As I’ve often said, God leads me to books at certain times and I may purchase a book and not read it until much later. Last year I was twittering around and read an article about one of the Kardashians and the church she attended. Being the curious one, I google that church name and read about their beliefs and the preacher. I was intrigued to learn that he had written a book about forgiveness –The Four Laws of Forgiveness: How to Forgive Yourself and Others by Rev. Brad Johnson I downloaded that book and there it sat on my Kindle for the next year. When I undertook my; experiment to read all of the books on my Kindle in the general order that I had download them, this book showed up in late January of this year. As the anniversary of my brother’s death approached, I was dealing with my own need for forgiveness and my need to forgive. This book helped me further understand the healing power of forgiveness. Johnson used stories of his own life as examples, which I found made it personal and engaging.

Another twitter find of mine is a pastor named Peter Wilson from a young, growing church in Nashville – Cross Point. Although Wilson comes from a church background that is usually off putting for me, he uses language that I find very comforting. Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? is helpful for anyone going through a life transition, Wilson provides insight into Scriptural examples of Plan B situations and God’s presence during those difficult and confusing times. I completed this book on the one year anniversary of my brother’s death, which was very timely. Wilson balances scripture and real life experiences to show how tragedy and disappointment can be used by God as a time of growth. I think this book would be a great one for small group studies. Wilson and his publisher, Thomas Nelson, have developed a dvd series, along with participant guides for that exact purpose.