This was definitely the right book at the right time. If I owned it rather than borrowed this from the library, I would have been underlining whole paragraphs. I needed the reminders about God, prayer, paying attention and presence that Kidd provides.

It was odd to be reading this book after finishing Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter. In that, Kidd realizes that she is in need of a feminist spiritual awakening. So as part of her journey, she looked at how she saw God. By the end of Dance, Kidd is seeing God as feminine. This earlier book refers to God as he very, very often. I am already uncomfortable with God as masculine, but reading Kidd's feminist book and then this one made the masculine pronouns even weirder. I probably should not have read them so close together.

For all the strangeness about God's gender, I found Kidd's book very helpful. She is honest in her depictions of her spiritual life and it seems too close to mine. I don't spend enough time just being present. I am very stressed for a number of reasons and I keep forgetting that some space and quiet would be helpful. Many of Kidd's discoveries are familiar, but I can always use a refresher course.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for new ways to see and experience God and are not familiar with contemplative prayer. Also to those who need a reminder that showing up is important. This is more in line with traditional Christianity, so it may appeal to some people who would be uncomfortable with Kidd's spiritual journey in The Dance of the Dissident Daughter.

It took me a really long time to get through this book. Some of it I found to be very repetitive, but if you can set that aside and get through it, there are some really excellent thoughts in this book. At times I felt like she wrote the book about my exact life and the thoughts on how to calm that down and become more centered were helpful to me.

I found this to be a very good read and source of pondering. I have always enjoyed Sue Monk Kidd's books.

I was really looking forward to reading this book because I like Sue Monk Kidd’s other books so much. I appreciate and respect it as a reflection of her spiritual journey. But as a non-Christian, I found it to be preachy at times and could hardly bear all of the references to Bible passages and other spiritual writers sprinkled throughout. There are a few nuggets of wisdom that resonated with me, so I forced myself to finish it. Probably the most frustrating aspect of the later chapters is how she almost defends as Christian what are clearly eastern approaches to spirituality such as meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness without giving a proper nod to their Buddhist origins.

I tried to like this book but I think its largely irrelevant unless you are a stay at home mom battered by religious expectations and having too much time to think and too many kids to care for. I never connected to it because a lot of it was a stretch and very simplistic. Felt more like it was written for her kids than other adults.

I really enjoyed this book, and it kind of cemented my personal spirituality. Kind of long, little redundant, but good read

“I will never leave you.”

God’s constant presence is one of the things I love most about Him. It is also one of His characteristics I easily forget. A visual person, I remember what I see, and on earth God is invisible all day long. In Sue Monk Kidd’s book “God’s Joyful Surprise: Finding Yourself Loved,” she writes of her early tendency to do, do, do things for the Lord, partly as a way to gain His favor. He had to teach her to slow down and just be with Him, the one who never left her. He loved her no matter what she accomplished.

Sue’s book has helped me in practical ways to learn how to make practicing the presence of God a reality in my life. I just finished reading it, and I want to start it all over again to help imprint the truths she taught more firmly into my day to day life. I am comforted by the fact that even when I forget Him, He loves me and will never let me go.

Good spiritual book

I could relate to a lot of the author's challenges and steps in her spiritual growth. I learned from the book, thank you Mrs Kidd.

I loved so many things about this book. And really adored much of the first half. Lots of stories, lovely quotations from amazing spiritual people, and everyday illustrations for every possible spiritual practice or insight that fit amazingly well (Kidd is probably better at these kinds of illustrations than anyone I've read). I'm just knocking off a star bc the second half began to feel like a slog. I always got something deep to reflect on whenever I opened the book, but it was harder and harder to open it. It was just very thorough and started feeling more informational as it went on. But I still appreciated it overall.

Deeply moving

The realness of her experience colliding with mine, bringing back memories forgotten and a strong desire to seek the Lord more . I found myself crying at moments . What a great blessing this book has been.

This was an amazing book, just like the 5 star rating says: "it was amazing." I had read Kidd's more recent nonfiction book Firstlight earlier, and liked it so well I looked for another one. God's Joyful Surprise is equally as great. Her nonfiction writing style is extremely readable and personable. She genuinely describes what she is going through, what she is seeking, her frustrations and growth, and what she has learned in the four years chronicled in the book. It's not a preachy "ought to" or guilt-inducing read, but she brings the reader along with her as she discovers the love of God in her life.

Two of my favorite novels are Kidd's bestsellers The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings, which gave me even more appreciation for this personal and honest account of her spiritual journey. And I especially valued how it challenged me to explore my own relationship with God, while providing me with tools and encouragement.

This book was life changing for me. I'm sure it is just where I was in my life. She really helped me find my way.