book review: the good and beautiful god

One of my resolutions for this year was to read more, specifically it was to read/finish twenty five books. Since that post, I've finished three books (I have a loooong way to go), but one I just recently finished warranted a book review. 
I read "The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryan Smith with the student development team at the university I work for. One thing that I really loved this book is that it was a theology book but was organized into nine very easy to understand chapters. There was no theological jargon that left me wondering what the heck I was reading; Smith put everything in terms that even the babiest of believers could understand. 
I appreciate that, even as someone who has studied theology and been a believer since childhood. I think sometimes we complicate things way too much and we need to get back to the basics, or the b6 as we say in bingo. I love that the tagline of the book was "falling in love with the God Jesus knows." 

Favorite Passages:

"If I were wise, I would spend time each day thanking God for the 'vast treasure' he has given me. I could start, but I could never stop."

"The larger narrative from the biblical story is a massive tapestry of grace and generosity."

"If we think of God as a vague and impersonal force in the universe, we will probably have a vague and impersonal relationship with this god."

One thing that I really liked about the book was that it had "soul trainings" at the end of every chapter. For example, in the chapter about God being trustworthy, the soul training asks you to list blessings, regardless of how big or how little. Then it prompts you to praise God for the abundant list of blessings and reflect upon God's goodness. 

There were some chapters that I didn't enjoy as much as others, but overall, I found this to be a good read. If you decide to read it, I recommend reading it in a community setting, like read it as a part of a group so that you can get together and discuss the book as well as the soul trainings. I found that reading it together with others was much more fruitful than if I would have just read it on my own. There's also a small group discussion guide in the back of the book which provides extra topics of conversation. 

This book might not rock your world or challenge any of your beliefs, but I do think that it will give you some insight onto the wonder and majesty of God. The soul trainings will provide discipline in spending time thanking God and studying his character. For those of us who have been in the church a while, this book provides a way to step back and re-fall in love with our good and beautiful God.

(See what I did there? Clever girl.)