While some books chronicle Christian believers who lose their faith to become atheists, in Flirting With Faith: My Spiritual Journey From Atheism to a Faith-Filled Life, Joan Ball reverses that scenario, sharing her story of being captured by a God she had avoided throughout her life.

Although she was cordial to her Bible-believing husband and had moments of curiosity in her early years, Ball regarded persons of faith as "emotionally, physically, or intellectually weak."

When her dramatic conversion—which felt to her like a heart attack—occurred, the first words entering her mind were, "It's all true."

"This skeptical atheist turned church-going agnostic had somehow been struck Christian," she said.

She had spent most of her life in and around church communities—including parochial school—but was only a spectator of others' religion.

"My curiosity about faith was as much a reflection of feeling left out of something I knew little about, as it was a desire to connect with God," she said. "I can see in retrospect that even then, my interest in faith was more about connecting with a community of people than it was a desire to be transformed by faith in and a relationship with God."

Ball presents her life in Flirting With Faith for all those who, like her, view faith as distant, but who "have a longing in their hearts to do something more with their lives, but don't know where to begin."

"I believe that faith is a gift that comes by grace, not by the strength of an argument," she said. "No one could have convinced me that I should believe, so I never attempt to convince others that they should believe as I do.

"That said, I love to tell the story of what happened to me, how my life has changed as a result and how I have come to understand the gospel."

Since her conversion and subsequent challenges in her personal life—such as walking away from a high-paying job and grappling with family health issues—Ball said she doesn't struggle with unbelief as much as God's intervention in her life.

"As I continue to wrestle with the Scriptures and try to understand how God is operating in my life and in the world at large, I have many questions that might be interpreted by some as unbelief," she said. "I just view it as part of the journey. If people are following God and are wondering why it's not working, my encouragement to them is to cease striving, submit and follow. It's about giving up control."

Ball will promote the title at conferences this spring and a cross-country promotional tour of bookstores this summer.

To order Flirting With Faith, visit www.simonandschuster.biz or call 800-223-2336.

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