It’s time to get serious about playfulness! When was the last time you felt really, truly happy? If you’ve ever longed to leave your exhausting days and fretful nights behind, look no further. Courtney recounts a courageous—and often hilarious!—experiment in joy and delight as she awakens to the truth that God doesn’t just want us to be holy, but happy, too! A whimsical storyteller who combines witty humor and engaging research with unfettered honesty, in Happy Now Courtney Ellis is a wise guide on an uplifting journey from sad to spirited. You’ll discover there is almost nothing that playfulness cannot make a little bit better, a little bit easier, and a lot more fun. Lift your mood, lighten your load, and renew your spirit with the power of playfulness. Happy Now: Let Playfulness Lift Your Load and Renew Your Spirit is a rollicking, investigative, and thoughtful invitation to open ourselves to the joy and freedom of play all over again. It is designed to invite readers to let go of their most serious selves, grant them permission to engage in curiosity and wonder of all kinds, and delight in the release of its transformative effects: creativity, innovation, delight, rest, and—above all—a more trusting relationship with Jesus. Through wry observations, firsthand experience, Scriptural study, and broad research, Ellis addresses questions like: How does God invite us into play? What does it mean that we are created for curiosity? In what ways can wonder help us love our neighbors more fully? The world can be a serious place. Because of Jesus, Christians don’t need to be. Dive deeply into the waters of whimsy, embracing the joy God offers. Sometimes that looks like welcoming holy laughter. Other times it’s learning to see mistakes as learning and innovation rather than mess-making. Play brings about transformation and rest and praise. And isn’t that just the reason God created us?

From the author of the latest official James Bond novel 'Charlie Higson's thrillers are major events' Mark Billingham 'An off-beat, atmospheric novel' Mirror 'Written with chilling perception' Time Out 'I do not believe that a man can be truly happy unless he fully understands what he is and can act accordingly... how can it be wrong to be happy?' These lines are taken from Will's diary, a seemingly innocuous exercise book which details his house-breaking activities. Will carefully selects houses - forty-seven so far - ensuring their owners will be in. As they cook their supper or watch television, Will (wearing surgical gloves and leaving no trace behind) enters not only their houses, but their secret lives. A secret museum, housed in his loft, is 'held together by sex'. All his trophies are carefully catalogued and he keeps a very precise diary of his activities and his thoughts. All his life Tom Kendall had lived as quietly and normally as possible ... but he gave people the creeps ... 'kids didn't like him, or the cat'. When Tom discovers Will's diary he decides to adopt the same quest for happiness. Tom has problems of his own - a difficult temper, problems with his girlfriend, Maddie, and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Perhaps Will's diary holds the key?

"Katie B. Smith places a spotlight on areas that need further development to strengthen one's ability to make smarter decisions and reach desired outcomes. I now have more fulfilling relationships, career opportunities, and a genuine expression of myself. If you are stuck envisioning your next chapter and are willing to do the work, Katie's integrative method will enhance you, your mission and your life " - Elaine DiLisio, President, Cordillera Advisor Group Everyone wants to be happy, yet most are preoccupied with stress, over-extension, and discouraging thoughts. While appearing to be successful, they feel stuck and plagued by negative self-talk. For the first time, certified executive coach, Katie B. Smith, shares her sought after professional guidance with the masses. In this book, you receive her strategies to move beyond fear and into the conscious choice of embracing fulfillment, love, and happiness - even amidst challenges. Hone the practices to: - Move from tolerating to accepting - Break negative thinking - Live with ease and less stress - Have fun, pleasure, and joy - Acknowledge and love yourself - Create a new personal and professional future Katie B. Smith speaks from the creative space of inner wisdom, years of corporate experience, and her journey into wellness, meditation and yoga. Her information is communicated in the language of the business world, but with a Zen twist - from the inside out. Her Results Focused Coaching shines a light on the person, not issues. Katie works with business owners, senior executives, and career professionals in the art of integrating their body, mind and heart to harness happiness and have the life and work they deserve. To learn more, please visit www.katiebsmith.com.

Is happiness something that you believe will come attached to some future event or a special person? Are you postponing happiness until you have the ideal job, live in your dream home, find the perfect mate, retire, or some other future situation? If you find yourself caught up in these thoughts or are missing passion, joy, or inner peace, then this book is for you! Through a series of practical lessons, you will learn the tools for raising self-awareness, leading to a path of personal transformation, which will allow you to experience a life of peace and happiness.

