Happiness, Health, and Beauty

"As a chaplain on a college campus I regularly talk to students who say, 'All I really want in life is to be happy.' Here is a book that resurrects language of happiness, health, and beauty from the superficiality of the everyday to a flourishing vision of human life, one that will comfort and inspire young and old alike. Blessed are they who read it."

--Craig T. Kocher, University Chaplain, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA



"Weaving together Scripture and tradition, Debra Dean Murphy wisely calls us into community where we hear the voice of Jesus describing the blessed life, and partake of his meal in the sacrament. This deep scriptural reflection is in dialogue with a sustained immersion in the Wesleyan tradition and a compelling cultural criticism. This work leads us to desire a happier, holier, and more beautiful life."

--Ken Carter, resident Bishop, The United Methodist Church, Lakeland, FL



"Church pastors and educators looking for a challenging discipleship study will find Debra Dean Murphy's fresh treatise on the Beatitudes full of conversation starters! Exploring the Wesleyan doctrine of the nature of Christian life, she uses happiness, health, and beauty as central concepts for shaping ordinary Christian living. Drawing upon a breadth of Christian history and writers, she courageously embraces these topics that twenty-first-century church life avoids as too countercultural. This theological reflection gives bold insight into the ecumenical church living as whole, healthy, loving communities as the body of Christ."

--Sara Webb Phillips, pastor, North Springs United Methodist Church, Sandy Springs, GA