Skip to main content

Divine Applause


I knew I liked his style of writing. I just didn't recall that I had read anything from him before. Oh, but I had.

The book in question is Divine Applause by Jeff Anderson. The previous book was Plastic Donuts, which you can see my review on here.

I don't know how you read books, but I normally do so with a pencil nearby. I like to underline sections that grab my attention. But since I'm not going to spend the time flipping through a book to look for pencil marks, I also fold over a corner of the page. As you can see by the image below, I underlined quite a bit, as I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Displaying photo.JPG

To say I enjoyed might need some clarification. It challenged me and caused me to stir about the choices I make. So, for as much as anyone enjoys being challenged, I would recommend Divine Applause.

Jeff Anderson has taken Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and reflected on what turns out to be pretty straightforward talk from Jesus. In that sermon, Jesus told us to pray, give and fast and watch what happens in return. Jeff tells us these are the not-so-secret ingredients to getting God's attention and seeing how He responds to us.

Far from being a seek-after-God-and-receive-untold-riches kind of story, Jeff centers in on the sometimes mundane manner in which God responds to His children. He explains this is because we are individuals and God desires a relationship with us that reflects that individuality. But make no mistake, God is watching us.

"But the reality that God is watching speaks of His care. His watchful ways are intended to inspire, not frighten us. This is one of the key mind shifts necessary to hearing god's applause. It all has to do with how your picture God's face." ~Divine Applause, page 15.

I'd include some more direct quotes, but when I choose not to read by my Kindle, where I can highlight and then copy/paste quotes, it means a lot more typing for me. And when I think you should simply get the book yourself, it would also be counter-productive.

I received this book for free from my good friends over at Blogging for Books. They give me books and ask for my thoughts, which you now have.

More Info
Read Chapter One
Author Bio

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl

Patience

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a

Jury Duty

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his robe. I’d