#TuesdayTreasure: Grin With Grace by Kathy Carlton Willis blog tour

Good Morning Friends,

Please accept my apologies for no Saturday Spotlight, I was moving stuff out of storage and was unable to post. Never fear though, this Saturday Brooke Lynn will be back with her book, Raised by Strangers.

Meanwhile, enjoy today's treasure, Grin with Grace by Kathy Carlton Willis. You may recognize Cathy from her promotion company, Kathy Carlton Willis Communications, well.. Grin with Grace is Kathy's book

It Might be Time to Grin with Grace!

Have you ever felt the need to bite your tongue or grit your teeth? With humor and candor, popular women’s speaker Kathy Carlton Willis explores ways to smile in the face of adversity and challenging circumstances. Her go-to phrase Grin with Grace is the title of her latest book. She explores the word “grace” in Scripture, revealing how God’s grace blesses us and how it impacts our relationship with Him and with others.

Grin with Grace is part of the Grin With…Bible Study Series. This line of books is designed to help women on the run focus on a central theme. The “study, story and steps” formula helps readers assimilate new traits in small sections, all the while anticipating the next insight.

“You can never have too much of God’s grace,” says Kathy. “While writing this series, I dealt with multiple health issues, surgeries, cancer, and hospitalizations. At the same time, I moved to a different town, diving in to a new church ministry with my husband. Very little in life seemed familiar or comfortable. But God infused grace into each challenge and turned them into opportunities.” Kathy learned anew what the Bible means when it says:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

Quote from Chapter 7, Grin with Grace: 
God’s grace strengthens us to live the lives He directs us to live. When we’re weak, grace makes us strong through Christ. His grace is not frail; it’s power-packed. 
– Kathy Carlton Willis

There’s an important element about grace. It’s not meant to be hoarded, regardless of its wonderful value. Once God blesses us with grace, we are then recruited to His team to be instruments of His grace to others. Grin with Grace tells stories of real-life grace and gives suggestions for creating new grace moments for others. Every Bible passage is contained in the text, accommodating ease of reading anytime, anywhere. Read it straight through as a book, use it as a personal study, or join with a group to discuss the material together. The chapters are short enough to combine—resulting in a seven-week group study.

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More about Grin with Grace

Release Date: May 1, 2015
Retail: $14.99
Publisher: AMG
ISBN-10: 0899574785
ISBN-13: 978-0899574783

Praise for the Book:
Grin with Grace is perfect for women on the run, since there is no set daily reading schedule. The blend of humor, transparency, biblical concepts, word studies and opportunities to plug what I learned into my life gave me a fresh approach to doing my devotions or reading a Bible study.
Dr. Thelma Wells (Mama T)
President of A Woman of God Ministries
CEO, That A Girl & Friends Speakers Agency Speaker, Author

Each chapter features five sections:

• Grin with Grace contains real-life stories and observations. You’ll laugh at the humorous confessions and wacky insights, and relate to Kathy’s transparent honesty. Be inspired to see grace in your everyday life.
• Grow with Grace features a grace word study. Kathy examines Bible verses and personalizes the meaning to your situation. Workbook prompts allows you to write down your thoughts as you read along.
• Go with Grace offers life application. Pick one action step and make it work for you, or pick all of them—but do something to live out your grace-walk.
• Give with Grace advances life application further, equipping you to become an instrument of God’s grace to others. You’ll be inspired to take what you’ve learned and give it away to others. This is when faith becomes ministry—when your focus expands to see the needs of others.
• Your Grin with Grace Challenge describes a grace-challenging scenario to give you an opportunity to exercise your newfound grace. It allows for speculation and judgment calls, to prepare you for the what-ifs that happen in life.
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About the Author:
Kathy Carlton Willis writes and speaks with a balance of funny and faith—whimsy and wisdom. Not many funny girls also have Bible degrees! Kathy’s a pastor’s wife, which gives her plenty of opportunities to grin with grace. She shines the light on issues that hold women back and inspires their own lightbulb moments. Almost a thousand of Kathy’s articles have been published in books, magazines, newspapers and online publications. Kathy’s tagline describes her best: Light & Lively: His Reflection/Her Laughter. Kathy lives with her pastor/husband, Russ, in Rockdale, Texas.

