Thursday, March 17, 2016

and it was beautiful - by Kara Tippetts - REVIEWED


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.

My Thoughts:
And while I do want more, more of everything, what I want most is Jesus.  More of Him.” (p. 183)

“That’s one of the lessons cancer has taught me, that today is all I have, and I must keep my eyes focused on what’s in front of me, and do the next thing in love.” (p. 200)

Even though I knew before I read the first page, knew that “and it was beautiful” was published after the author’s death, I could feel Holy Spirit stretching my heart with each word, each phrase, each memory that Kara Tippetts shared throughout her journey.  Just a couple of days before I came to the pages of this book, my Dad, now 87 years old, shared memories from sitting beside the bedside of the wife of his youth as she recovered from a third brain surgery as she fought cancer.  Only a day before Dad shared his memories – memories steeped in thankfulness to all those that prayed him through this time of loss – my Mom had boldly declared that she knew God brought Dad to her life and married him and his two young children despite the naysayers.  They celebrate 52 years of marriage in June.

As I pray for the Tippets family as they grieve the loss of Kara’s beautiful life, I’m going to ask God to bring someone into the lives of this precious family who will love them well and faithfully as my Mom has loved my dad and his first wife’s children the past 52 years.  Oh, there have been tears as I’ve read this book!  Cancer formed my birth family, but it has been divorce after 22 years that is shaping the lives of me and my two boys right now. 

And, like Kara, I want more of Jesus that I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life!  Is this how I wanted my story to bend?  No.  But Jesus has never left my side.  I want to love every moment of every day Jesus gives me.  I want to love others well.  I want to live every day in love with Jesus!


Kara wanted that to.  Her beautiful words encourage us to that end.  I praise God for Kara’s life and her faithfulness!!

Purchase your copy HERE today!

About the Author:
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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