Looking Back at Three July Short-Term Missions Trips

Three of the 5 short-term missions trips I’ve been on took place in the month of July. My missions trips have taken me to the Amazon Jungle in Brazil, the Andes Mountains in Ecuador (left pic) and the streets of Ethiopia, Honduras (right pic) and Peru (bottom pic). Missions trips weren’t on my radar when I was growing up, but when God calls, it’s best to listen. He knows what’s on the other side of our YES!

I share many miraculous and lovely testimonies from these trips and more in my book, By Faith: Adventures and Reflections on Walking With God Here and Abroad. By Faith will stir your heart to follow God’s plan for your life. It includes a chapter on how to live your God-given dreams and a discussion guide you can use with your small group or book club. By Faith is available in print and on Kindle on Amazon.

Blessings as you move forward by faith!

P.S. All these pics were taken at such pivotal moments in those trips. That stadium experience in Honduras (top right pic) was incredible! I felt like an Olympian for Jesus. God is Good!

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Celebrating My Dad – An Ode to the Olympics & Apollo 11 Lunar Landing

Being that this week marks the start of the Olympics and it’s the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing, I’d like to share more tributes to my Dear Dad.

Olympiac Daze Part 1: What do you do when your daughter is OBSESSED with the Olympics and wants to experience all the revelry? You take her and her sister to watch TWO Olympic gymnastics trials LIVE and help to send them to the Olympic stadium in Athens, Greece! And after years of your daughter dreaming about the Olympics, you drive her to the airport and help send her to Sydney as a reporter and spectator to help make her Olympic dreams come true ….THAT’S MY DAD 💖 (Note: My Mom has been equally supportive of my past Olympic fever.)

Olympiac Daze Part 2: What do you do when your daughter is OBSESSED with skating and gymnastics and mesmerized by the Olympics? You help to fuel her passion by listening to her talk about it nonstop and you buy her top-of-the-line skates, guide her as she practiced driving to the gym and help send her to a prestigious gymnastics sleepaway camp where Olympians trained and coached (even if you got so lost driving to Pennsylvania) and you cheer her on at her first skating competition and get her flowers. I can go on and on about how my Dad (and Mom) helped to support my Olympic dreams… yup, enjoying the sports I so loved and helping me to experience them firsthand…. THAT’S MY DAD 💖 (Folks, I wasn’t kidding when I said I was an Olympiac … sports helped me through my teen years…)

Over the Moon – My Connection to Apollo 11: My Dear Dad was blessed to witness and touch different moments in history throughout his life. I blogged about my Dad’s role in the Lunar Landing project back in July 2019. You can read the blog post by clicking here.

If you’d like to read more about some of my adventures with my Dear Dad, 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:

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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.

Dream Bigger – Monday Motivation with Coach Nancy of Abounding Faith Coaching & Consulting

When you look ahead to the second half of the year, what do you see?

If you’re feeling stuck or stagnant or fearful, I’d like to encourage you to let your faith ARISE! Keep praying. Dream Bigger!

If you need help, going from:

🔥 frazzled to focused

🔥 frustrated to fruitful

🔥 fearful to fierce

I’d be delighted to be your Life Coach and to prayerfully help you gain the clarity, confidence and courage you need to dare to live your God-given dreams. Learn more about Christian Life Coaching right here.

Blessings on your faith journey! May the rest of your year be the best of your year!

Coach Nancy

P.S. If these Monday Motivation posts have been encouraging and inspiring you, let me know! Leave a comment below or on Abounding Faith’s Facebook page

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)

Check out the NEW & short Abounding Faith books promo video by clicking here.

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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.

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.™

Musing on Writing and Season 2 of “The Chosen” TV Series

I finally started watching Season 2 of “The Chosen” the other day. It’s so great how they showed John feeling compelled to interview the others and to write, record, journal and document their memories and experiences and insights and thoughts after having been with Jesus .. I can sooo relate…. that’s what compels me to communicate the love of God through books and blog posts and social media posts and podcast episodes and YouTube videos and at in-person and virtual events and here and abroad, etc … (including pre-pandemic on street corners, subways and plazas in other countries, sometimes even in broken Spanish)… Oh my…

And over the years to family, friends, strangers, Bible college and Bible school students, United Nations workers, women in shelters, nursing home residents, the homeless, those young and older, men and women and children and teens …

WHY???

