Disclosure: I received these books to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.  This post contains my affiliate link.

As always, I read several books this week and they gave me food for thought. When I was in elementary school, probably in third grade or so, a girl named Tina was visiting her grandmother who happened to live next to my babysitter. We struck up a friendship during that summer and ended up becoming pen pals.  She was the first of many pen pals with whom I exchanged letters for years.  Even today, I keep in touch with some of my pen pals via Facebook and Christmas cards.  There’s something about writing a letter than enables people to open up and share their deepest thoughts.  Maybe it’s that letter writing doesn’t happen instantaneously like a conversation. Perhaps it’s because there’s a time lapse between letters that offers a chance for reflection.  Whatever the reason, letters tend to be the vehicle for deep emotion in many people.

One of my pen pals commented that she enjoyed looking up the Bible verses I included with each letter.  It was something I did every time without really thinking about it.  I ended each letter with a Bible verse that related to something I had written or that the friend had mentioned.  That comment stayed with me because it helped me to understand that my actions, however small they might seem to me, might have an impact on others.  In the book Active Spirituality, author Brian G. Hedges developed a book around a series of letters that get to the heart of the matter.  These letters are about theology, friendship, and a connection that reaches beyond this Earth.  It contains imagery and symbolism that help to make sense of the world.  The book is short enough to finish in one sitting, but I highly recommend savoring its message.   Consider reading a few pages then pausing to reflect upon the ideas for a day or so.  This book could be the perfect devotional to enjoy alone, or share it with a Sunday evening gathering. You can get Active Spirituality for $3.99 for Kindle.

Another book I read this week was Season of Change by Lynette Sowell. Amish romance is a theme that’s easily overdone by authors but Sowell brought something new to the genre in this novel.  Have you ever read about a circus entwined in the storyline of an Amish romance?  Neither had I.  Sowell does a great job of bringing together some unlikely characters, blending in the unorthodox ingredients, and baking up a sweet treat of a book.  Natalie was a dear friend by the end of the book.  I loved how she naturally bonded with Jacob’s children through her volunteer work as a clown.  (Normally clowns freak me out, but Natalie was pretty benign so I got past it.)  There were some fun references to places that are now on my list of vacation spots — Big Olaf’s, for example — plus I want to see some Amish people on tricycles.  Talk about getting creative!

A Season of Change is a message about embracing God’s will.  Although both of the main characters struggled with a change in their life’s plan, they learned to accept it and move on with life.  Such an important lesson to learn!   If you’re ready for something different in the Amish fiction section, check out Season of Change.