Gift of Grace: Little Inspirations That Invite God's Blessings

I admire honesty and Candy Chand admits there are some things she doesn't know. In spite of a lack of understanding of life's mysteries, she has discovered faith and trust in God and invites readers to share in some of her discoveries. In addition to her personal experiences, she brings added insight from other sources to explain in detail how one can apply each of the seven graces to one's own life. Each chapter concludes with a helpful summary in itemized form. Readers can be thankful Candy applied the principle of fortitude to make this book possible. On page 109 she defines it as "the virtue of perseverance, to endure sometimes difficult circumstances with the sheer determination to see your dreams come to pass."

This book is a lovely explication of the seven virtues, complete with Scripture quotes and personal stories. Anyone who loves the Chicken Soup or Heartwarmers books will love this book too (the author wrote stories for those series as well). Each chapter centers on one of the virtues, and I read one each night for a week. It's a quick read, and I found myself returning to certain passages over and over. This is the best book on grace that I've found.

I've read all of Candy Chand's books and have felt much encouragement and inspiration from her stories and experiences. I've always related and grown after reading her stories, for I have experienced myself God's immense loving grace, and have seen the loving hand of God in many difficult, as well as simple, trials. Candy reminds readers to look for God's voice daily and to recognize His intimate communications in the depth of our heart and in the situations we encounter each day. I hope Candy will continue to write more books with her experiences and insights for she shares from her heart and has a depth in her relationship with God that inspires me to grow deeper myself with my relationship with Him.