The Hardest Peace {Review and Giveaway}

FlyBy Promotions recently gave me the opportunity to review The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts. I was not familiar with Kara, so I went over to her blog to find out more about her. If you've followed her blog for long, you can imagine that I teared up while reading some of what has gone on in her life in the past year. I truly hate cancer and wasn't sure, at first, if I wanted to read this book or not. It's been 25 years since my Dad died from a brain tumor. Did I really want to re-live those experiences and some of that pain, which I was sure would happen? I said yes to the book anyway, because, well, I like reading other peoples' stories. And I knew that if Kara had been able to write a book about her experience and share how she had experienced God's grace in the difficult places in her life, I could possibly benefit. 

About the book:

Kara Tippetts knows the ordinary days of mothering four kids, the joy of watching her children grow…and the devastating reality of stage-IV cancer. 

In The Hardest Peace, Kara invites readers to see the grace of the everyday in all seasons of life and to live well even when the living is hard. This book is an invitation to join her in moving away from fear and control and toward peace and grace. Just as the thousands of people who read her blog know, Tippetts explores the hardest questions of life with rare beauty and honesty. Most of all, she draws them back to the God who is present, in the ordinary and the suffering, and shapes every life into the best story of all.

My thoughts:
I appreciate Kara's openness about difficulties in her family of origin and in the way she grew up. Those had to be painful to expose and write about. I could relate to her stories of hurt in a former church. I could also relate to her writings about her marriage. One of my favourite parts of the book is when she tells how she and her husband, Jason, learned to "fight with kindness". This is fantastic advice and so needed in our day. When we learn how much the Father loves us, we cannot help but extend it to our spouse, children, extended family, neighbors, everyone. Marriage is so much sweeter and deeper with loads of kindness.

Reading about how Kara is preparing to die and trying to prepare her children, especially, was piercing and heartbreaking. Even though I've been through it, as a 20 year old "child" who lost her father, I cannot imagine having to walk through it with my own children. She seems to be doing a phenomenal job of loving them and getting them ready for her to "fly away".

I do recommend this book, because it's one sister's story of hard and knowing Jesus is there with her. It's heartbreaking and sweet and poignant all at once.

{I have to add that I think my theology differs from Kara's, and I cannot just recommend this book without mentioning it. I hate cancer, and Kara calls cancer "a gift". I think cancer is from the evil one, while Kara seems to believe that God sent this to her to teach her something. I believe that sickness, disease, etc., come from our fallen state and from hell (John 10:10 and 1 Peter 5:8). Our Father is a loving, compassionate God and He does not, and would not send us horrible, abusive things. His heart is for us to be healed. That is one of the incredible bonuses of Jesus' death on the cross. Not only do we get to bask in the salvation and rescue He provided for us through His death, but also we get to experience Him as our Healer. He paid for our sins and took all of our infirmities on Himself (Isaiah 53 and Matthew 8). I always go back to what Bill Johnson says in When Heaven Invades Earth - basically that if we treated our own children like some Christians say God treats us (gives them cancer, leukemia, Ebola or whatever), people would turn us in to the authorities. Our God is so gloriously wonderful and pure in His love toward us, that He would never do something that would actual contradict His purpose of sending Jesus to earth.}

I pray blessings over Kara and her beautiful family as they walk through this journey. 

About Kara:

Kara Tippetts and her husband, Jason, have four children and are planting a church in Colorado Springs, CO. Cancer is only part of Kara’s story. Her real fight is to truly live while facing a crushing reality. She blogs at mundanefaithfulness.com.

Kara’s Blog: mundanefaithfulness.com

Follow her on Instagram: http://instagram.com/tippetts

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mother_to_many

Giveaway:

Fly Promotions has generously provided one copy of The Hardest Peace for one of my readers. Simply leave a comment telling me if you had known of Kara Tippetts before now or share your story of learning God's peace in your hard places. Please include your email address so that I have a way to contact you if you win. Winner chosen by random.org. Giveaway open to residents of the US and Canada, age 18 or older. Giveaway ends November 1 at 11:59pm ET. 

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”