WEBSITE: www.kathycarltonwillis.com
TWITTER: @KCWComm

#ThursdayThoughts: Special Guest post by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Good Morning and Welcome to the last Thursday Thoughts of July 2015!

Yeah, it goes without saying this year has flown by. It is my pleasure to bring you this special guest post by Kim Vogel Sawyer and Litfuse publicity.

When Grace Sings

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 niv

That is the focus scripture for WHEN GRACE SINGS, Book 2 in the Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy. And boy, did I learn the truth of that verse while writing the series. My youngest granddaughter, born with multiple health challenges, arrived in the midst of the series. At the same time, my mother’s health was deteriorating. During the months of writing, I had so many interruptions to go to doctor appointments, provide emotional support, stop and pray... And deadlines don’t change just because the writer has interruptions! Time and again as I sat down at my computer, panic tried to rise up. So little time, so much to do. And somehow, with prayer, God centered my focus during those fleeting minutes and hours and the stories came to life on the computer screen. I was an emotional, weak, weary mess during the writing of this trilogy, but God’s strength saw me through. His power is always there when we feel powerless. I am so grateful for His sufficiency.

When Grace Sings is book 2 in Kim's "The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy" and can be purchased at Amazon in Print, for Kindle & Hardcover along with book 1, When Mercy Rains.

Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher someday people would check out her books in libraries. That little girl’s dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer’s Return. Since then, Sawyer has watched God expand her dream beyond her childhood imaginings. With more than 30 titles on library shelves and more than a 1.5 million copies of her books in print, she enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Her books have received the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

Empty-nesters, Sawyer and her retired military husband, Don, enjoy a quiet existence in small-town Kansas, the setting for many of her novels. When she isn’t writing, Sawyer stays active serving in her church’s women’s and music ministries, traveling with “The Hubs” and spoiling her quiverful of granddarlings.

Keep up with Kim Vogel Sawyer at www.kimvogelsawyer.com, on Facebook (KimVogelSawyer.Author.Speaker) or by following her on Twitter (KimVogelSawyer).

Sounds like another great book by Kim. 

Stay tuned for Saturday Spotlight and come back next week for more Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlights!

Until next time....take care & God Bless!

PamT 

#ThursdayThoughts: Grace & Gratitude

Good Morning Friends,

Well here we are, the last Thursday Thoughts in March 2015! End of the 1st Quarter.

Now's the time when most people look back over their resolutions and/or goals and see how they've done. And now's the time when most people give up because they just aren't where they wanted to be.

Don't be one of them!

Look over them, readjust if necessary and then express gratitude for how far you've come!

Then ask God for the grace to continue.

Next to LOVE, Grace and Gratitude are the most powerful aspects of faith you can express.

You might also consider incorporating writing and/or saying affirmations into your daily schedule. I can hear you lamenting now...I don't have time...

YES you do!

Say them while in the shower, while getting dressed, while waiting on the coffee to brew, while waiting on the kids to get in the car, while preparing breakfast or lunches. Mutter them under your breath while in traffic or the car line at school or at the bank.

In other words, use the time you would normally spend complaining to show grace and express gratitude.

Meditation is also important....Joyce Meyer has said, "If you can worry, you can meditate." All this means is shifting those worrisome thoughts into positive, faith-filled ones. Meditation is simple and can be done in as little as 5 minutes a day...better yet 5 minutes 3 times a day (morning, at lunch, before bed).

Here's the thing, we tend to make every little effort to change a big deal when really, it's a minor adjustment in our thinking and speaking. And, remember, any small improvement is a step in the right direction.

Have a Blessed and Grace-filled day!
PamT