“At the destined hour
it will come in
breathless haste”
Jay and Rebecca Madden
have been journaling their life experiences for more than two decades. Here they share stories and devotionals from their personal journals and heartfelt reflections of God’s extraordinary presence in their ordinary lives. Their book, Breathless Haste: Finding God in Ordinary Life, was recently published by hope*books. Their writing weaves together thirty diverse stories that illuminate how they discovered God in the midst of their ordinary lives. From the mundane to the miraculous, they recount how they found God in nature, music, night-time awakenings, unusual circumstances, and even grief, offering a testament to the transforming power of faith.
Through each account of God's presence, movement, and direction in their lives, they provide compelling evidence that faith is real, relevant, and powerful - even in the modern world. By sharing their experiences, they hope to inspire readers to awaken their hearts, souls, and minds to find their own purposeful path to God in everyday life.
“It will not fail. If it delays,
wait for it; for when it comes
will be no time to linger.”
Encountering the Extraordinary
A collection of stories of the extraordinary presence of God in our ordinary lives
February 14, 2022 marks the 27th anniversary of the death of our six-month old son, Brock.
We were driving from our home in South Carolina to Birmingham, Alabama with our six-month old son
In 2002, my husband, Jay, sold his business and began to work at our church as an interim pastor.
Earlier this year, a container was loaded in Atlanta with 400 boxes of books from Books for Africa
My husband and I had lived in South Carolina for 40 years, and then almost out of the blue
“The reckless will be unsure of himself”
Seeking the Extraordinary
Inspirational devotionals to help you discover God’s extraordinary presence in your ordinary day
Jay remembers when he received his doctorate that it was described as a “terminal degree.”
We had no idea what God was calling us to next—nor when, so it became a serious time of listening and discernment for us.
Gerald Fagin writes, “We lose sight of the giftedness of creation because it is always with us.”
These are the words Dan spoke: “Your whole story matters to God.” At that moment, something deep inside me shifted.
When we think of confession, we most often think of confessing our sins to God and one another. However, confession is about more than sin.
When we resist the gift of the Sabbath let us be reminded of Jesus’ question, “Do you want to get well?”
In David Benner’s book Surrender to Love, he says that all love always contains sparks of the divine presence of God. Wow!
In Romans chapter 10, the Apostle Paul explains the inclusive nature of the gospel—its availability to anyone and everyone that calls on the name of the Lord.
According to scholars, Phoebe is most likely the person that carried Paul’s letter to Rome.
Church tradition has it that for the rest of his life the crow of a rooster brought tears to the eyes of the Apostle Peter.
On this flight, the man said, “Well my dog just died, and I am wondering if dogs go to heaven?”
Some days, I think to myself, “Am I crazy to have bet my life and work on faith in God?”
I have been a bit weepy as I have listened to Christmas songs and wrapped gifts this season. Anyone else?
Recently I heard Kristi McLelland say, “In our culture today, sin is starting to be absent from our vocabulary.”
I believe that this invisible reality can be seen and experienced, but we must pay close attention.
Jesus gives strict orders not to let anyone know of the miraculous healing of a little girl.
Alongside me on this mission team were a bank executive, a flight attendant, a decorator, a MRI technologist, a pastor, and a nurse.
As you read through the bible, it seems many of the stories revolve around choices: good ones, bad ones, small ones, large ones.
This story of Hezekiah praying and weeping before God shows his vulnerability and distress
“while the righteous one will live by being faithful.”
Habakkuk 2:3-4 NEB
Noticing the Extraordinary
God’s extraordinary presence in ordinary moments
Tim Keller’s says, “You look at another person and you get a glimpse of the person God is creating.”
It was a year ago today that we lost Jay’s mother.