by Lucy | Jan 12, 2010 | biblical counseling
Is ordering a mocha from Starbucks a sin?
You could have sent the $5 overseas to feed starving children. Right?
Or. . .
is spending money on mocha just fine with God? Perhaps, even. . .godly?
These sorts of questions pepper an eyebrow-raising book titled Pure Pleasure: Why Do Christians Feel So Bad About Feeling Good? (Zondervan, Nov. 2009)
Simple pleasures like homemade chocolate cake, a round of golf, the perfect cup of coffee, your morning run – or your afternoon nap — are created by God for us to enjoy – not feel guilty about.
So says bestselling author Gary Thomas. In Pure Pleasure, Thomas urges Christians to embrace pleasure and carve out time to enjoy life because pleasure is a gift from God that points us back to him. According to Thomas, “God isn’t just our Redeemer. He is our Creator. He made us, and he made this world. So when we participate in this world as he made it, we celebrate him every bit as much as we honor him when we do things that reflect his redeeming work.”
Thomas offers an impassioned biblical defense of pleasure and explains how God delights in, and shares, the pleasure we experience when we encounter his world with thanksgiving. Everyone finds pleasure in unique ways, and whether readers delight in high thread count sheets, gourmet cooking, the scent of freshly cut flowers or finishing a crossword puzzle, Thomas says incorporating guilt-free pleasure into our lives rejuvenates and refreshes individuals and provides a stronger platform for a lifestyle of worship.
He confronts the contentious issue of the cost of pleasure and how we can balance our need for restorative pleasure with our call to be faithful stewards of God’s resources. He helps readers come to grips with the true costs of that daily latte or expensive vacation – not necessarily that those things are sinful, but how they affect one’s spiritual life.
“I’m asking you – no, pleading with you – to embrace pleasure with sophistication. Pleasure is a gift from God. It is good. He designed us to receive pleasure in many ways and is, in fact, preparing us for an eternity of pleasure. We must also realize, however, that there is a hierarchy of pleasure – with God at the top – that orders all of our other pleasures. If the hierarchy gets broken or becomes skewed, then lesser pleasures will begin to war against the primary one, which is delight in Christ.”
A provocative read that just may make you feel better about your simple pleasure.
RECOMMENDED
About the Author:
Gary Thomas enjoys spending time with his family, is an avid runner and has completed seven marathons including the Boston Marathon. He is a writer and adjunct faculty member at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of several books including Sacred Marriage, Holy Available, Sacred Pathways, Sacred Parenting and the Gold Medallion Award-winning Authentic Faith.
Pure Pleasure
Release: November 2009
Soft cover, 272 pp., $14.99
ISBN: 0310290803
by Lucy | Nov 2, 2009 | biblical counseling |
A recovering perfectionist: That’s me.
And so the book It’s a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life: Devotional Readings for Women Who Strive to Hard to Make It Just Right attracted me as a Merry Maid to a speck of dirt.
Before I say more, this announcement:
Leave a comment on this post and you WILL be entered into a drawing to WIN an autographed copy of this book, snail-mailed to your door. 🙂
After much head-banging, I realized to be “perfect” I must embrace my imperfection and recognize only God is perfect.
Get it?
No?
I’m okay with that. Really.
Years ago, everything important to me had to be “just right.” I got it from my mom, whose alcoholic mom ran a chaotic home. I’m named after “grandma,” by the way. For those not in the know, a person who grows up amidst alcoholism tries oh-so-hard to control life. It doesn’t work. Still, she tries.
And I tried.
And so did Joan C. Webb, the Imperfect Life author who delievers entertaining/thoughtful readings that follow a story-prayer-application format to start your day, end your day, or whatever. (See, I remain deep in recovery. Yay, me.)
Joan breaks her 163 readings, a wonderfully uneven number, into eight categories. Among the categories are “The Relief of Imperfect Emotions, Minds and Bodies: Exquisitely Intertwined,” “The Relief of Imperfect Churches and Cultures: No Formula Solutions” and “The Promise of Relief: Breathing Room for Your Soul.”
Joan writes in the opener to the first section,
“My third-grade teacher warned my mother that I’d have a nervous breakdown by the age of 18. Gratefully, she was wrong!
“However, I did burn out before reaching 40, oblivious that the internal and external unreasonable expectations I had about work, play, relationships, appearance and spirituality were depleting me. There’s a freedom-robbing misconception floating about our homes, schools, businesses, chursches and culture. It permeates our families, emotions, ministries, dreams and faith.
“This misconception? That people, things, organizations and circumstances have the capacity to be just right (that is, flawless).”
So why do Joan or I or you keep trying to achieve the impossible?
Hmm. I’m not sure. (Did I admit I don’t have all the answers? Phew.)
Could it be that I wanted to play God? You know. . .make life painless and fulfilling and just like Christmas morn every day and NOT gain a pound or get the flu? Could it be I wanted life on my perfect terms as I defined them?
In It’s a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life, Joan reveals what perfectionism truly brings. Imbalance. Pain. Strife. Ulcers. Depression. Anxiety. And worse.
So what’s a girl to do?
How’s this: Learn to live with your humanness and thus escape your striving-too-hard-to-make-it-all-just-right mindset, as Joan advises.
What a relief.
It’s a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life: Devotional Readings for Women Who Strive to Hard to Make It Just Right by Joan C. Webb.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing to win Joan’s book. Someone’s gotta win. It might as well be you.
You Are Loved, Lucy
