**I received a complimentary copy of this book for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

About the Book

Book: Broken to Beautiful

Author: Jeannine Bennett

Genre: Christian Nonfiction

Release date: July 29, 2019

What do you do when life is unfair, all hope is lost and God seems absent?

Life does not always turn out the way we hope. It is often unfair, filled with hurt and rocked by disappointment. Even as Christians we find ourselves wondering if God is really there.

Jeannine Bennett is no exception; she understands all too well the struggles of life that hit so hard they take your breath away and leave you broken. But she’s also discovered that our greatest trials in life are always used by God for good, nothing we experience is ever wasted. In Broken to Beautiful, Jeannine invites us into her journey of how God captured her heart. With vulnerability, tenacity and humor, she helps us to recognize that brokenness is not the end of our story. God has a plan for each of us and it is beautiful. No matter how great your struggle, your loss, or your disappointment, God is still in control and his promises are real. She helps us understand that it’s not just our story its God’s story too.

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About the Author

Jeannine Bennett is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is also the founder and CEO of Vision to Purpose, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, an adjunct faculty member in the School of Business for Liberty University Online, and an executive coach for The Honor Foundation.

To those who know Jeannine, she is simply a woman who loves Jesus, is devoted to her family, and struggles with life’s challenges like the rest of us. She is not immune to bad hair days, shrinking clothes (weight gain), or sleepless nights. She loves learning and sharing the knowledge acquired to help others learn too. Her favorite ice cream is a toss-up between butter pecan and mint chocolate chip. And, although she has lived in Virginia for more than 30 years, she still calls a water fountain a bubbler. A term she grew up saying in her hometown of Racine, Wisconsin.

More from Jeannine

”To Be a Light for Others”

People often ask why I chose to share such personal details of my life. Truth be told, to be a light for others. For years I wanted to write a book. It took me a long time to grow the courage necessary to begin the journey. Since I was sharing my testimony, I had to be okay with being vulnerable. I needed to be strong enough to reveal those intimate life details with others. The process became easier once I realized my story was God’s story, too!

Everyone goes through struggles in life, but those trials do not have to leave us broken. We can find hope, peace, and restoration with God, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Nothing we experience is ever wasted. God uses everything.

In Broken to Beautiful, you will find a series of events that read like a tragedy, comedy, drama, and horror show. It is full of hurt, deceit, grief, heartache, and devastation. However, thanks to God, it is also full of great joy, many blessings, countless rewards, lots of love, and a whole bunch of never-ending hope.

It is my sincerest desire that this book serves as a blessing to those who read it.

In Christ,

Jeannine

My Thoughts

I must admit that I am always drawn in by a gorgeous cover and it was what initially drew me to Broken to Beautiful. With the warmth of sunshine and sunflowers, there was something about this image that just spoke of a kind of freedom that we all strive for. And with the message 'Brokenness is not the end of your story'? I was all in. Brokenness is a state that I knew all to well about, as I feel that so many of us likely do for one reason or another. I couldn't wait to Jeannine's story.

And wow, what a story! With unbelievable honesty and rawness, she brings us into her journey thus far... a journey filled with more tragedies than one person should have to endure. While her story was compelling, what really stuck out about this book was that it wasn't just her story. Throughout all of these tragedies, God was there too, using the unthinkable for good. Each chapter in fact ends with thoughts on 'God's planned outcome', as well as some great scriptural references. One of my favorite songs for many years has been Superchick's Beauty from Pain. It is a song that has brought me through many struggles and one that shares the beautiful message in its words:

And though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday
And see how you've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames

This is what we see in Jeannine's story. But it's not just Jeannine's story either. It is each of ours. While the circumstances may be different, we all go through events in our life-big or small- that will break us and that God will use in our lives. In addition to the previously mentioned 'God's Planned Outcome' and scriptures at the end of each chapter, there are also questions to reflect upon and allowing us to take a deeper look at our own brokenness and discover how from it God will bring the beautiful.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and while difficult to read at times, one that so many can benefit from.