And it was Beautiful by Kara Tippetts

I first heard of Kara Tippetts at the same time that many of you probably heard about her. She wrote a letter to Brittany Maynard about dying well and not allowing doctors to determine your days. Kara lived with purpose, passion, and with eternity in mind. Heaven was in front of her but she still wrestled with letting go of this life... like all of us struggle with daily. Not only did she have her husband to think about, she wanted to be sure her 4 children knew that she passionately loved them. She knew one of her children would mostly know her only because her husband would tell her about Kara because most likely her littlest one wouldn't remember her very much. Kara lived well and died well.

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking I should be crying and so sad. After all, this book holds a letter to her readers upon her death. But by the time I got to the end, I didn't cry. I was still sad, but ultimately I saw how much her life glorified God and felt how at peace she was by the end that it was reflected in her writing.

This book is a collection of her blog posts. Since I never went back to read all of her first posts about this journey or how it started, I was thankful for this collection. I want  my life to be lived with eternity as my focus, just as Kara did.

Read more reviews on this book at http://litfusegroup.com/author/ktippetts.

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About the Book

And It Was Beautiful: Celebrating Life in the Midst of the Long Good-Bye (David C Cook, March 2016)
“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.
Learn more and purchase a copy.

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.

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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

It has been such an incredibly long time since I've read a book that had me laughing one moment and shaking my head in agreement wanting to yell "Amen" the next. Oh how I can relate to her and the exercise pants. Seriously... there are no pants more comfortable than those. Amen to those leggings are not pants section.... at any age.

But on the more serious things, I may not agree with everything that she writes but I respect her for writing with fierce convictions and for pointing out how we need to fight for grace in a world of impossible standards.

My favorite section had to deal with small groups. I think it was because I've been struggling with this and I appreciated the freedom she gave me. At this season in my life, I don't have enough time in my day to do all of these organized things at church and still be able to reach out to my neighbors, have them over for dinner, or just go sit on their porch with them. I want to do that. I appreciated that she talks about how we don't always need more organized groups, because that's been my thought. I like the organic kind where I'm not forced into friendships where the people tend to treat it as a clique. I want authentic, transparent relationships, not competitive and judgmental ones. And I can so relate to her slipping out and not saying goodbye. I'm so glad that someone else would rather slip in and out too. I wondered if something was wrong with me, but hey, now I can simply ask WWJH do. She would exit like a quiet ninja and never look back!

I was challenged by this book, yet encouraged. I had my eyes opened to some things that I hadn't spent much time thinking about. I felt a freedom in some areas that I have been fighting for some time when it came to the local church and how we are adding more without considering what might need to lessen. This is a book I'm keeping on my shelf and reading and re-reading. Thank you for writing this book, Jen Hatmaker.

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I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God by Jep and Jessica Robertson

Our family enjoys watching Duck Dynasty and I have read all of the books from each one in the family. Just like the others, I appreciated the honesty in this book. It takes a lot to admit your mess ups and to share it without knowing how you'll be judged by others. Jep and Jessica both honestly shared the good and bad times they've had separately and together.

I can relate a lot to Jessica's desire to please other people. I never felt it as strongly as her, but being a people please myself I can see how easily it would be to fall into the traps she did. It was interesting to learn more about them because they aren't made to be a huge part of Duck Dynasty. Jep is just the funny younger brother that gets picked on! I'm glad he shared about the whole duck taping incident because I really didn't think they had done that! That would have really hurt!

Jep and Jessica share about how God used their bad in their lives to lead them to not only help others but to easily forgive each other. I say easy, but it's never easy. However, God showed them how He could rescue you from a deep dark spot and forgive for anything. They used that in marriage when it came to the make it or break it decision.

Another thing I love about the them (and all the Robertson) is that divorce is never an option. Every marriage has hard spots and times when you don't particularly have those warm fuzzy feelings. It takes hard work. You get a glimpse of that hard work that Jep and Jessica had to do in their own marriage. Television can make it seem as though they have a perfect marriage. I'm glad they shared their struggles in this book and how God has blessed them since they chose to go through a really dark time together instead of throwing in the towel.

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I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman

How can we glorify God in a million little ways?  This book explores all of those little things that we do that can and do glorify God.  Many people think that we were made for one big thing in life.  However, we were made to know and glorify God.

I like how this book is written in a way that paints vivid pictures in your mind.  As I read through this, I could easily picture the scenes she painted in my head, from her cold Michigan winters to Mary and how she knew the secret of the mystery of Jesus. 

There is so much wisdom in this book and I definitely plan to re-read it.  I know I've missed so many things in it, but my favorite quote is "Show up in the place where you already are fully alive as the image bearer God made you to be.  Embrace the mysterious, invisible work of Christ even when it seems like nothing is happening.  You are an image bearer and you have a job to do--whether you see the results or whether you don't."

It was impossible to review this book without revealing a quote!  By seeing the quote above, I think it gives you a good idea to the depth of the book.

