Welcome back to Fierce Calling! In today’s episode, host Doris Swift welcomes back author, coach, and Proverbs 31 Ministries writer Abby McDonald. Abby is here to talk about her brand new book, Surrendering Certainty: Hearing God Today by Letting Go of Tomorrow. With warmth and honesty, Abby opens up about juggling the demands of motherhood, writing, and community, and how God has shifted her focus to finding Him in both the big moments and everyday interruptions.

Together, Doris and Abby dig into what it means to truly surrender our need for control and certainty, and to trust God—especially when life doesn’t go the way we planned. Abby shares insightful stories, biblical wisdom, and practical steps to help you trade fear and frustration for adventurous faith, and to recognize that even life’s distractions can be holy moments of growth and connection with God.

Whether you’re in a season of waiting, feeling weighed down by uncertainty, or looking for encouragement to embrace your calling, this conversation will remind you that you’re not alone. Get ready to be encouraged, challenged, and equipped to rediscover joy and confidence in following God’s lead—one surrendered step at a time.

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Episode Highlights

05:36 Intentional Connections and Community Building

09:32 “Trusting God’s Plan”

13:41 “Surrendering Certainty” Book Endorsement

18:38 Honest Prayer for Clarity

23:07 Chronic Pain and Seeking Comfort

24:06 “Meteor Shower and Divine Assurance”

29:51 “Rejection as a Refining Process”

31:19 Psalm’s Guidance Against Fear

34:49 “Delayed Success is Sweeter”

38:44 Encourage Book Reviews for Abby

Connect with Abby!

You can connect with Abby and find her books, social media links, coaching services, blog, and her 5 Days to Life Unstuck Challenge, and more at abbymcdonald.org

Abby McDonald is a writing coach, speaker, and the author of Surrendering Certainty: Hearing God Today by Letting Go of Tomorrow. and Shift: Changing Our Focus to See the Presence of God. Her mission is to empower women to hear God’s voice in their lives and act on it in faith. Abby writes regularly for Proverb 31 Ministries’ daily devotions team, and her work has been featured in numerous publications. Abby lives with her husband, three children, and black lab in the mountains of western Maryland. Connect with her at abbymcdonald.org.

What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?

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Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/

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Let’s Stay Connected!

Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!

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Thanks for Listening!

I hope this episode encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift

Let’s have a chat about your next event!

Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.

Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.

I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another woman who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …

Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.

With love and joy,

Doris

P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for bite-sized wisdom and inspiration from Doris and our incredible guests! 📲

Transcript

Doris:
What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan, and his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal. It might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I’m Dora Swift, author of the award winning six week bible study, Surrender the Joy Stealers Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You, And it helps women rediscover the overflowing, ever present Jesus joy within that fills, empowers, and ripens the fruit that God produces in our lives. Using personal and biblical stories, I share how you can identify your joy stealers, surrender them to God, reawaken the joy within, and share the joy with others.

Doris:
You can do it on your own or with a group. Check it out, friends. Surrender the joy stealers, rediscover the Jesus joy in you. It’s available on all the online retailers. It’s time to take your joy back to the show. Today, I’m excited to welcome back my dear friend, Abby McDonald. We had her on, a time when she had a book came that came out called Shift, and that was amazing. She has a new one coming out called Surrendering Certainty, Hearing God Today by Letting Go of Tomorrow.

Doris:
I was honored to read an advanced copy and endorse this book. It’s fantastic. And we’re gonna talk about that today among many other things, I’m sure. Welcome to the show. It’s great to have you back, Abby.

Abby McDonald:
Thank you, Doris. I’m glad to be here.

Doris:
Thank you. Yeah. This is really exciting for you to have this next book coming out. I know that you’re you’re always working on something. And you’re also you’re you’re an author, you’re a a coach, you’re a mom, and you’re a wife. You have a lot going on, and you’re an editor too. So that’s something that’s, in your wheelhouse that you’ve been doing. So that’s pretty exciting.

Doris:
And I know sometimes people might think, okay. Well, this book comes out here and then this next book comes out. It might be a while in between because it takes a while for books to come out, but it doesn’t mean that God is not moving or doing other things in our life. So we would love to hear, Abby, a little bit about what’s been happening with you and what God’s been doing in and through your life and how you’re currently taking action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

Abby McDonald:
Absolutely, Doris. Well, a lot of my time is spent with my kids and, getting them from one activity to the next. I have three kids. They are 16, 13, and eight, so they k