Just Show Up by Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn

I was privileged to be able to walk with my grandpa on his cancer journey. I learned so much about what it mean to have a couple of people "just show up" for me. Most of them were not local people, so they would send a text or call. My mom experienced people showing up for her physically, whether by bringing meals by as she cared for my grandpa, or meeting her for lunch, or bringing her coffee. It was those small things that meant so much to our family. We so desperately wanted someone to acknowledge how crappy cancer is. I currently am thankful to walk with a close friend on her cancer journey with her son who has cancer. Because I saw how people showed up for me, I am able to show up for her. It was a trial not wasted. Not one I ever wanted to go on, but one that helped open my eyes to the long journey of cancer and how so many people forget to include you or call or even to bring up the subject.

This book should be in any church that has a care groups or has anyone wanting to know how to walk through suffering with someone. You're heart will hurt, you will be left wordless so many times, and you will cry so many tears on behalf of someone else. However, you will be blessed by the journey and by the relationships formed.

Just Show Up is full of a beautiful story of a community of women reaching out even in the suffering. It wasn't always beautiful and lots of grace was needed for the times when things were said that could cause hurt feelings, but it was a community that could come together to help meet most needs for Kara before and after her death. One friend was able to help her plan her funeral so her husband and family didn't have to do that. Another friend took care of the kids and another stocked her freezer full of food.

I could relate to so much in this book that I kept telling my friend that she just had to read this book! There were times with my grandpa when my heart was so broken that all I could do when praying was to say "Lord, Lord." I didn't even know how to finish my prayer or what to ask for. I was so thankful to see that Jill did too! And after getting so much devastating news from Kara, I can relate to the sleepless nights and lots of tears. I feel like I text my friend so much with "I have no words. Praying,." It feels so small, but I know it's all I have.

I can not possibly say too many wonderful words about this book. I love the little perspective from Kara placed at the end of each section by Jill. How beautiful! She was a lady that I think so many people loved to be around and her loss has probably made a giant hole in the lives of so many people.

I highly recommend to everyone to read this book. It is a giant book of grace--extending grace to yourself and the one suffering. I also thanked how she talked about insecurity. I can definitely relate to that!

Read more reviews on this book by going to http://litfusegroup.com/author/TippettsButeyn.

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Just Show Up (David C Cook, October 2015)
Kara Tippetts’s story was not a story of disease, although she lost her battle with terminal cancer.
It was not a story of saying goodbye, although she was intentional in her time with her husband and four children. Kara’s story was one of seeing God in the hard and in the good. It was one of finding grace in the everyday. And it was one of knowing “God with us” through fierce and beautiful friendship.
In Just Show Up, Kara and her close friend, Jill Lynn Buteyn, write about what friendship looks like in the midst of changing life seasons, loads of laundry, and even cancer. Whether you are eager to be present to someone going through a difficult time or simply want inspiration for pursuing friends in a new way, this eloquent and practical book explores the gift of silence, the art of receiving, and what it means to just show up.
Learn more and purchase a copy.

Jill Lynn Buteyn and Kara Tippetts

The late Kara Tippetts was the author of "The Hardest Peace" and blogged faithfully at mundanefaithfulness.com. Cancer was only a part of Kara’s story. Her real fight was to truly live while facing a crushing reality. Since her death in March 2015, her husband, Jason, is parenting their four children and leading the church they founded in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ***||*** Jill Lynn Buteyn is the author of "Falling for Texas," an inspirational novel, and a recipient of the ACFW Genesis Award for her fiction work. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Bethel University. Jill lives near the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her husband and two children.

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I received this book free from David C. Cook Publishers and Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.