Lord, I just want to be happy

I've just finished reading a book called, "Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy" by Leslie Vernick. She is a licensed clinical social worker with a private counseling practice. I hadn't heard anything about this book before buying it but it jumped out at me on the shelf when I saw it. The front of the book has a picture of a person with an umbrella and off in the distance a rainbow. I must admit I hadn't even noticed the rainbow until finishing the book...so that must tell you what kind of person I am off the bat (pessimistic by nature). It's a great book coming from both the secular view of psychology and a Christian point of view from scripture.

It's another book in which I underlined a great deal of passages. The other nice thing about this book is it has Question and Discuss area at the end of each chapter so it can be used as a Bible Study. I think it helps too, to write down your thoughts as you are learning.

So here are some quotes from the first part of the book on the topic of understanding our unhappiness.

- True inner happiness doesn't involve the absence of pain. The happy person doesn't deny her inner ache, but is able to embrace suffering and transform it so it doesn't become crippling or deadening.

- We've allowed our well-being and happiness to be contingent upon getting something from this world. We've not grasped that lasting happiness has more to do with the way our internal world is oriented than what we get from temporal pleasures.

- Heartfelt happiness isn't found in fun places, sinful pleasure, popularity, productivity, power, or prestige. Rather it is the result of right (truthful) thinking, right relationships, right choices, and right living. Happiness is not something we receive; it is something we become as we love God and live our lives enjoying Him and His creation and growing in His wisdom.

- Much of our misery is caused by the stories we tell ourselves about how things should be...rather than what actually is.

- Jesus has come to set the captives free. Whether we realize it or not many of us are captive to the lie that something other than God will bring us happiness and fulfill our longings. When we put our hope in or expect something or someone other than Him to fill us and make us happy, He will surely frustrate us. But He doesn't do it to punish us. He does it to rescue us from our disordered attachments and delusions, and from ourselves. God promises to meet our needs-but what we feel we need, and what we truly need, may be very different.

- True prosperity is never acquired through worldly accomplishments or possessions, but rather through the awareness and ability to live in God's loving presence.

- Freedom isn't license to do anything we want. Freedom is the power to say no to what we want, for the sake of a higher good or goal.

- Satan tries to beguile us by filling our belly with tasty versions of counterfeit joy, peace, love, and hope. He tries to get us to believe power makes peace, passion brings love, pleasure gives joy and popularity, prestige and possessions give hope and security.

Some great points made in just the first section of this book. Part two is on moving beyond our unhappiness and part three on practicing happiness. I'll share some highlights from part two tomorrow.

selah