An illustrated picture book that teaches the best way to be happy is to embrace the circumstances we find ourselves in each day Happy Right Now brings a much-needed message to kids: it’s great to feel happy, but it’s okay to feel sad sometimes too. Dealing with emotions can be hard. Children experience the same range of strong feelings as adults, but often don’t have the tools to deal with them. For children ages 4 to 8, Happy Right Now teaches emotional intelligence with fun, relatable imagery and clever rhymes. Award-winning author Julie Berry brings a playful bounce to the important lesson that kids don’t need to wait for fantastic gifts, school vacations, or sunny days to find joy in the moment. And even if they can’t find a way to choose happiness—if the blues are just too strong—Berry provides a series of quick practices to help young readers move through their sadness. Smartly illustrated by Holly Hatam, Happy Right Now is perfect for children, parents, and caregivers who want to learn how to navigate difficult emotions and embrace the bright side of any situation, rain or shine.

A photographic behind the scenes look at three years in the life of Grammy Award nominated band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs by lead guitarist Nicholas Zinner. Documenting the glamour, debauchery and road-weary tedium of a rise to international acclaim, Nick gives readers a fresh look at rock n roll through the eyes of one of its stars. With essays by Jim Jarmusch and comedian David Cross.

Now We Will Be Happy is a prize-winning collection of stories about Afro-Puerto Ricans, U.S.-mainland-born Puerto Ricans, and displaced native Puerto Ricans who are living between spaces while attempting to navigate the unique culture that defines Puerto Rican identity. Amina Gautier’s characters deal with the difficulties of bicultural identities in a world that wants them to choose only one. The characters in Now We Will Be Happy are as unpredictable as they are human. A teenage boy leaves home in search of the mother he hasn’t seen since childhood; a granddaughter is sent across the ocean to broker peace between her relatives; a widow seeks to die by hurricane; a married woman takes a bathtub voyage with her lover; a proprietress who is the glue that binds her neighborhood cannot hold on to her own son; a displaced wife develops a strange addiction to candles. Crossing boundaries of comfort, culture, language, race, and tradition in unexpected ways, these characters struggle valiantly and doggedly to reconcile their fantasies of happiness with the realities of their existence.

What is preventing you from being happy now? Is it your partner, your health, your job, your financial situation or your weight? Or is it all the things you think you “should” do? Barbara Berger takes a look at all the things we think and do that prevent us from living happy lives now. The book’s basic premise is that our thoughts determine our experience of reality—and understanding this is the key to living a happy life. This is a revolutionary way of looking at life because most people believe that outer conditions are the reason why they are unhappy. But if outer conditions are not the cause—what is? Berger presents 10 practical ways to use this understanding in your daily life, your relationships, at work and for your health. And she gives examples from her own dramatic life since leaving America at the young age of 18 in protest against the Vietnam War and settling in Scandinavia to her lifelong exploration of the power of mind and the nature of consciousness. ,

Every five years my mother had her fortune read by Lulu Cho, owner of the Golden Lotus Massage Club for Men. Now it was my turn. And Lulu predicted one hurricane of a future for me! Judith Soo Jin Raphael’s childhood was shaped by her hardworking immigrant mother, her father who left them, and her struggles to fit in as a half-Korean, half-Jewish kid in a tough urban neighborhood. But music lessons gave her a purpose and passion. Now, as Judith’s fiftieth birthday nears, she has rewarding work as a cellist with the Maryland Philharmonic, an enthusiastic if uncommitted lover, and a quirky but close relationship with her mother. Then chaos strikes: Judith’s first love, who dumped her decades ago, returns to dazzle her with his golden pedigree and brilliant career. Her long-absent father arrives out of the blue with a snazzy car and a con man’s patter, turning her mother into a love-struck flirt whom Judith barely recognizes. All this while her mentor at the orchestra falls seriously ill. No wonder Judith develops a paralyzing case of stage fright. Judith finds herself feeling—and sometimes acting—slightly unhinged, but she’s convinced that happiness will arrive any day now. She’s just got to hold on tight during this midlife shake-up...and claim the prize that life surely has in store for her. CONVERSATION GUIDE INCLUDED

Happiness is infectious in the watercolor art of Kathy Davis. It's carried on rite wings of birds and in the buzz of bees; in flowers bursting with color, in big red hearts, and in enormous golden suns. In this delightful book, inspiring quotations by authors, poets, and other creative souls are incorporated into Kathy's designs in jubilant calligraphy. Over a million people have shared Kathy's joyful expressions with friends and toyed ones in the form of greeting cards. Now audiences can enjoy a broader spectrum of her designs in this new gift book and the companion address book.