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“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

Even in a super challenging year such as 2020, we can still find many reasons to give thanks.

Need a little help getting started with counting your blessings?

God loves you! God is with you! God is still in control!

I’m grateful for so much including YOU! Thank you for your continued support and encouragement in this season of my faith journey.

It’s a privilege and honor to get to encourage you as you walk by faith, hope and love and live your God-given dreams.

If you’re grateful for the work Abounding Faith does, Amen!

As I prayerfully plan for the upcoming year, I’d so appreciate hearing your thoughts. Could you take a quick minute or two to fill out this super short survey? I’d like to hear what’s blessing you and what you’d like to see more of. Your voice matters!

Please fill out this short survey by Monday, November 30. Thanks in advance!

HAPPY AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

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.™

NOVEMBER 16

Light of the World

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Don’t shine to draw attention to yourself, but to point others to Christ.
When you live out your divine assignments, you radiate Jesus’s love and grace to all those around you.

As you serve and pray and encourage and love on others, they will be curious about Jesus.

All the glory belongs to Jesus, the Light of the World.

May you thrive as you represent King Jesus.

© 2020 Feisty Faith: Trusting God Day by Day

If this entry has encouraged you, be sure to order a copy of the NEW empowering, edifying and enriching Feisty Faith: Trusting God Day by Day devotional in print or on Kindle on Amazon. Blessings!

P.S. I plan to do a few “Feisty Faith Chats” via Facebook live. Be sure to follow Abounding Faith’s Facebook page. 

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.™

Since a few people have privately and kindly expressed interest in showing their support financially, I’ll share that the best way to do so is by joining Abounding Faith’s Dream Team. I’m touched that some of you would like to contribute and help Abounding Faith continue to encourage, empower and edify women and men of diverse backgrounds as they walk by faith and live their God-given dreams.

Please note that Abounding Faith is not a nonprofit, so I can’t offer you a tax receipt. I’m an author, speaker, evangelist, Bible school teacher, life coach, etc… called to serve the Lord fulltime in this season (pandemic and all). I appreciate your continued prayers and support.

Other great ways to show your support financially:
✨  Buying Abounding Faith’s books for yourself and your friends/small group members, etc. Give the gift of hope and encouragement. Here’s the Amazon link. 

✨  Shopping Abounding Faith’s online store. There are plenty of inspiring mugs, journals, tote bags and masks, etc. to choose from. Here’s the online store link. 

Your generous support of Abounding Faith and your prayers help to keep the Bible-based encouragement and inspiration flowing through current and future books and other projects. Thanks! Blessings!

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Want to know what’s happening at Abounding Faith? Join the mailing list and get updates about Abounding Faith’s books, online training, podcast and more. As a thank you, you’ll get access to the free “7 Journal Writing Prompts to Fuel Your Faith” PDF.

I’m delighted to share that Abounding Faith’s website has a new look!  Be sure to check it out.

You’ll find links to Abounding Faith’s encouraging books, online store items, inspiring You Tube channel videos and social media channels. You’ll also find info about inviting me to speak at your event, getting coaching for that book you’ve been wanting to write or transitioning to a new career and about joining Abounding Faith’s Dream Team.

Having a blog and website and all the other projects you can learn about at aboundingfaith.com are part of my faith journey. You’ll be able to read about some of the struggles I faced in launching some of these projects in Book 4.

I pray you are encouraged and inspired by my work.

I hope you will honor God with your time and talents. Pray, Dream, Do and Repeat! Blessings!

Lessons from the Outdoor Pool

This post originally ran in January 2013. It still holds true today. I pray you are blessed by this look back at Sweet Surrender. 

One of my most favorite things to do when I’m in the water is to simply lean back and float. There is just something so delightful about being able to let go and relax and to feel the water gently taking me wherever it pleases.

On my last trip to Florida, I had the pleasure of swimming in this gorgeous outdoor heated pool overlooking the ocean!  It sure did feel like a bit of paradise to me!  On my final morning there, I was one of only two people in the pool for quite a while so it became my own private oasis. As I floated in the water, I just blocked out everything except for the sun shining over me, the bright blue sky covering me, the palm trees swaying all around me and the warm water carrying me. It’s in those moments that I don’t feel a care in the world. I can just Be Still.

It’s in those moments that I also feel like I’m truly in the palm of God’s hand. I am reminded of what true surrender feels like. As I glided in the water, I kept thinking how important it is for me to be this relaxed in my everyday life!

