At the beginning of this year, I decided to reread the entire Mitford Series by Jan Karon as an escape from all the troubling news that seems to scream at us from every direction these days. It was such a refreshing haven for me, getting reacquainted with Father Tim, Cynthia, Dooley, and all the other colorful characters in Mitford, imagining myself living among them in that quaint North Carolina village. If you’ve never read the books, you must. I promise you will thank me.

When I found out my best friend had never read the series, I shared the first few books with her, and now both she and her 95-year-old mother have worked their way through the 15-book series as well. Then early this spring, I was visiting with our 84-year-old neighbor Judy. Six years ago, her husband Jerry was in a rehabilitation center after breaking his hip. He died on New Year’s Day of 2020 after contracting Covid there.

Judy was devastated and she’s had a rough time since then, so I thought she might enjoy reading the Mitford books. I loaned her the first couple of books and she fell in love with them too. Last Friday, my husband and I popped over for a visit and she couldn’t stop talking about the series, how she longed for a church like the Lord’s Chapel and a pastor like Father Tim.

Then the most amazing thing happened. She told us she was learning so much about the Bible from all the meaningful scriptures that Father Tim and others share in these books. She was prompted to dig through some old boxes to find her late husband’s Bible and started reading God’s Word for the first time in her entire life. She asked specific questions about various passages of scripture, and she and my husband engaged in a long conversation about all that God was teaching her in His Word.

All because of some novels she’s reading.

Fiction, mind you.

Which is why I confess to you that I always bristle when fellow believers scoff at the genre of fiction in church libraries. As if the only books worthy of lining those shelves are non-fiction missives on systematic theology, hermeneutics, discipleship, or eschatology. My response to these scoffers of Christian fiction is simple: Jesus taught through parables—often described as earthly stories with heavenly meanings—and if they were good enough for Him, they’re good enough for us.

I’ve shared this experience with all of you as a reminder that what you do as librarians is important. It matters. Because you never know when one of the books you’ve tucked back on the shelf might be the story God will use to change a life forever.

Even one on that fiction shelf.

Just finished a fabulous novel by my friend Christopher Scott Ford called "A Tomorrow Worth Fighting For" and wow, what a fascinating adventure! Set in Spain in 1896 and inspired by a true story, it tells the incredible journey of an 8-year-old boy who overhears that his drunk and abusive mother isn't his mother at all; she admits kidnapping him as an infant from a couple in Italy. He climbs out his window and leaves on a brave quest to find his real parents in Italy. I really loved this story and all of young Alfredo's colorful adventures along the way. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was because it's so different from anything else I've read. 

My good friend Marilyn Parker has just released her newest novel - the second in her Strugglers series - and I found it absolutely riveting. Yes, evil Queen Jezebel surely ranks as one of the cruelest and most despicable characters in the Bible. But in The Struggle for Courage: In the Days of Jezebel, Marilyn has written a beautiful story about those innocently caught in Jezebel's crosshairs and the depth of love and sacrifice they encounter as faithful followers of Yahweh. One of the best books I've read in a long, long time and I highly recommend it!

I'm so happy for my friend Amy Callahan Johnson and the release of her devotional, Journey With Jesus! Amy is such a gifted story-teller who shares so many of her incredible life experiences, all wrapped in the hope and encouragement found in the scriptures she shares. As a fitness ministry director for more than 36 years, she includes a physical component called "Keep Moving" at the end of each devotion. Her sense of humor and sweet spirit fill every page, inspiring even a resident couch potato like me to get up off the couch and get moving again. But more than that, she nudged me to draw closer to Jesus on my daily journey through life with Him. I LOVE this book!

I haven't been truly gobsmacked by a book in a long time, and I Am in Here literally took my breath away! The premise of this suspense thriller, set in a volatile family predicament that seems to go from bad to worse by the minute, is brilliantly told in part by the brain-injured son no one knows is still "in there." Hale's perspective keeps us quite literally holding our breath and anxiously turning pages all the way to the end. Creston Mapes is the most gifted suspense writer I know; how he ratchets up the drama blows me away. I loved this book!

When the stock market crashed in 1929, 16-year-old Lorena Leland's life takes a huge detour. Seven years later, to help support her struggling family, Rena takes a job interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writer's Project. She meets 101-year-old Frankie Washington whose tragic life both shocks and captivates her. I was absolutely mesmerized by this story, and the beautiful way the author unfolded the layers of forgiveness available to Frankie, who had every reason to hate the hardships life had dealt her. I loved everything about this book.

I  just discovered Michelle Shocklee and she has skyrocketed up my favorite authors list! If you haven't read any of her books, you must! Count the Nights by Stars is a dual timeline historical novel featuring Tennessee's Centennial Exposition in 1897 and a reclusive resident of Nashville's historic Maxwell House Hotel in 1961. Colorful characters, history, mystery, romance ... and a beautiful thread of God's unconditional, lasting love woven throughout. A fabulous story! I also highlty recommend the audiobook version which was read by one of my favorite narrators, Sarah Zimmerman. 

From the very first page, I absolutely fell in love with this brand new novel by Marilyn T. Parker. I'll be honest - biblical fiction isn't my favorite genre, but the author immediately transported me to the world of ancient Israel to witness the bittersweet story of Leah, Rachel, and their shared husband, Jacob; this time told in Leah's voice. I found her story of struggle and triumph as told by this author meticulously researched, beautifully portrayed, and absolutely unforgettable. I honestly couldn't put it down!

I must admit Mother’s Day snuck up on me this year. And as it always does, my heart felt the familiar ache for all of those for whom Mother’s Day is difficult, even dreaded. I thought of those who aren’t able to conceive, or those who’ve lost a baby through miscarriage or stillbirth, because I was one of them back in the spring of 1984. My husband was about to graduate from seminary and already had a job waiting for him on staff at a large church in Florida. At the time, I was nearing the end of my first trimester with our first child, grateful that the long weeks of wretched morning sickness were finally behind me. Then, at a routine appointment with my OBGYN, I could tell by his expression that something was very wrong.

And it was. Our precious unborn child had died. We were absolutely devastated. I was inconsolable, and began to resent the fact that Ken didn’t seem as grief-stricken as I was. I was prickly when well-meaning friends told me of their own miscarriages and how one day, we too could “try again” for another one. As if this one hadn’t mattered and should be forgotten. Everything got on my last nerve as the endless grief seemed to swallow me whole. Then later, when the despair finally began to ease a bit, I wanted to go back to church. Totally oblivious of the date, we had no idea it was Mother’s Day until several young couples with their tiny new babies lined up across the front of the church for the annual baby dedication. Ken and I barely made it out of the sanctuary before the ache in my soul poured out in sobs.

A few days later, a gift from my sister Morlee arrived in the mail. It was a book called Empty Arms by Pam Vredevelt. As I began to read, I could feel God speaking to my broken heart through the author’s own story of losing her full-term baby in stillbirth. She addressed the unspeakable sense of loss. She examined the reality that men and women who lose a child often experience grief quite differently and how to help each other work through that. She helped me understand those well-meaning comments from friends, and showed me how to let God heal my heart again.

That one small book, given at the precise moment I so desperately needed it, turned my sorrow into hope. Over the years, I’ve given dozens of copies of that book to others who are experiencing the grief of empty arms. And just as my sister had done for me, I recognized the power of giving the right book to the right person at the right time. If that’s not Divine Intervention, I don’t know what is!