Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett – How to Find Joy in Every Day

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett.

As I sat at my desk working, there was a faint tapping sound somewhere in the background. I noticed it but didn’t. I had been focused on my writing, and so the sound just remained on the edge of my awareness. Annoying, but not quite enough to break my concentration. All of a sudden I came to the realization that the tapping was more of a thumping and was the sound of a dog’s tail hitting something. Thud. Thud. Thud. It was rhythmic and eventually broke into my consciousness and became a distraction.

So I turned my head towards the noise and noticed the form of my sleeping dog.

Confusing.

My eyes moved across her body and discovered the source of the sound.

My sleeping dog was wagging her tail.

Vigorously.

While sleeping.

She captured my gaze. I watched intently, fascinated and intrigued, wondering what kind of dream was causing her so much joy that her tail was wagging while she was sound asleep.

I’ll never know what elicited her happiness at that moment, but it in a weird way it brought me happiness as well.

Life is full of moments like these. Many of them, moments that we usually miss. Brief instances of appreciating the simple things. The things that appear inconsequential but that can help us find real value in everyday things.

To help us find these moments, and learn to cherish them, Dave Burchett has a new book called Waking Up Slowly filled with spiritual lessons from his dog, his children, and other unexpected places.

Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett

From the Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett book jacket:

What if we are stubbing our toes on the sacred every day and not realizing it?
We are the most connected culture in history but arguably the most disconnected from the awareness of God’s presence. Waking Up Slowly is author Dave Burchett’s personal challenge to live “in the moment” and find the everyday joys he misses in disconnected busyness.

What moments of joy do we inadvertently miss as we stare at our screens? What performance idols destroy our ability to appreciate God’s gifts?

Dave Burchett sets out to find out how life might look differently if he awoke each morning consciously looking for the easy to miss “postcards from God.” Waking Up Slowly is an intimate, warm, and touching story of discovering how to more fully appreciate living in the moment. During his discovery, the author finds regular reminders of daily joys from his Labrador pal, Maggie.

Waking Up Slowly challenges the reader to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate the ways that God reveals himself daily. Through regular people, everyday situations, cuddly creatures, and stunning nature, God’s presence is real and discoverable. We just need to wake up to it.

Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett was a good read. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t give any information that you don’t inherently know or have, but it helps you see things in a different light. It offers anecdotes from the author sharing times in his life when he paid attention to the little things and the lessons he learned along the way. He then ties in scripture passages and Biblical examples to illustrate his revelations.

Each chapter discusses a different theme and while there is a backdrop of a story about the author trying to rid himself of his smartphone addiction, the chapters seem like they can be read out of order based upon which life lesson speaks to you at any given time. You could even consider reading 1 chapter a week and trying to implement the “dose of grace” call to action that the author provides at the end of each chapter.