Longing for Joy - by Alastair Sterne (Paperback)

About the Book

Can we still have joy in a world where hopelessness and and despair are the norm? Offering theologically grounded and research-based practices, Alastair Sterne explores pathways to joy and shows us how to gradually cultivate the deep abiding joy that we were created for and that enriches the world around us.

Book Synopsis

Can we still have joy in a world of pain and anxiety?

The troubles around us and in our lives lead many of us into a joyless experience where despair and hopelessness are the norm. Yet something within us still longs for a joy that transcends our challenges and gives us meaning and satisfaction.

Through theologically grounded insights and research-based practices, Longing for Joy offers guidance for becoming people of joyful presence, even for those who don't consider themselves naturally inclined toward an enthusiastic, happy temperament. Addressing the realities of suffering and joylessness that so many experience, Alastair Sterne shows you how your inner longings for joy actually point you to a God of joy who gives you both the capacity for joy and the realities of joyful experience.

What You'll Discover

• How your desire for joy takes you on a journey to the God of joy
• Theologically rich and practical ways to cultivate enduring joy
• Research into the essence and practice of joy
• 22 short, reflective chapters designed for meditation and response

If you're seeking to deepen your spiritual life and live as a joyful presence in the world, this book is an invitation into the goodness and beauty of life as you were meant to experience it.

Review Quotes

"Alastair writes with the familiar tone of a friend who eagerly invites us to discover what he already has: joy is different from and so much better than anything we thought it to be. Through masterful storytelling, sage-like insights, and a genuine humility, Alastair has reintroduced me to joy and the face of a happy God who laughs. I am so grateful for that. We need this book and its inspiring manifesto, perhaps now more than ever."

--Joshua Luke Smith, poet and author of Something You Once Knew: Waking Up to the Extraordinary in Your Ordinary Life

"As I read this book, I just kept saying to myself over and over People need this book! Although my first thought was about those I pastor, I felt the gentle voice of the Spirit saying 'No, no, no . . . you need this book.' Longing for Joy is a book for all of us. As Alastair points out, even if you are unaware, your heart is truly longing for joy. Alastair masterfully creates a robust theology of joy along with the accompanying path to help you begin your own journey into 'joy in all circumstances.'"

--Andy Moore, lead pastor of Coastline Church in Victoria, British Columbia

"I am regularly chagrined by the obstinacy of my cynicism, so I received Alastair Sterne's Longing for Joy with real apprehension. This book might not be for me, I thought, but I was gloriously, joyfully wrong. Reading Longing for Joy is like being taught to dance by a gentle and confident partner. Self-consciousness and doubt are overcome by Sterne's skilled and intuitive accompaniment. Something approaching a sacrament, Longing for Joy effects what it signifies, as the reader is led into 'an ever-widening circle of joy.'"

--Emily Hunter McGowin, associate professor of theology at Wheaton College

"If you want joy, cultivate joy. Through rich storytelling and wise teaching, Alastair Sterne is an excellent guide to those cozy rooms, fireside parlors, and old summertime porches in that beautiful place you may have forgotten--the House of Joy."

--Mike Mason, author of Champagne for the Soul: Rediscovering God's Gift of Joy

"In his book Longing for Joy, Sterne invites us to encounter a joy that is as robust as it is mysterious, as whimsical as it is accessible, as human as it is divine. With writing that is informed, playful, and full of heart, Sterne weaves together theological thought and personal encounter, creating a hopeful tapestry of aliveness that does not eschew suffering but welcomes it in to feast at joy's table. I can imagine no better guide to joy than this."

--Hillary L. McBride, registered psychologist, author, podcaster, and speaker

"In this book of joy, Alastair effortlessly--and frequently -- dances between theology and culture, persuader and artist, poet and pragmatist to make this point clear: joy is available for all who seek."

--AJ Sherrill, Anglican priest and author of Being with God: The Absurdity, Necessity, and Neurology of Contemplative Prayer

"Joy often eludes my grasp. Longing for Joy issues a gentle corrective that joy is not something to be grasped after all, but a person with whom we are invited to dance. Take and read if you are hungry for both an honest assessment of the human condition and sturdy hope in the gospel of grace."

--Brandon J. O'Brien, senior director of global thought leadership at Redeemer City to City and co-author with E. Randolph Richards of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes

"Our God delights in joy, and Alastair Sterne invites us to cultivate the joy of God in our lives. As he leads you on a quest for joy, he shares engaging stories that are humble and humorous, profound and powerful. If you say 'Yes' to his invitation, you will be blessed."

--David T. Lamb, Allan A. MacRae Professor of Old Testament and dean of the faculty at Missio Seminary and author of God Behaving Badly and The Emotions of God

"This book is a lively game of hide-and-seek with one of life's elusive necessities--deep human joy. Alastair Sterne writes with easy, self-effacing humor and vulnerability that brings the reader into his personal journey with joy in all of its glorious highs and crushing lows. This book is not a how-to manual for joy. (Who would believe that anyway?) Rather, it is a brisk plunge into the wellspring of joy: the love of God for us in Jesus."

--D. J. Marotta, author of Liturgy in the Wilderness: How the Lord's Prayer Shapes the Imagination of the Church in a Secular Age, and coauthor with Ben Lansing, of Our Church Speaks: An Illustrated Devotional of Saints from Every Era & Place

"Through honesty, poetic logic, and the beauty of a writer who clearly knows his way around a page, Alastair Sterne points the way toward joy for even the most Eeyore-like reader. Like a master craftsman, Sterne weaves story, Scripture, and meaning into the most convincing case for joy I've read yet."

--Karen Stiller, author of Holiness Here and The Minister's Wife

About the Author

Alastair Sterne (DIS, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a creative director turned pastor. He serves as the associate pastor at Coastline Church in Victoria, British Columbia. He previously partnered with Redeemer City to City and founded St. Peter's Fireside, a creative liturgical church in Vancouver. He is the author of Rhythms for Life: Spiritual Practices for Who God Made You to Be. Alastair and his wife, Julia, write and podcast together at ordinarymatters.org and collect joy with their daughters.