2024 Book Review #42: In God's Great Outdoors

 My sister Joy gifted this to me for Christmas last year. I've just completed it but it's the type of devotional book that I will go back to every couple weeks or so.  I've used many of the Scriptures, along with my own anecdotes, to share with my SoulSteps Walking groups I lead once a month.  This is a non-fiction book that anyone, whether Christian or not, can enjoy if they like hiking, camping, or are just your general "nature lover".  

SUMMARY 

The book has 40 different entries and 40 different Scriptures for the day.

Each devotional has a "key" that addresses certain aspects of God's creation/our environment: mountains, forest, desert, water, and then "general".  In the table of contents, each entry is marked with a symbol for these key words. 

There are Scriptures from both Testaments and each entry always includes a one page anecdote to coincide with the Scripture, as well as a short prayer and  on the facing page, a beautiful photograph. The one thing I didn't like about the book was that the photographs are in black and white. Most of the photographs are from national parks located in the Northwest/Mid-west part of the States. 

In the beginning of the book, he includes Psalm 104 in its entirety. There is also an Introduction as to why he wrote this book and his intended audience. It's for the Believer and non-believer. 

In the back of the book, Psalm 148 is included in its entirety and then there is a prayer for Christian nature lovers. 

The author is an associate pastor in a Lutheran church in Wisconsin. He loves hiking and camping with his wife and children. I could see his love for God's creation in the devotionals he writes. 

This is the kind of book that I will refer to again and again and will keep on my living room coffee table or in the book basket near my bookshelf that holds my Adirondack books . 

I  do love that the author focused his devotionals not just on God's creation and the symbolism between our faith and nature, but also on Jesus and His death and resurrection for us. It's very well done and easy to read.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 12 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9. I'd give it a perfect 10 if the photos were in color!