Does that sound too impossible?  What if we lived every moment as if we truly believed that God is in control?  What if we walked in peace remembering that God is Faithful and He is there with us in good times and bad? What if we could go through our days confident that He knows the way, He knows the next step and His good plan for us will unfold in His perfect timing?

What if we simply leaned back and trusted Him in every circumstance? Wow, I’m taking a deep breathe even as I write this.

The Bible tells us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Did you catch that? We’re not supposed to fuss around and get frustrated trying to figure everything out. We are to lean on Jesus and trust that He knows what He is doing. I know, it’s easier to say than do but it will help you keep your peace and joy.

So the next time you start feeling nervous, frightened, frustrated or anxious about the situations in your life, try to take a moment and lean back and surrender those thoughts, plans or worries to God. He can handle them!

Did this encourage you? Please hit “like” and don’t forget to sign up below to have my weekly encouraging blog posts e-mailed straight to you for free. When you subscribe below, you’ll also receive the free “12 Journal Writing Prompts” PDF I created to help inspire you as you write/journal.

For more encouragement, read my new book Waiting on God Well: How to Prevent Breaking Down on Your Way to Your Breakthrough! To learn how I can come alongside of you as your Life Coach or to invite me to speak at your event, visit my website www.aboundingfaith.com. You can also find me on YouTube and Pinterest.

The Lord did it again! He brought me through another year of blogging. He is so Faithful! I’m so grateful that you’re still on this journey with me. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was celebrating my 1st Blog-versary?

There’s so many reasons why I feel like celebrating all year long. God willing, I’ll have much to rejoice about over the next months. I look forward to sharing some of these moments with you as well. Please stay tuned!

Recently I was reading about the Proverbs 31 woman. She can intimidate many. She can also inspire us. One of the verses that really struck me was:

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come” (Proverbs 31:25).

She can laugh when she thinks about the future…. that’s what I want to do. Don’t you?

Let’s not worry, fret or fear what’s to come. If God is for us, who can be against us? And nothing surprises God. He knows the end from the beginning.

So let’s find reasons to live, laugh, and love even more this year!

Thanks for all your “likes” and “shares” and your encouraging words. Feel free to leave comments here or catch me on Facebook.

The best is yet to come, my Friends! Believe!

Did this encourage you? Please hit “like” and don’t forget to sign up below to have my weekly encouraging blog posts e-mailed straight to you for free. When you subscribe below, you’ll also receive the free “12 Journal Writing Prompts” PDF I created to help inspire you as you write/journal.

For more encouragement, read my new ebook Waiting on God Well: How to Prevent Breaking Down on Your Way to Your Breakthrough! To learn how I can come alongside of you as your Life Coach or to invite me to speak at your event, visit my website www.aboundingfaith.com. You can also find me on YouTube and Pinterest.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

I was in one of my favorite stores the other day picking up a few gifts when I saw one of their signs wishing customers “The Perfect Christmas”.

That’s a nice sentiment, but what does that look like?

Does it mean that everyone in the family gets along and acts just right on December 25th? Does it mean that the food is super delicious and everyone gets everything on their wish list?

Is a perfect Christmas all about living out a scene from your favorite holiday card or movie?

If that’s what Christmas boils down to, then we’re all in trouble my friends. That may be what the perfect commercial Christmas may look like, but last time I checked the first Christmas included:

• A young lady and her husband who had to travel far to the town of Bethlehem because of a census.
• The young mother had to lay her newborn son in a manger because there was no guest room available for her family.
• The guest list included some simple shepherds that were out in the field and dared to believe what an angel told them.

Doesn’t sound very perfect, right? And yet that is how God ordained for His One and Only Son Jesus to enter this world to save us from our sins and reconcile us back to Him.

I hope this helps put things in perspective.

Let’s try not to stress about getting everything “just right” this Christmas. Let’s remember the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus left all His riches in heaven to come live among us. He is “Immanuel” or God with us. Let’s rejoice over the best gift which is eternal life through Jesus Christ! Then every day can be Christmas!

Blessings to you and yours!

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9 :7).

Did this encourage you? Please hit “like” and don’t forget to sign up below to have my weekly encouraging blog posts e-mailed straight to you for free. When you subscribe below, you’ll also receive the free “12 Journal Writing Prompts” PDF I created to help inspire you as you write/journal.

For more encouragement and to learn how I can come alongside of you as your Life Coach or to invite me to speak at your event, visit my website www.aboundingfaith.com. You can also find me on YouTube and Pinterest.