Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy
by Leslie Vernick
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Book Summary Information
Author: Leslie VernickEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-01
ISBN: 0736919236
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Book Reviews of Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy
Book Review: A good reading circle/group discussion book!
Summary: 4 Stars
Leslie Vernick's "Lord, I Just Want to be Happy," is a well written and easy to understand book that provides a foundational understanding of unhappiness and practical steps to achieving real happiness. Vernick approaches this subject with the assumption that, "God surely calls us to be holy but he also made us to be happy. Holiness and happiness are not opposites but part of the whole. Holiness leads to wholeness and wholeness leads to happiness (p. 15)."
The book is divided into three parts: 1.) Understanding Our Unhappiness, 2.) Moving Beyond our Unhappiness, and 3.) Practicing Happiness
In Part 1, Vernick explains the root causes of unhappiness to the reader. The first part of the book provides a great foundational understanding of how unmet expectations, personal scripts, the way one responds, and toxic and negative emotions all work together to create feelings of unhappiness. Many of these concepts will be familiar to readers well versed in counseling methods, but it is a great resource for those who are not or who are blind to how their own choices are contributing to their feelings of dissatisfaction and unhappiness in their lives.
In Part 2, Vernick details practical steps that should be taken to move away from unhappiness. It is Vernick's assertion that we are not powerless to change our own lives and with a biblically based understanding of the roots of true happiness and unhappiness we can begin to see our own contributions to our unhappiness and take responsibility for those contributions. Paired with this is learning how to change elements in our own lives that lead to unhappiness through personal discipline and training with the result of greater happiness through honesty in relationship with God. As she writes, "Happiness is finding God, and in finding God, you find yourself (p. 169)."
In Part 3, Vernick teaches the reader how to be intentional in one's pursuit of happiness with practical application through living purposefully. She writes, "Living a life on purpose starts by being aware that you have choices every day and that those choices have consequences and those consequences affect many things including your happiness levels (p. 185)." She is not dismissive of unique and difficult life situations, but teaches the reader how to attain true happiness through hardship and learning to cultivate a life of gratitude rather than a life of grumbling and bitterness.
Throughout the book, Vernick accompanies her teaching and assertions with real-life situations from her own counseling clients. In addition, she uses scripture and psychological research and studies to reinforce the elements of this book. It is a well thought out discourse on being happy that is both biblically sound and psychologically informed, and she does a superb job of showing how those two elements are complimentary in the process of teaching people how to achieve true happiness.
In addition, each chapter has study questions at the end that can be used for personal reflection or as a guide for group discussion. Although both are useful, it is the feeling of this writer that the subject matter of this book can best be grasped through group discussion and this book is an excellent choice for a bible study or reading circle for those who desire to grow in relationship through accountability and transparency with one another.
This is a great book for those who are completely unfamiliar with these concepts, as well as a great reminder and/or refresher for those of us to whom they are not wholly unfamiliar but are easily pushed aside because of the busyness of daily life. In all, this book will be beneficial to all who read it.
Summary of Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy
Counselor and author Leslie Vernick has discovered that many people pray, ?Lord, I just want to be happy!? With candor, Leslie reveals that readers don?t need new circumstances but a new perspective to discover true happiness. With biblical insight, Leslie guides readers to take simple steps as they?
- recognize and change habits that, day by day, keep them from experiencing happiness
- make good choices and learn from mistakes without beating themselves up
- develop the skills that enable them to let go of negative and painful emotions more quickly
- transform difficult circumstances so they can live with gratitude, joy, and purpose
Application questions help readers work godly thinking, as well as healthy skills and habits, into their lives and hearts. They?ll discover that, even if nothing changes in their circumstances, their inner chains can be broken and they can go free?into a new path of real hope and happiness.
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