Ridiculous Faith: Experience the Power of an Absurdly, Unbelievably Good God

by Shelene Bryan

Why do my most profound moments of faith vanish so quickly?What would your life be like if you could harness the rush of faith that appears in the most desperate moments? What if you could live your entire life with the kind of split-second, imminent-disaster faith that crying out to God brings? What if you could live a life of Ridiculous Faith ?True faith is vital to a vibrant Christian life. Without it, it is impossible to please God. But are your moments of deepest, most essential faith doomed to dissipate as quickly as they materialize, leaving you powerless and ineffectual?Absolutely not. The truth is, you are not doomed to a lifetime of flickering faith.Join Shelene Bryan on a journey to uncover the ark-building, sea-parting, lion-taming, ridiculous faith that will leave you in awe of the Creator and all He has prepared for you. Are you ready to live an absurdly, unbelievably good life--a ridiculous life of ridiculous faith?

Genres: Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Faith

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Shelene Bryan is the founder of Skip1.org, a charity dedicated to providing food and clean water to children in America and around the world. Shelene is an accomplished speaker who now turns her extraordinary ability to challenge and inspire to the written word.

Reviews

[Ashley Morani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally so good 🥲 a book with amazing stories of God’s unbelievable presence. So many terrific stories of leaning into God and placing your fear aside to pursue him in some of life’s hardest situations.

[Paige Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite kind of book for this season of my life. Not preachy, not a 5 step plan for living better, just stories. Stories of God’s faithfulness in the lives of people who have chosen to trust Him in absolutely ridiculous ways. Stories of people’s heartache, joy, pain, triumph, failure and faith - all interconnected with the faithfulness and power of an absurdly good God. Stories that encourage me to let God write a better story in my own life and help me to trust that even when I may not see or understand the story he is writing, it is always a story for my good and his glory. I loved this book and you should absolutely take the time to read it!

Favorite Quote: “True faith in a living God changes the way you live. Sometimes it changes it from business as usual to ridiculous.”

[Becky Marietta · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I appreciate Shelene's heart and her desire to serve God, this book was fairly juvenile in terms of lessons and stories. The Bible connections were simple and obvious, and the illustrations were told colloquially with little finesse. I also struggled to feel the sort of admiration for certain people (including Shelene's son) that she so wanted me to--many are very rich people, and while it was nice that the seniors in the Christian school used the $10,000 that they normally spend on a float (let that sink in!) to feed the poor, I just couldn't see that as a sacrifice. There were several stories like that--of wealthy, privileged people, in all good faith and intentions, giving up things that most of us could never imagine ever having in the first place. I'm not one of those who thinks that Christians should live in poverty or should not have nice things, if they are good stewards of their money, but I do get grumpy about Christian organizations who spend lavishly on things that don't further the kingdom. As I was reading the story about the floats, all I could think was, "Why does this Christian school promote and allow students to spend thousands of dollars on a float that lasts a day? How many missionaries could they be supporting with that money?"

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read - reminders of things that I know but often tend to forget, and some inspirational anecdotes about life and faith and the why and wherefore of things that happen. 3.5★

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed some of the stories, but the narration on the audio version about put me to sleep. Sounded like Shelene's own book was putting her to sleep! It's a wonder I finished the thing.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and felt like I flew through it. I kept wanting to pick it up to read the next story! This is full of stories of how God is so good and faithful, and how we have to take ACTION. It's up to US to make a difference in other's lives, let God's goodness shine through us. I've grown up with the saying "I'm blessed to be a blessing" and I'm sure Shelene would agree, she lives that saying out in her life and surrounds herself with others that share her philosophy.

[Lam Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The faith stories in this book are well told, very touching and inspiring. They really highlight God's faithfulness and His working in unexpected places and even impossible circumstances. I also enjoy how the book is structured. It doesn't drag, and it provokes thoughts and reflections. Highly recommend.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Group Study/Discussion

Good group study. Two women’s groups at our church just completed this book as a small group study/discussion. Shelene gave us much “food for thought” which led to some very interesting discussions as to how we can develop our own “ridiculous faith.”

[Ced · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me excessively cry in public and in private hahahahaha. But more than the style of writing or use of simple language, the book speaks to the heart. And sometimes, rather, most of the time, that's what really matters.

[Kimberly Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just a great book of faith stories that was encouraging and motivating.

[Julianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a book on how to do anything as the cover would suggest, it’s just a book of stories (and honestly not well told).

[Otis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s amazing how God works. I picked up this book a few year back and for whatever reason, picked it up
for the first time six days ago. Just at the right time. And wow, what an awesome read. The life examples in this book were inspirational. If you want to hear real life stories of faith journeys this is a powerful read. Wonderfully written. You will NOT be disappointed.

[Casey | Essentially Novel · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.”

How many of us believers are frozen in stagnant faith? Maybe not even that but doubt or fear? Maybe we don’t really know who God is; this God we say we believe in. Our faith is young or shallow, or simply hasn’t been tested. Perhaps you look at others, saints of old or leadership or mentors, and think “I wish I had faith like theirs.”

Shelene starts off by sharing a story of her own, one that found her frozen in fear, and how that moment propelled her forward into her faith. She ends up sharing many faith-driven stories, such as miracles of the womb and of God’s provision, all from those whose paths she has crossed. It isn’t super in-depth, but is a good conversation starter of “what does it mean to have faith; true, deep, radical and ridiculous faith?” I think the stories she shares covers a large gamut and many readers may find that they identify with one or more of them, giving them a chance to say “this is similar to my story and does reading this, seeing God’s hand in their story, help my faith in regards to my own?” It wasn’t quite what I had expected; it’s more of a compilation of faith stories than anything. Still, I liked it, even though I wish there was a bit more “meat” to it.

[Kerrie B. Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy Read; Challenging Application
I loved the storytelling format of this book and her creative dissection of Hebrews 11. I am challenged to not only memorize that chapter from Scripture but also to seek for ridiculous faith moments in my own life. This goes back on the stack to read to my children!

[Lisa Sherrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories of ridiculous faith

Shelene Bryan's book is filled with wisdom and amazing, true stores of ridiculous faith. There's no way someone reading this can't believe in a big, big God who is so, so good.

[Grace Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of great stories told that are connected to God and keeping a faith for God that can see absurd from the eyes of the unbeliever. While I did enjoy all the stories, I would have loved to have gone into more depth with each story.

[Natasha Pharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that pulled me in. I don't remember then last time I cried reading a book, but this one brought my emotions out as I got to read about God working in the big and little things.

[Bruce Baker]

Very encouraging book. Personal stories to challenge you to move past fear and walk in ridiculous faith. A good read.