As soon as I knew Jennifer Dukes Lee was writing another book, I placed a pre-order. I LOVED her first book, Love Idol, so I knew the goodness that was going to come bound between the two covers of this second book, The Happiness Dare. So I ordered multiple copies, in fact, because I wanted several people in my life to be happy, to find happiness.
And then the doubts came …
- Are we supposed to be “happy?
- Isn’t it “joy” that we are to seek?
- Is it more “Christian” to desire joy because that is one of the fruit of the Spirit?
The books came and I began reading, still unsure if this was going to be a sound biblical read or just some feel-good philosophy.
I am a mom and a Mimi. Nothing fills me with greater delight {{see there I go avoiding the very word, aka, happiness}} than to see my children happy. I opened the pages of the book with the question looming big, large, OK – humungous in my mind –
Does God truly want us to be happy?
One morning, while reading the book, I received a phone call. The person on the other end stated through tears, “I just am not happy.” I hung up, prayed for her for a bit, and began thinking.
The truth of the matter is we all want to be happy. We want to be happy with our lives, our families, our jobs, our churches, our children. We know we will face difficulties in our lives but if we are honest, overall – we want life to be happy.
I picked up the book and flipped through the pages to where I had underlined to remind myself of this truth:
“Our happy God desires happy children.
You are the imago dei. You carry the DNA of your happy and holy God. Do not imagine the Lord as some miserly mall security cop, with his arms crossed over his chest and a whistle around his neck, waiting for you to mess things up down here. God is the inventor of happiness and the chief spreader of it. When you desire happiness, you are not a pleasure-seeking heretic. You are responding to something built into your soul. Your desire to live happy is not a flaw. It is your soul’s memory of the original paradise, etched and alive in you.
Your desire for happiness is also a hint at what’s to come …”
(page 33, The Happiness Dare by Jennifer Dukes Lee)
Yes, God is my heavenly Father. And YES!!! He desires for me to happy.
When we are happy, we are a reflection of our God, our happy God.
Jennifer has created a Happiness Assessment which you can take HERE to discover your happiness style – that place where you thrive and derive the most happiness. I discovered I am a Giver and a Thinker. Take five minutes to answer the questions. You will be happy you did!
I am not done with the book yet but I am fully encouraging you all to order your own copy. Never mind, the publisher has provided me a copy by which I can make one of you happy! Just leave a comment below and I will pick one of you using random.org on Friday.
Update 8/5/16 – The winner was selected through the use of random.org and has been notified. Thank you all for entering!
***Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I am disclosing this as required by Federal Trade Commission.
Today I am joining … Three Word Wednesday and Tell His Story and Coffee For Your Heart and Women With Intention and Literacy Musing Monday and Booknificent Thursday .
Hello again Joanne – seems we’ve been neighbors a lot lately 😉 Like you, I’ve separated happiness and joy, believing one is more fleeting and based on emotions where as the other, joy, is with us regardless of our circumstances. I’m glad you included that excerpt from Jennifer’s book. We can all use some happy in our day!
Debby, it’s amazing to think on it, isn’t it? It is a book that has given me much food for thought!
You know, Joanne, sometimes it takes books like Jennifer’s and questions, like ” Does God truly want me to be happy?”, for us to really see the light of His grace shed upon our living. We often say, ” We just want our kids to be happy.”, like rote memory proceeding from our mouth but in reality when they tell us what makes them happy we tend to tell them what we think is better. Maybe you don’t, but I find myself doing it often. And all this talk about taking dares for happy living and the word Jennifer penned in brave authority, remind me to think a little more about what being happy looks like when it is covered by His grace.
I pre-ordered the book, too, and was counting days till it arrived. I am hoping to finish it before our summer days are done and I can start my school year with a shot of happy thinking.
Blessings!
Dawn
Dawn, the book has given me much to think on for sure. Just today I went back to read the quote Jennifer included by A.W. Tozer, “The people of God ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world! People should be coming to us constantly and asking the source of our joy and delight.”
May we both give those around us a reason to ask!
Blessings!
I carry the DNA of happy. Yes it has been etched on us, and I am so thankful to be able to find happiness every day. It’s there waiting for me to grab hold.
Those grand babies sure make this Nana happy.
I’m a giver and a thinker too.
Loved reading your comment! Perhaps being a giver and a thinker are in the DNA of us Nana’s/Mimi’s :))
Blessings!
Wow … everyone’s talking about Jennifer’s new book. And no wonder … deep inside we’re yearning for what she’s writing about.
And I loved her Happiness Assessment …
;-}
Linda, it is so true – we all yearn for happiness. The assessment was wonderful. Glad you stopped and entered the giveaway!
I’m a mom and mimi, too, and like you, I love seeing when my family is happy. Why wouldn’t God want that, too?
Love Jennifer’s line: “God is the inventor of happiness and the chief spreader of it.” Yes! I never thought of it in that way. The great thing is, He knows what brings us true happiness, and it often isn’t what we think.
Thanks for sharing!
Jerralea, you are so spot on! He knows what will bring us true happiness. So many times, I was grateful He did not give me what I had asked!
I’m determined to win a copy of this book for my sister!!! Great review and I really like what Jennifer said, “It is your souls memory of the original paradise.” I’m not sure of its theological correctness but I like it!!!!
Susan, like you, there are so many I want to give a copy of the book.
Love the quote. I was just saying basically the same thing last week. My cousin had won her battle with cancer as she went to be with the Lord. As I was helping pack up her house I got the opportunity to witness to her son.
He said he hasn’t gotten saved yet because he heard you had to give your life to God and was thinking he had to be able to do everything right first. Besides telling him that was impossible I used the same example that God isn’t sitting up in heaven with his whistle like a referee, looking down just to catch us doing something wrong. 😊
I think I would have struggled with the same doubts you did. In the end, I think, it comes down to how we are defining happiness. If we think God is out for our immediate gratification kind of happiness, I’m afraid we’ll be disappointed, but it seems like this book has defined it well. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week!
Tina
Sounds like a great book! I could definitely be happier!