Luci Swindoll (–2020)

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10 is one of my favorite Bible verses. Obviously, it's one of Luci Swindoll's, as well. In I Married Adventure: Looking At Life Through the Lens of Possibility, she shares her delight in once-in-a-lifetime events, such as seeing leopards on an African safari. She also encourages us to enjoy every seemingly-mundane minute. Watching a bird in our own backyard can be just as wondrous as viewing exotic animals on another continent, as long as we have the right attitude. Every moment is a gift from God and He wants us to love and appreciate our lives for the time we have here.… (more)

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life
by Luci Swindoll

Contentment, gratitude, generosity, faith, common sense, self-awareness and independence are just some of the themes in this inspirational book.

Swindoll’s writing style is warm, friendly, and encouraging. The stories she tells on herself make the book relatable to life, interesting, and authoritative. Sometimes they add humor. But more often than not they have an “ouch” quality that makes it easy to see why they have stuck with her and underline the important life-lesson they illustrate. For example, there was the time she got an invitation for breakfast from a co-worker, said she’d attend, but come Saturday morning simply stayed away. Later she discovered that her friend had anticipated her visit all week, prepared for it at length, and was deeply hurt by her no-show — told in Chapter Two: “Be On Time for Everything.”)

...Simple Secrets to a Happy Life would be good to read any time, but would be an especially great choice for when one is at one of life’s crossroads like graduation, starting a new career, marriage, retirement, or simply as preparation for making the next set of New Year’s Resolutions.

Excerpted from a review on Blogcritics.

I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.… (more)

You can read my full review at Quieted Waters.

Luci Swindoll wrote this book to help readers live a happy life. She wrote 50 very short chapters, each no more than 3-4 pages long. Each chapter is something Swindoll considers a secret to a happy life, and some are more helpful than others.

Swindoll offers three types of secrets: (1) biblically-based principles that come straight from Scripture; (2) good ideas that are practical but not in the Bible (like, “Learn to Organize” or “Be on Time for Everything”); (3) secrets that have made Luci’s life happy but may not work for people of different personalities (like her suggestion to draw pictures of concepts you find difficult to understand). Even though she has a variety of topics, Swindoll writes like every secret is of equal importance.

… (more)