Abby McDonald

Finding the Hope of Christ in a Messy Life

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Coaching & Resources

Coaching

You want to write, but you feel like your message has already been shared a hundred times before.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call
 

Or perhaps you wonder, “Who am I to share this? What are people going to think?” I know how defeating these thoughts can be because I’ve had them too.

As a certified writing coach, one of the many obstacles I help writers navigate is mental barriers. Other challenges we may address include finding your unique purpose and identity as a writer and finding your ideal reader. If you want to write but are uncertain about your next step, I’d love to help you. Or perhaps you’ve been writing for a while, but you’ve hit a rut. God has given me a passion for helping others pursue their writing dreams, and I’m excited to share this passion with you! Through our regular time together, we will:

  • Develop a writing routine that is life giving rather than constraining, and create consistency to help you make progress toward your goals.
  • Uncover obstacles that are keeping you stuck, and create an action plan to navigate them and still move forward.
  • Build confidence in who you are as a writer, so you can share regularly with your readers.
  • Discover your writing strengths and the unique message you’re passionate about conveying.

“Abby’s faithful, steady presence was just the thing I needed each time we met. I often came with a jumble of thoughts, ideas, and directions. I always left with a plan, focus, and a sigh of relief. She helped me build confidence and a writing routine.” -Anna

Your writing doesn’t need to be put on the back burner any longer. Sometimes we simply need a guide to come alongside us to help us navigate the journey.

Ready to get started? Book a free 30-minute discovery call today!

Book now
 

Coaching Packages:

 

$85 investment

  • One 30-minute discovery call
  • One 50-minute coaching session
  • Two email communications to provide accountability and encouragement
  • One personalized resource
Book now
 

$290 Investment

  • One 30-minute discovery call
  • Four 50-minute coaching sessions
  • Three email communications to provide accountability and encouragement
  • Two personalized resources
Book now
 

$435 Investment

  • One 30-Minute discovery call
  • Six 50-minute coaching sessions
  • Four email communications to provide accountability and encouragement
  • Three personalized resources
Book now

The Wordsmiths’ Café

I believe one of the greatest ways I can be a good steward of the gifts God has given me is to share them with others. Once every quarter or so, I share some of the things I’ve learned from my experiences writing in a newsletter specifically for writers, The Wordsmiths’ Café. This newsletter is part of a The Ladder to Rooftop Academy, which is a resource packed full of useful information for bloggers, writers and speakers.

Here is a list The Wordsmiths’ Café’s articles to date:

  • Hosting a Blog Series and Guest Posting
  • When the Cursor Won’t Stop Cursing You
  • 3 Things to Do With a Rejection

Other Places You Can Find Me

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of being featured in many publications both online and in print. I’m always amazed at the doors God opens, often when we least expect it.

This is not an all-inclusive list, but here are a few of the places other than my blog where you can find me:

  • Freedom From Perfection, (in)Courage, July 2014
  • When You’re Afraid You’ll Make the Wrong Decision, God-Sized Dreams, October 2014
  • How Do I Stop Worrying, Proverbs 31 Ministries, January 2015
  • 101 Secrets to a Happy Marriage, Thomas Nelson, January 2015
  • Motherhood: I Want to Thrive, Not Just Survive, Faith Spilling Over, January 2015
  • The Friends Who Pursue Us, (in)Courage, June 2015
  • 3 Truths to Remember When God Asks You to Wait, Crosswalk, August 2016
  • 3 Truths to Remember When You Think God is Disappointed in You, iBelieve, October 2016
  • The Only Sure Way to Multiply Your Time, Purposeful Faith, October 2016
  • Why the World Needs Your Voice and No One Else’s Will Do, Purposeful Faith, February 2017
  • A Love That Pursues, Deeper Waters, March 2017
  • A Moment to Breathe: 365 Devotions that Meet You in Your Everyday Mess, B&H Publishing, October 2017

Favorite Books

Reading is my love language! There are few things (other than writing) that fill me up more than sitting down with a good book, a cup of coffee and a couple of minutes to myself without little ones asking me for snacks every five seconds. I actually committed my life to following Christ after reading Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, so it will always be a favorite.

Here are a few other books that have made it to my favorites list over the years:

  • Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers – If you’re looking for a good fiction read that will make you feel the depth of God’s love for you, look no further. This book is patterned after the life of Hosea from the Old Testament, and shows just how far our Savior will go for those he calls his own.
  • Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas – After my husband and I moved cross-country together for the second time in our marriage, we went through a rough season. We were living in a new location where we had no friends, no family and no home church. This book was a wedding gift from my husband’s best man. During that difficult season, it became a lifeline.
  • 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp – This book taught me the power of gratitude. I never thought of gratitude as something that could change my life, but it can and it has. Ann touched the deep places of my heart with her raw honesty, her lyrical style of writing, and her grace. This one will stay on my shelves for a lifetime and I know I’ll go back to its truths again and again.
  • Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado – Max Lucado has a way of taking truths from God’s word that seem complex and breaking them down in an easy, practical way. Reading his work is like sitting down with a friend over coffee. This book made me fall in love with Jesus all over again, and showed me the many ways he transforms us to be the beautiful creations he made us to be.

