Book Recommendation: God at Work

In 2007 (I think) a friend told me I should pick up a book by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. called "God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in all of Life." This is one of those books that came to me at the right time and is one I often think about. Here is what the publisher review says on the Westminster Bookstore website:

When you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation--"doing everything for God's glory"--is not a platitude or an outdated notion. This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and our work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God. For when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume most of our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes.

Culture expert Gene Veith unpacks the biblical, Reformation teaching about the doctrine of vocation, emphasizing not what we should specifically do with our time or what careers we are called to, but what God does in and through our callings--even within the home. In each task He has given us--in our workplaces and families, our churches and society--God Himself is at work. Veith guides you to discover God's purpose and  calling in those seemingly ordinary areas by providing you with a spiritual framework for thinking about such issues and for acting upon them with a changed perspective.

This morning I was reminded of this book as my 6.5 month old woke up around 6:00 ready to play. In that moment the Lord reminded me that I am a husband and a father. In that moment (and I don't do this nearly as often as I should so this is not a 'look how awesome I am' type of thing) I knew I could better glorify God by focusing on my calling as a husband (by allowing my wife to get some much needed sleep) and as a father (by getting up with my son).

Oftentimes it gets difficult to realize that the numerous 'vocations' you have are all to be used to glorify God. Whether it's as a father, husband, son, pastor, wife, mother, child, or job, we can and should see every opportunity as an opportunity to glorify God.

I highly recommend you pick up this book: God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in all of Life.