Abby McDonald

Finding the Hope of Christ in a Messy Life

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What if “No” is God’s Saving Grace?

February 27, 2020 by Abby McDonald

I knew the answer, but I didn’t want to hear it. “No. Not this season. Not yet.” So I tried to twist God’s arm a little. Present him with a list of reasons why my plan was better. Manipulate. Did he see the stress and worry our family experienced? Did he care? When that approach didn’t work, I cried bitter tears. My body felt like it was imploding as I screamed the question, “Why?” I still don’t have the answer. We don’t like to be left with unanswered questions, do we? We like it Continue Reading

For the One Who Grieves Someone Who is Still Living

February 6, 2020 by Abby McDonald

I was fresh out of words. With arms folded across my chest, I looked out the bay window as if I might find fresh fire for my prayers. It seemed as though each one fell flat or hit some invisible wall, not reaching the place I needed it to. For years, I didn’t realize you could grieve a living person. In my mind, you only grieved for those who left this life for the next or perhaps those fighting a terminal illness. But someone still alive? I didn’t see it. Until one day, through a Continue Reading

Why the Best Is Yet to Come

December 26, 2019 by Abby McDonald

I admit, I don't always live like the best is yet to come. Take the other day, for example. I almost missed it. It was the third day in a row of grey, overcast whether, and a mixture of ice and snow covered the ground. My three-year-old played inside while I did some last minute Christmas shopping online. Then, I hurried to round up my two youngest and pick up my firstborn from after school activities. As we made our way down the mountain, it appeared. With swift movement, it peaked from Continue Reading

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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!