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Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young

Chasing God's glory down life's unexpected trails

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Book Review: Unexpected

What’s the most unexpected thing you have ever experienced?

For me, it was a stage four cancer diagnosis for my husband at age 40. When he graduated to Heaven less than 4 months later, my faith was shaken. I was paralyzed by guilt, confusion, shame and fear about the future. My husband’s death was unexpected and I had to learn how to navigate grief and move forward.

Christine Caine’s new book Unexpected: Leave Fear Behind, Move Forward in Faith, Embrace the Adventure reaches out to people in all seasons of life who are faced with the unexpected like I was. Through compelling stories and practical strategies, this book helps readers anticipate the unexpected and to live with true joy trusting God in all things.

I had the privilege of hearing Christine live at the Propel Activate event in Long Beach a few weeks ago. Christine writes how she preaches. She is a vivid storyteller and loves to drop truth bombs to challenge her audience.

My favorite part of the book is in Chapter One where she talks about how we cannot expect to control the unexpected, but we can expect that God will be faithful to the promises He makes in the Bible. She goes on to list 20 promises we can expect verified by Scripture. For example, we can expect God to turn our mourning into gladness as it says in Psalm 30:11-12.

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.” 

In the chapter “When the Unexpected Disappoints: Rising Up in Resilience,” Christine reminds us how important it is to recover your wonder when you have faced the unexpected. “Holding to our faith–even in the face of deep disappointments–is critical,” she writes. “Making God’s promises bigger than our disappointments is essential.

My family is presently in a season saturated with transition. Some of the transitions we chose and anticipated like my daughters transferring to a new school this fall and moving to a new house a few weeks ago. Some of our transitions were unexpected like my husband’s company restructuring or God leading us to leave the church we attended for almost two decades.

In Unexpected, Christine taught me: “We can’t control what life sends us, but we can control how we respond. After all, the only way through is… through.” These words give me courage to keep moving through the transitions and the unexpected trials. I highly recommend this book. Christine’s words are an important reminder that God moves with you and me through it all.

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September 5, 2018 Categories: Book Reviews, Navigating GriefTagged: brave, courage, death, fear, finishing well, Grief, hope, struggle, transitions

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Meet Dorina

Aloha, friend! If you love stories, you are in the right place. I write about grief, glory, running, food, and more. I hope these words inspire you to chase after God’s glory in your life today!

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From glorious summer produce to frozen treats, from spicy Korean wings to colorful charcuteries, these are a few of our fave 2022 summer eats! 🍉 
What is your fave food or dish to make/eat in the summer?! Share in the comments! #glorychasers #eatprayrun
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Today we are walking through Psalm 95, a praise and thanksgiving psalm!

The people thank God for being the rock of their salvation, a great ...

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Today we are walking through Psalm 95, a praise and thanksgiving psalm! 
The people thank God for being the rock of their salvation, a great God and high King. My favorite image here is God as our Shepherd. He calls us the “people of his pasture, the sheep of his hand.” 🐑 He is a faithful shepherd who keeps His eye on us, provides food for us, and hears our cries even in the wilderness place. What a comfort!
I hope you will take a little time today to listen and read Psalm 95. Join me in thanksgiving and also heed this warning in v. 8-11 not to repeat the past! 
👉🏾How has God been faithful to you in the past? Let’s not forget who He is and what He has done in our lives!
#psalms #bible #bibleverse #biblestudy #devotional #shepherd #thelordismyshepherd
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✍🏾 I wrote the final lines today. 😮‍💨 Breathing Through Grief, Coming in Fall 2023 from @inkandwillowgifts
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🎙 In this episode, we interviewed Latasha Ferguson, who is a speaker, writer, podcaster (Overcome to Become Podcast), and ministry leader. Her ...

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🎙 In this episode, we interviewed Latasha Ferguson, who is a speaker, writer, podcaster (Overcome to Become Podcast), and ministry leader. Her heart beats for empowering women to do the hard work of heart work so they can get unstuck, overcome, own their story, and live authentically.
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📚 Who loves reading aloud?! My 10-year-old read a lot of books aloud to me this summer. ☀️ It was such a fun way to dive into the stories of characters from many cultures. Here’s our Summer Reading list with our top 10 chapter books featuring #AAPI characters and authors! 
👉🏾Check out our reviews on my blog at www.DorinaGilmore.com!
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