When God Makes Lemonade by Don Jacobson

Life is tough. We could all use a little encouragement.

That is exactly what Don offers in this collection of personal stories. He knows that life happens. Jobs are lost, relationships are broken, disaster strikes. In the midst of all the bad that happens in life, all the lemons, lemonade happens too.

Don starts this collection with his own story of being shot accidentally years ago. He found telling his story was an encouragement to others. It also encouraged others to tell their stories. He collects those stories and compiles them into collections like this one.

As is often the case with collections like this one, the stories vary in impact. Some of them are deep and life changing while others are as shallow as an RV breaking down and being repaired by a nice guy. Some of the stories indicate that God intervened. Other stories seem to be just the natural course of events. Some of the stories give God glory while others hardly mention God at all.

These are the kinds of stories that would help a reader who questions what good could possibly come from the situation they are in. Even though the future looks dark, these accounts will encourage the reader to hope for light in the future. They will inspire one to keep trying, to not give up, to realize that character is born from hardship.

Don says his dream for the God Makes Lemonade project “is to be able to publish true stories that will encourage those going through sour experiences [to know] that God is at work making sweet lemonade.”

This is the kind of book that would be wonderful to have in the waiting room of a doctor's office. The stories are short and one could read through a couple in a few minutes. It is also the kind of book to have on your bedside table so you could read one or two each evening. Don't try to read the book from cover to cover, as I did. The nearly 70 stories need to be spread out to be appreciated.

Find out more at www.WhenGodMakesLemonade.com. Visit the website to find out how you might participate in the project of encouragement and hope.

Don Jacobson is himself a lemonade story, being severely injured in a hunting accident when he was 24. The shotgun blast from a defective gun changed his life. “It took a while for God to change lemons into lemonade," Jacobson now admits, “but in the end it was wonderfully sweet.” Don spent 28 years in the Christian publishing industry, as president and owner of Multnomah Publishers where he oversaw the production of over a thousand titles. Multnomah was sold to Random House in 2006. He later founded D.C. Jacobson & Associates, an author management company. Don and his wife of 35 years live in Portland, Oregon. They have four adult children.

Thomas Nelson Publishers, 350 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from a publicity group for the purpose of this review.