Because I’m called to tell others …

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8 NIV)

On a related note, I guess it’s also why I’ve enjoyed documenting and sharing stories and memories about my Dear Dad …

Writers WRITE. Communicators SPEAK. Reporters REPORT.

They also record & document and share memories… it’s what I do and how I’m wired. Thanks for staying on this faith journey with me!

Looking forward to sharing some updates with you soon about different projects I’m working on. In the meantime, you can read about some of my past experiences in By Faith: Adventures and Reflections on Walking With God Here and Abroad available on Amazon.

You can also check out the NEW and short Abounding Faith Books video right below.

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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.

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.™

NEW Abounding Faith Books Video

Be encouraged, empowered and inspired by Abounding Faith’s FIVE books and devotionals. Read them solo or with a group. Grab your copies today on Amazon.

Your continued support of this Christian Latina Indie Author, Communicator and Creative is greatly appreciated!

Please leave a kind review and rating on Amazon and tell your friends about these uplifting Bible-based books.

Let’s continue to encourage people as they walk by abounding faith, hope and love and dare to live their God-given dreams!

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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.

Check out My Interview for The Fearless Mujer Podcast

Please show some love for this episode of The Fearless Mujer Podcast.

Hope you’re blessed by this episode. Please share it with your friends and leave a kind rating and review. May you be encouraged, empowered and inspired as you walk by abounding faith, hope and love and dare to live your God-given dreams!

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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.

Happy Amazon Prime Days – Add Abounding Faith’s 5 Inspiring Books to Your Summer Reading List

Happy Summer and Amazon Prime Days (June 21-22)! It’s the perfect time of the year to grab your copies of Abounding Faith’s FIVE inspiring, empowering and encouraging Christian Living books and devotionals for you and yours. These Bible-based books are great additions to your Summer Reading List and can be read solo or with a group. Be encouraged as you walk by faith, hope and love and live your God-given dreams!

May your faith be fueled, your hope ignited and your heart set ablaze with the love of God! Here’s the Amazon link where you can order copies of Feisty Faith, By Faith, Crossing Your Jordan River, Abounding Faith and Waiting on God Well for you and your loved ones, small group members, favorite nonprofit, etc…

While you’re on Amazon, please take a moment to leave a kind rating and review for Abounding Faith’s books. That helps to spread the word about these uplifting books to others. Blessings!

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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.

15 Ideas for How to Keep Your Loved One’s Memory Alive

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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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 inspiring books, blog, podcast, life coaching and more by clicking here or the image below.

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.™

That’s My Dad – Father’s Day Edition

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:

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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.

SHINE – Monday Motivation with Coach Nancy of Abounding Faith Coaching & Consulting

We’ve reached the halfway point of 2021. How’s your year going? Are you still sticking by the “One Word” you chose at the start of this year?

As you may recall, my “One Word(s)” for this year was STAND FIRM. Oh my, I’ve had to stand firm on God’s Word as I’ve navigated this year that started out with my Dear Dad’s move to heaven. Through it all and by His Amazing Grace, I can still say it is well with my soul and God is Good! As I look ahead to the second half of the year, I’m looking forward to sharing more about some exciting projects I’m working on. Please stay tuned!

What about you? What would you like to accomplish in the second half of 2021? How will you be shining your light for Christ the rest of this year? If you need help discovering or living your God-given dreams, I’d be delighted to help you gain the clarity, confidence and courage you’re seeking so you can experience breakthrough and transformation. If you’re feeling stuck and like you’re spinning your wheels, I’d like to help you go from feeling:

  • frazzled to focused
  • frustrated to fruitful
  • fearful to fierce

Lean more about Christian Life Coaching today right here.

Blessings on your faith journey!

Coach Nancy

“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 NIV)

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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 inspiring books, blog, podcast, life coaching and more by clicking here or the image below.

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.™