When It's Your Turn to Serve: Experiencing God's Grace in His Calling for Your Life

by Karen Pence

Life is full of unexpected obstacles, but there’s no challenge too big for God to handle.

Washington D.C. is crammed with people eager to bend your ear about statistics, polls, and policies. Karen Pence is more likely to talk about beekeeping—if she’s not busy teaching an art class, painting watercolors, or riding her bike.

An elementary schoolteacher who never expected to leave Indiana, Karen found during her extraordinary journey to becoming Second Lady that—despite the turbulence inherent to political campaigning, and through eighteen moves and countless surprises—God’s grace was sufficient.

When It’s Your Turn to Serve is full of heartwarming and relatable stories of being a leader, a teacher, a mom, and a Christian throughout an unpredictable life. From turning up to “Pet Night” on Capitol Hill toting a lizard, two cats, and a dog—only to find it was an event for lobbyists—to getting the unexpected news that her husband had become Donald Trump’s nominee for vice president, Karen has learned to take surprises in stride.

In this warm and deeply personal book, the former second lady shares the lessons she’s learned about God, faith, and family. Brimming with stories that mattered but didn’t make the headlines, the book challenges you to be open when opportunities arise, recognize your purpose in God’s plan, and step up to make a difference when it’s your turn.

233 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2023

About the author

Karen Pence is the incumbent Second Lady of the United States.

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. Hearing about a beekeeper/artist in our nation’s capital was right up my alley. Honestly though, this wasn’t a great read. It was rather disorganized. I wish it had been edited and organized better, because it had potential. I loved the artwork in it and that alone made the purchase of the book worth it.
I will also say that aside from the disorganized writing, I finished the book feeling disappointed because I don’t feel like I really know anything about Karen Pence other than random facts of her life that I could read in the news or on Wikipedia. I wish I could’ve felt her heart more in this book.
I don’t know if author’s read their Goodreads reviews but if you do, please write another book. I will read it because I really want the chance to know who you are!

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy book to read. Karen Pence is a good example of servant leadership. She describes the challenges she faced as first lady of Indiana and second lady of the U.S. Her mantra is that, if you follow God's plan for your life, you will succeed. The book details the number of opportunities someone in her position has to improve the lives of others as well as the challenges faced in raising a family while under the lens of a microscope. As an interesting aside, each chapter begins with a fact about honey bees. Those facts alone are a fascinating read.

[Leslie McCleary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the Pence family and their life journey. I was drawn to this book because I read Mike Pence's book and was curious to see how the two books would align and they did align quite well. Karen Pence is a Christian, a mother, a teacher, an author and an artist. I wanted to read more about her since we have all those things in common.

[Rhonda Keliipio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every story gives you insight to another’s journey and that is a beautiful thing. Seeing God’s hand in the midst of the political arena is truth to His hand in everything. I love how she stays true to who she is regardless of her position. May we each find purpose in every season.

[Ron]

This is just NewsCorp funneling money to the Pence family via their subsidiary publishing companies. Nothing to see here, folks.

[lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspirational and consistently uplifting book

[Emily Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

While her testimony and biblical beliefs are not clearly outlined, her principles of servant leadership and serving in a public office as a Christian were wonderful.

[Robyn Hinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listed to audio book. Too many mundane details. It was fun to hear her perspective.