Month: June 2021

This Father’s Day will be my Dear Dad’s first one in heaven with our Heavenly Father. While we miss having my Dad here with us, it’s such a blessing to know they are together forever now.

Are you missing a loved one as well? I’d like to share a few thoughts on how to keep their memory alive.

I’m still new to this grief journey, so I asked my friends on social media to share their thoughts. I was so touched by their responses. I’m sharing many of their ideas with you. My prayer is that something on this list will encourage you as you seek to keep your loved one’s memory alive.

This list is in no particular order:  

• Share photos and videos of your loved one with family and friends.
• Tell stories and share favorite memories of your loved one with others.
• Write a poem or song for or about your dear one.
• Volunteer for a cause they enjoyed. 
• Donate to a charity in their honor.
• Create a modest scholarship in your loved one’s name to help local students or your loved one’s community or their favorite cause.
• If they were involved with a sport or hobby, have a game played or an event created in their memory.
• Visit places you know they lived or traveled to, mainly where they were born and raised or other places they enjoyed visiting.
• If you can, continue a special tradition this person enjoyed with you. Pass it on to others as well.
• Create a new tradition you know they would appreciate.
• Watch shows that remind you of them.
• Listen to their favorite music.
• Enjoy their favorite meal.
• Spend time entering into the preciousness of mourning by journaling, reflecting, praying, crying and talking to those who also loved your loved one.
• Share the stories of your loved one with younger generations to give them a sense that they know them.

Do you have an idea that’s not on this list? Feel free to share your idea in a comment below or on Abounding Faith’s Facebook page.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:14 NIV)

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

As Father’s Day approaches, there’s so much I could say but I’m going to let these photos do most of the talking for now. Here are some of my favorite photos of my adventures with my Dear Dad in his beloved Ecuador. The mountains and the river (that’s Ecuador’s Amazon River in the bottom right pic) are spectacular, but what I love most are the smiles on our faces and the precious memories I’ll always cherish. Oh the joy we’ll have when we meet again in Heaven one day!

Here’s one more pic for now.

That moment you’re walking along a packed parade route in Ecuador and your Dad is suddenly stopped by reporters for an impromptu interview? My Dad didn’t flinch or stutter. He basked in it. I had seen him quoted in stories in the Spanish press over the years, but this was the moment I realized just how recognized my Dad was in Ecuador. This was during my visit in 2003 and while he normally formally participated in this annual grand parade in his hometown, this time he was staying low key and delighting in showing me around. The reporters still found him. Being spotted among crowds to be interviewed in your hometown…. yup, THAT’S MY DAD

If you’d like to read more about my adventures in Ecuador and beyond, check out By Faith: Adventures and Reflections on Walking With God Here and Abroad.

If’ you’d like to read more of my tributes and reflections about my Dear Late Dad, check out these blog posts:

• Gripped by God’s Grace (Part 1)
• Gripped by God’s Grace (Part 2)
• Gripped by God’s Grace (Part 3)
• That’s My Dad – A Tribute
• Lesson Learned from My Dad
• Over the Moon: My Connection to Apollo 11
• Let Your Light Shine
• Lost and Found

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Did this post encourage you? Get access to the FREE Feisty Faith: Trusting God Day by Day 5-Day Sampler PDF as a gift when you sign up for Abounding Faith’s email list. Get updates on Abounding Faith’s books, blog, podcast, life coaching and more by clicking here or the image below.