Defiant Joy: Taking Hold of Hope, Beauty, and Life in a Hurting World Kindle Edition

Now, to be honest, I've been a John & Stasi Eldredge reader for a long time. I love their books and their writing styles. But more than their skills with language is their transparency and candor. If you get the chance to meet them, you'll see that who they are in person is just how they portray themselves in their books. They're honest. They're kind--both with themselves and with others and they're consistently dedicated to telling the truth--no hype. No bait and switch.Now, to Defiant Joy. This is a book for those who have lost joy. This is a book for those who have been blinded to the subtle creep of disappointment and cynicism that has tragically become the filter through which they see life. Let's be honest. Life can really suck sometimes. And it's both understandable and inevitable that joy is harder and harder to find...much less experience. Stasi has lived enough life to understand that condition. She shares her own struggles and disappointments--all of which give her credibility when she invites her readers to consider seeking joy in the midst of less than joyful circumstances."Defiant Joy" is a fitting title for those who don't want to give up yet; who don't want to give in to resignation. And that's the invitation Stasi gently offers--there is another option beside resignation, cynicism, depression and disillusionment. Joy! Who would have thought?Stasi writes like she talks. Reading her work is like sitting down with a good friend for an honest and frank conversation about what really matters. She's the kind of friend we all long to have--one who tells us what we need to hear instead of what we want to hear; one who tells us the truth, even when we've lost hope of ever finding it. You won't find any relativism or warm-fuzzy self-talk. This is not a self-help book. Stasi has suffered too much to offer simplistic answers to some of the most difficult questions.I highly recommend this book. It's on my suggested reading list for the community I lead. Stasi is one battle-experienced traveler who's offering other weary travelers hope for the journey ahead. I'll bet money you'll discover joy again.

I loved the book she wrote with her husband. Saved my life. This book, on the other hand.... Who edited this book? Or, should I say, who didn't edit this book and proceeded to let it go to press. I cannot read it due to convoluted sentence structure and misuse of punctuation everywhere. I cannot read it when all the sentences are chopped up with commas and then the word "and." The sentences begin, all too many times, with the word "and" or they are just incomplete sentences. I love what Stasi usually has to say but I cannot read this book.

This is the first book I've read by Stasi Eldredge, although I've read several by John Eldredge. Stasi's tone is conversational and she talks about how she and many friends and relatives have had occasion to experience anything but joy, with miscarriages and deaths of children and family. That's why the joy has to be defiant. This truly is a book full of hope, and not the ordinary kind. I highly recommend it, especially for new Christians and for those who need a dose of hope.

What is joy? How does it compare to happiness? From where does joy come? How can we experience joy every day despite the pain and sorrow that we all experience?Stasi Eldredge writes honestly and poignantly from places of pain and sorrow in her own life - but doesn't leave us there. She leads us into hope, into beauty and into a new depth of life in God. She teaches us how to cultivate joy in really practical - and achievable - ways.I was especially struck by her walking through St. Patrick's Breastplate - an ancient prayer - and how I can turn from a place of failure and shame based on my performance to the King and His character and hide myself in Him."I need mercy, and I know it. In that knowing comes a great gift. I turn my heart again to my kind and understanding God and confess to Him that I need mercy. His answer swamps my heart with a too-good-to-be-true reality that leads to a crumbling of hopelessness and shame. My self-loathing collapses into His love. My self-condemnation melts into His arms that welcome and soothe. I have blown it. The blowing now has become the wind of the Holy Spirit. Ruah is here. His breath shepherds my heart into my Father's, and there mercy triumphs over judgment."I encourage you to read this book. God will use it to restore your soul, to bring water to your dry and weary soul, and to help you find rest in His strong arms. You will not feel condemned, but encouraged. I found hope in its pages.

Stasi doesn't just support her vision that God wants us live joyously with scripture, she acknowledges the challenges to that, the pain we experience in life, and then gives us practical advice for applying God's love through those times to become deeper, better, more loving individuals on the other side. I wish I had read this book before my Daddy was called home, but I guess I wouldn't have been the same person if I hadn't experienced that pain alone. Defiant Joy leads you beyond surface Christianity and challenges you to see God more closely.

I have a Library of books on history, Bibles, How To, Reference, and the likes but I seldom if ever buy a book written about a person't perspective. I heard this lady read a sample from her book on Facebook and was so taken by it that I had to add it. I haven't got to read it all yet, my mother-in-law has it now and I would not give her anything to read that wasn't worth her time. This is an inspiring book written I believe from the heart and sheds light in a dark world. Something we all need today.

Wonderful Read! With the state of the world we are in there is so much pain, bait, and sadness. Even genuine happy people these events can really break you down and steal your joy. Stasi’s book revived the hope inside of me of being Defiantly Joyful, not denying the occurrences and situations but defiantly deciding to be joyful through the pain - and provided so much relief that I don’t have to do it all! Even in my darkest hours, all I have to do is choose to be joyful, and He fulfills the rest as I look to Him instead of my situation.

Stacy Eldredge schreibt sehr authentisch darüber, wie man ganzheitlich Freude lebt, die in Jesus gewurzelt ist, ohne von einer Seite vom Pferd zu fallen...Das Buch hat mich echt ermutigt und hilft einer gesunden, inneren Ausrichtung langfristig.

I would recommend this study to anyone wanting to find out how to live life with joy no matter what is going on in their lives right now.

Not done yet, but so far it's amazing! And I'm picky hahahaha