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Hi! I'm Abby and I'm so glad you're here. I am a wife and a mom of two very energetic boys and one sweet baby girl. When I'm not chasing them around I love to write about my love for a God who relentlessly pursued me, even during my darkest times. READ MORE...

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After a ligament repair surgery in early September After a ligament repair surgery in early September, I had to make some drastic changes in my day-to-day life. As someone who loves to be self-sufficient, I realized very quickly that this was going to be a stretching season. No weight bearing meant many of the abilities I took for granted were off limits. 

As I continue to recover, God is showing me a few things:

1. Rest is a gift, not a punishment.

I thought I knew this but forced physical rest makes it take a new meaning. Our bodies not only need it, they demand it. 

But beyond the fact that we need it, God designed rest as a natural reset. 

2. It’s okay to ask need help and to ask for it.

I’m not very good at asking for help, but God has shown me it how it blesses not only me, but those who are able to give it. Our church family has been such a gift to us during this time. They’ve stepped up without being asked and reminded me that I wasn’t alone. 

3. The time I spend with God during the harvesting seasons will fuel me during the hard, dry seasons. 

Needless to say, this has been a difficult season. I’ve felt upended in many ways, and have fought depression, anxiety, and isolation. But in the middle of all of this, God has sent me steady reminders of His presence. He’s shown up in unexpected ways, and His grace has sustained me in each moment.

And last week, I took my first post-surgery steps. 🙌🏼🎉
Here’s what I’m learning from this new trend of as Here’s what I’m learning from this new trend of asking AI to describe you- When we see something good in someone, let’s not hold it back. So often, we keep encouragement to ourselves. We notice the strength, the grace or talent, but we never speak it. Why? 

Meanwhile, the people we hold it back from might be walking around discouraged or disillusioned. They might not see what we see. 
 
So no, I don’t want to ask AI to access everything I’ve posted or stored on my phone to make statements about me. 
I’d rather ask another human- like my kids, a dear friend, or my husband. I’d rather them tell me the good, the bad, and everything in between. 

 I want to see their face and their eyes, hear the inflection in their voice, and absorb it in real time. I want to hear from someone who knows all my idiosyncrasies and weaknesses, but loves me anyway.
I have always wanted God to make things obvious. A I have always wanted God to make things obvious. As long as I can remember, this longing for God to give me the black-and-white sign telling me which way to go has been constant. 

But more often, God’s guidance feels like a gentle nudge. A thought that lingers. A desire that won’t go away.

I’m learning that when God doesn’t give me a flashing sign, it doesn’t mean He is withholding from me. Sometimes He is teaching me to trust Him. Here are three things He’s revealed to me as I learn to do that, day by day.

1. God wants us to know His voice.

For years, I wondered what it really meant to hear from God. I’d grown up hearing the stories of Moses and the burning bush, and knew how God spoke to prophets. 

Then I had my own children. I watched my kids come to me with their hopes and dreams without hesitation. And as I watched them, something began to shift in my understanding of God. Slowly, I realized He wanted that kind of openness with me, too. 

2. God is asking us to trust His character more than answers.

If I’m honest, I think that if God would just tell me what’s on the other side of my step of faith, things would be easier. I’ll have more confidence, and I’ll do it. But that’s not really what faith is, is it? We believe that more information will give us more freedom and peace, but most of the time, it does the opposite. 

Jesus offers a different invitation in Matthew 11. Come to me, He says, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. He doesn’t say, “Come to me, and I’ll explain everything.” He says, “Come to me.”

3. Faith grows when we take the next step.

There is something beautiful that happens when we respond to God’s quiet nudges. They create a track record. We can look back and see the moments when we moved forward even in the unknown, and God was faithful. 

Another thing these steps of faith do is create momentum. Momentum is gained by movement, and the same is true with our faith. Perhaps today, instead of asking, “God, will You please show me everything?” we can pray something simpler: “God, help me trust You with what I cannot see.”
“Go back to your why.” A dear friend said this to “Go back to your why.”

A dear friend said this to me earlier this week and I knew she spoke wisdom. For months, I’d felt like the creative joy and energy had been sucked right out of me. As much as I tell coaching clients to find their why remember it, I too am prone to forget. 

Much of the time, this happens when I get stuck in the land of “have to.” Perhaps you’ve been there too.

- I have do _______ to attract the eyes of a publisher.
- I have to keep up with the ever changing algorithms on social media.
- I have to write on this topic, even though it’s not what I’m passionate about.
- I have to do ________because all these other authors are doing it.

There is nothing that will suck the joy out of the creative spirit like this mindset. Lord knows, I’ve been there. I’ve gotten sucked into the all consuming drive to keep up and produce.

