Life Altering Books!

I'd love to hear about the books that are impacting your life today. Here are two of mine:

 

Left to Tell by Imaculee Ilibagiza.Wow. Read this on my Kindle on the way to Mount Hermon. It’s about a woman who survives (true story) the Rwandan holocaust by hiding with several other women in a pastor’s closet where she has no room to move. She does this for months. While in that darkened closet, she asks for a French English dictionary and the pastor’s only 2 English books and teaches herself English. Her heart, forgiveness, and beauty astounded me. It reminded me of another amazing book, As We Forgive by Catherine Claire Larson which details amazing stories of reconciliation between perpetrators and victims of the same holocaust. At the end of that, I realized this: If these people can forgive the folks who hacheted their entire families, why am I holding onto to my unforgiveness? Absolutely lifechanging book.

 


The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan.  I’ve read this book in the past and it helped revolutionize my view of rhythm and sabbath. In the chaos of living in France and all that went on there, Sabbath became a holy sanctuary for me and my family. But in the midst of my crazy-busy life here in America, I teeter on the brink of burnout. I realized that I’ve relegated Sabbath to the back burner again. So I’m re-reading this book. It’s like dark chocolate during a craving. So beautifully written. So invitational. So counter cultural. I’m going through a shift in my writing career, finding that One Thing, and sensing a change. This book is reorienting me in the best possible way.