Broken into six sectional chapters, the book covers
1964 to present day and relates numerous moments where God impacted the author,
her family and their friends. Most of the stories involve the time period when
the author was young to middle age though some are at other points. The book was inspired by a bible study teacher
who talked about sharing God’s grace with others in the class.
“Chapter One-Learning God’s Way” covers events where
the author made peace with a very difficult neighbor, opened her home to a
homeless couple, dealt with rumors that were not true, and other topics. Helping
others and learning from them is the focus in this section.
That idea continues in “Chapter Two-Reaching Out.” This
section is about taking a more active role in reaching out to others. For
example, instead of waiting for the church to send a homeless couple to their
door, the author and others in the church in Lubbock overcame obstacles to open
a soup kitchen where it was needed. The power of faith at work in others in a
very moving thing and covered in various cases in this chapter.
We all need healing in some way. It comes in various forms in “Chapter Three-
God Heals.” From the story of her own
daughter’s needs to the death of a child to many others, this chapter gives
comfort and peace while showing how God can heal.
“Chapter Five- God’s Comfort and Encouragement” talks
about many life problems and marriage situations. The author returns to the
concept of her writing a book to make the point that this too was completed by
overcoming obstacles.
The result of all that has gone on before is “Chapter
Six-Receiving and Giving” where the author writes: “Once you give a gift without
expecting anything in return there is an afterglow that occurs and makes you
want to give all the time. But the reality is someone has to receive it if
someone gives, and at one time or another that someone is each of us. (Page
151) The theme here is that a gift must be embraced to work its magic and this
chapter details those cases. At the same time the gift is a sacrifice and one that
has to be acknowledged in order for the gift to be embraced.
While the stories are separated into sections, many
of these pieces share the same elements of all the chapters. Inspirational and
comforting, this 283 page book is about the power of God, faith, and the strength to deal with what comes along in life. Texas Author
Marianne Cassell has created a moving testimony to her faith and the power it
holds in her life and in so many others.
Available
Grace: True Short Stories of the Rewards of Intentional Living
Marianne
Cassell
Strategic
Book Publishing and Rights Co.
November
2011
ISBN#
978-1-61204-608-2
Paperback
(also available in e-book)
283
Pages
$13.95
Material supplied by PJ NUNN of BreakThrough
Promotions for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
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