Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God's Good Gifts by Trillia J. Newbell


I grew up knowing the value of hard work. I think that is a good thing. However, what I struggled to learn was how to just have fun and enjoy life as an adult. Guilt in doing so became a real struggle for me. Enjoy by Trillia Newbell shares how God actually wants us to enjoy life and find joy in the gifts He gives us.

In Enjoy, Newbell shares how God wants us to enjoy all the good gifts he has provided for us on earth--the gift of one another, the joy of intimacy, work, rest, money and possessions, food, nature, art and worship. Each chapter in this book is devoted to one area of our lives that we can truly enjoy and appreciate as a gift from our Creator. At the same time, in the last chapter, Newbell also reminds us that we enjoy these things in an imperfect world and we all look forward to eternal enjoyment in Heaven.

Throughout Enjoy, Newbell not only shares information on how to enjoy each gift from God more, but she also encourages you as a reader to do more than just read. She encourages you to take part in her Enjoy Project, either by yourself, with a friend or in a group. The Enjoy Project is at the end of each chapter where Newbell offers suggestions to apply what you have learned from the chapter and to journal your experiences. If you are doing it in a group, she encourages you to share your results with each other. Also, at the end of each chapter, Newbell encourages you to remember to pray and preach the gospel to yourself and she includes a prayer to pray. At the end of the book, Enjoy, Newbell also has a set of Discussion Questions that could help facilitate a group discussion.

I found Enjoy to be especially helpful to me as I learn to feel less guilty and enjoy life more than just in the value of a good work day. I like that her writing is down to earth and she shares how she is learning right along with the reader to make these applications in her own life. She especially touched me when she shares how she has "only just begun to understand the great balance between work and rest." I would encourage anyone else who wants to better learn to appreciate God's gifts to us and to enjoy life more to read Enjoy.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

About Trillia Newbell

Trillia J. Newbell is the author of two previous books, Fear and Faith and United. Her writings on issues of faith, family, and diversity have been published in the Knoxville News-Sentinel and Relevant Magazine, as well as on numerous websites, such as Desiring God, Christianity Today, and the Gospel Coalition. She is the director of community outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Trillia lives near Nashville with her husband, Thern, and their children.

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