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Breathless Haste
Finding God in Ordinary Life
Inspiring faith and hope so others can recognize and
respond to God's presence in their own lives.
What if God is at work in the ordinary moments of your life, even when you don't recognize His presence?
In Breathless Haste: Finding God in Ordinary Life, Rebecca and Jay Madden invite you into their personal journey of faith through thirty stories drawn from more than two decades of journaling. From seasons of grief and unexpected transitions to the beauty of community, the wonders of nature, and the quiet whispers of God's presence, their stories reveal how the extraordinary often meets us in the everyday.
Their journey from a young couple with little active faith to a deeper awareness of God's presence wasn't always easy or predictable. Through life's joys, heartbreaks, and surprises, they discovered a God who meets us where we are, guides us through uncertainty, and invites us into a more attentive life with Him.
Honest, heartfelt, and filled with spiritual insight, Breathless Haste invites you to pause amid life's hurry, recognize God's presence in your own story, and discover the extraordinary in the everyday.
Endorsements
Like the book of Esther from the Bible, sometimes God’s presence is most known through the weaving together of our story. What begins as ordinary love and tragedy for Rebecca and Jay turns into beautiful redemption. Your story will be enriched by reading theirs.
Dr. Richard Kannwischer
Senior Pastor, Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA
Breathless Haste reminds us that even in those moments that we are frantically racing through life, or are scared, God is always there, always steady. Through frank, page-turning stories, Rebecca and Jay Madden share crushing moments of loss and those of jubilant wonder. Read this book for the epic reminder that God walks along with us, and that by “praying for the extraordinary” and intentionally listening for his voice, He will craft these experiences to help us sing a new song.
Dr. Darria Long
National Bestselling Author of Mom Hacks, national TV health contributor, Emergency physician, and mom of 3
This poignant survival guide reminds us how God forms extraordinary faith through ordinary lives. These hard-won lessons will be a path to sustain you through your own loss and longings.
Katherine Wolf
Author of Hope Heals and Suffer Strong
Co-founder of Hope Heals ministry
Rebecca and Jay Madden are South Carolina natives who married young and gradually discovered the sustaining presence of God through the joys and sorrows of family life. After losing their first son, Brock, their church family carried them through grief and prayed for the birth and healing of their second child.
Their journey led from Chicago to Atlanta, where Jay serves as executive pastor at Peachtree Church. Rebecca recently completed a 14-year chapter on staff at Peachtree and is now embracing a new season of storytelling, speaking, and leading retreats.
Their cherished journals became the foundation for Breathless Haste: Finding God in Ordinary Life, written to encourage others to recognize God's presence in their own stories.
Endorsements
I never knew that the words heartbreaking, funny, and joy could all go in the same sentence. I love how Rebecca and Jay brought me along their journey. Along with making me cry, laugh and find hope, it was fun to read. This is a must read!
Maina Mwaura
Minister/Journalist
Author of How the life and legacy of Howard Hendricks, Equipped and Inspired a Generation of Leaders
Dallas Willard has suggested that the social dimension of a spiritually-mature person is characterized by transparency, and that is exactly what you’ll find in the stories of this book. Each is written with raw, unvarnished, and hope-filled honesty. I applaud Rebecca and Jay for putting so many of their life experiences in story form. You will learn from them about the ongoing dynamic of God’s grace in their lives and how, as Dallas also famously said, it is possible to grow in grace.
Gary W. Moon, M.Div., Ph.D.
Founding Executive Director Martin Institute and Dallas Willard Center, Westmont College, Director of Conversatio Divina and Author of Apprenticeship with Jesus, and Becoming Dallas Willard
Rebecca and Jay have invited us to read their story and listen to their journey of rediscovering God in the midst of a young marriage, work, loss, and the stress of keeping it all together. This is an invitation that you want to reply YES to. It is a compelling story about a way that God works for good in all things. Join them in making meaning and purpose in your unique story.
Sibyl Towner
Co-director Springs Retreat Center, co-author of Listen to My Life, and Spiritual Director
