Nonfiction

Where is God in This by Landra Young Hughes – Review

November 8, 2022 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

Life is unfair. Bad things happen to good people. Not all dreams come true. We lose people. We fail people. And when we encounter the inevitable struggles of life, we may be tempted to ask God Why me? as we try to reconcile our pain with God’s promises. But a far more helpful and life-enriching question for us to ask God is What are you trying to teach me in this?

Tackling ten common struggles, such as isolation, fear, rejection, failure, insecurity, temptation, and more, Landra Young Hughes shows you how to have peace even when life doesn’t make sense. Speaking with great empathy born from her own losses and years in ministry, Hughes doesn’t suggest you “get over” your hard times. Instead, she helps you recognize that, while you will always live in a broken world this side of heaven, your pain has much to teach you about God and yourself. With her empathetic help, you’ll discover how to grow through grief and thrive despite adversity.

Chronic Love by Brooke Bartz: Guest Post & Giveaway

September 7, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 6 Comments

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Chronic Love by Brooke Bartz, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Chronic Love: Trusting God While Suffering with A Chronic Illness
Author: Brooke Bartz
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: September 1, 2019
Genre: Christian Living, Health and Wellbeing

Suffering is inescapable in this world.

Jesus told us we would face perilous trials and that even our bodies would feel the effects of the Fall. For women dealing with chronic illness, most books offer quick-fix counseling or devotional verses taken out of context, helpful only for momentary encouragement.

For true and lasting comfort we must dig deeper into God’s Word and the context in which those much-used passages were written.

In Chronic Love, Brooke Bartz reveals a deeply raw and descriptive account of life with a chronic and debilitating illness, and she shares with readers how comfort and strength can be found through the Truth in God’s Word.

Specifically designed for women who daily battle chronic illness, Chronic Love‘s goal is to provide solid Scriptural encouragement for the fight.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brooke Bartz is a stay-at-home wife and mom who lives daily with a chronic disease, knowing firsthand the daunting, gnawing physical and spiritual pain it causes. Yet disease was not always her close companion; in the years before her diagnosis, she grew up playing sports and earned a full scholarship to play volleyball at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor. Not yet a Christian, she transferred colleges and attended an event for an on-campus ministry; as the Lord had planned, she heard the Gospel and He saved her. Soon after and while still in college, she married her childhood crush and began a volleyball coaching career.

Living with rheumatoid arthritis and gastroparesis, Brooke desires for women to know the truth about the God who loves them and is with them each day as they face disease and disability; she shares the Truth of the Bible as their ultimate healing. Brooke’s passion is spurring on the women God leads to her sphere of influence, inspiring their hearts to keep their strength and hope at the foot of the cross, to trust in the Great Shepherd to one day heal them completely in glory, even though for now they are suffering on earth.

CONNECT WITH BROOKE: Instagram

GUEST POST

What does a chronic illness mean in terms of day-to-day living?

Having a Chronic Illness, I can relate to every woman or girl out there who struggles because we face trials and sufferings because of illness day to day. But if we are Christians, we also daily can choose to have hope and endurance and live in His goodness of the promise of death being defeated and being redeemed in the salvation that comes in Jesus Christ alone. Why? Because we are not alone in our plight with illness. Each day we must look to the God who is holding us up and has given us Christ so that we know we are never abandoned, forsaken ignored, or helpless. The moment my body was struck with disease, it only made me trust my God so much more knowing He was with me. Jesus suffered on the cross, Jesus bore pain in His body, Jesus rose victoriously. And we too can live day to day because our Lord has a plan and is working it out for our spiritual good by molding us into the image of Jesus. Day to Day this is what illness means for me. I am not alone because Christ is seated at the right hand of God interceding for me with those groans I could never put into Words by giving me the Holy Spirit who does that for me. This truth makes my day to day bearable, not as relentless because I know one day when I step through Heaven’s Gates this illness will relent, be defeated and will never hurt me or those I love like my family and friends again! So day to day I live with Hope.

Day to Day this illness means I will suffer. Yes, I will bear pain in my body. But as Christ rose from the grave, I too will feel no more hurt or excruciating stabs of cruel affliction physically, maybe not while I’m on earth, but one day in the Kingdom of my Beloved! It does not mean that I will definitely defeat it on earth and be cured while I’m alive, but I can rest peacefully in the truth that I will be healed of it when I get to Glory and the Father embraces me, wiping away every tear I have ever cried because of all the sadness it has ever caused me. So in terms of day to day living, I live with freedom in my Savior even with all that entails daily from every heartache, difficulty, constant physical reminder because I am God’s child and He is with me forever! Let Him be with you daily by trusting in Him as your Lord and Savior and turning to Him in repentance from your sin and receiving salvation in Christ Alone. Let Him help you live day to day as you face your illness, no longer in your own strength but in the strength of the one who bled and died for you and gave Himself up for you, so that one day you will have a perfect and glorified body in Heaven, your illness no more!

Do you have a verse or passage you turn to for encouragement when you’re hurting? Share them in the comments.

GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Chronic Love, a Chronic Love T-shirt, a Chronic Love coffee mug, a copy of Trusting God Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges and the workbook for Trusting God Even When Life Hurts!

Be sure to check out each stop on these tours for more chances to win. Full tour schedule on this tour shown below. Giveaway begins at midnight September 3, 2019 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 10, 2019. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Due to shipping cost, only US mailing addresses valid. For our giveaway rules and policy, click HERE.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

The Book of Amazing Stories by Robert Petterson (Review)

October 22, 2017 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

You may have thought you knew the lives of famous people―such as Martin Luther King Jr., Howard Hughes, Mother Teresa, Muhammad Ali, Ronald Reagan, Susana Wesley, and many more. But, in The Book of Amazing Stories, you’ll know so much more about Ronnie’s faithful church-going single mom and William’s early days as a humble shoemaker’s apprentice. You’ll marvel at how God used the lives of these ordinary people to change the course of human history.

Life makes the strangest sharp turns and, sometimes, U-turns. Robert Petterson―popular speaker, storyteller, and author―has been a student for his entire life of what God is teaching us through those real-life U-turns. In this book, he compiles 90 amazing stories that teach lessons you won’t easily forget.

Each devotional ends with a compelling thought about life and God.

Be amazed. Be encouraged. Learn the lessons God is teaching through people’s lives.

Amazon // Goodreads

In My Opinion (Review)

I love a good story. The right true story will sometimes make me cry, give me chills, or leave me in awe. When a person overcomes an obstacle and achieves success—big or small—I can’t help but be moved.

As I was by several of the entries in Robert Petterson’s collection titled The Book of Amazing Stories. From well-known historical figures such as Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr, to lesser-knowns, these bite-sized stories were often motivating.

More interesting is that Petterson also included some people who did not have happy endings, people who achieved notoriety due to their poor choices or their tragic lives. Kurt Cobain and J. H. Zorthian are only a couple names on that list.

Ninety stories fill this book—each about two and a half pages in length and ending with a quote and a scripture for reflection. These easy to read chapters make a great addition to your daily quiet time or can be used as conversation starters or icebreakers.

If you’re needing inspiration, if life is holding you down, if you’re asking Why, God? perhaps one or more of the people in this will speak to your heart and offer the encouragement you need. Because, after all, God is the author of the best stories ever.

My Rating:

***I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.