“Michelle, God delights in you.”
These words were spoken to me and over me as a blessing twice after I’d revealed my breakthrough (i.e. breakdown) to my traveling companions in Italy. Two beautiful women prayed two beautiful, intimate prayers over me at two different points during the trip, and though their prayers were full of wisdom, insight and God’s truth, I remember only five specific words, words both of them uttered:
Michelle, God delights in you.
Those are the words, the promise, I took home with me. And while I wish I’d held a recorder in my hand so that I would still have every one of the beautiful words those two lovely women spoke to me, I do believe those five I tucked into my mind, soul and heart are enough. Those five words comprised the essence of their prayers, and I grabbed that truth and held it tight.
Two weeks ago, as my family and I winged our way to New England, I pulled Jennifer Dukes Lee’s recently released book, The Happiness Dare, out of my carry-on bag. Though I hadn’t yet cracked the binding, I knew Jennifer’s book would be good. In fact, I knew it would be excellent. Her first book, Love Idol, knocked my socks off, and I know Jennifer and her writing well enough to know The Happiness Dare would do the same.
What I didn’t expect, though, was that The Happiness Dare would speak so clearly into my heart, straight into the place I’d tucked the hope and prayer of those five words I’d received in Italy.
The truth is, I may have known, hypothetically, that “God delights in me,” but I didn’t truly understand or even believe it personally. I didn’t believe it applied to me. I assumed God approved of me (on my good days), and was even possibly pleased with me from time to time, but delighted in me? Delight seems over-the-top. Delight is giddy, wildly joyful, grinning from ear to ear, cartwheels, jumping up and down with glee. Never once in my forty-six years have I ever considered that God delights in me.
Until Italy, that is. Until I experienced an altogether different God than the distant, vaguely curmudgeonly God I’d crafted.
Looking back, it’s so obvious: of course God delights in me. If he didn’t, why would he have gone to the trouble of wooing me in all the ways he knows matter most to me — in the birds and the blooms, in the warm breeze, heavy with the scent of jasmine and lavender, in the hot sun blanketing fields of green and gold. He is so particular, so specific. He knew the magical landscape of Tuscany was the place I would meet him and accept his invitation, long before I ever imagined the possibility of such a trip.
That, my friends, is a God who not only approves of us and is pleased with us, but delights in us.
And that is also a God who desires delight for us in our everyday, ordinary lives. Just as God delights in us, he has also wired us for delight. He has planted the seeds of happiness deep in our souls.
“Do not imagine the Lord as some miserly mall security cop, with his arms crossed over his chest and a whistle around his neck, waiting for you to mess things up down here,” Jennifer writes in The Happiness Dare. “God is the inventor of happiness and the chief spreader of it. When you desire happiness, you are not a pleasure-seeking heretic. Your desire to live happy is not a flaw. It is your soul’s memory of the original paradise, etched and alive in you.
God delights in each and every one of us, and I believe one of his deepest desires is that we delight in him too, in all the ways, big and small, he lavishes his love on us. We have to look for it, Jennifer reminds us, because sometimes this delight, this happiness, shows up small – in the scent of lavender, in the steady drone of bees under a hot Tuscan sun, in the sing-song call of the Oriole, right in your own backyard.
Friends, I invite you take the Happiness Dare with me. I invite you to allow happiness, “the holy fuel of our personhood,” to open your heart to God’s delight in you and your delight in him.
I finished Jennifer’s book the first two days of my vacation, and I was right: it was absolutely as fabulous as I thought it would be! Superbly crafted, wise, and engaging, The Happiness Dare will inspire you to embrace God’s desire for you and begin the journey toward spiritual and emotional transformation.
And here’s a cool thing: Jennifer has also created a Happiness Assessment – a five-minute online quiz that will help you discover your happiness style (I’m a Doer and a Thinker). You can take the Happiness Assessment here.
And the best news of all: I have a copy of The Happiness Dare to giveaway! Just enter the drawing below for a chance to win [email readers: click here and scroll down to the bottom of the post to enter the drawing].
What makes me happy is reading. Lately I have been intentional about making time to read and it has been huge.
Right there with you, Jen – I think reading might just be one of my happiest habits. 🙂
I’m wondering if you might test highest as a Thinker on the Happiness Style Assessment at http://www.TheHappinessDare.com.
Dear Michele…..as we journey together and follow the path our faith leads us, I always find it endearing how candid you are when talking about God. I have always believed (and still do) that our God is a loving God. He accepts us for who we are and as we continue our journey together, we learn from the smallest of examples, how great God’s love is. As bloggers, Michele, we delight in you. You have been instrumental in bringing your voice and your vision to my computer and I so welcome sharing time with you and learning from you. The journey continues….we have so much yet to learn and experience!
with love……marilyn
Thank you for these kind, sweet words, Marilyn – I so appreciate that! And I love your point about how we can learn from the smallest examples about how great God’s love is for us. That’s it, exactly. That is what I am seeing and understanding more and more in my life.
