Fight Flight Or Faith

'This memoir is achingly beautiful.' Nathan Tasker Can a Christian be anxious and still have faith? When nineteen-year-old Nikki lost her older brother, Greg, in a car accident, her stable world of faith and family became unsafe overnight. This was followed by a painful, decades-long journey with clinical anxiety and panic disorder-a journey that involved both seasons of trying to fight and flee from the pain-and, eventually, the beginnings of an expanded, reawakened faith. For the ever-increasing number of people suffering the pain of anxiety, for the weary, for those who fear they have failed themselves, others, and God; for strung-out believers constantly stretching and straining for a piece of peace; this book is a reminder that wherever we stand, Jesus-our older brother, our refuge, and our fellow sufferer-is ever near, beckoning us to come join him on the journey. The raw honesty, combined with eloquence, make this compelling reading. I could not put it down. Steve Baird, CEO International Justice Mission, Australia This book is for everyone whose post-2020 life looks like 'a crushed question mark'. In the days of global pandemic and gaping loneliness and loss, Nikki isn't afraid to look hard questions in the eye and offers an answer from the gut of her lifelong and unlikely friendship with anxiety. Lisa-Jo Baker, bestselling author of Never Unfriended and co-host of the Out of the Ordinary podcast. Blessedly free of trite theological and pastoral bromides, Nikki invites us to take refuge in the arms of a gracious and compassionate God, one who knows and numbers all our anxious tears. Rev Dr Ian Maddock, senior theology lecturer.

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Plunged into the icy waters of the Hudson...God spared Frederick Berretta's life in an instant -- and changed his heart forever. Frederick Berretta was an amateur pilot himself, so when U.S. Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of geese and lost both engines, minutes after takeoff from Laguardia Airport on that fateful afternoon of January 15, 2009, he knew before most of his fellow passengers that something was seriously wrong. As the roar of the jets quieted and the aircraft ceased to climb, as the pilot guided the powerless plane towards a desperate crash landing and announced, "Brace for impact," Berretta fingered the prayer book in his pocket and tried to prepare himself for death. A multitude of thoughts flooded his mind all at once. He reminded himself that the odds of surviving a water landing were slim to none. He thought of his wife and his four children, and how they would miss him. He remembered he had just been to confession and to Mass, and he wondered if his soul would be ready to meet the Lord. And he knew he had to pray. "God, please be merciful to us, for the sake of your Son," he whispered. "Please spare us. I trust in you. Jesus, I trust in you. Mother of God, please pray for us." At that very instant, Berretta felt a "push" or "nudge" on his conscience; a state of awareness he'd never before experienced; and a keen realization that he had to do something. But what? Then God's voice sounded strong and clear in the depths of his soul: Are you going to accept My will for your life? For Frederick Berretta, the events of that fateful January day were the crystallizing moment of a lifetime of conversion. This story tells how he lost his childhood faith and as a young adult embraced a selfish, worldly life, how he suffered through family turmoil and the death of a child, and how by God's grace he slowly returned to the Church, humbled and grateful. God used the "Miracle on the Hudson" to confirm him in his faith and set him on fire to share it with others. Flight of Faith is the inspiring true story of how God works in our lives in simple and extraordinary ways. Read more at the Flight of Faith website.

Faith Lies: 7 Incomplete Ideas That Hijack Faith and How to See Beyond Them is for people noticing the cracks in the foundation of their faith as well as those who feel they have been hurt or discarded by a God or a faith that just does not make sense. Faith lies are those seemingly required religious ideas or spiritual beliefs that are often confusing and rarely helpful. LIE 1 -- The Bible is the Literal Word of God -- The Bible is not the written record of God’s dictation. God was most certainly the inspiration for the Bible, but not the medium. People were the medium—they did the storytelling, the writing, the selecting, and the interpretation that resulted in the Bible. The Bible is not God’s Bill of Rights and Constitution. Rather, it is a divinely inspired story of progression that should open things up rather than constrict and regulate. LIE 2 -- God is Angry and Doesn’t Like Me--Especially When I Sin -- Instead of perceiving God as a loving parent, many of us understand God as a cosmic scorekeeper, intent on our purification. Understanding God as a loving parent not only requires a reframing of our perception of God but also invites us to see each other and ourselves as beloved children. LIE 3 -- The Devil is God’s Counterpart -- This is the bad idea that the Bible presents a continuous, consistent narrative about the devil. It simply does not. Moreover, when we string together what we actually have--disparate statements about satan made by different people, from different places, languages, cultures, and times--we arrive at the strange notion that there is a “good” god who is responsible for the “good” things in our lives and a “bad” god (satan) who handles the “bad” stuff. LIE 4 -- I Am Supposed to Protect and Defend God and My Faith -- There are real tensions and conflicts around the globe today that are built on the notion that as people of faith, one of our jobs is to defend our faith or our God. Rather than settling for a god who needs our protection, we can follow the powerfully divine thread of moving “beyond the tribe” that is found throughout the Bible. LIE 5 -- There is One Right Way to Believe and One Right Way to Behave -- One of the root lies of fundamentalism--in all faiths--is the notion that true faith is defined by believing the right things and acting the right way. Isn’t it more likely that we are all part of a diverse creation that flows from a God that cannot be contained by any one belief or behavior? LIE 6 -- Faith is a Private Matter -- Much like whom we voted for in the last election or how much money we make, people have wrongfully accepted the idea that faith is a private matter and not to be shared with others. The spiritual life has always been a communal life. We require others to undertake our journey, and others need us, too. LIE 7 -- Real Faith is Blind Belief -- The idea that true faith has no doubts or questions creates a powerless and impotent faith that discourages critical thinking and fosters the ridiculous assumption that science and faith are unrelated. Real faith actually requires doubt, criticism, and exploration in order to change us—let alone change the world. While the loud voices at the margins adamantly declare faith either completely irrelevant or capable of being contained in one narrow ideology, most people get lost in the mix, feeling no certainty or comfort in either direction. Faith Lies deconstructs the terrible notion that faithlessness and fundamentalism are our only options.

There remains and will always be a great gulf between faith and fear. Oftentimes, people can be seen spending most of their lives on one side more than the other. While one strengthens by building, motivating, and propelling people into greatness, the other is seen as the lesser or weaker option. Yet many forfeit heaven's promises by willingly living day to day in fear. Yet it is and always will be the heart of God for his people to triumph over fear and the many faces that it presents. This book will expose fear by revealing God-given truths from the viewpoint of the heart of God. God has given specific strategies found in his word that will help pull down the strongholds of fear. You will see that it only takes one step of faith to utterly turn your life around. Faith or fear, only you can decide where you will spend the sum total of your days. The struggle between faith and fear is a very real battle where many men and women of God find a great level of difficulty due to the vast gap between faith and fear. God never intended us to set up camp in the middle of the two. By establishing a consistent life of faith, God will walk you through unlimited day-to-day victories.

Read the Good News from the perspective of a flight instructor. Using illustrations and examples from aviation, this book brings a practical, how-to approach to the foundations of Christian living. The author prepares you to fly solo and gain altitude as you move forward in faith.

Learn How to Teach Your Kids the Skills They Need “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 As a Christian parent, you want your children to develop good character and godly wisdom. But how do you go beyond hoping and praying to teaching them ethical knowledge, practical skills, and virtuous habits? This innovative guide provides practical, effective ideas you can use to help your children build their faith and character in 50 ways, including... engaging with the Bible and culture interacting with God and others making good decisions becoming better learners managing conflict Once you grasp these concepts and discover how to teach them, you will be able to successfully shape the character and worldview of your child or teenager.