Where Is God in This? | Excerpt + Giveaway

JustRead Publicity Tours

ABOUT THE BOOK

Life is unfair. Bad things happen to good people. Not all dreams come true. We lose people. We fail people. And when we encounter the inevitable struggles of life, we may be tempted to ask God Why me? as we try to reconcile our pain with God’s promises. But a far more helpful and life-enriching question for us to ask God is What are you trying to teach me in this?

Tackling ten common struggles, such as isolation, fear, rejection, failure, insecurity, temptation, and more, Landra Young Hughes shows you how to have peace even when life doesn’t make sense. Speaking with great empathy born from her own losses and years in ministry, Hughes doesn’t suggest you “get over” your hard times. Instead, she helps you recognize that, while you will always live in a broken world this side of heaven, your pain has much to teach you about God and yourself. With her empathetic help, you’ll discover how to grow through grief and thrive despite adversity.

Publisher: Baker Books

Release Date: October 18, 2022

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Bookshop | Christian Book

EXCERPT

I’ve experienced about every form of loneliness. When my dad was accused of stealing money from the church, a news story aired that I’m pretty sure everyone within a one-­thousand-­mile radius watched. The fallout was massive. People left black wreaths on our church doors. I don’t know if they were trying to tell us they wanted us dead, but it was eerie and disturbing. I felt so lonely during that time that even my thoughts seemed to echo in the silence around me.

My eating disorder was isolating. When I kept it a secret, I felt like an imposter. When everyone knew, I felt like a failure whom no one trusted. Brad and I moved to Oklahoma in 2020 to start a sister campus of Fellowship Church. We had a toddler, I was pregnant, Brad was working all the time, and I knew no one, living far away from my family for the first real time in my life. My heart ached with
loneliness.

Now losing my oldest sister has opened a door to a type of loneliness I can barely describe. My life has yet to feel whole again.

Yes, I’ve asked, God, why? Why me? Why us? Why her? Why here? I mean, wasn’t curing loneliness God’s first troubleshooting moment?

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

The Lord God had formed all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He had made all of them out of the ground. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give them. And the name the man gave each living creature became its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals.

But Adam didn’t find a helper that was just right for him. So the Lord God caused him to fall into a deep sleep. While the man was sleeping, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs. Then the Lord God closed the opening in the man’s side. Then the Lord God made a woman. (Gen. 2:18–22)

I imagine the world Adam saw was absolutely breathtaking. Pre-­pollution, pre-­industrialization, pre-­us. I think of every scene from The Lord of the Rings movies. And all the animals, all the streams, all the flowers were not enough for Adam. So God created another person. See, we’ve needed other people since the actual beginning of time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Landra Young Hughes is the daughter of prominent pastor Ed Young Jr. and Lisa Young of Fellowship Church. Because of her upbringing, Landra has developed a passion for seeing people maximize their God-given potential and embrace their God-defined self-worth. She and her husband, Brad, live in Dallas, Texas, where they serve on staff at Fellowship Church and raise their three children. Landra is coauthor with Holly Crawshaw of A Different Kind of Love Story.

Connect with Landra by visiting landrahughes.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Holly Crawshaw is a writer and editor who believes everyone has a meaningful story to tell. Holly is passionate about partnering with authors to leverage their experiences to further God’s kingdom and help God’s people. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her three daughters.

GIVEAWAY

(10) winners will receive a paperback copy of Where is God in This? and a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight November 7, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on November 14, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

TOUR SCHEDULE

JustRead Publicity Tours