Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.

The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy. Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again. She had four miscarriages. Her son died because of a doctor's mistake. And Vaneetha was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, meaning she would likely become a quadriplegic. And then her husband betrayed her and moved out, leaving her to raise two adolescent daughters alone. This was not the abundant life she thought God had promised her. But, as Vaneetha discovered, everything she experienced was designed to draw her closer to Christ as she discovered "that intimacy with God in suffering can be breathtakingly beautiful."

Although the statement, "God moves in mysterious ways", is not a biblical statement, He really does move in mysterious ways! My stories will demonstrate how God truly does use the weak and foolish to confound the strong and the wise. He can't get more mysterious than that. You'll see God willing to and capable of using anyone. In Scripture, "when God says "Go," He is putting out an invitation to "Come with Me". Although I have come short of always doing the right thing, and have been far from perfect, both physically and spiritually, I determined to still chose to follow God regardless. Although I purposed to exercise great faith and attempted a close walk with God, I did not always trust God. I didn't always treat my wife in a way pleasing to God. My methods and priorities were not always correct. Despite all my "tonterias", God still chooses to use me. These stories are rich examples of God's love, mercy, forgiveness and power. My goal is that they provide hope and inspiration. These stories will give you a clear view of the "hand of God" moving behind the scenes. You'll learn to trust God even though outward circumstances dictate otherwise. You'll see how God uses what appears to be a hopeless life to actually advance His Kingdom. Be encouraged...He desires to use yours to do the same. Shalom I was born in Bisbee, AZ, and enlisted in US Navy 1972 as an Airman for six years. I married my High School sweet-heart, Gloria in San Diego, CA in 1972 and we are still married today, residing in Sierra Vista, AZ since 2016. We were blessed with three sons-Adam, Jason and Elijah. All three married, and we now have eight grandchildren between the three of them! I graduated from Berean Bible College, San Diego, CA in 1982, and Pastored/Assistant-Pastored off and on from 1982-2012. I have been active in fifteen "Short Missions Trips" to South and Central America; Africa; Romania; and Mexico. I have been a Christian for forty-three years with many failures under my belt. Currently I am attending Shiloh Christian Ministries with Senior pastors Erick and Raquel Villalvazo as our pastors and covering from 2016 to present. At the present, I am in the school of learning obedience, God's mercy, forgiveness and power. I have a strong desire to share my Journey with anyone that can relate with my story, so that they can be inspired, encouraged and be determined to get up when knocked down, to serve our LORD with vision and purpose.

A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.

Explaining how to become a Christian hedonist, a bestselling author offers guidance on how to find spiritual joy to readers who are unsure of where to seek it.