Archive | March 2016

And It Was Beautiful by Kara Tippetts

Mar4

So Brave, So Beautiful

And it was beautifulAnd It Was Beautiful by Kara Tippetts is her third book. It is split into four acts and is made up of entries from her blog Mundane Faithfulness. It is a beautiful book. Kara Tippetts was so brave and so beautiful.

Kara Tippetts was a young mum of four, fighting cancer. She had a loving husband Jason. She fought her cancer bravely. She could have become bitter, but she wasn’t. “If you live long with an illness, you can begin to be defined by it. I have cancer, but that’s only a part of who I am.” Kara knew exactly who she was. She was a child of God. Kara always gave God the glory. “To be in her (Kara’s) presence was to be in the presence of someone surrendered to God.”

Kara fought her cancer with her eyes on Jesus, believing that “suffering makes my faith more child-like.” In all her trials, treatments and disappointments, Kara stayed close to Jesus. “Don’t move away from Jesus. Move towards Him, be near to Jesus.” Jesus was her rock. In Him she built her life and she knew where she would spend eternity.

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Charity’s Cross by MaryLu Tyndall

Mar4

Pirates, Preachers and a Faithful God

Charity's CrossCharity’s Cross by MaryLu Tyndall is book number four in the Charles Towne Belles series but can be read as a stand-alone as I had not previously read anything by MaryLu Tyndall. It is a Christian historical romantic adventure full of swash buckling pirates and preachers and maidens in need of rescuing.

One of the main themes is that of trusting God. Charity used to trust God but life to her, seemed to show that God was untrustworthy. “She had assumed God had abandoned her years ago.” Charity feels alone and trusts no-one. She feels that she can only rely on herself, but she is wrong. God is the One she needs to lean on, she just needs to open her eyes and realise that, as she is told “All you can do is follow God the best you can an’ trust He loves you.” Will these words ever impact Charity?

Tied in to trust, is that of prayer. Charity has prayed to God but He seems silent. She doesn’t recognise His hand in her life. Now she doesn’t pray. “‘We will pray for him’… ‘I don’t pray.’ ‘It doesn’t matter.'” God always answers prayers, just not always in the way we expect Him too. I am sure we can all empathise with Charity. God hears all our prayers, even the prayers we utter but don’t believe in ourselves.

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Doesn’t She Look Natural? by Angela Hunt

Mar3

Motivated By Love

Doesn't She Look NaturalDoesn’t She Look Natural? by Angela Hunt is a contemporary Christian novel and the first in the Fairlawn series.

The novel follows recently divorced Jen, her two boys Clay and Bugs and her mother Joella. Jen inherits Fairlawn, a funeral home in Florida, from her great uncle Ned. The four travel to look at their inheritance, planning to sell it and return to Virginia. The novel is mainly written in the first person from the point of view of Jen. It also has passages in the third person from the viewpoint of Joella.

There are a great many themes in the novel including that of family. Jen’s family unit was ripped apart by her husband’s infidelity. Her mother is always there for her. And Jen is there for her boys. Both women aim for stability for the boys. Everything they do is motivated by love.

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Uncharted by Angela Hunt

Mar1

Utterly Brilliant

UnchartedUncharted by Angela Hunt is both a powerful and disturbing Christian novel. It is powerful because it will force the reader to examine themselves and to confront the question – how do I live out my faith? It is disturbing because of its truth and its nakedness of the human soul.

There are many themes within the novel but a major one is that of appearances. Too many people invest too much time in ‘looking good’ rather than ‘doing good.’ People act a part but inside they are very different. Their goal seems to be to get the approval of man. “She’d spent her life yearning for the approval of men, not God.” People invest their lives in outward appearances and this reminded me very much of the Pharisees.

Another theme is that of the accumulation of stuff. We are all guilty of getting more and more stuff. We buy it. We idolise it. We don’t share it. Stuff can become our god, leaving no time for people or God in our lives.

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