Champagne for the SoulRediscovering God's Gift of Joy
Review posted September 11, 2016.
Regent College Publishing, Vancouver, B. C., 2007. 190 pages.
Starred Review
2016 Sonderbooks Standout: #1 Nonfiction
A big thank-you to my sister Becky for recommending this book!
Here's how the author introduces this book:
In October 1999 I began a ninety-day experiment in joy. I made up my mind that for the next ninety days I would be joyful in the Lord. Because this was an experiment, there was room for failure. If there were times when I wasn't joyful, I wouldn't despair or beat myself up. Rather I would gently, persistently return as best I could to my focus on joy.
So began (and continues to this day) the happiest time of my life. This book is the record of that experiment in joy, along with other thoughts on joy that came to me later. While I was astounded by the results of my initial experiment, I deliberately waited before writing a book. I knew my ideas needed time to mature, and more important, I had to see whether the new joy that had flooded my life would endure. Amazingly, it has. My original thesis turned out to be true: Joy is like a muscle, and the more you exercise it, the stronger it grows.
The book consists of 90 two-page chapters. Each one begins with a verse, and then some thoughts about aspects of joy.
I'll admit that it wasn't until I was more than two-thirds of the way through the book that I decided to try a full-fledged experiment with joy myself. So my plan was to turn around and start the book over again.
However, today, the very day I finished reading the book, my church small group met for the first time since taking the summer off, and we were trying to decide what study to do this next season. I threw out the idea of using this book -- and they immediately loved the idea.
So -- I'm going to try an experiment in joy along with a close group of Christian friends! I think that's going to add layers of richness to the experience.
And this book is a wonderful guide to bring along. There aren't "study questions." Mike Mason writes about his own experiences with joy, which I think will encourage us to think about our own experiences and share them with each other.
This isn't a how-to book. More of a travelogue about one person's journey with Jesus into a new experience of joy and encouragement for others who may choose to follow a similar path.
As I was reading, I found dozens of quotes I loved, and I'm slowly loading them into Sonderquotes. You can get an idea of the sort of thing the author focuses on by reading these.
Now, I'm happily writing this review having finished the book but knowing that I'm only on the beginning of my journey with it. And next time around, I'm looking forward to having companions traveling with me.
I should add that when I first approached the book, it was as a casual reader, figuring I'd read good thoughts about joy. When I decided to actually try my own experiment with joy -- 23 days ago -- it suddenly got more personal, more immediate.
Not to give spoilers, but here are some words from the Epilogue:
My experiment has been wildly successful. Joy has indeed become an ingrained habit of my soul -- so much a part of me that it hardly seems possible that I lived without it for nearly half a century. Not only am I much happier now than ever before, but I know it's possible to keep moving in the direction of joy and to have more and more of it. In the search for joy a certain point arrives where the balance tips in our favor. We find we're no longer striving for happiness; we're simply happy. It's like getting out of debt: Without a fat mortgage payment to dole out every month, life takes on an entirely different feel. Difficulties still come, perhaps grave ones, but joy keeps flowing into the hurts like a self-renewing stream.
I highly recommend this book. While it's fantastic casual reading, I've found my experience with it got richer the more seriously I took it. What are you waiting for? Dive in!