What enables some to survive as Christians when so many others falter? Without resorting to empty answers, clichés, relativism, or smug certainty, A Christian Survival Guide provides an accessible and safe place to deal with issues that can give Christians sleepless nights. By focusing on spiritual practices, discussing solutions to faith struggles, and offering perspectives from multiple Christian traditions, this survival guide moves readers into a thriving relationship with God, even if that means not necessarily finding all the answers. A Christian Survival Guide doesn’t run away from the big, tough questions of life like:
<ul>
<li>Does the Bible have to be “true”?</li>
<li>Where is God in an evil world?</li>
<li>Did God sanction genocide?</li>
<li>Is hell eternal conscious torment?</li>
<li>Does money keep us from following Jesus?</li>
</ul> Candid and wry, Cyzewski deals with the tension of hard questions without resorting to empty answers, clichés, relativism, or the smug certainty that can so often drive seekers and strugglers further away. He writes for those who both care and question deeply, and offers survival tips to help readers move from living on the edge to a place of health and life. This survival guide is not meant to be a "one size fits all" handbook. It is a first step to confronting the big issues and challenges of a life of faith--even the ones that Christians fear most.

A Christian Survival Guide: A Lifeline to Faith and Growth

Religion & Spirituality

Cyzewski, Ed

Christian Books & Bibles

Kregel Publications

About the Contributor(s): Dr. Larry R. Helyer is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. He is the author of Revelation for Dummies (2008), The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John (2008) and The Life and Witness of Peter (2012). Ed Cyzewski (MDiv, Biblical Theological Seminary) is the author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life (2008), Hazardous: Committing to the Cost of Following Jesus (2012), and Unfollowers: The Oversights, Distractions, and Misconceptions that Keep Us from Following Jesus (forthcoming). He writes for a variety of magazines, including Christianity Today and Leadership Journal, and blogs regularly on Christian belief and practice at www.inamirrordimly.com.

The Good News of Revelation

Helyer, Larry R.

Wipf and Stock

If you want to improve your prayer life, try writing. If you want to improve your writing life, try praying. The two require many of the same practices, disciplines, and virtues. If you’re already inclined to both write and pray, you may as well figure out how they can help each other. If you’re experienced in one, you may find opportunities for personal or spiritual growth by trying out the other. This book offers life-giving practices that will help you grow in both prayer and writing and show how the two can work together to improve your craft as a writer and your spiritual practices as a person of faith.

Pray, Write, Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

What if prayer could be simple rather than strenuous? Anxious, results-driven Christians can never pray enough, serve enough, or study enough. What if God is calling us not to frenzied activity but to a simple spiritual encounter? What if we must merely receive what God has already given us? In Flee, Be Silent, Pray, writer and contemplative retreat leader Ed Cyzewski guides readers out of the anxiety factory of contemporary Christianity and toward a God whose love astounds those quiet long enough to receive it. Cyzewski offers helpful guidance into Christian spiritual practices such as: - Solitude- Silence- Contemplative prayer - Spiritual practices such as lectio divina and the Examen Readers will learn to make space for the Christ whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. Ready to shed the fear of the false self and the exhaustion of a duty-driven faith? Flee. Be silent. Pray.

Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians

Herald Press

What if prayer could be simple rather than strenuous? Anxious, results-driven Christians can never pray enough, serve enough, or study enough.\nWhat if God is calling us not to frenzied activity but to a simple spiritual encounter? 
What if we must merely receive what God has already given us?\nIn Flee, Be Silent, Pray, writer and contemplative retreat leader Ed Cyzewski guides readers out of the anxiety factory of contemporary Christianity and toward a God whose love astounds those quiet long enough to receive it. Cyzewski offers helpful guidance into Christian spiritual practices such as: 
- Solitude- Silence- Contemplative prayer - Spiritual practices such as lectio divina and the Examen 
Readers will learn to make space for the Christ whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.\nReady to shed the fear of the false self and the exhaustion of a duty-driven faith? 
Flee. Be silent. Pray.

Herald Press (VA)

Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction

Protect Your time. Prioritize relationships. Restore your spirit. Technology Teaches us to Crave the hum and buzz of activity and the dopamine hit of notifications. Yet social media and technology have shortened our attention spans, disrupted our connections with others, and even muddled our spirituality. In Reconnect, contemplative author and retreat leader Ed Cyzewski investigates the crisis of attention that is leading to mental health challenges and extending to our souls. Yet the Christian contemplative tradition-deeply rooted in the spiritual traditions and practices of the church-offers a way forward, grinding the gears of this frenetic activity and thinking to an unspectacular halt. For all its benefits and promises, technology trains its users to pursue the exact opposite of contemplative prayer practices every day, claims Cyzewski. Grounded in current research into the impact of technology, Reconnect helps Christians rewire their technology addictions and train themselves to be present and aware of God rather than tuned into the constant distractions and deceptions of this digital age. When phones go dark and social media feeds stop scrolling, can we step into a deeper stillness and presence with an always present God? Book jacket.

