Book: "A Lineage of Grace"

I'm currently reading "A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers, and I'm completely involved in the stories she weaves. I've always found the women of the Bible to be of particular interest (well, I'm a woman, and there aren't as many women in the Bible as there are men, so it's easier to keep the stories straight!), and these stories are right up my alley. There are five novellas - one each for Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, all women from the lineage of Jesus. So far I've read Tamar and Rahab, and have started Ruth's story. I started reading the book yesterday.

In addition to the great recreations of what the lives of these women could have been like, there are also study sections at the end of each novella, which have been prompting me to make some "dangerous" prayers (asking God to search your heart, to show you areas you need to improve, and things you need to do, are always dangerous inasmuch that if you ask for it, God's going to grant it to you, and you may not like the answers you get!) - I've been learning a lot, and Rivers does a great job of using every scrap of detail from the Bible in her narration. Because of this, I've noticed things from the Biblical accounts that I wouldn't have noticed had I been reading the account straight from the Bible. After each novella, you end up reading basically the entire story in the study section, and there are questions designed to make you actually think about the passage and about what you just read.

I highly recommend these novellas to young women in particular, but to anyone who thirsts for a deeper understanding of God and the Bible, and I look forward to finishing up Ruth's story and reading through the rest of the book!

(snagged from inspire4less.com)