Metro Roundup: Local authors aim to inspire others by sharing testimonies in new book
After experiencing rejections, disappointments and insecurities, two Birmingham authors are using their stories to help women who are hurting or going through rough times.
Jackie Tinkler of Chelsea and Amber Edwards of Moody published “Something Beautiful: Why Settle When Life Can Be Beautiful?” in January after years of writing and praying.
Both women attend Church of the Highlands, where Edwards is involved with the Dream Team at the Grants Mill campus and Tinkler attends the Greystone campus.
After meeting in a brunch small group, they discovered a mutual calling to help hurting women and share their testimonies through writing. After some praying and advice from Pastor Charles Kelly from Church of the Highlands, they knew God was calling them to write a book.
“It was interesting to see how our writings, although written worlds apart, came together,” Edwards said. “You saw God’s hand on it, and you saw that He had given us those words in our hearts for a time like this. It was God-ordained long ago.”
The heart of the book is sharing their stories so women who are hurting can know they aren’t alone, and that there is a way to have the life they’re seeking. It is a compilation of testimony, small group study questions, along with encouragement from the authors and from the Bible.
“It’s the idea that our worth and value are not in this world or in how we look, but it’s in a real relationship with Jesus,” Tinkler said.
“Walking through all that rejection and insecurity and learning that the only way to have a beautiful life and have the life we all want is through a personal relationship with Christ,” Edwards added.
Following the release of “Something Beautiful,” they celebrated with a book launch event at the Clubhouse on Highland on Jan. 27. Large groups of loved ones filled the space as they took photos and received signed copies of the book.
“I can remember at one point looking around and there’s a huge line of people who are there to see you and love on you,” Edwards said. “To know that they took the time to come out to pour into me and be there for me was huge. It was almost magical.”
The pair also started a women’s ministry, Something More, to go along with the idea that God is the key to having a beautiful life. With a catchphrase of “open the door to something more,” they have a goal of showing that God is the “more” that women seek in life.
Following the success of their book, their plans are to focus on one thing at a time before continuing on to whatever is next. The reviews are coming in waves of positivity, and their prayers of impacting the women of Birmingham and beyond are being answered.
“There have been good sales and what women are saying about the book has been incredible,” Tinkler said. “We’re pausing in that moment of taking it all in and get it out there for women to share.”
“My prayer is that it ministers to that woman that thinks, ‘Nobody sees me, I'm not pretty, I don’t fit into this world, I can’t find my place,’” Edwards said. “She has a place, she has a plan, she has a purpose. God has something amazing for her life. My prayer is that even if it’s just one woman, that it changes someone’s life.”
For more information about Something More and the “Something Beautiful” book, visit them on Facebook or buy the book from westbowpress.com/en.