Victim of Grace by Robin Jones Gunn is a story of how God’s Goodness is present in each and every situation, whether we are able to recognize it or not.  Robin shares stories from her life regarding her dreams and goals and how even when God didn’t give her what she wanted He was faithful, all in His timing.  One of the things that stood out to me happened within the first few pages and it really spoke to me.  Robin is telling a story to a friend and the way she tells it makes you think something different is happening than what really is happening.  It shows us that God sees the full picture while we may only know bits and pieces.  God knows our dreams and if He chooses to they will be fulfilled, although they may be in ways different than we first expected.

 

I couldn’t put the book down as Robin portrays God’s goodness and grace in such a fabulous way.  She weaves stories from her own life with stories from the Bible to show that God always comes through and His goodness always prevails.  She didn’t shy away from her difficult stories or from other people’s difficult stories but told them in such a way that you could see how God worked in everything, for good, just like He always does.

Disclaimer: I received this book for no charge for my honest opinion.  I was not told what to write and all views expressed are my own.

I was really excited to be able to review What’s Your Mark?  Every Moment Counts which is a collection of 21 people telling their stories, these people are all making a mark on the world today.  Jeremy Cowart is a celebrity photographer who took pictures and collected their stories to present in the book.  The book is beautifully laid out with gorgeous design and pictures throughout.

There is everyone from people like Claire Diaz-Ortiz who works for Twitter to Mark Burnett who is a television producer.  All of the people interviewed in the book are using their jobs, their lives to make a mark on the world for Jesus.

Throughout the book Cowart has placed large pages with single Bible verses from the Gospel of Mark such as Mark 5:36- Overhearing what they said, Jesus told Him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe” and other verses showing how Jesus made His mark on the world.   In addition there are sets of pages throughout with the Gospel of Mark ending up with the entire Gospel within the stories and pictures.

Not only that but at the end of each persons’ story questions are asked such as, “What are you saying that is making a mark?” and “Is there a problem in your community that you can help solve?”  One thing I wish is there were more questions at the end of each chapter so it could have more discussion and critical thinking.

What I really like is how the book profiles everyday people.  Followers of Jesus who are making a mark in extraordinary ways.  It doesn’t make you feel bad that you aren’t out there doing exactly what they are but shows that there are many different ways to make a mark on the world and everyone started somewhere.

 

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disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own