By: Janet Waite

Janet Waite — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 08:53:11 +0000

If you thought Joyce Meyers " Battlefields of the mind" was good- you will love Matthew Kelly's Resisting Happiness

By: Chelsea C.

Chelsea C. — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 08:34:37 +0000

SLAY THE RESISTANCE DRAGON!!

By: Steven R. McEvoy

Steven R. McEvoy — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 08:23:47 +0000

An incredible read! The subtitle of this book is “A True Story about Why We Sabotage Ourselves, Feel Overwhelmed, Set Aside Our Dreams, and Lack the Courage to Simply Be Ourselves… and How to Start Choosing Happiness Again” and that is quite a mouthful. But having read a number of Matthew Kelly’s books over the last few years I was very excited to read this one. I must admit I read this book while rereading Rediscover Jesus, I read it through once and could not put it down, and am now reading it through a chapter a day. It was very interesting reading these two books in parallel. Matthew Kelly states in the introduction that this book is the most personal book that he has written to date. Having read a number of the others I completely agree. He has opened up and been transparent about his own faith journey, his successes, growth and failures. He is teaching by example, his example. And what a brave, courageous and motivating example it is.Matthew also shares a number of stories that he has shared before. But this is the most exhaustive collection of them, and some of them go into more details or extended versions of the stories. So this book is part autobiography, part spiritual history and part a guidebook for those of us who wish to grow in the Christian life. Matthew states in the introduction: “The hardest war to win is one you don’t even realize you are fighting, and the hardest enemy to defeat is the one you don’t even know exists. Every day you are at war with resistance.” And he goes on from there to show us this pattern from his own life. And like many of Kelly’s other writings the focus is not on him but on God, and our relationship with God, “When I did something that I knew was God’s will, something that would clearly help me become a-better-version-of-myself, I was filled with joy. When I did something that I knew was wrong or was clearly not good for me, that joy began to evaporate.” And is that not what Jesus promised in Matthew 5:6 ‘For the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.’ How many of us would say we are truly living the abundant life? That we are living from a place of Joy? Kelly also declares “It is clear that God does not want us to be negative thinkers. But he also doesn’t want our thinking to be neutral. He wants us to be positive thinkers on an epic scale.” Would you say you are living that way? If not this book might open your eyes and your heart to following the Holy Spirit more.In speaking specifically about parenting and working with children Kelly says “I suppose we all need a chance to get outside ourselves and serve other people. It seems the earlier in life we get this chance in a real and tangible way- a chance to serve others, know that we have worth, discover our innate ability to make a difference in other people’s lives- the better off we are.” And I think about my own children and How I want them to learn to live to become the best version of themselves. We regularly read Kelly’s Why Am I Here as a family, and my children often talk about decisions that help them or hinder them from being that best version of themselves. But by growing in it from the learning in this book, hopefully and prayerfully I can be a better example.One of the key takeaways I got from read this book was about self discipline, even self discipline in the little things. Matthew says “These realizations about denying ourselves, self-control, delayed gratification, and fasting are not new. They are wrapped up in two thousand years of Catholic genius. Saint Augustine wrote, “Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet.”" And learning from his examples we can start small and build to bigger disciplines. But on that same note Kelly says if we are striving to grow in discipline we will also experience greater resistance “Resistance hates discipline. It hates self-control. Resistance abhors delayed gratification and any type of self-denial that makes your heart, mind, and soul strong.” He also advises us that if we want to see change we need to be part of making that change happen. “If you want to be part of an excellent parish, stop waiting for someone else to make it one. Get involved and make it an excellent parish. Resistance encourages us to take it easy and settle for mediocrity. But God created us for happiness, and he fills us with great joy as we strive for excellence, especially in the spiritual life.” Matthew insists:”God wants you to live an excellent life. In that quest for excellence you will find a rare happiness.”He also stresses the importance of being gentle with ourselves as part of the processs. “One of the most important reasons to be gentle with ourselves is because if we cannot forgive ourselves, we will struggle to forgive others. And if we cannot forgive ourselves or others, we will…

Comments on: Resisting Happiness

By: Janet Waite

By: Chelsea C.

By: Steven R. McEvoy