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Baker Publishing Group - Kay Warren

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68 pages

English

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Ever wonder why some people seem to experience joy in their daily lives--even in the tough times--and others can't seem to find it no matter how hard they search? Is a joy-filled life really possible?The answer is yes! And it's possible for every woman, no matter what her circumstances may be. In this inspiring book, Kay Warren teaches women what joy really is, where to find it, and how to choose it in the good times and the bad. With compassion and wisdom, she shows readers--even those who live with the constant companions of discouragement and depression--that true joy is deeper, richer, and more accessible than they might think. Perfect for small groups or individual reading, Choose Joy will empower women who feel like their emotions and well-being are at the mercy of others by helping them understand the life-giving truth that joy is within their grasp--every day.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 avril 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441238870
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	5 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2012 by Kay Warren
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2012
Ebook corrections 11.07.2018, 11.17.2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3887-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled AMP are from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Scripture quotations labeled CEV are from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled GNT are from the Good News Translation—Second Edition. Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled GW are from G od’s W ord ®. © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Scripture quotations labeled NCV are from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NJB are from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled Phillips are from The New Testament in Modern English, revised edition—J. B. Phillips, translator. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Scripture quotations labeled TLB are from The Living Bible , copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Special thanks to Elisa Fryling Stanford for help in manuscript preparation.
To
Kaylie, Cassidy, Caleb, Cole, and Claire
I cherish you
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Part 1: Joy Is My Inheritance : Embracing the Permission to Be Joyful
1. Seeking a Life of Joy
2. Showing Our True Colors
3. Rediscovering Jesus, the Man of Joy
Part 2: Joy Is a Conviction of My Mind : Discovering a New Way of Thinking
4. Drinking from Dry Wells
5. Adopting Heaven’s Value System
6. Believing Even in Darkness
Part 3: Joy Is a Condition of My Heart : Cultivating a Soul-Response That Allows Joy to Deepen
7. Nurturing Joy in Yourself
8. Nurturing Joy in Others
Part 4: Joy Is a Choice of My Behavior : Ways to Choose Joy Daily
9. Getting Back to Basics
10. Loving and Laughing Together
11. Seeing Joy in All Things
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
About Kay Warren
Back Ads
Back Cover
Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
Psalm 126:5 NLT
Only the heart that hurts has a right to joy.
Lewis Smedes
You made the team!
You’ve been awarded a scholarship!
We’d like to hire you!
Will you marry me?
Great job on closing that deal!
You’ve just won an all-expense-paid vacation!
There’s no sign of cancer!
T hese are some of life’s sweetest moments—when all is right with the world, all your fondest hopes and wildest dreams come true, and your heart nearly explodes with happiness. You could make your own personal “it doesn’t get any better than this” commercial.
But there are also other moments when nothing seems to go your way, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, and your fondest hopes and wildest dreams lie in shattered pieces at your feet. Those are the moments when your heart aches with the bitterness of unfulfilled longings, broken promises, or grief so powerful it threatens to take you to your knees.
Where does joy fit into these scenes from your life?
Sharing meaningful time with family and friends, having a great job, enjoying good health, being financially secure—aren’t these the building blocks for a happy life? Most of us would say these happy moments create joy, don’t they? Probably everyone would agree that feelings of happiness are sometimes tough to come by so you better grab them when you can. Isn’t that enough?
On the other hand, we’re certain the painful moments rob us of joy; any woman who says she is experiencing joy as she stands at a graveside is only giving the socially correct answer, right? None of us believe her, but we nod our heads and say the right words so that no one knows that on the inside we doubt God’s wisdom, his goodness, and his mercy.
Is joy really a possibility for messed-up and mixed-up pilgrims on this journey? Isn’t joy just a biblical word that has nothing to do with real life?
Great questions. I mean, really great questions. I ought to know; they’re my questions. I have a feeling you have asked similar questions—at least in your mind. You may never have felt comfortable voicing them out loud, but they have rolled around inside your head, especially in your most difficult moments.
Have you wondered why some people seem to experience deep and authentic joy in their daily lives—even in the toughest times—and others can’t seem to find it no matter how hard they search? Many of us eventually give up the pursuit, assuming we were unfortunate enough to have been standing on the wrong side of the door when God was handing out joy. It has often seemed to me that only a few lucky people received the gift of joy and that fewer still know joy’s “secret.”
I’m here to say, I’ve learned that’s just not true! Even though it may not feel that way to you at this moment, joy is available to you. You may be thinking, I don’t experience joy as much as other people do. It’s just not my thing . Or, Joy means living in denial of all the pain in the world . But as I’ve discovered in my own life, joy is not about your circumstances or about how you feel. It is definitely not about living in denial and ignoring sorrow or pain. Joy is something much deeper, richer, more stable, and definitely more accessible than you might have thought.
That’s the beauty of the joy God offers. You no longer need to live in fear or worry, because God’s joy will always be available to you. In this world you will have trouble, Jesus says. But you can still take heart. You can still receive joy. You are not dependent on anyone or anything other than God and yourself to know joy.
There’s one promise I want to give you as we start: I will be honest with you about my life and my search for joy—maybe more honest than you will find comfortable. I will not gloss over my doubts, failures, and sins, and I will admit to you—and myself—my sweaty, middle-of-the-night wrestling with God over issues of faith. I will let you into the internal workings of my faith in process because I find my own faith bolstered when I know someone else is struggling and sometimes succeeding in letting Christ be formed in her. Spiritual growth doesn’t happen automatically and is rarely pretty; we will all be “under construction” until the day we die and we finally take hold of the “life that is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:19). So let’s walk side by side for a while, and I’ll share with you what I’m learning about how to choose joy every day . . . in the best and worst of times . . . in every moment.
B ecause I grew up in a pastor’s home, went to a Christian college, married a pastor, became a Bible teacher, and co-wrote a book on systematic theology for the average Christian, you might naturally assume that I have my spiritual act totally together and have this joy “thing” mastered. I wish I could say that was an accurate assumption, but truthfully, I wrote this book because I don’t always have it all together! You and I share similar struggles and questions, and I need joy just as much as you do.
Joy does not come easily to me; I’m definitely more of a glass-half-empty kind of gal. In fact, I’ve struggled with low-level depression as far back as I can remember. As a little girl I was emotionally intense—I cried easily, agonized over the pain others felt, and carried the weight of the world on my small shoulders. So I’m not talking to you about joy from the perspective of one of those deliriously happy, peppy people who never have a down day. Some days I’m thrilled just to survive!
The Bible gives some commands that are extremely hard to understand and even harder to live out. One of the most difficult commands is to forgive our enemies. In light of the terrible cruelty and evil we can inflict on each other, this seems like asking an armchair athlete to climb Mt. Everest—impossible. The Bible also says not to worry about anything. Anything? Really? Many of us spend a good portion of every waking hour worr