Sometimes as religious folks we forget how big our God is.  “Wonderstruck:  Awaken to the Nearness of God” is a book that invites you to open your eyes to the nearness and wonder of a living and loving God. Margaret Feinberg is a popular Bible teacher, speaker and author.   Her other books include “The Sacred Echo” and “Scouting the Divine.”  Feinberg has also published Study Guides for all her books which makes them a wonderful choice for Bible Studies or retreats.

Wonderstruck is 10 chapters of focusing on seeing our great God in the ordinary events of life.  The book helps us think about the ways we take God for granted and suggests that familiarity is often a mask for our inattention to God.  Each chapter explores a way we can see God anew.  For example, Chapter 5, Forgotten Longings, looks at a Lenten discipline of praying less in order to deepen devotion.  Chapter 8, The Disappearing Silver Necklace, discusses forgiveness and the ways failing to forgive can interfere with our relationship with God.

Underlying much of the book is the sense that God is constantly calling us to live in a sense of wonder and mystery with him.  Here is an excerpt from the preface:

God delights for us to cup our hands in prayer and scrunch our faces against the vault of heaven in holy expectation that he will meet us in beautiful, mysterious ways.  The Creator desires to captivate us not just with his handiwork but with himself – displaying facets of his character, igniting us with his fiery love, awakening us to the intensity of his holiness.

Wonderstruck is very readable.  Feinberg is a good storyteller, and finds everyday life to be a well of wonder, from which we can drink at any time.  A bonus at the end of the book is “30 Days of Wonder,” with activities for each day that can help us renew the wonder of God in our lives.  I would love to discuss this book with people who are committed to discovering the wonder of God.