Broke : What Financial Desperation Revealed about God's Abundance

"God let us go broke." "Dead broke. We got caught in a horrible swirl of depressed housing markets, of sagging businesses, of long periods of underemployment and then unemployment, of debt from uncovered medical expenses. All of this hit at once, leaving us wondering where on earth we'd land, dependent on the kindness of family and friends to even attempt to make ends meet." "And yet, when I asked God to let me find him (really find him) and to know him (really know him) and to see him and smell him and taste him and sense his presence and his wondrousness all over the darned place like I had as a kid, he broke me. Clean open. Snapped and shattered." In this way Caryn Rivadeneira invites us to join her on a frank journey into both a financial and spiritual desert. She reflects openly on the struggles so many of us can identify with. And she models with integrity how she continued to pursue God even through these dark days. In these pages you will find a safe place to explore your brokenness and to seek solace. "Broke was not in the cards for me. Girls -- then women -- like us stay strong through it all. A little (or big) financial setback doesn't break us. Or our connection to God." And yet, God let Caryn Rivadeneira and her family go dead broke. In the midst of this financial and spiritual desert, Caryn questioned God's goodness, wondering how he could feel so far away. Doesn't God promise blessing to those who serve him? Doesn't he hear his faithful followers' cries for provision and help? Join in Caryn's journey as she pursues God even when bruised, battered and broken by life. You'll laugh and cry with her as she experiences spiritual blessing and discovers God's goodness in ways she never expected. "We survived. I kept breathing. I kept stepping. And somewhere in the cracks, along the ragged edges of my marriage, in the desperate gasps of sudden poverty and all the questions that came with it, there was God. Big and glittering, soft and warm, smiling and beckoning. Somehow in the shimmers of all that, I began to taste and see, and feel and know, and hear and smell that God is good, and he was there in the broke bits." "In this time of longing to know what God was up to and to experience his goodness and presence, God worked me over by showing me where and how I could find him. Which is all over the place. In every last thing. He satisfied my wonderlust -- my unquenchable desire to feel his presence and to experience his glory. And I found him. And I found him good." - Publisher. " Broke was not in the cards for me. . . . Girls—then women—like us stay strong through it all. A little (or big) financial setback doesn't break us. Or our connection to God." And yet, God let Caryn Rivadeneira and her family go dead broke. In the midst of this financial and spiritual desert, Caryn questioned God's goodness, wondering how he could feel so far away. Doesn't God promise blessing to those who serve him? Doesn't he hear his faithful followers' cries for provision and help? Join in Caryn's journey as she pursues God even when bruised, battered and broken by life. You'll laugh and cry with her as she experiences spiritual blessing and discovers God's goodness in ways she never expected. "We survived. I kept breathing. I kept stepping. And somewhere in the cracks, along the ragged edges of my marriage, in the desperate gasps of sudden poverty and all the questions that came with it, there was God. Big and glittering, soft and warm, smiling and beckoning. Somehow in the shimmers of all that, I began to taste and see, and feel and know, and hear and smell that God is good, and he was there in the broke bits." "In this time of longing to know what God was up to and to experience his goodness and presence, God worked me over by showing me where and how I could find him. Which is all over the place. In every last thing. He satisfied my wonderlust —my unquenchable desire to feel his presence and to experience his glory. And I found him. And I found him good." "God let us go broke. Dead broke. We got caught in a horrible swirl of depressed housing markets, of sagging businesses, of long periods of underemployment and then unemployment, of debt from uncovered medical expenses. All of this hit at once, leaving us wondering where on earth we'd land, dependent on the kindness of family and friends to even attempt to make ends meet. And yet, when I asked God to let me find him (really find him) and to know him (really know him) and to see him and smell him and taste him and sense his presence and his wondrousness all over the darned place like I had as a kid, he broke me. Clean open. Snapped and shattered." In this way Caryn Rivadeneira invites us to join her on a frank journey into both a financial and spiritual desert. She reflects openly on the struggles so many of us can identify with. And she models with integrity how she continued to pursue God even through these dark days. --from publisher description In the midst of a financial and spiritual desert, Caryn Rivadeneira struggled with questions of God's goodness. Join in her journey as she pursues God even when bruised, battered and broken, and you'll laugh and cry with her as she experiences spiritual blessing and discovers God's provision in ways she never expected. Preface : Going for broke Heard Bread Mysteries Big fish Crosses The goods Shocked Serendipity Imaginary Dazzled Safaris Appendix : Ways to practice finding God's abundance About the author