Count It All Joy: Stories, Poems, and Essays to Inspire the Soul

This beautifully designed gift book celebrates the power of joy in all seasons and circumstances of life through short stories, Scriptures, poems, and contemporary images.

Joy can come out of nowhere, surprising us in a moment of gratitude and delight. Joy can be hard-won, something we struggle to choose when our emotions lead us elsewhere. Different from happiness, joy has a divine quality-it can take our breath away with wonder and yet be strangely linked with sorrow. It can flood into our heart one moment and leave it aching the next. C.S. Lewis called it a holy longing--a kind of heavenly homesickness. Count it All Joy: Stories, Poems, and Essays to Inspire the Soul shines a light on the ways joy has been found by others in many circumstances, inspiring us to reflect on how we might have more joy in our own lives.

Count It All Joy explores the joy that comes in all seasons of life: joy chosen defiantly in the face of suffering, joy found in generosity, joy hidden in the mundane, joy erupting from the wonder of creation, and joy springing from creativity. This biblically rooted, passionately hope-filled book combines evocative photography with poems, short stories, essays, and prose, from Scripture to Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Helen Keller, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson, and Mary Oliver, to Francine Rivers, Andrew Calis, Nikki Grimes, and many more.

Count it All Joy:

• Combines classic and contemporary writings with compelling imagery that gives the book a fresh, modern aesthetic.
• Includes full-color illustrations and a ribbon marker--making it a beautiful gift for any occasion.
• Will appeal to book lovers who enjoy and draw spiritual wisdom from classic and contemporary literature.
• Makes a thoughtful and meaningful gift for a friend who is going through a difficult time and for pastors, counselors, teachers, doctors, nurses, caregivers, and others in the field of service.

In a culture of cynicism, false promises, and confusion, Count it All Joy points to the true and unfailing source of joy, God the creator and heavenly Father who delights in his people. It will leave you with a new understanding of joy - not as an elusive emotion, but as a spiritual power and vital necessity in our world today.

For more than 40 years, Paraclete Press has presented the Christian faith in written work, sacred music, and visual art - from ancient spiritual writings and classics to contemporary works, including devotionals, seasonal studies, poetry, fiction, children's book, and recordings. Partnering with Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical, and Orthodox voices, Paraclete Press is known for publishing books and music of spiritual depth, thoughtfully created and beautifully presented.