Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Glimpsing Grace in Ordinary Days {Book Review}

Glimpsing Grace in Ordinary Days
By Christine Litavsky

About this book:

Using true life stories from the author’s everyday life, Glimpsing Grace in Ordinary Days reminds us that God is always at work, even when it’s hard to see His hand in our daily routines. It helps readers pull out often-elusive glimmers of grace out of our chaotic world, examine them, and rest in the assurance that we are loved by God. Whether we’re struggling with a divorce, remodeling a kitchen, or chaperoning a field trip, glimmers of grace are there, free for the taking, but we do need to reach out and grasp them. This book helps us remember we can.

This book is set up with 11 chapters, more so used as ways to group the stories. Each chapter then broken down into small brief sections. These smaller sections make it easier to read, focus and be reminded how God is ever-present. This book contains stories from the authors life.

I enjoyed reading this book and could relate to many of the stories. I had a bit of a time “getting into it” but once I did, it was wonderful. I was a bit surprised that more scripture wasn’t used throughout it. Overall I think it is very well written with a great reminder message to “glimpse God’s grace in ordinary days”.

When asked why she wrote this book, Litavsky replied:

I wrote this book to encourage people to slow down and look for the glimpses of grace present in their lives. This self-reflection is not always easy — in today’s technology saturated world, we’re more distracted than ever. We rush about, texting in one hand while checking our emails with the other. This busyness and preoccupation hinders our relationship with Jesus. Not only are we not focusing on Him, but we’re also not seeing the grace notes that He lovingly inserts into our lives.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

One Light Still Shines {Book Review}

One Light Still Shines
By Marie Monville
About the book:

“My story is not about my past, but about your future,” says Marie Roberts Monville. 

In the startling tragedy of the Amish schoolhouse shooting at Nickel Mines, one story has never been told; Marie Roberts Monville, the wife of the man who created such horror, tells her story for the very first time. It is a story of sorrow and destruction, but also one of majestic deliverance, unending compassion, breathtaking forgiveness, and grace-filled redemption. 

Within a solitary moment, Marie Monville realized that life, as she knew it, was over. What she never anticipated was a tangible encounter with God reaching into her circumstances, through them rewriting all she believed about herself, her faith, and the God she thought she knew. One Light Still Shines reveals three love stories: the innocent love of a devoted wife for a husband in pain, the incomprehensible love of God in the aftermath of massacre and destruction, and the redemptive love of Christ, waiting to unfold in the life of every person who reads this book. 

Marie’s journey since that darkest of days has been invaded with light which shines through these pages into the darkest questions we all face–questions about our past, our value, our identity, and own powerlessness in this fallen world. Come face to face with the Power behind every answer—a love that begs to be received.

If I could sum up this book in one word it would be AMAZ-WOW-RIFFIC!  Y’all, I could not put this book down once I started it.  And when I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t wait until I finished my chores so I could get straight back to reading it.

This beautifully written and heart-wrenching memoir will leave no reader untouched. What an amazing testimony Marie has. Marie was the wife of Charlie Roberts, the man who committed a brutal massacre at an Amish schoolhouse. With one phone call, in a matter of minutes, Marie’s life changed forever. Charlie was dead and so were at least three little Amish girls, and the others gravely wounded.

Marie revealed her heart through her book and shared her struggles as she began to pick up the pieces and move on after the tragedy. She reflected on God’s love surrounding her and the support of her family and friends as each day passed.
This story will absolutely touch your heart and will be one you won’t soon forget. This is an amazing read, I highly recommend it!

This book was provided to me free of charge by booksneeze.com in return for my honest review. The opinions i have expressed are my own.

Praying for your Husband from Head to Toe {book review}

Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe 
by Sharon Jaynes

About the book:

As a wife, you have been given the privilege of serving as a mighty prayer warrior for your husband. Yet sometimes, even when poised with the best of intentions, you may find the task overwhelming. You wonder: What should I pray? How should I pray? What prayers does he need right now? 

In Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe, Sharon Jaynes maps out sixteen landmarks to help you consistently and effectively cover your husband in prayer. From his mind and the thoughts he thinks, to his eyes and the images he sees, all the way down to his feet and the path he takes, Sharon teaches you how to pray for your husband in ways that are powerful, practical, and life-changing. 

The 30-day prayer guide provides Scriptures for each day along with corresponding prayers to target the crucial areas of every man’s life. You’ll be equipped and empowered to establish the habit of purposeful prayer in just a few dedicated minutes each day.

Perfect for group use or individual reflection, this book maps out a memorable and reproducible pattern of prayer to strengthen your marriage, deepen your personal prayer life, and cover your husband from head to toe—in ways that will lift not only his spirit, but yours as well.

So if you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you’ve no doubt read about my struggle with prayer.  For some reason, I always feel like I struggle with prayer and the right words to say.  This book has been a tremendous asset in showing me how to pray for my husband.

Sharon Jaynes witnessed first hand what praying for a man could do. She saw her prayers for her father answered as he eventually turned towards God and away from destructive behavior. Jaynes had also seen the effect her prayers had in the life of her husband. She wrote Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe to help other women learn how to pray for their husbands without trying to control God and their husbands in the process.

The author has broken each thing down from what your husband sees, his strength, etc. Then she incorporates all of these things into 30 prayers. I think the part that I have liked the most is how she talks about how sometimes prayer is all you can do and that it really does change how you think about your husband. I know that God is powerful and I know that talking to Him about my husband is one of the best things I can do for him and our marriage. I highly recommend this book!

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review as part of their Blogging for Books program.