Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness [Hardcover]

Ellen Vaughn (Author), Chuck Colson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2005

'No one tells a story better than Ellen Vaughn' ---Chuck Colson Why read a nice book about gratitude? After all, being thankful is not controversial. Everyone agrees that gratitude is a good thing. Nor is it rocket science. It is simple. But radical gratitude is also powerful, provocative, life-changing. It's like a pair of glasses that get progressively sharper: the more we thank, the more we see to be thankful for. Gratitude is the lens that reveals God's incredible grace at work. It is the key to tangible, everyday joy. True to Ellen Vaughn's signature style, this book overflows with unforgettable, surprising stories that show gratitude's transforming power. It is fun, slightly quirky, deep . . . and immensely refreshing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vaughn—who has collaborated on many books with Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson—yearned for a strong and continuous connection with God when her mother's death and her own spiritual apathy left her in need of renewal. What she discovered was gratitude. As Vaughn says, "the rhythm of divine renewal beats in the pulse of a purposefully grateful human heart." This is not a handbook for mastering the discipline of gratefulness; rather, it offers a new understanding of God and his gift of a grateful heart. Vaughn recounts her own journey to gratitude, then addresses possible obstacles. She says that gratefulness comes in four basic stages: remembering our slavery and our salvation; forgetting our sin, shame and success; looking up to see God as God; and looking around at our connections to fellow believers. Vaughn encourages readers to put gratitude into everyday life through simple objects that lead to remembrance such as rocks—which she calls biblical "Ebenezers"— jewelry, books, photos or anything that reminds us to be grateful for the mundane things of life as well as the spiritual valleys and mountains we've navigated. Vaughn's writing is tight and solid, and her storytelling a delight as she opens readers to the life-changing role of gratitude. Many Christians will find this a challenging, necessary and wonderful book. (Apr.)
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Review

Vaughn---who has collaborated on many books with Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson---yearned for a strong and continuous connection with God when her mother's death and her own spiritual apathy left her in need of renewal. What she discovered was gratitude. As Vaughn says, 'the rhythm of divine renewal beats in the pulse of a purposefully grateful human heart.' This is not a handbook for mastering the discipline of gratefulness; rather, it offers a new understanding of God and his gift of a grateful heart. Vaughn recounts her own journey to gratitude, then addresses possible obstacles. She says that gratefulness comes in four basic stages: remembering our slavery and our salvation; forgetting our sin, shame and success; looking up to see God as God; and looking around at our connections to fellow believers. Vaughn encourages readers to put gratitude into everyday life through simple objects that lead to remembrance such as rocks---which she calls biblical 'Ebenezers'--- jewelry, books, photos or anything that reminds us to be grateful for the mundane things of life as well as the spiritual valleys and mountains we've navigated. Vaughn's writing is tight and solid, and her storytelling a delight as she opens readers to the life-changing role of gratitude. Many Christians will find this a challenging, necessary and wonderful book. (Apr.) -- Publisher's Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (March 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310257492
• ISBN-13: 978-0310257493
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memoir, discussion, and reminder of thankfulness to God, May 2, 2005

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness (Hardcover)

In his foreword to RADICAL GRATITUDE, Charles Colson says, "Few authors have dealt with the subject [of gratitude], certainly not in the very practical way that Ellen does in this book. Properly understood, the daily practice of thankfulness to God is a transforming tool of divine proportions."

Vaughn has collaborated with Chuck Colson on eight nonfiction books, and the format of RADICAL GRATITUDE may seem familiar to Colson readers. You'll find a strong personal, anecdotal voice, starting with the first line of the first chapter: "It was the day I had dreaded all my life." The chapter relates the scene of her mother's death and introduces the topic of gratitude and renewal: "The doorway of death unleashed an absolute flood of gratitude that has rushed like a river over my life, reconfiguring my landscapes."

But this is a "teaching" book more than a memoir. The second chapter, for instance, introduces Scriptures about and classic definitions of gratitude, particularly those of Jonathan Edwards, who distinguished "natural gratitude" --- for gifts --- from "gracious gratitude" that "gives thanks for who God is."

Other chapters roll out illustrative feature-type, third-person anecdotes, usually based on interviews: Father Jenco, a hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s; Paul Galanti, a POW in North Vietnam; Bob Meyers, a widower who lost a brother at the hands of the Washington sniper in 2002; and the rape recovery of a pseudonymous congressman's wife.

Vaughn lays out a strong gospel message, followed by an extended emphasis on repentance in the context of "overcoming obstacles" that "block us from joyfully thanking God for our own rescue." Then, halfway through the book, she turns to "four things that we can do to practice the presence of gratitude," which in turn have a snowball effect, gratitude leading to gratitude.

"First, we remember" --- our enslavement, our deliverance, our Deliverer; in this context Vaughn vulnerably tells of her struggle with chronic depression and God's deliverance, even if through medication. "Second, we forget" --- our sins, our shame, our personal successes. "Third, we look up to God" --- on this point she turns largely to Scripture reflection and a third-person anecdote. "Fourth, we look around to His people" --- this chapter includes moving accounts of Vaughn's visits with Christians in Eastern Europe.

A final part of the book, "Everyday Gratitude," discusses "practical things we can do to cultivate a grateful heart.... These hold the keys to the secret of responding to the same old stimuli in new ways...so we experience different results than just life as usual." The "things" aren't actions as much as awarenesses of various physical objects --- Ebenezer or remembrance stones --- and sensory triggers that remind one of the good. "God has designed us so that senses can serve as powerful Ebenezers of His faithfulness, and thereby be triggers of gratitude."

At the end RADICAL GRATITUDE is a reminder that one's positive mindset doesn't have to correlate with positive life circumstances, but rather with our acceptance of grace and our habits of looking for its signs everyday.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to change your life by changing your attitude, June 25, 2005

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness (Hardcover)

This is a book of transformation designed to help change your point of view to one of gratitude toward God and as a result a life of peace in the midst of turmoil. The text if filled with anecdotes that illustrate a true attitude of radical gratitude extending far beyond the common conceptions. Do you want to get past obstacles that interfere with your joy in life? The answer is to practice the presence of gratitude.

Ellen Vaughn gives practical ways you can recover your joy in life. We all know we have the ability to choose our attitude. The problem is that although we know this to be true we often find that we are unable to actually do it in difficult circumstances. This book teaches how to make gratitude the prevalent attitude in your life. Focused on Christ and everyday thankfulness this book is sure to change many lives. Radical Gratitude is highly recommended to everyone.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Gratitude, May 6, 2005

By 

David Laws "Gladys Laws" (Burlington, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness (Hardcover)

As you read this book you are nudged to think of all the things in life, big, small and ordinary, where God was present. You are challenged to believe, trust and give thanks. Wherever you are on your spititual journey, you will find Vaughn's stories meaningful and relevant. I think this is a book that will tough you and you'll appreciate having it and sharing it with others.