What If It's Wonderful?
Release Your Fears, Choose Joy, and Find the Courage to Celebrate
- Christian Living
- Publisher: W Publishing Group (Thomas Nelson)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
Family therapist Nicole Zasowski challenges you to let go of dwelling in your anxieties and fears and instead ask yourself the question: What if it’s wonderful? These questions haunt many of us, leaving us sick with anxiety and frozen into inaction: what if my hope only leads to disappointment? What if I embrace joy only to have it ripped from my hands? What if my celebration is the cause of others' sadness? What if my joy takes me away from the God I knew so well in my pain? But these fears don’t have to control your life. Author and marriage and family therapist Nicole Zasowski knows what it's like to suffer a blow that makes it difficult to look to the future. Despite the struggle, she found the courage to celebrate, and discovered that God is as present in our joy as He is in our pain. Yes, God's purpose for us is worked out in our struggles. But what if it is also worked out in our dreams and our delighted joy? In What If it's Wonderful? Nicole helps you: Overcome the fears that keep you from looking toward the future with joy Let go of the lies you've believed about happiness and embrace celebration as a part of spiritual growth Approach life with an expectant heart and courage to trust God's good gifts With a psychological and spiritual case for celebrating, Nicole challenges you to let go of the habit of practicing disappointment and fully embrace joy, beckoning you to ask yourself a new question: What if it's wonderful?
Endorsements (19)
“Praise for What If It’s Wonderful? “This hope-filled anthem from my dearest friend Nicole had me in tears from the first page. I cannot recommend this book enough. As a trusted companion, she guides us in a life changing quest to reclaim our joy. If you’re ready to release the fear that often accompanies your hope and find your God given courage to celebrate, What If It’s Wonderful? is the transformative book your heart has been waiting for. Join me in savoring these powerful words as we ask ourselves the brave question, What if it’s wonderful?”
“We often forget that joy is an intensely vulnerable experience and that celebration asks us to be brave. With words that sound like friendship and feel like courage, Nicole reminds us that delight is essential to our personal, relational, and spiritual growth. As both a marriage and family therapist and a person who is intimately familiar with the ache and joy of being human, Nicole is the right person to lead this conversation. Struggling to embrace joy and find the courage to celebrate? Pick up this powerful book!”
“As someone who tends to anticipate every single worst-case scenario, this book was a breath of fresh air to me. Nicole’s words remind me that joy and sadness can not only coexist together, but I can learn from both.”
“Using her extensive background as a therapist, Nicole Zasowski flips the script on failure, stepping out of our comfort zones and taking risks, by giving us the audacious permission to answer this life changing question: What if it’s wonderful? Read this only if you dare to fully embrace God’s good gifts and discover the courage to celebrate your life. The truths and tools in this book will stay with you long after you read the last page.”
“I’m not sure how often the phrase, ‘What if . . .?’ pops into my head and then sends me spinning in the possibility of all the heartache that the ‘What if . . .?’ could bring into my life. Nicole teaches us how to shift our perspective from worry to hope by pointing us back to the wonder of Scripture. Through Nicole’s winsome storytelling, current research, and Biblical truth, you will come to know a celebratory God, and in turn, learn to celebrate along the way. And all of us could use more celebration in our lives!”
“What If It’s Wonderful? could not have come into my life at a better time, not only to address my own restraint when it comes to joy, but also the collective pessimism that surrounds us. This is not a victory book for those who want to deny or bypass suffering. It’s actually the opposite of that. What If It’s Wonderful? is for those of us who’ve known pain and have been in a withholding pattern toward ourselves, toward God and toward the world. If you’re tired of holding back and trying to mitigate or control your own expectations and pain, this book is for you.”
“This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled to look toward the future with hope. As a therapist who has lived these words, Nicole offers a rare combination of hard-fought wisdom and expertise. What If It’s Wonderful? is both the friend and the guide we need to overcome the fears that often keep us from embracing God’s good gifts. Pick this one up! It will leave you challenged, encouraged, and changed.”