Protect your time. Prioritize relationships. Restore your spirit.\nTechnology teaches us to crave the hum and buzz of activity and the dopamine hit of notifications. Yet social media and technology have shortened our attention spans, disrupted our connections with others, and even muddled our spirituality.\nIn Reconnect, contemplative author and retreat leader Ed Cyzewski investigates the crisis of attention that is leading to mental health challenges and extending to our souls. Yet the Christian contemplative tradition--deeply rooted in the spiritual traditions and practices of the church--offers a way forward, grinding the gears of this frenetic activity and thinking to an unspectacular halt. For all its benefits and promises, technology trains its users to pursue the exact opposite of contemplative prayer practices every day, claims Cyzewski.\nGrounded in current research into the impact of technology, Reconnect helps Christians rewire their technology addictions and train themselves to be present and aware of God rather than tuned into the constant distractions and deceptions of this digital age. When phones go dark and social media feeds stop scrolling, can we step into a deeper stillness and presence with an always present God?

Writing thrives when our minds are at rest, our attention focused, and our souls receive care. The Contemplative Writer helps Christians writers tap into their rich prayer tradition that includes meditation on scripture, spirituality practices, centering prayer, and fixed hour prayer (such as morning prayer and evening prayer). These practices offer a deeper connection with God’s love and a peaceful foundation for their creative callings. Those who minister through writing will thrive with the guidance provided by Christian spirituality and reflective Bible reading. The Contemplative Writer offers 10 simple practices every writer of faith can learn for daily prayer that cover the basics of Christian spirituality, such as how to pray, how to pray more often, and how to find peace with God. Chapters include topics such as: - Praying the Hours - Centering Prayer - Imaginative Bible Study - Finding God in Silence - Self-Reflection with the Examen This book builds on Ed Cyzewski’s previous books Pray, Write, Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together and Write without Crushing Your Soul by providing direction and application for contemplative prayer that any follower of Jesus can put into practice.

The Contemplative Writer: Loving God through Christian Spirituality, Meditation, Daily Prayer, and Writing

When daily prayer and Bible study leaves a Christian anxious, doubtful, and frustrated, is there any hope for finding peace with God? Ed Cyzewski grew up in a restrictive Catholic Church, immersed himself in the hard-working world of evangelical Christianity as the path to knowing God, and then graduated uncertain about praying or finding God. The Christian prayer tradition known as contemplation, primarily preserved in monasteries through practices such as centering prayer, was the answer he didn’t want to find. If his Protestant faith was going to survive, he needed to move beyond his past grudges in order to learn Christian meditation and contemplative prayer from Catholic teachers. Contemplative prayer goes beyond the limits of Bible study and experiences the loving presence of God described in the scriptures. While scripture and spiritual disciplines have their place, Cyzewski learned that the unstoppable love of God forms the foundation of all Christian spirituality, and that daily contemplative prayer helps us rest in God’s loving presence. Using Henrí Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart to highlight the three movements into contemplation with the words flee, be silent, pray, Cyzewski found what it means to quiet his religious anxiety by resting in the love of God. Anxious evangelicals and Christians on the brink of losing their faith will find an accessible path toward using this simple, proven approach to daily prayer.

Flee, Be Silent, Pray: An Anxious Evangelical Finds Peace With God Through Contemplative Prayer

Worship & Devotion

Createspace Independent Pub

Theology should breathe life and unity among God's people, but today’s culture creates a barrier of ignorance and misunderstanding in the study of God. Author Ed Cyzewski seeks to build a method for theology that is rooted in a relationship with God and thrives on dialogue.

Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life

NAVPRESS *

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cyzewski, Ed. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Cyzewski, Ed

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cyzewski, Ed. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Christian Survival Guide: A Lifeline to Faith and Growth

The Good News of Revelation

Pray, Write, Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together

Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians

Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians

Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction

Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction

The Contemplative Writer: Loving God through Christian Spirituality, Meditation, Daily Prayer, and Writing

Flee, Be Silent, Pray: An Anxious Evangelical Finds Peace With God Through Contemplative Prayer

Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life