Feinberg - Fight Back With Joy

God reveals Himself mightily through prayer as well as through trying times. Each page of this book abounds with surprise and delight as well as inspiring strategies for overcoming the everyday battles of life. Fight Back With Joy is a giftone you cant afford to miss.

Mark Batterson, lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. and author of New York Times best-selling The Circle Maker

Margaret Feinberg is a strong voice of hope for us all. She is the real deal!

Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Angels Walking

When you feel stuck in the rut of discouragement, theres no greater gift than rediscovering joy. With profound insight and poignant grace, Margaret Feinberg takes you on a journey toward joy that will reawaken your heart to the glee that comes with knowing God. You cant read this book and stay the same.

Pete Wilson, senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN and author of Plan B and Let Hope In

Feinbergs story resonates deep within my heart. Youll be captivated by her skill in weaving together words, thoughts, and phrasesbut even more beautiful is the way youll be drawn closer to Jesus, our source of joy.

Kay Warren, best-selling author and cofounder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA

Through her signature beautiful storytelling, Margaret Feinberg gives us an inspiring story of the true power of joy. In these pages, youll learn to defeat lifelong patterns of discouragement, discover strategies for overcoming everyday challenges, and have your heart awakened to the delight of being a child of God. In Fight Back With Joy, the world of the Bible and our world come together in a way that will transform your life forever. A must-read.

Tim Clinton, EdD, president, American Association of Christian Counselors, executive director and professor of counseling and pastoral care at the Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University

Margaret Feinbergs courage, candor, and tender vulnerability are transforming. Her raw struggles touched deep places in my life and will in yours too. Fight Back With Joy will deepen your compassion, bring healing, and fortify your holy resolve to follow God through anything. This is a message the church needs to hear today.

Jennie Allen, founder of If:Gathering and author of Restless

So good. Just so unbelievably good. I cried more tears than I have in a very long time while reading for so many reasons. Ridiculously moving, laced with the beauty, art, and the eternal tension of Scripture. Dont think of this book as a happy-clappy, naive approach to having life ripped away, but rather a difficult and conscious decision to encounter the darkness with light, to fight back deep sorrow with deep, lasting joy. No matter your personal fight, your life will be changed by reading this hope-filled book.

Cherie Lowe, author of Slaying The Debt Dragon

FIGHT

BACK WITH

JOY

CELEBRATE MORE. REGRET LESS.
STARE DOWN YOUR GREATEST FEARS.

Margaret Feinberg

Copyright 2015 by Margaret Feinberg, LLC

Published by Worthy Books, an imprint of Worthy Publishing Group, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., 134 Franklin Road, Suite 200, Brentwood, TN 37027.

WORTHY is a trademark of Worthy Media, Inc.

HELPING PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE HEART OF GOD

eBook available at www.worthypublishing.com.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Feinberg, Margaret, 1976 .

Fight back with joy : celebrate more. regret less. stare down your greatest fears / Margaret Feinberg.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61795-089-6 (tradepaper : alk. paper)

1. JoyReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. SufferingReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. BreastCancerPatientsReligious life. I. Title.

BV4647.J68F45 2014

248.86196994dc23

2014030902

Some names, identifying details, and medical information have been changed in this book to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

This book is not intended to provide therapy, counseling, clinical advice or treatment or to take the place of clinical advice or treatment from your personal physician or professional medical health provider. Readers are advised to consult their own qualified healthcare physician regarding mental health or medical issues. Neither the publisher nor the author takes any responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, action, or application of information in this book to the reader. When a doctors advice to a particular individual conflicts with the experiences and ideas presented in this book, that individual should always follow the doctors advice.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the English Standard Version. 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Italics added to direct Scripture quotations are the authors emphasis.

For foreign and subsidiary rights, contact .

ISBN: 978-1-61795-089-6

Cover Design: Smartt Guys design
Interior Design and Typesetting: Christopher D. Hudson & Associates, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

15 16 17 18 19 VPI 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

.000 | WHY WE LIVE JOYLESS LIVES

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS are so last year, according to my friends. Many of them instead choose to live by a single word, one that embodies what they most hope God would do in their lives during the coming year.

My friend Sarah selected love last year, which led her to mend ties with her estranged father. Then there was John, who chose balance. He hung a chart on his kitchen wall to track his days and make sure he spends enough time with his family. And after Patty picked