One of my favorite pastimes is reading. I read paperback books, and books on my Kindle, and listen to audiobooks. This year I want to keep track of how many books I get through and share them on this blog. I would also love to hear from you about the books you have enjoyed reading or plan to read this year.

You can listen to this first book on a digital device or, my favorite way, read an actual ‘hold in your hand’ version. It is the Bible. I try to read through it every year. Last year I tried something different and read a devotional that gave me just passages in the Bible to read. It didn’t keep me motivated to read daily like following a Bible reading plan does. So this year I am doing The Bible Recap. A reading plan is available on the Bible App, or you can access the plan through The Bible Recap. What I like about this plan is that it is chronological and a recap video is available after every day’s reading to give me a deeper understanding of what I read. I highly recommend it.

A book that I am currently reading is Imagine the God of Heaven by John Burke. This book describes the stories of people who have had Near Death Experiences. Story after story you read about what these people saw after they were declared dead. The similarities of each story are fascinating. The author’s reason for writing about these experiences is to show us that there IS a God in Heaven and that He loves us unconditionally even though he knows all our thoughts and failures. Even if you believe in Heaven and know about God’s love ]these stories will enlarge your faith and give you peace and excitement for life after this life.

Another book I highly recommend is one I did in my Bible Study last year called Synced by Jenifer Kennedy Dean. The nuggets of truth I found in this study were life-changing. Jennifer writes about the Lord’s Prayer in a way that makes it relevant to your everyday life. After reading Synced I had a renewed desire to experience a deeper and more spiritual connection to God in my daily life.

Let me know what you have been reading and what you would recommend. I like reading fiction too, especially Historical fiction. There is nothing like a good novel to get my attention.

I have to share this photo I received from my friend.

“Once in One Hundred Years”. This is an image you would expect to see from Michigan, Switzerland, Colorado, or Nebraska…..but it is a photo of my friend’s backyard and she lives in New Orleans!!! This winter we have seen similar scenes from Florida and even Mississippi. I live in South Florida and it didn’t snow but we all dressed in our sweatshirts and sweaters and used our space heaters a lot!!