And I’m tired. This season, I’m taking time to remember my why. I’m remembering what brings me joy and why I love writing. As I seek God’s leading in this time of reflection, I’m so glad it’s His joy that is my strength.
I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I had just sta I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I had just started my first job after graduating from college and was in training every day. A coworker heard about the attack on the Pentagon from a security officer before we received news about the twin towers. For the rest of the day, our training facilitator tried to continue the day as usual but no one was engaged. Some frantically tried to get a hold of loved ones in NYC on their cell phones. Others just sat there in a daze. No one cared about work. 

Today, I pray for all of those who lost loved ones that day in in the days that followed. I pray for our nation and for the sense of unity we had then to be rebirthed. I pray we will not forget the things that matter most. 

*Photo taken at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA.
In world full of noise telling us who we are and w In world full of noise telling us who we are and what we need, these three things remain true. Turn your face toward Him today and listen to His voice. He will never speak to His child with a voice of condemnation.
Each time we say “yes” to God, we leave a trail. W Each time we say “yes” to God, we leave a trail. We leave a path for others to follow and a legacy of faithfulness for them to cling to when the view ahead is unclear. That is what the women and men of the Bible did for us, and it’s what we can do for others when we stop and commemorate moments of victory. 

Commemorating those moments of victory may look like:

📌 Sharing stories of God’s faithfulness with others- your family community, church, etc.

📝 Writing your story for others to read.

🙌🏼 Celebrating steps of faith you’ve taken, what God has done, and how you’ve grown. 

Sometimes we get so focused on what’s next, we forget to create altars of remembrance. We forget to celebrate our progress and what God has done. But each time we do this, we create that trail. We bear witness to the faithfulness of the living God.

Let’s not forget the forget the legacy we leave with each remembered moment today.

#seekhimfirst #hisfaithfulness #faithwriter
Many of us are trying to find certainty in this wo Many of us are trying to find certainty in this world that feels so unstable. Questions can keep us up at night and cause continuous, low-grade anxiety.
 
When will the sickness end?
Will my family member stop running from God?
How will I know whether to take the job?
 
Too often, we go to others first — online “experts,” friends, even pastors — instead of God. Scripture instructs us to seek wise counsel, yet it’s also clear that the most “Wonderful Counselor” is God Himself (Isaiah 9:6, NIV).
 
Thanks be to God, He is ready and willing to speak to us when we come to Him. When we don’t, we miss out on a beautiful gift He offers each of us who calls Him Lord: the ability to hear His voice.
 
Jeremiah reminds us that some things can only be revealed to us by the Creator: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).
 
This prophet asked God many questions. He longed for justice and wondered why the wicked seemed to prosper. He begged a defiant, wayward Israel to return to the Lord, though they didn’t listen. When it seemed like things couldn’t get worse, Jeremiah was kidnapped by rebels and taken to Egypt. There, in the middle of what seemed like a hopeless situation, the word of the Lord came to him.
 
God reminded Jeremiah that He still had a plan for Israel’s redemption. Every question Jeremiah asked had an answer, even if it didn’t look the way he thought it would.
 
Friend, seeking God for ourselves takes courage. It takes putting aside our desire for immediate answers and practicing patience. But when we do, we foster our ability to hear Him. And it’s always worth it.
 
God, thank You for Your promise to speak to each one of us who calls You Lord. When we’re tempted to trade this for a quick answer, help us remember the priceless gift we have in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

➡️ Read the full devo at @proverbs31ministries
I was prepping for a talk when I discovered these I was prepping for a talk when I discovered these notes from two years ago. These were the beginnings of chapter 3 in Surrendering Certainty, The Tree of Life Called Desire. It’s one of my favorite chapters, and it was also one of the most difficult to write. 

But the blessing of writing it and working through the fear, brain fog, and procrastination? One thousand percent worth it. 

Writing, as Hemingway once said, is sometimes like, “drilling out rock and blasting it with charges.” In an age where it’s easier to hop on ChatGPT anytime something gets difficult, can I encourage you to resist the urge?

I believe AI has its place and its benefits, but I also believe we are forfeiting our creativity to a machine. And each time we do, it becomes a little easier to do it without even thinking about the consequences. It’s not worth it. As an editor, I can tell you that AI writing does not sound human; it is quite obviously robotic.

Will it take more time to write through the struggle? Yes. But the One who breathed life into Adam, the Author of Creativity himself, still breathes life into our words and our art. And the struggle is very essence of it. 

Art without struggle isn’t art. It’s merely an imitation. 

So keep pushing back against the resistance and create. I can promise you, you won’t be sorry.

#writinglife #writingcommunity
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The 5 Days to Life Unstuck Challenge

Are there areas of your life where you can’t seem to find breakthrough? Do you feel as though your keep praying the same prayers over and over, but you’re not getting anywhere?

A life stuck is one that never moves into the fullness Christ created us to have.

This is why I created the “5 Days to Life Unstuck Challenge”. In this 5-day challenge, we will look at five key areas where the enemy likes for us to stay stuck. Then, we will implement a simple, doable mindset shift.

Ready to get get unstuck?

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!