Hello my fellow bookworms, as I am woefully behind on my review writing, today I am bringing you my (shorter) thoughts on two books, which I thought would go well together because I read them both for the Lenten period this year.
First, on Easter Sunday, I finished off my journey through the Lenten guide, Forgiven by Tim Chester (2022), a big batch of these were ordered in by my church and made available to pick up for a small donation, which I thought was a great idea. Apparently, they did the same for another Dr Tim Chester’s, a senior faculty member at Crosslands Training, books on the lead up to Christmas, but unfortunately I seemed to miss that one. After reading this though, I hope they were order more in.
In this book of resurrection meditations Chester tackles the uncertain times and rapidly changing society, with reassurance for our fearful hearts and feelings of being left behind of Jesus’ love and unfinished. This takes the form of daily short readings and interesting discussions, that guide us through the later chapters of the Book of Hebrews. Each of these devotions help to remind us of God’s plans, prophesies of Jesus, and how we need to fix our gaze on Jesus to anchor our souls in turbulent times.
Overall, I thought Forgiven was an easy read and helpful for my faith, especially in this short, daily format, that was ideal to get me reflecting each day of Lent. Due to its very short length I don’t think it fair to give this my top score, however it is definitely a solid… Good Read 
Next, still in the Easter break, I finished off another long-term Lenten read of the Christian biography, Pray For Us: 75 Saints Who Sinned, Suffered, and Struggled on Their Way to Holiness by Meg Hunter-Kilmer (2021); a review copy of which I had from Netgalley on my Kindle. This was neither an author or book I had heard of before, I just requested it on a whim after being tempted by the cover and unusual topic.
In Pray for Us, a-not-so ordinary saint book, Meg Hunter-Kilmer, a popular itinerant missionary, aims to stretch our notions of holiness by exploring the lesser-known lives of seventy-five extraordinary people, whose human struggles and limitations reveal the power of God’s grace. Through short edgy profiles of each ‘saint’, full of fresh and fascinating stories, Hunter-Kilmer explores the universal call to holiness and how God can transform anyone – from grouchy theologians to bratty teenagers – into saints.
Overall, I thought Pray For Us was a very interesting read about flawed and blessed individuals, from throughout history. It was also inspiring to see ordinary people strengthened by their faith to endure loss, imprisonment, torture and death, as well as in contrast enduring mundane lives of quietness, illness and disappointment. I imagine this is even better in its physical format, as you will be able to use the index to look up individuals that might match a theme, feast day or mood. A very… Good Read
Have you read either of these? Any recommendations for either of these authors or topics? Please let me know in the comments below. I love to chat books!
thebookwormchronicles.wordpress.com 
I’ve not read these but I am drawn to books of short meditations. I have one on my shelf, Following the Call, that includes thoughts from many authors on The Sermon on the Mount. I’m thinking of making it my project for next year (it’s in 52 sections for weekly study).
I can recommend the poetry anthologies The Heart’s Time (Lent/Easter) and Haphazard by Starlight (Advent) by Janet Morley. They are really lovely.
I think both of these sound very good. In fact, I think I added Pray for Us to my wishlist when you mentioned it once before.
Both were very good Lenten reads, so I hope you are able to get your hands on a copy of Pray For Us soon! 🤞🙂