Lovely written and full of truth telling. It took me awhile to read because I savored the stories and how she wrote. Top on my list to read again and highly recommend

I received an ARC from Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley. This review is my opinion.

Kara Lawler, open up her heart, this book feels so personal that it seems more like a diary. She goes on her journey as a woman, but mainly as a wife and mom, and how the ordinary has become holy when she needs the beauty behind all of it. This book is an invitation to be open, to let people in, to love freely, and to see how in our normal daily life we can experiment more if we see life through a wide and new eyes.

This is a great book! It shows us the author’s life and how you can find Everywhere Holy. I’m kind of like this author. She’s always looking for Holy and everywhere she looks, she finds it. Because we can find God’s Holiness everywhere. It was full of so many inspiring things. I truly loved it! Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review #EverywhereHoly in my honest perspective.

This is a great book for anyone who is struggling with anxiety and/or depression. The author shares her personal struggles with mental illness and is a great book for anyone who is living in a time of uncertainty, such as we are now. I enjoyed the author's writing style and the book offered me a great reminder that God is always with us, everywhere we go.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me a review copy of this book.

This was just what I needed during this time of uncertainty. Kara helped me find peace with her writing and inspired me to connect deeper with my faith.

Everywhere Holy is a book that discusses motherhood, living in the present, overcoming life’s hurdles, and finding holy in all places. Kara Lawler is candid in the way she speaks of anxiety, depression, and feeling lost in life. I appreciate her vulnerability to share her moments of weakness reminding us that our weaknesses make us stronger.

Though Everywhere Holy is a religious book, this book can speak to everyone on a basic human level. Kara reminds us to exist in the present moment and appreciate both the big and small things in life. Kara’s words are uplifting, inspiring, and encourage you to step outside of yourself and marvel at the beauty around you. If you’re feeling a little lost in life and/or need a spiritual pick-me-up, Everywhere Holy is worth the read.

I signed up for an Instagram tour for this, doing a first impressions review. From the first two chapters, I'm loving how raw and real and honest this is. It's incredibly relatable, and also encouraging. I love the accessibility of it. It's not a theoretical, theological text, but one to dig into and feel seen and find actual steps I can take to feel more connected to God. (Thanks Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for a free copy).

Everywhere Holy by Kara Lawler is a powerful book about finding God everywhere. – He is in the mundane as well as the miraculous. We find Him in the valley and on the mountaintop. We meet with God in nature and in church. God is everywhere we are. He is nowhere we are not. “I could meet Him everywhere and anywhere if I’d only look.”
God is alive. He is with us now. We have not left Him somewhere in a past experience. The author explains that the same God of her childhood is the same God of her adulthood. She changed. He does not.
There are times when life feels like we are walking through a fog. We need to know that this too will pass. Whatever we go through, if we look for God, we will find signs of Him everywhere. “A holy beauty is everywhere.”
We cannot stop life happening to us but we can choose how we respond. We need to let go of what we cannot control and breathe in blessing. “There is no mess too big to stop me from seeing life in colour.” Remember when we can’t, God can.
“We can serve right where we are.” In the words of Kara Lawler’s daughter when she was three years old, “God gave us hearts to love people.” Wow! Out of the mouths of babes. This is just what Jesus commanded us to do in the Bible.
Kara Lawler writes in a very personable style. Everywhere Holy is a book that is accessible for all. It feels more like a missive from a dear friend, than a book, as we glimpse the author’s life and her heart as she reveals the heart of God.
God created us. God created the world. Everywhere is holy. We can see “heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads” is a quote from Henry David Thoreau.
Everywhere Holy is a powerful, positive book. As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, we need to read this book as if focuses on the heart of God. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Everywhere Holy is the perfect book for now and every day.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

The premise of this book interested me and appeared to be a much-needed read, but the actual writing is awful. Disjointed, dramatic, and incredibly wordy, I only finished this book because I agreed to read in exchange for an honest review. I've seen this author's writing compared to other authors I know and enjoy - this was nothing of the sort and I'm very surprised by the comparison. Love the idea of the book - very much dislike the actual book.

Everywhere Holy
Seeing Beauty, Remembering Your Identity, and Finding God Right Where You Are
by Kara Lawler

Nelson Books


Thomas Nelson
Christian


Pub Date 03 Dec 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Everywhere Holy through Thomas Nelson-Nelson Books and Netgalley:


Everywhere Holy reminds us that when life seems heavy the fog will rise, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment.


We are reminded too that we do not have to have a life lived on a grand mountaintop for it to be meaningful, God can work right where we are at, and I think many forget that as we go through valleys, he is there through our mundane routines, he is there in the faces of our loved ones and friends alike and he is there especially in the very nature he created.

Everywhere Holy offers encouragement to anyone who has suffered depression, has experienced pain or challenges, and reminds us that God is there.


During this time of pandemic and panic, I find Everywhere Holy to offer a respite, and a great deal of comfort.


I give Everywhere Holy five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

The first chapter is mostly about the author’s problems with depression and anxiety. As I read that, I really hoped it wasn’t going to be the largest part of the entire book, because, while I sympathized with her, and I’ve had my own experiences with that, I was really looking for something uplifting. I am glad I stayed with this because it is so much more than encouragement for those who suffer from depression and anxiety. After that first chapter, the story grows into something beautiful.

I thoroughly appreciated the authors gentle writing style. I loved how she appreciates all the beauty and blessings she encounters, so much of it through her experiences with her children and husband. From the wildlife that lives around her to rainy days time spent just being present, she has a very grateful way of seeing things.

I loved this book, and I’m sure I will read it again and again.

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Title: Everywhere Holy
Author: Kara Lawler
Genre: Christian
Rating: 5 out of 5

Life doesn’t have to be sweeping vistas and larger-than-life dreams. It can be small and ordinary and still be filled with God and love. For Kara, life is best lived in the mundane, everyday routines that fill her life, and God meets her there and opens her eyes to the beauty and grace that surrounds her.

I don’t have kids or a small farm like Kara does, but I enjoyed every page of this read. Kara’s writing isn’t flowery, but every sentence is filled with a simple grace that touched me. Peace and simple joy fill every page, and I highly recommend it.

Kara Lawler is a mother and a writer. Everywhere Holy is her newest book.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

I love the title and premise of this book, but it was not the book for me. The author's writing style is too choppy and lyrical for my tastes, though I think many others will like it. It reminds me of Ann Voskamp.

Everywhere Holy by Kara Lawler possesses the essence of extraordinary in the midst of ordinary. Lawler's style is conversational, as if the reader were with the author on her front porch sharing the beauty of place, experience, and Spirit. The messages of finding holy everywhere and self-acceptance will appeal to young mothers and empty-nesters like myself. Men and women will enjoy the book; however, Lawler's work appeals especially to my feminine perspective and my natural inclination to search for God as I amble through the day. Read the book as you would walk; take time to savor the holiness of insight with a peaceful pace.

Good book with some great examples of how to better recognize the blessings in life and how changing our perspective can help us, through and with God, get through life.