Breathless Haste: Finding God in Ordinary Life

“One of the best contemporary books about the Christian life in publication today.”
Five-Star Amazon Review

“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

“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


Have you faced profound loss, received devastating news, navigated career changes, or encountered financial hardships? Have you questioned your faith in God during these times? Where have you sought hope and direction? Have you wondered how to find God in the midst of it all?


When the Madden family tragically lost their firstborn son in infancy, they embarked on a journey to discover God amidst their grief and continued to seek His presence thereafter. In Breathless Haste: Finding God in Ordinary Life, they share thirty diverse stories of encountering God in everyday moments – from the mundane to the miraculous: in sorrow, at a McDonalds, through music, poetry, a cassette tape, creation, a scrapbook, an old digital clock, a bankruptcy case and beyond. Each story bears witness to a living God actively involved in their lives, offering a profound testimony that the modern world desperately needs.


With over twenty-five years of ministry experience in churches in South Carolina, Chicago, and Atlanta, Jay and Rebecca Madden have dedicated themselves to guiding others on their spiritual journey in churches, neighborhoods, and groups. They currently serve at one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the United States, with Jay as Executive Pastor and Rebecca as Women’s Ministry Director. Their ministry is to inspire and empower others to awaken their own heart, mind, and soul to encounter an extraordinary God in their ordinary day.


Through the vulnerability of their personal stories, practical insights, and thought-provoking questions in each chapter, Breathless Haste will strengthen your hope, expand your trust in God, fuel your faith, and stimulate your imagination with fresh ways to discover and experience God's guidance, peace, and purpose in your own life.