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I have a lovely book that I want to recommend to you. It’s called Restored: Reconnecting Life’s Broken Pieces. Written by Cindy Brinker Simmons, it features a striking image on its cover of a kintsugi bowl. What an arresting reflection of the brokenness we can experience via suffering…and what the potential can be if we can draw near to God and His Word as we seek to heal, and even to suffer; and to know Him and His joy. Let me tell you more about the remarkable book; and be sure to enter the giveaway to win your own copy below!
About Restored
Here’s a bit from the publishers:
“From a young age to adulthood, author Cindy Brinker Simmons has experienced unexpected loss and grief. She has remained faith-filled through it, sharing, “I have profound and heartfelt gratitude toward God who rescued me. He picked up all the broken pieces and restored me to a place of great peace, purpose, and joy. My heart carries the agonizing ache for those who still reside in painful, lonely, and despairing places.”
Cindy lost her 34-year-old mother, the late great tennis champion Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly Brinker, to cancer when Cindy was twelve. Her mother was ranked number one in the world in 1952-54. Then 36 years later, Cindy lost her husband Bob to a rare cancer diagnosis.
In Restored: Reconnecting Life’s Broken Pieces(Redemption Press, March 2024), Cindyauthentically and wittingly wrestles with the reality of when your world has been rocked and provides readers fresh hope to move forward in victory. Says Cindy, “Even in life’s tough and messy journeys, Restored points to God’s purpose and plan uniquely created for each person that is meant to be shared with a watching world.”
She believes that no one is immune from the painful bumps and bruises of daily living. She explains, “Sometimes it is really hard to take the first step when life weighs too much. Restored will reinvigorate the spirit of those who need to be refreshed and strengthened. It will motivate those who need life breathed back into them. Every life has a plan and a purpose. My hope is that through Restored, readers will make an important discovery: God is always present.”
Cindy shares that:
- God’s consistent love and goodness can always be trusted.
- Trials can be treasures in disguise and can radically change lives.
- Life is relational and being in a healthy, trusted, and supportive community ushers in hope, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.
- The power of forgiveness reconciles relationships.
- Serving and comforting others is an act of worship to God, modeling His lavish love, mercy, and kindness for humanity.”
My thoughts about Restored
Dictionary.com defines the word kintsugi as, “a traditional Japanese pottery repair technique in which lacquer mixed with precious metals, especially gold, is used to fill cracks and replace missing pieces.” The beautiful cracked bowl on this book’s cover suggests that our broken places can be restored and made beautiful. Can we really believe that, though? Are we able, despite the famous verses in James 1:2-5, to consider our trials and suffering to be pure joy? (For myself? I’d say sometimes. But many times not.)
I can tell you, however, that reading author Cindy Brinker Simmons’ Restored is absolutely a joy. Though she has experienced some losses that are immense and terrible, she has been able to first, come to know Jesus, and second, to embrace God in all His goodness and truth, and His Word as the informer and definer of what her suffering has meant. In Restored, she not only shares her own story, but processes, ideas, and applications on how we can embrace God during our own trials. And readers are encouraged, repeatedly, to embrace God and know that all He says in His word is true.
What has been most meaningful to me is the way Cindy created a pathway that we can, ourselves, take during trial. (You can see the proof on this book’s pages, how much I found that could help me, by my numerous highlighted sentences!) Suffering impacts so much in our lives; and so, this book talks about the restoration we can embrace (and that God offers) in these areas: momentum, perseverance, joy, community, relationships, compassion, and purpose. How incredibly helpful! During my own deepest moments of pain and suffering, I stumbled at knowing *how* exactly I should walk through them, and how I could apply the Scripture that I thought I knew so well to my daily struggles. Not only my relationships suffered, but my own momentum and perseverance. And yet! There IS a way that I can walk instead–where I am holding God and knowing that He is holding me. This book’s beautiful chapters, in a calm and comforting way, offer the truths of the Bible and encourage readers to embrace not only the Scriptures, but the God of the Bible Himself, who’s offering Himself as Savior, Companion, and Guide.
We all know that life is hard, and that in this beautiful yet fallen world, trials will come. And yet. And yet, we have a God whose desire is to love us, strengthen us, and walk us through trials; never alone, with the joy that He promises with His own being. Once again, He’s the God who has made the way for us; who then takes us by the hand to walk it out. He is good. And He is true.
Some of my favorite quotes from Restored
There’s so much good and precious cargo packed into Restored. Here are just a few of the quotes that meant the most to me:
- “Spending too much time living in the past is also wasting the precious hours of today.” (p. 49)
- “God’s plan is to mend the broken. He will redeem a corrupt and dark world. He will repair relationships and restore peace. This process requires that He reconstruct hearts, attitudes, and beliefs. That can be painful, hard, and fatiguing, but that is the price of restoration. You must keep moving with the expectation that God will create beauty out of the ugly mess you might find yourself in right now. It is not too late.” (p. 51)
- “Don’t forget to remember how God’s pruning blesses you for your own good. As the Master Gardener, He snips, trims, and clips areas of your life that are destructive, harmful, and unpleasant to you and to others. After all God knows everything about you.” (p.76)
- “Grief needs a time of quiet recovery. A time to breathe and regather what has been lost. To mend the frayed emotions and to rest the weary soul. Hardships can wreck your mind, body, and soul, so this healing time needs to be properly applied.” (p. 93)
- “God knows the state of your heart will govern everything about your life. He also knows that joy is not predicated on our circumstances but on a relationship with Him.” (p. 88)
- “God can use your story even if it is flawed, messy or blemished. It is never too late to be used by God.” (p. 182)
Enter to win a copy of Restored by Cindy Brinker Simmons
You can enter to win a copy of Restored: Reconnecting Life’s Broken Pieces from the FINCHNWREN blog, The BlogAbout Blogger Network, and Cindy Brinker Simmons! To enter, just click on the highlighted link below that says, “Enter here!” That will take you to a Giveaway Tools entry form, where you’ll be able to enter to win this book in a variety of ways. Giveaway closes on May 18, 2024. US entrants only. Must be 18 and older to win. Best wishes!
Enjoy! –Wren
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the BlogAbout Blogger Network. All opinions shared here are my own.
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