Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! : Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs & In-Betweens

Witty, honest, and wise spiritual reflections that invite readers to embrace the bad, not just the good--from the New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)

Kate Bowler believes the cultural pressure to be cheerful and optimistic at all times has taken a toll on our faith. But what if we could find better language than forced positivity to express our hopes and our anxieties?

Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! is packed with bite-sized reflections and action-steps to help you get through the day. Good days. Bad days. Totally mediocre ones. This is a devotional for the rest of us, which is to say, the people who don’t always have magical lives that work out. Written in a season of chronic pain, Bowler understands that every day can be an obstacle course. She encourages us to develop our capacity to feel the breadth of our experiences. The better we are at identifying our highs and lows, the more resilient we become.

Like a modern-day psalmist, Bowler’s spiritual reflections look for the ways we can expand our capacity for courage, love, and honesty—while discovering divine moments with God. With bonus sections to use during the seasons of Advent and Lent, this is an easy book to read along with others too.

If you want to build your daily habit of spiritual attentiveness, this book is here to say: May all your days be lovely. But if they aren’t, have a beautiful, terrible day!