Joy, Peace, Contentment and Happiness …… Are Yours for the Taking

By Simon Petrus Berkhout

Joy, Peace, Contentment, and Happiness Are Yours for the Taking intertwines a spiritual memoir and a devotional reflection on surrendering to the will of God. From the strong fiber that emerges from this entwining, Simon Petrus Berkhout, a native of Holland who immigrated to Canada at a young age, fashions an approachable guide to seeing, in faith, the gifts joy, peace, contentment and happinessGod offers all who live according to His ways. Eight chapters tell the story of the authors journey and bring his life into conversation with voices from the Christian tradition that speak of surrender, particularly, The Joy of Full Surrender, the classic work by Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ. After briefly recounting his life, the author presents chapters that include pages with space for the reader to record thoughts and questions, turning the work into a kind of spiritual journal. These chapters address spiritual awakenings, acceptance and surrender, being consciously present in the moment, meditating, and attending to ones physical wellbeing. When you take stock of your life and find that challenges and burdens weigh upon you, leading you to wonder about you and your reason for being here, then Joy, Peace, Contentment, and Happiness .. Are Yours for the Taking can serve as a simple, yet profound guide to submitting your life to God, learning how to follow His will, and discovering that His outstretched hands hold gifts that are yours for the takingjoy, peace, contentment, and happiness. Go ahead, take them; He offers these gifts to you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504330725

Simon Petrus Berkhout

Simon Petrus Berkhout, born in Holland, immigrated to Ontario, Canada, with his family when he was fourteen. After schooling, he worked in industry, ran his own business, and engaged in industrial sales. Retired in 2003, he and his wife, married since 1959, enjoyed life with three grown children and their offspring, until dementia took over in 2005.

Book preview

Joy,

Peace,

Contentment

and

Happiness… ….

are yours for the taking!

SIMON PETRUS BERKHOUT

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Copyright © 2015 Simon Berkhout.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-3070-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-3071-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-3072-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905117

Balboa Press rev. date: 6/5/2015

Contents

Acknowledgement

Preface

Chapter 1 Life in Holland

Chapter 2 Life in Canada

Chapter 3 My Transformation

Chapter 4 My Spiritual awakening

Chapter 5 Acceptance and Surrender

Chapter 6 Be consciously present in the moment

Chapter 7 Meditation

Chapter 8 Looking after my physical self

In memory of my parents

Johannes Jacobus Berkhout

and

Catharina Veronica Nipshagen

Two people who walked their talk!

Acknowledgement

Dementia has now affected an estimated 44.4 million people worldwide. This number will increase to an estimated 75.6 million in 2030, and 135.5 million in 2050. Drs. Alzheimer and Lewy identified two types of dementia, namely Alzheimer’s and Lewy Bodies in 1906, it took another 60 years before these were recognized as a disease and now, another 55 years later, very little if any, advancement has been made in finding a cause let alone a cure.

Having experienced this disease first hand, I have come to appreciate and want to acknowledge the thousands upon thousands of Personal Care Givers who give their time, totally unpaid, to care for their loved ones. You are true Heroes, each and every one of you. My experience brought about this book and it is my hope that it will be of help to you, in your journey.

To the doctors who have specialized in this field, thank you. There are two, who I have personal experience with but I will not name you here as you are already over loaded with patients. As one doctor shared with me; when she speaks to doctors at seminars, she always opens her address the same way: you the medical profession treat dementia with a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" approach. There is no glory in the treatment so you ignore it.