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Description
As a thirty-seven-year-old, highly skeptical, deeply rational woman, Joan had it all: loving family, extravagant home, a high-profile career, even personal contentment. So Joan was more surprised than anyone when she was relieved in an instant from the luxury of spiritual doubt and compelled to realign her life around practices of faith--about which she was a novice. With an unexplainable desire to pursue whatever God had for her at whatever cost was called for, Joan left her high-salary profession, sold her home and all her furniture (with her husband’s support), and started life from a blank slate. Finally realizing that she had been flirting with faith since she was a young teen, Joan fell in love with the God who had been pursuing her.
Joan candidly shares the story of her radical life change as she moved from atheist, to agnostic in addiction recovery, to the unexpected moment when she was “struck” Christian. As Joan lets go of control and convention, her skepticism is gradually replaced with a realization that embracing her new faith with radical abandon led to a far more mysterious and countercultural lifestyle than she’d ever imagined.
Joan candidly shares the story of her radical life change as she moved from atheist, to agnostic in addiction recovery, to the unexpected moment when she was “struck” Christian. As Joan lets go of control and convention, her skepticism is gradually replaced with a realization that embracing her new faith with radical abandon led to a far more mysterious and countercultural lifestyle than she’d ever imagined.
Product Details
| Publisher | Howard Books |
| Publish Date | May 11, 2010 |
| Pages | 240 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781439149874 |
| Dimensions | 215.9 X 139.7 X 17.8 mm | 256.7 g |
About the Author
Joan Ball spent more than 15 years in the public relations business before making the transition from the boardroom to the classroom in 2007. She currently teaches marketing in the Tobin School of Business at St. John’s University in Queens, NY and writes for Beliefnet.com. A media relations expert, she has been the corporate spokesperson for a variety of large and mid-sized professional services firms. Central to her story is the extent to which she allowed her career and the money, prestige and possessions that came with it to overshadow the things that were most important in life. In Flirting with Faith, she shares with bold candor both her challenges and successes—from single motherhood, to alcohol addiction to unbalanced priorities in the midst of apparent accomplishment—with a transparency and openness that will be evident to even the most skeptical reader. She and her husband Martin live in suburban New York with their son Ian. Her adult children, Kelsey (20) and Andrew (21) are undergraduate students elsewhere in New York.
Reviews
“I love authors with attitude—that's why Anne Lamott is high on my favorites list. Now even higher is the new voice of Joan Ball. Her splendor of rendering life in the spirit is unmatched. Open this book up anywhere, and it grabs you everywhere.”
“If you didn't know better, you would mistake Flirting with Faith for a work of fiction. Even Joan Ball wouldn’t have believed the story—successful New York publicist gets blindsided by a supernatural smack down—had it not happened to her. But every part of Joan’s faith journey reeks of authenticity. And it’s not just the story of Flirting with Faith that will keep you turning the pages. Joan’s voice is one of the most original to come along in years. She’s bold and brash and filled with a kind of wide-eyed wonder that could only come from someone who has been “struck Christian.”
"In Flirting with Faith Joan Ball reveals the scarred soul of an avowed atheist who found herself unexpectedly god-smacked. Fellow spiritual oddballs will delight in the discovery that while they may be unique they're not alone. Though Ball's story, they can find another broken believer who walked a crooked spiritual path that eventually wound its way to God."
“In a culture where far too many people are dismissive or completely indifferent when it comes to faith, it's refreshing to see it dealt with in such an honest and authentic fashion. Flirting with Faith is a roadmap on the often perilous and sometime exhilarating journey to discover eternity. Joan Ball reminds us that encountering real faith will change everything.”
“What Joan Ball gives us here is a conversion story that St. Paul himself could have written. Spiced with humor and told with all the natural story-telling skills of a true writer, Flirting is, above all else, a dramatic, moving, and overwhelmingly credible confession of faith by one woman who never, ever meant to be converted. God apparently thought otherwise, and the resulting story will rejoice both your heart and your mind.”
"At once feisty and contemplative, Joan Ball's Flirting with Faith more than flirts: She dances with both faith and doubt, while being unflinchingly honest each step of the way. Her authentic wrestling will confound skeptics, challenge believers and comfort those who mourn."
"Flirting with Faith is so much more than a personal memoir. It's a vulnerable, spiritual journey. With each word, Joan Ball invites us to take a step into her heart where we see the beauty of transformation and the freedom of grace."
"Storyteller Joan Ball has found a way into my mind, heart, and soul with the beautifully written tale of her accidental fall into the lap of faith. Joan’s story has escaped my lips to countless friends as easily as the catchiest pop hook. This story will remind you that you are ultimately not in control and when you finally accept that, the flirting with your faith will turn into a full blown romance."
“If you didn't know better, you would mistake Flirting with Faith for a work of fiction. Even Joan Ball wouldn’t have believed the story—successful New York publicist gets blindsided by a supernatural smack down—had it not happened to her. But every part of Joan’s faith journey reeks of authenticity. And it’s not just the story of Flirting with Faith that will keep you turning the pages. Joan’s voice is one of the most original to come along in years. She’s bold and brash and filled with a kind of wide-eyed wonder that could only come from someone who has been “struck Christian.”
"In Flirting with Faith Joan Ball reveals the scarred soul of an avowed atheist who found herself unexpectedly god-smacked. Fellow spiritual oddballs will delight in the discovery that while they may be unique they're not alone. Though Ball's story, they can find another broken believer who walked a crooked spiritual path that eventually wound its way to God."
“In a culture where far too many people are dismissive or completely indifferent when it comes to faith, it's refreshing to see it dealt with in such an honest and authentic fashion. Flirting with Faith is a roadmap on the often perilous and sometime exhilarating journey to discover eternity. Joan Ball reminds us that encountering real faith will change everything.”
“What Joan Ball gives us here is a conversion story that St. Paul himself could have written. Spiced with humor and told with all the natural story-telling skills of a true writer, Flirting is, above all else, a dramatic, moving, and overwhelmingly credible confession of faith by one woman who never, ever meant to be converted. God apparently thought otherwise, and the resulting story will rejoice both your heart and your mind.”
"At once feisty and contemplative, Joan Ball's Flirting with Faith more than flirts: She dances with both faith and doubt, while being unflinchingly honest each step of the way. Her authentic wrestling will confound skeptics, challenge believers and comfort those who mourn."
"Flirting with Faith is so much more than a personal memoir. It's a vulnerable, spiritual journey. With each word, Joan Ball invites us to take a step into her heart where we see the beauty of transformation and the freedom of grace."
"Storyteller Joan Ball has found a way into my mind, heart, and soul with the beautifully written tale of her accidental fall into the lap of faith. Joan’s story has escaped my lips to countless friends as easily as the catchiest pop hook. This story will remind you that you are ultimately not in control and when you finally accept that, the flirting with your faith will turn into a full blown romance."
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