Corking the Bottle

(Reprinted from my blog post July 13, 2018) I'm not happy all the time. No one is. When I get a flat tire, am allegedly nagged by my wife, stub my toe, get bitten by my cat, or watch the Pirates lose, I feel unhappy. Yet I feel joy pretty much all the time, even while those bad things are happening. I am about 2/3 finished reading  Choose Joy Because Happiness Isn't Enough , by Kay Warren. ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) She doles out an overdose of scripture, in my opinion, and claims the Bible to be the unquestionable 100% word of God. That's fine for her, but I have my own set of beliefs. And you have your own, too. Nevertheless, she gets it right, in my view, much of the time throughout her book. She defines joy as "the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things." Happiness, she claims, is a temp...

[First published August 8, 2018] "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -- Kay Warren,  Choose Joy ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) How comforting! To know that God is in control of my life, to be confident everything will be all right, to choose to keep in touch with God. You know, that sounds better than getting drunk and passing out in the living room. Been there, done that. But how do I move beyond the "old me?" Even if we are convinced change is necessary, so is patience. You can't demand patience to arrive right away. Change takes time, but is well worth the wait. The Big Book comes with appendices that I  overlooked for a long time. The second, called "Spiritual Awareness," cautions, " ...Our first printing gave many readers the impression that these pe...

[First published August 8, 2018] "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -- Kay Warren,   Choose Joy  ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) How comforting! To know that God is in control of my life, to be confident everything will be all right, to choose to keep in touch with God. You know, that sounds better than getting drunk and passing out in the living room. Been there, done that. But how do I move beyond the "old me?" Even if we are convinced change is necessary, so is patience. You can't demand patience to arrive right away. Change takes time, but is well worth the wait. The Big Book comes with appendices that I  overlooked for a long time. The second, called "Spiritual Awareness," cautions, " ...Our first printing gave many readers the impression that these pe...

[First published July 13, 2018] I'm not happy all the time. No one is. When I get a flat tire, am allegedly nagged by my wife, stub my toe, get bitten by my cat, or watch the Steelers lose, I feel unhappy. Yet I feel joy pretty much all the time, even while those bad things are happening. I am about 2/3 finished reading  Choose Joy Because Happiness Isn't Enough , by Kay Warren. ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) She doles out an overdose of scripture, in my opinion, and claims the Bible to be the unquestionable 100% word of God. That's fine for her, but I have my own set of beliefs. And you have your own, too. Nevertheless, she gets it right, in my view, much of the time throughout her book. She defines joy as "the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things." Happiness, she claims, is a temporary state...

I will be brief this morning because I am about to take a seven-hour drive to visit Mom and one, maybe two, of me three sisters. (The third lives in northern Idaho.) My family and extended family (that includes all my inlaws) have all been important through my childhood and adult growth. They all know and experienced my drinking problem. They love me just the same. Here is a passage I highlighted in Choose Joy by Kay Warren ( https://kaywarren.com ): "God is the only true source of joy. God will be there when all else is shaking. He will be there when the people you love let you down or leave you or die. He will be there when the place you thought would make you happy doesn't satisfy any longer. He will be there when the possession is lost or gets broken. He will be there when your position changes or is given to someone else. H e will be there when your personality just isn't enough." May He be with you today and every day.

"Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -- Kay Warren, Choose Joy ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) How comforting! To know that God is in control of my life, to be confident everything will be all right, to choose to keep in touch with God. You know, that sounds better than getting drunk and passing out in the living room. Been there, done that. But how do I move beyond the "old me?" Even if we are convinced change is necessary, so is patience. You can't demand patience to arrive right away. Change takes time, but is well worth the wait. The Big Book comes with appendices that I  overlooked for a long time. The second, called "Spiritual Awareness," cautions, " ...Our first printing gave many readers the impression that these personality changes, or religious experien...

I'm not happy all the time. No one is. When I get a flat tire, am allegedly nagged by my wife, stub my toe, get bitten by my cat, or watch the Pirates lose, I feel unhappy. Yet I feel joy pretty much all the time, even while those bad things are happening. I am about 2/3 finished reading Choose Joy Because Happiness Isn't Enough , by Kay Warren. ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) She doles out an overdose of scripture, in my opinion, and claims the Bible to be the unquestionable 100% word of God. That's fine for her, but I have my own set of beliefs. And you have your own, too. Nevertheless, she gets it right, in my view, much of the time throughout her book. She defines joy as "the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things." Happiness, she claims, is a temporary state, while joy lasts for all time becau...