Handbook to Happiness (revision) [Paperback]

Charles R. Solomon (Author), Stephen F. Olford (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

Handbook to Happiness counsels hurting people by teaching them to exchange their life for Christ's. Instead of “trying to live the Christian life,” which still centers on our own efforts, we need to allow Christ to live his life in us. This removes all reliance on human effort and frees us to become totally Christ centered. This revision includes personal testimonials, diagrams, and a poem by the author, illustrating his own spiritual and emotional journey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Rev Upd Su edition (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842318097
• ISBN-13: 978-0842318099
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles R. Solomon, EdD, was born in east Tennessee and received his BS at East Tennessee State University in 1951. Moving to Baltimore and then to Denver while working in the aerospace industry, he received his master's degree at the University of Colorado (1969) and was able to design his doctorate in a spiritual approach to counseling at the University of Northern Colorado in 1972. Dr. Solomon and his wife, Sue, live in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and have three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandson. He founded Grace Fellowship International (GFI) in 1969, and there have been many spin-off ministries and publications by various authors since that time. God called him to develop and pioneer a Christ-centered approach to counseling in 1967, and he left industry to begin a full-time faith ministry in 1970. His first book, "Handbook to Happiness" (Tyndale), was written in 1971; it has been the flagship book in the exchanged-life movement, which the Holy Spirit has brought about in our country and has spread around the world. Handbook to Happiness has been translated into 7 languages and is scheduled to be translated into 12 or more this year; a condensation of chapter 2 has been translated into more than 30 languages. "Handbook to Happiness" and his subsequent nine books and numerous articles are being used around the world in counseling and discipleship, with works established in India, South Africa, Kenya, Romania, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. Innumerable believers have been set free from debilitating psychological and life problems in a fraction of the time normally consumed by the helping professions. It is Dr. Solomon's vision to help equip the church to be used of God in this way, rather than systematically referring most cases of such ministry needs to professionals. He and his wife, Sue, are presently writing a book on the history of GFI, that God may be glorified by documenting what He has done over the years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Live in the Strength of the Lord Instead of Your Own!, December 16, 2003

By 

Michael Taylor "Michael Taylor" (Indian Trail NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handbook to Happiness (revision) (Paperback)

I read Handbook to Happiness during seminary and was very appreciative of Dr. Solomon's biblical advice to stop trying to live the Christian life in your own strength and instead let the Lord live His life through you.

Among the important points Solomon covers are:

1. Our identity is based on who we are in Christ.
2. Definitions of the soul, spirit, and body.
3. Acceptance is based on who we are in Christ, not our work for Him.
4. Until our flesh dies to Christ, we will live futile lives. Yielding to Christ is hard work!
5. Excellent notes on coming to the end of ourselves.
6. Excellent notes on our times in a spiritual wilderness.
7. Before we can be elevated by God we must experience the agony and suffering of the cross.
8. Many Christians try to live the Christian life in their own strength.

After reading the book I was further convinced of the futility of trying to live life in my own strength. Some people may believe this attitude breeds passivity. Quite the contrary, there is nothing more difficult for the Christian than the daily struggle of dying to self by living in Christ.

Read the book, be challenged, and be encouraged! We need not live futile lives!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now you can find happiness as intended by God., December 7, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Norcross, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook to Happiness (Paperback)

This book is for everyone who is asking the question, "Is it possible to find true happiness?" This is a book on basics. We all have access to the Bible, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit as our counselors.(page 13). Romans 12:2, it is the mind that needs to change. Dr. Solomon shares his life. Many of us can identify with the ups and downs of depression. God reminds me that "My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts." Dr. Solomon answers many questions on how to address our feelings. What is rejection and its results, page 18? What is the cure for rejection, page 20? Who are you? On what do you base your identity, page 20+? When the joy dissapears, why? What should I do or what didn't I do, page 64? My responsibility is to study and look to Christ. His responsibility is to reveal the life of the Lord Jesus in me, page 80. Nothing man has will lead to happiness, so why not follow the way of God? "You shall know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." John 8:32 and the fruit of the Spirit is joy, peace...Galatians 5:22 Life is a journey - a spiritual journey. We use a physical map for a physical journey, so why not use a spiritual map for a spiritual journey? This book is to the Bible as trip sheets are to a physical map. Dr. Solomon shows me where I am and how to follow the path to life and truth.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gospel for Already-Christians, November 26, 2005

By 

Terry Rayburn (Clarksville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handbook to Happiness (revision) (Paperback)

I first read this book in 1978. Charles Solomon came to my home church in Michigan and did a Grace Fellowship Seminar. We had lunch together and talked at length about the Lord and the principles in the Handbook. I was a fairly new believer at the time, and I can't thank God enough for what this book has meant through the years. It is utterly foundational to "walking by the Spirit".

It's original title was "Handbook to Happiness - A Guide to Victorious Living and Christ-Centered Counseling". Why they've now left off "Christ-Centered Counseling" in the sub-title, I'll never know. Next to the Bible itself, the Handbook has been the most valuable counseling tool I've had for over 25 years.

I suppose such terms as "happiness" and "victorious living" have more appeal to the general Christian public, but these are incidental to the simple Gospel truths in the book by which we may be set free. If you feel in bondage, get this book. If you want to walk in the freedom of Christ and avoid bondage, get this book.

The book contains several important diagrams, the most important being The Wheel Diagram. It clearly illustrates the three-part make-up of man, Body-Soul-Spirit, and shows how each part relates to the other. Without this knowledge, which is sorely lacking in typical Anthropology classes, there are many parts of Scripture which cannot be properly understood.

For example,

--If I am a "New Creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), "born again", why do I still sin, and maybe even have mental or emotional problems?

--How does the Soul (Mind, Emotion and Will) differ from the Spirit?

--What part of me was "born again"?

--What does Galatians 2:20 mean exactly when it says that it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives through me, and how do I make that happen?

--What does Romans 6:14 mean when it says we are no longer under Law but under Grace, and why should that make it so that sin shall no longer be master over me?

The book is revolutionary and foundational, and it's subject is horribly neglected in the Church today.

If you are a Reformed or Calvinistic believer, as I am, you may be disappointed to see that Mr. Solomon is not. But read the book anyway. Too often Reformed believers and theologians correctly understand "Grace" as it affects INITIAL salvation, but then revert to Performance-Based or Legalistic discipleship, not understanding the radical nature of "Grace" AFTER salvation.

This is the Gospel for those who have already believed the Gospel, and it can set you free.