God makes lemonade created by Don Jacobson

“The stories in this book,” says Don, past owner of Multnomah Books, “are about everyday folks who are surprised by unexpected sweetness in the midst of sour circumstances.” (xiii) These real-life stories are from people in all kinds of circumstances. One thing they have in common is hope.

The stories include a marriage saved by cancer, priceless lessons learned from being fired, a woman who rediscovered her artistic ability because of an eye injury, a job because of empty Coke bottles, a ministry rising out of the overdose death of a son...

Most of these stories could be called “ordinary” in every sense of the word. They are experiences you've had or heard others have had. But, as one writer says, “Except that to me, the experience was anything but ordinary. Indeed, it was the extraordinary encounter I needed to reorient my life.” (165)

So the stories are not unusual. There are, in general, no awe inspiring appearances of angels or miraculous healings. They are just events that happen in the course of life. What is amazing, however, is the timing of the events. They happened right when needed. And the other amazing aspect of these stories is that the event was observed! How often do inspiring events happen in our life and we just fail to “see” them? Maybe we are too busy or too self absorbed. Perhaps the major lesson I learned from this book is that awe inspiring and life changing events are happening around us. We just need to be looking for them and be open to their inspiration.

This is not a “Christian” book in the sense that Christianity or a “Christian” experience is rare in it. Most of the stories are inspiring in that people change their lives for the better, but not because of God or Jesus. There were a couple of stories where God received the credit, so to speak, but that was rare. This book is in the style of Chicken Soup for the Soul^TM series. I was a bit disappointed in it, hoping for more glory given to God.

Jacobson's desire is that this series will help fund initiatives to serve single mothers and their children through the LemonAid Foundation.

Jacobson wants to hear your story so go to www.godmakeslemonade.com and share it there.

Don Jacobson has spent twenty-five years in publishing, including serving as the president and owner of Multnomah Publishers. Don's wife has been mentoring mothers for more than a decade.

Lemonade Books, LLC, 319 pages.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.