With my hunger to discover more about “Joy” over the past year, I read one of several books by local author Rick Howe on Joy – River of Delights: Quenching Your Thirst for Joy. I know Rick pretty well – he’s my younger brother. But, I didn’t just read the book because he gave me a copy! I have watched Rick as he developed his own passion to discover more about joy in the scripture and all God wants for us in relationship to the “joy of the Lord.”
Rick says in his notes: “I didn’t set out to write books about joy. Joy beckoned, I followed, and the quest has found literary expression in Path of Life: Finding the Joy You’ve Always Longed For, River of Delights: Quenching Your Thirst for Joy (2 volumes), Living Water: Daily Refreshment for Joyful Living (forthcoming) and Reasons of the Heart: Joy and the Rationality of Faith (also forthcoming).”
Although his personal quest set him on a theological journey through scripture as well as reading many theologians of the past and their writings, I believe you will find his writing style is engaging. River of Delights is both a scholarly book complete with footnotes and references as well as a book that will encourage you to a deeper walk with Christ.
The focus of the book is on discovering an enjoyment of God and the amazing relationship we can have with him as well as the adventure that is ours in being part of God’s Kingdom in the world. With chapters including “Enjoying God, “Joy and the Circumstances of Life,” and “The Joys of Marriage and Family, I learned more about all the many wonderful dimensions of joy God has for us. I totally agree with what one person (Ron Willett, Director of Community Life, IDEAS) said about the book in the forward: “Rick … creates an apologetic for joy as a gift that God wants to give to his people to sustain, inspire and renew them in the midst of their frenetic, complex lives.” I can personally attest to the hope found in the joy of the Lord! – by Judi Brandow, Communications Specialist
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