how to spend time with God- by following Sara Hagerty's creation of the wonder hour, scheduled times in her busy day  to stop and seek Who God Is-- in this moment and how that can help her in that moment in her day, parenting, school, etc.

She models how she prays and her ideas are so simple, yet profound.  She's really showing us her thinking about how to be intimatly aquainted with the Lord and how the Holy Spirit has helped her to put habits in place to remember that God sees, loves, extends grace and rescue, and supports His followers at all times, it's us that forget to look at His face and ask for His help.