“What if I fail? What if I’m disappointed? What if I get hurt again? We all know what it’s like to look to the future and ask ourselves these questions. Wise, vulnerable, and honest, this book is the guide we need to embrace the joy that perhaps we’ve lost along the way. I have no doubt you will grow from Nicole’s wisdom and bold example.”
“Cynicism is easier and pessimism safer than the potential humiliation of hope, which is why we frequently rely on these false refuges. To some degree, we have all been pulled into this cultural current, but thankfully, Nicole Zasowski is here to snatch us back. With brilliant insight and brave vulnerability, Nicole examines the heartache, fear, and self-protection that stands between us and freely enjoying the gifts of God. I never expected a book about celebration to slay my pride and grant me such blazing clarity about myself, but here it is!”
“With amazing wisdom and insight, Nicole invites us to a journey of learning to dream after heartache so that we, too, can find the joy Jesus promises—a delight that leads us closer to the heart of God. Whether you’re in the middle of a disappointment or have walked through one in the past, this book will welcome you into the abundant life God created you for.”
“When I, in the midst of my own tormenting storm, most needed it, Nicole swoops in with the most God-breathed word to fill these dry bones and encourage them to not only walk but run again. This is a sound message that will send waves for generations to come.”
“Joy can be hard to come by in a time like this. Nicole Zasowski combines her hard-fought wisdom and expertise as a therapist to create a practical book that’s a boatload of fun to read. What If It’s Wonderful? is a field guide to cultivating contentment and joy no matter how difficult your circumstances may be. As Nicole brilliantly reminds us, when the world is on fire, celebration is both a salve and a salvation. This book could not be more timely!”
“As a professional worrier and holder of low expectations, my heart needed the gracious invitation: What If It’s Wonderful? Through relatable storytelling, Nicole echoed my own hesitations to embrace delight and led me along the path to experience the joy God offers.”
“What If It’s Wonderful? deeply resonates with my desire as an artist to delight in the everyday and rubs up uncomfortably with the temptation to brace myself for the next disappointment and to skip over celebrating for worry that it might be too self-indulgent. Nicole’s thoughtful storytelling, wise expertise, and faithfulness to God’s Word reminds us that celebration is a daily practice, a worthwhile way of living and thinking, and a mark on the heart of a person who has put her whole trust in Jesus. What a treasure this book is.”
“In today’s fragile climate of perpetual bad news, What If It’s Wonderful? is a must read for the soul who finds themselves stuck in disappointment and the anxiety of ‘What if?’ Nicole offers readers a unique combination of exceptional storytelling, Biblical truth, and the insightful practicality of a therapist; this is a unicorn of a book. I know you will discover—as I have in reading this book—that joy is something we can choose and participate in, even in the midst of difficulties. And maybe most importantly, that it is safe to celebrate. You’ll learn to face pain, experience joy, and take action to celebrate. Nicole will show you how!”
“Celebration is as old as the Bible itself but we have lost the art and nuance of how to do it well. Along comes Nicole Zasowski with a timely appeal for living a celebratory life. Her writing is sparkling; her wisdom, thought-provoking; and her invitation, irresistible. Cheers to living a life where joy is stalked, bravely and beautifully, for the good of all.”
“This timely book is a roadmap to help us understand that finding the courage to celebrate is “not only possible, it is essential.” Nicole is a loving guide on a journey that each and every one of us so desperately needs. A brilliant writer, Nicole’s words tenderly draw us in to participate in Christ’s hope regardless of circumstance, confront toxic messages we’ve received about joy, and understand how to celebrate and live fully alive in Christ.”
“Nicole lays out a compelling case for celebration unlike any I have ever seen before. She takes our hand, walks us right up to the mirror, and sits with us while we stare into the truth that our whole lives are passing us by while we wait on what could go wrong. But in the pause of these pages, a new question emerges: Will we have the courage to lean into hope again? This book is both an anthem and a way forward; a light pointing us back to the thrill of hope on the horizon . . .”
“I want to live in a world where we all celebrate for no reason and invite strangers over for s’mores. Nicole reminds us that sometimes you have to do the celebrating in order to feel like celebrating and that joy is not bound by our circumstances. It’s also probably wise to have a therapist on hand—another reason why we all need Nicole in our lives.”
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