I also liked the authors that she had to review her book.  I really like Ann Voskamp and Lysa Terkeurst.  They definitely added credibility to her book, in my opinion.

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I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my  honest opinion of this book.

Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

This is one book that was perfectly timed for me.  I had already recognized the problem in my life, confessed it, and have been seeking Biblical wisdom as to how to handle some of these issues in my own life.  I respect Kevin DeYoung and am so thankful that God had prepped me to hear from him.

Crazy Busy doesn't give you a 5-point plan on  how to get out of the business of life.  It doesn't tell you how to manage your time better.  It does tell you 7 pitfalls to watch for as you go about your busy life.  It reminds you of the things that really aren't important but that we think are important.  It reminds us that if we are too busy to sit at the feet of Jesus every day, then we're never going to get through the craziness of life.  It reminds us how important rest and sleep are, both of which we seem to diminish the importance of at different times of our lives. 

I personally found the part about the parent report card among kids very convicting, because I have recognized for a while that when I am tired and stressed I tend to take out my anger and frustration on my children.  I loved how he reminded me that my kids will remember my character more than anything else about me. 

I appreciated the honesty in this book.  It's written from a personal perspective and I loved the section with Mary and Martha. I have struggled with the same thoughts over Martha because I am wired more like her.  It made me feel so much better to know that I'm not alone in my thoughts over how I would have responded if I were Martha.  But I loved the reminder about Mary.  That has stuck with me.

This book is going on my shelf and will be pulled out many times.  It's already been recommended to many that I know who are struggling with busyness. I appreciate how the focus is on Christ and not our abilities, because we will never have the ability to control the busyness.  I love how he always pointed to Jesus as the example and not some man.  The biblical examples were perfect and not taken out of context.  I'll ever be grateful that this book was written and came at a time where God had prepped me to action and has since given me the peace I had been searching for after wrestling with Him over decisions.  Thank you, Kevin DeYoung!

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I received this book free from Crossway in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher

This book needs to be noted as a life-changing fiction book  that everyone should read before Christmas.  The principles of this book obviously reach far beyond Christmas time, but the setting is Christmas which is perfect for this time of year.  It's not often that I read a fiction book that challenges me.  Several times I would set the book aside to go finish cleaning or something and I would find myself thinking about how much I lack in giving.  I wasn't prepeared for this book to challenge me.

Written from experience, Jimmy Wayne knows what it means to be a recipient of the Angel Tree program from the Salvation Army.  I imagine that Thomas is a character patterned after Wayne in some ways.  I had never heard of Jimmy Wayne or Travis Thrasher but now I want to read more about them.  The writing of this book was excellent and was a story that was beautifully told in a challenging way.

My heart broke reading about the challenges that both Kevin, the one who chose to take Thomas' name off the tree, and Thomas' families faced.  I hated to hear of the conditions that Thomas lived in, but loved seeing the generosity and answered prayers that each family received.  Thomas had such a sweet spirit and was able to turn seemingly bad things, like bullying, into a blessing for someone else.  I couldn't believe the ending when I read about Thomas' presents.  I was amazed and kept wondering if I would have done that.  In my selfishness, I'm sure I wouldn't have. 

I'm really glad that I read this book.  I tend to be a bit on the stubborn side and like it when messages are subtle in a story not directly telling me how I need to change.  It made me see for myself that I still have a long way to go to be what I really want to be.  In all honesty, I thought I was a giving person.  I know now that materialism has seeped it's way into our families without us really knowing it.  I'm very appreciative for this eye-opening fact and this thought-provoking, hopefully life-changing book.

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I received this book free from Howard Publishers, a division of SimonandSchuster Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Cottage By the Sea by Robin Jones Gunn

I have read all of Robin Jones Gunn's Sisterchick novels and fell in love with her writing style through those books.  She has such a wonderful way of taking you to the country in those novels and leaving you feel like you have been there and seen the same things that she has seen.  Not many other writers leave me actually thinking that I've traveled the world!  With that said, I was interested to see if this book would leave me with the same feeling.  In my mind, I traveled to the cottage by the sea and traveled the highs and lows with Erin and her family.  I struggled with my emotions of anger when Delores walked out on her husband when he was at his worst.  I never thought that she might be going through something herself perhaps, so that was a surprise. 

I felt as though I struggled with Erin on how to balance life in her new business, as a new mother-in-law, and then as a daughter to a father who has had a massive stroke and now can't speak and must be in her care.  I could see the cottage in my head and picture her standing there and some of the feelings they must have felt.  I've never been to a cottage by the sea, but if it's anything like my imagination has led me to believe, then I want to go!

This book, like most of hers, are light, fun books.  This one deals with some heavy issues, but is still a book that is easy and fast to read and that you could easily read on the beach.  In fact, she is one of my favorite authors to take along with me to the beach because of her style of writing.  If you've read and liked any of her previous books, you'll want to read this one for sure.  If you've never read anything by her, take a chance.  You won't be sorry!

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I received this book free from Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, in exchange for my honest opinion.