Amen, Marilyn!
Being done with radiation.
That is indeed something to be happy about, Catherine! I am celebrating with you, and may God bless you and continue to heal you on your journey toward good health.
Celebrating with you!
Writing with fountain pens and cool inks makes me happy. I love the way they move along the paper.
I love a good pen, too! Nothing makes me happier than a pretty, brand-new journal, a clean page, and a smooth pen. Small joys, right?
I love when God speaks to us!! Your blog post answered my prayer for today!
Well now that makes ME happy, Susan!
Right now what’s making me happy is a hot cup of coffee as I look through my email. Such a good start to the day.
Coffee is my best friend in the mornings, Mary Jane. I’m with you on that!
Coffee, your writing, fresh rainfall!
Well thank you very much for including my writing in your list of happies, Cindy! And yes on the coffee and the fresh rainfall – everything looks sparkling and washed clean here this morning after a good, long rain last night.
My happiness is slow coming from a pared down summer schedule free of obligation.
I had that kind of summer too, Aimee, and it’s been so incredibly refreshing and liberating. Good for you!
So good to create margin!
My job. It has taken over twelve years, but I am finally happy going to work.
Perseverance pays off, Diane. Congratulations on finding your vocational sweet spot – that’s no small feat.
Diane, I wonder if you might be a Doer. Find your happiness style at http://www.thehappinessdare.com! 🙂
Enjoying the last few days of my summer break.
And that response doesn’t even need a reply — amen to the happiness that is summer break, right?
I’m so happy Jennifer’s new book is finally here! “Love Idol” spoke to me right where I was at the time. I’ve seen a dare-I-say lasting change since then, so I’m looking forward to how God will use this book to change my life. (Even though I’m super tired of change, it doesn’t seem to be, ahem, changing.)
Thankful God delights in us as we delight in Him!
Thankful for a chance to read /win the Happiness Dare…
I am happy that my sister and her family are arriving in town and I will be able to share time with them. Family is so important and I don’t get to see them nearly enough.
Right now I am making time to intentionally knit and or read daily (for fun). I find that the creativity of knitting, and the relaxed yet mindful reading are both life giving and make me so happy during and afterwards!
I took the happiness style assessment. Not only did I agree with the outcome (experiencer & relater being the top two) but the experiencer description was so apt I laughed out loud, prompting Jim to ask me what was going on!
Thanks for another thought-provoking entry.
Deb
Everything about your post spoke to me and brought me joy. May God bless you.
— Gina Weeks
…the thing to being me the most joy right now is soaking in every day as a blessing from the Lord: my three kids are all on the cusp of changes in their lives. It’s a stretching experience in my faith as a mom. But God is with me and He is always faithful.
I already have my copy and can’t wait to read it! Yes, Love Idol was a wonderful book, and I knew Happiness Dare would not disappoint.
Blessings, Michelle!
Reading is making me happy these days. I am reading different genres and authors this year.
Thanks for your honesty.
Beautiful post, Michelle. Thank you for sharing! And thank you for hosting this giveaway! SUMMER is making me happy right now. 🙂 So blessed to live near Lake Michigan, where beach visits are a daily possibility. Beyond spoiled. Blessings to you!
What makes me happy is spending time with my grandkids who live four hours away. When not with them, I have my husband and kitties to keep me happy. God is good.
Thank you for this wonderful post. It’s as though the whole world is God’s love letter to us…
So many things make me happy. Tonight it was eating blueberries and reading your blog. Just reading about how you leaned how God delights in you gave me shivers. I pray we can remember this delight God has in us. Especially when we need to hear these encouraging words.
Right now what is making me happy is my new bright blue tea kettle. It looks so cheery sitting on my stove!
I love your transparency Michelle!! I am happy when I watch the hummingbirds chase each other in the back yard.
A husband who understands my need for a stay-at-home mom break, even though his own job requires him to work weeks at a time without time off. Feeling the kicks of baby boy following 2 girls. A little time away with a girlfriend. A break in the August summer heat. The list goes on… Thanks for encouraging us to look for the happy!
Hearing contagious laughter makes me happy as well as pink flowers. And chocolate. Definitely chocolate.
I did the assessment quiz and I am a Thinker and a Doer! Maybe that’s why I keep reading your blogs. I identfy with your thinking side. Evidently the Doer is more developed in you, and I can see that in your posts. You need to finish things and know what to do next. I tend to be more of a thinker, which is why I love blogging! Thanks for posting the link to the quiz. It was fun doing it.