Simple Joys: Discovering Wonder in the Everyday
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About this ebook
Laughter that makes your stomach hurt, the perfect cup of coffee, a few moments alone with your Bible - these are moments of joy to be found on even the most difficult days. When you know you can trust God no matter what, lasting joy will be yours. Find your joy in Simple Joys: Discovering Wonder in the Everyday by Candace Payne.
Who hasn’t struggled with discontent, being overwhelmed, and the fight to be happy? You know that you have much to be grateful for, but sometimes the world feels so heavy and it’s hard to recognize the good stuff, let alone find and experience true, lasting joy.
Candace Payne, better known as “Chewbacca Mom,” reached more than 200 million people when her surprise outburst of joy at the simplest pleasure of a Star Wars mask went viral. Her story of struggling with loneliness, discontent, and unhappiness came out soon after, which made the world question: What makes her different?
“I could write a million words, books, and even songs to explain this,” Candace says, “but my gut feeling tells me you didn’t buy this book for a theology debate. You are reading these pages hoping to find joy - real, authentic, and unwavering in any and all circumstances. The kind of contentment that says, ‘I’m not only happy, but I’m satisfied as well. I have enough and I am enough.’ Because what I’ve discovered is this: contentment will often lead to more joy.”
Do you have that kind of joy?
Do you want it?
Find the secret to happiness, satisfaction, joy, and more in Simple Joys, a beautiful, full-color book that walks you through Candace’s journey so that you can replicate it in your own life. Read about several simple ways you can reclaim joy in your day-to-day routine and start living more joyfully today.
Candace Payne
Candace Payne is an author, speaker, podcast host, and a viral sensation whose Facebook Live video is trying on a Chewbacca Mask became the most-viewed Facebook Live video to date (176+ million views). She has been featured in more than 3,000 media outlets and has interviewed with major media such as “Good Morning America.” The Late Late Show James Corden,” The New York Times, PEOPLE, and Cosmopolitan. Candace’s greatest joy is sharing life with her husband, two children, and ornery pugs in the great state of Texas. Connect with Candace online at www.CandacePayne.me
Read more from Candace Payne
Laugh It Up! (with Bonus Content): Embrace Freedom and Experience Defiant Joy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Defiant Joy Bible Study Guide: What Happens When You’re Full of It Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Next 24 Hours: One Day of Kindness Can Change Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Belong Bible Study Guide: Because God Is Who He Says He Is Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for Simple Joys
25 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read Simple Joys this morning, and it was precious, and the stories of her father and grandfather along with the joy of her family were beloved. I am glad I read the book as it was funny and heartwarming.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Insipid. A collection of utterly bland stories from a profoundly self-impressed author.
If you are looking for insight, wisdom or even humor, there is none to be found here. The author relays a small handful of “funny” stories that end with the keen observation that sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. So whole chapters revolve around falling off a platform while performing at church, her father slipping on the way to his car and spilling coffee, her son urinating on himself, her falling backwards while tipping in a chair at a dinner party, and so on.
There are so many interesting female writers that are so far superior telling their slice of life stories with wit and insight. I’d just move on.2 people found this helpful
Book preview
Simple Joys - Candace Payne
Preface
THERE’S JOY IN THEM HILLS!
I feel as though I should start this entire journey toward joy with a confession. I absolutely love reality television. Don’t judge me. I know. I feel it through the pages. I get how amazing awful it is. Yet I cannot stop watching. And it’s not as if I just watch one particular category or genre of reality TV. No, if it’s real-ish life, I’m there. From teenage moms to people living in the bush in Alaska, I will watch them all. One show in particular (that I have successfully snared my husband’s attention with as well) is one where they follow the journey of a few different ragtag companies mining for gold. I don’t know how or why this show became one of our favorites. Maybe it’s the burly voice-over, the nifty graphic blueprint illustrations that explain what-on-earth
terms exclusive to the mining world, or the fact that you never know if they’re going to be successful finding gold or not. I am drawn to the lives of the people mining. I’m intrigued: Why would they risk so much time from their families and invest so much money on equipment on something that may or may not pan out? (Y’all. I didn’t even try to put that pun there. It just happened.) Seriously, though. Why waste so much effort and sacrifice so much for something like that? I’ve seen grown men jump up and down on this show over the tiniest speck of gold.
The idea of gold mining isn’t a new thing. It’s rather old in our world. History has seen many a gold rush and many a person with gold fever.
Can you even imagine the feeling of unearthing dirt and rock that look like nothing special, only to find one of the most valuable elements known to humanity hiding inside? It is a treasure hunt of epic proportions. And when I say treasure, that’s an understatement. There is nothing quite like gold here on earth.
Likewise, I have come to discover there is nothing quite like joy here on earth. And maybe the attraction I have to the television screen as I watch the struggles and successes in gold mining has something to do with the way they mirror my own struggles and successes in finding joy. It has become a beautiful metaphor for uncovering the places we often overlook to find joy in our lives.
As you read through this book, I want you to become a prospector for joy. My hope for you is that you begin digging in unearthed places to discover pure joy—just as eagerly as you would dig for pure gold. Go ahead. Lift your eyes and hopes up through each chapter—because there’s joy in them hills!
One
THE YEAR I SPENT WITH MY HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
I was performing a skit I wrote for a summer camp crowd of nearly three hundred students, ages twelve to eighteen, on a stage in a large room that resembled a log cabin nestled in the mountains of Colorado. Suddenly someone handed me an urgent message on a Post-it note asking me to call my sister. It simply read:
Call home.
9–1–1.
Now, this was a few years before cell phones were in the hands of everyone. I know, I know. How did this world function without cell phones? In fact, we had these things called pay phones.
And yes, true to their descriptive title, you had to pay to use them. With actual coins. Yeah. Insane.
Nevertheless, I ran down rocky steps and through tall pine trees until I saw a light shining from the one giant pole that also held the electrical wires that supplied the dorms and camp cafeteria with modern comforts and electricity. At its base was a pay phone. I picked up the receiver and prayed that I could withstand whatever news would come my way. Just weeks earlier, I had buried my sweet Grandpa Sharp (the first grandparent I had lost). I couldn’t bear much more news of death in my family, but I was trying to prepare my heart for what might come. I dialed and waited for what seemed like a year with each ring. My sister finally answered, and I rushed to cut her off with, I’m here. Got your message. What’s up?
My sister hesitated to start her sentence but was direct once she did: Okay. Well, I just saw on the news that your choir was in a plane crash. It’s your friends. David. Bonnie. Allison. You need to find a TV to see what’s going on and then try to come home.
June 1, 1999, was the date.
I had just finished my sophomore year of college and was in an elect choir called the Ouachita Singers. Most of this choir had gone on an overseas trip that summer to perform in Europe at different churches and venues. It was an elective trip, since you would have to raise funds to go and pay your own way. When given the option, I didn’t want to go, but instead chose to work at the summer camp where I had worked the year before. A handful of others didn’t go either, but most did. I was in shock. I had no clue who had survived, if any, of my core group of friends. I was gripped with fear and grief that I had lost them all. It wasn’t until about an hour later that I got more facts about what had happened.
American Airlines, flight 1420. It was the last leg of the trip home from their choir concert adventures, and the plane crashed as it flew from Dallas-Fort Worth to Little Rock, Arkansas. Eleven of the