Enjoying God in Everything: A Guide to Maximizing Life’s Pleasures

Pastor DeWitt extols the wonder of everyday life in this ho-hum manual. “God has so wired us that beauty generates powerful experiences of wonder,” he contends, and provides guidance on how to deepen one’s appreciation for God’s creations. DeWitt suggests that humans yearn after God because God is the only source of lasting beauty and the pursuit of beauty inspires humans to worship, preparing them to “ ‘see’ the beauty of Christ.” The author describes 18th-century theologian Johnathan Edwards’s practice of writing down his thoughts when moved by the splendor of the natural world, and DeWitt urges readers to consider how a beautiful object might reflect divine qualities (“If it feels soft, think of the tenderness of God”). Reflection questions aim to prompt contemplation of how God’s beauty manifests in readers’ lives, but their awkward and leading phrasing curbs their utility (“Why is it important to distinguish that although God created nature, nature is not God?”). DeWitt’s contention that human creativity derives from God’s imaginative capacity intrigues, but he struggles to find ways to expand on his central thesis, and personal anecdotes about his daughter’s love of horses and hanging out at a football coach’s house add little. This repetitive program doesn’t quite get off the ground. (Nov.)