A Weekend of GiveAways: And David Murray’s The Happy Christian…

Our weekend of GiveAways is coming to an end and this is one you really should be interested in. This book arrived on my desk with lots of reasons to grab it with both hands, and I will get to those later. Not to mention heaps of recommendations. I was curious to read a book called “The Happy Christian” because let’s face it, that sounds like a collection of “blessed little thoughts.” But I have reviewed David Murray’s books before and after having spent the entire weekend reading it, I can honestly say… this is one of the most practical and optimistic books that I have read in ages.

Here’s the thing… I wouldn’t recommend that you read this book in a weekend, compelling as it is… and I will have to go back and reread it more slowly. This book is essentially a “challenge in every chapter” kind of book. If you have found your joy somewhat lacking, if you have felt like you are wading trough your days instead of flying, if you have felt like things would be better if only you would do any number of good and intentional things in you life, then I highly recommend this book. This book will change your thinking about happiness… it is achievable and not just for a special select few. In this book David Murray has combined recent scientific research, with Biblical truths, to create a practical read, a workbook really, on the how and where to find this mysterious happiness. It really helps that he introduces many personal anecdotes – these make the book relatable. I’ll be honest and say, it is not hard to find your own self lurking in the pages… amidst the paragraphs on self-doubt and “I should be doing better,” there are lots of nuggets of information.

I thought I would post some of the notes I made from reading the book, but I realise that out of context and without the depth of writing around them they look somewhat “peh.” We all know that we can’t change the facts of a situation and we all know that our thoughts directly affect our emotions and that we can train our brains, just like our bodies, to think different thoughts… that is not really the point. The point is how do you do all that… this book provides the how on every level and more, it provides biblical examples on how to achieve this. One of my favourite verses is Philippians 4:8, don’t even ask certain folk in our house how many times they have written it out, gets a whole chapter. Just how to think about whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable… this is a life skill in a world where the media knows that “bad news sells.”

Once you have worked your way through this book, and yes, though it is an easy going read, it is dense, there is tons of information on these pages, and it is quite a work. I made copious notes, excuse me there are action points and things to do, references that I wanted to follow up on and so on, but I digress. Once you have worked your way through this book, you are not going to have that warm happy glow that you see in marketing campaigns, or that content feeling that you get after a throughly good classic or enjoyed a feast with friends. You are going to have lots of actionable things to do, practical things that you can think about and be intentional about, these things will quite likely change the way that you think about happiness.

Make no mistake, this is not a quick fix for years of depression, nor is a diatribe about “positive thinking,” this book is unlikely to lift your spirits if you are in the depths of despair, but it will provide useful help that goes way, way beyond the pithy sayings folk like to offer us when we are down. Practical and doable help, that a person can choose to work on and exercise, in order to discover happiness for themselves. If you have ever wondered why christian joy appears to be so elusive, and out of reach and why is there such a disconnect between the written Word and the faces sitting in the pews around you on a Sunday morning, then look no further. Not only does this book provide the connection but it is an excellent read as well. If you are looking for a good book to get your year off to a good start, then this book is a really good choice.

This book is available for pre-order now and if you order before the 24 February 2015, then you will receive a bundle of practical goodies worth $100 to go with your book. In the bundle you will find a study guide to the book, devotionals, not to mention films, an impending app, and so much more.

So we have a copy of this book to GiveAway to a reader anywhere in the world. If the reader is within the Continental United States of America or Canada, they will receive a physical copy of the book and a winner outside of that area will receive an e-book copy. This GiveAway works in the usual way, leave a comment before the end of 31 January 2015. We will draw and publish the winners in the Fabulous Fun Post after that. I won’t respond to your comments as I do on our other posts because I don’t want to be included in our own giveaway.

Our GiveAways are open to everyone: If you have won a GiveAway before never fear – enter away. If you live on the far side of the world – enter away. Postage takes forever from here but eventually it should get to you! Good luck and happy commenting!!!

I would like to thank the publishers, Thomas Nelson and the author, David Murray, for asking if we would like to review this book and for the opportunity to offer it as a GiveAway on our website. We are not paid to write our reviews and the opinions expressed are entirely our own.