Devotions from the Lake by Thomas Nelson

Devotions from the Lake by Thomas Nelson ISBN-13: 9781400309160 Hardback: 224 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Released: April 24, 2018

Source: Review copy from the publisher through BookLook bloogers.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Life has a way of slowing down and simplifying when you’re by the water. Enjoying long walks, ice cream cones, and watercolor sunsets with your family and friends is a way of life on lake days . . . wouldn’t it be a dream to live like that year-round?

Devotions from the Lake includes 100 devotions and beautiful photography.It is a wonderful way to start each day at the lake with quiet devotional time as you gain deeper insight into how God meets us through rest and play and how to bring all the best parts of “lake life” to everyday life.


My Review:
Devotions from the Lake has 100 devotions loosely based on things that you might do or see when staying at a lake. Each devotion started with a verse. The author reminisced about the theme--skipping stones, popcorn, coffee, shells, etc.--then tied in the verse and provided a very short prayer. There's also a full-color picture of the theme, but only a few were lake scenes.

Most of the themes were only loosely connected to the accompanying verse. For example, for Isaiah 53:4 ("Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows."), the author initially talked about hearing mourning doves in the distance. Then "...mourning doves are commonly found sitting on telephone wires. This reminds us that when mourning stirs anew, we can find comfort in a phone call to a friend who understands..." Only the last three sentences referred to the verse and Jesus.

However, some of the devotions used the theme to illustrate the principle in the verse. For example, the one on Psalm 32:9 with the horseback riding theme talked about a horse that is responsive to its rider and how we should likewise be responsive to a nudging from God. I enjoyed these, but I felt like most of the devotions were more focused on the reminiscing than on God.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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