The Gift by Bryan Litfin

Teofil and Anastasia have been exiled from Chiveis because of their faith. They travel south and are greeted by high class societies. And while Anastasia is greeted with open arms, Teofil is not. They are on a desperate search for the lost New Testament and soon discover that there are more people that want to stop them than only the high priestess of Astrebril. They will stop at nothing to discover the gift.

While The Sword was an excellent novel, in my opinion, The Gift was even better. Again, an excellent example of what Christianity would be in the eyes of someone who never heard of anything like it before. The story is slightly repetitive of the first book, but the various settings and characters make up for it. Bryan Litfin is a master at creating characters. Each is well defined, and they all react to situations in "the way they would".

The story takes you all around the map of the post-apocalyptic world displaying different evolving societies, which I found to be quite interesting. There is a heavy dose of suspense spread through out the book, and a nice drizzle of romance. Both of which make the story all the more interesting. A brilliant novel about redemption and perseverance. Excellent work, Bryan; can't wait until the next one!
    

The Forgiveness Project by Michael S. Barry

Forgiveness. The key to peace. The freedom from hatred. The glorious outcome of Jesus' resurrection. So why are we so quick to reject it? Why is it so obviously absent in our society? Is there any possible chance that it is connected to the deadly disease, cancer? That is exactly what Rev. Dr. Michael S. Barry strives to explain in The Forgiveness Project.

This book is exactly what it advertises itself to be. It contains in-depth neurological and psychological explanations on the responses to forgiveness and hatred. It also gives cancer patient's testimonies, an explanation of why we don't try to forgive, why we should forgive, and ideas on how to forgive. I can't say that after reading this book I have forgiven everyone. But what I can say is that it got the stone wheel rolling, and I have started on the healing path.

I was shocked to find a few passages from the Hindu Mahabharata. The selected quotes didn't go against my faith in any way however, so I see nothing wrong with it. A great book, recommended to anyone who wants to forgive, whether everyday or a major grudge.