Anything But Ordinary: Finding Faith That Works When Life Doesn’t
By Stephanie Morales-Beaulieu (Word Alive Press)
God has a way of making the ordinary extraordinary. In Stephanie Morales-Beaulieu’s Anything But Ordinary, she pens an autobiographical biography of her father and her family Finding Faith That Works When Life Doesn’t.
The story begins at the end with a funeral on Aug. 24, 2009. In flashforwards and flashbacks, readers experience Stephanie’s mother Kathy’s surprising journey to faith, her Filipino father Jesse’s astonishing turn to Christ, their unlikely call to ministry, and finally 60-year-old Pastor Jesse Morales’ heartbreaking 15-month losing battle to ALS.
Kathy’s life had been plagued by poor choices, especially after her family moved to the Philippines and later at the University of British Columbia, where she admittedly majored in partying. She married Jesse Morales, a mechanic and Filipino immigrant, but her emptiness continued until a divine encounter in August 1984 changed her life for the better but her marriage for the worse. In 1986, after Kathy quit trying to save Jesse, the father of three came to Christ in another God-orchestrated event.
As with everything in Jesse’s life, he was “all in” and began leading others to salvation. Henry Blackaby, the family’s interim pastor, offered to mentor Jesse and wasn’t surprised when God called him to seminary. By 1994, he was Pastor Jesse and, with Kathy, he led and planted churches, shared the gospel and worked as a mechanic.
In 86 brief, raw, honest chapters that each begin with a date and a Scripture, Stephanie details how God continually worked in her parents’ lives and in those of their four daughters. When the terminal ALS diagnoses came, Jesse clearly heard his Lord say: “You do your part. I’ll do mine.” His part was trusting and sharing Jesus to the end.
Ultimately however, the story isn’t about Stephanie’s earthly father but about the heavenly Father. It’s about how faith shaped and continues to shape her family and her life as a speaker and church planter, and indeed, all of us.
Kathy Robinson Hillman, former president
Texas WMU and Baptist General Convention of Texas
Waco
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