Kudos/Bios

KUDOS

Endorsements for Nancy Ward and Sharing Your Faith Story Seminar

If the term “evangelization” sends you into a fit of either nerves or nausea, you’ll want to know all about Nancy Ward’s new project Sharing YOUR Faith Story. Nancy provides an enjoyable template for the challenge given to us in 1 Peter 3:15 to “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence.” – Lisa M. Hendey, creator of CatholicMom.com, author of The Grace of Yes

I’ve known Nancy Ward for many years as a great interviewer for various Catholic and secular media outlets. She is now branching out into something closer to her heart. I support her and pray God’s choicest blessings on her as she answers this call. All things are possible with God!”– John Michael Talbot, Founder, Spiritual Father, and General Minister, The Brothers and Sisters of Charity

Nancy and I share a passion for evangelization and for sharing the love of Jesus with other people. She has a real effective way of helping us share our conversion story. Sharing Your Faith Story is about what God is doing in our lives and the good things God has for us that he brings to others by the gift of who we are. – Pat Gohn, Author of Among Women podcasts and Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious

Nancy is a seasoned writer who has a heart for sharing the joy of the Gospel with all those around her. In everything Nancy writes, she shares a part of herself. Her work embodies the spirit of 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” Now Nancy has given us a tool to help us do the same. Connie Rossini, blogger and author of Trusting God with Saint Therese

Evangelization may be an awkward word to say, but it doesn’t have to feel awkward to do. Nancy’s DVD can help us learn to tell our faith stories, and that is the beginning of converting this culture. — Rebecca Hamilton on her Patheos blog PublicCatholic

We need the right tools to help us evangelize. Nancy Ward has created a seminar on evangelization that’s designed to help those of us who feel we don’t know how to share our faith. Nancy’s gentle presentation motivates viewers to persevere in prayer and to listen to the encouragement of the Holy Spirit to discover and share their faith. I’m looking forward to sharing this with the members of our Secular Franciscan fraternity. The lessons in Sharing Your Faith Story will help members of our group share our faith more effectively–both within the group and outside it. — Barbara Szyszkewicz, blogger at FranciscanMom.com.

Catholics are good at a great many things: Prayer. Social justice. Community. Evangelization, however, comes more difficult for many of us. For whatever reason, many Catholics find it challenging to talk about the way the Lord is working in their lives, whether they’re speaking with family members, friends, colleagues, neighbors, or complete strangers. It just got easier. My friend and sister in Christ Nancy Ward at JoyAlive.net is stepping out in faith with Sharing Your Faith Story. Melanie Rigney, author of Sisterhood of Saints

Nancy is a Catholic writer with a unique mission from God to encourage fellow Catholics to start evangelizing. Her Sharing Your Faith Story removes Catholic’s fear of the word evangelism and equips them to step out with confidence and simply share the joy of the Gospel. – Melanie Jean Juneau, blogger, author of Echoes of the Divine

As a convert who’s asked on a sometimes daily basis for the details of my conversion (I’ve gotten good at the one-sentence version over the last 15ish years!), I’ve learned that EVERYONE has a conversion story, and it’s good to have thought about it before you’re asked to give the details of it. Nancy’s put together a great tool, especially if you find this an uncomfortable topic or aren’t sure how you might come off to other people. – Sarah Reinhard, blogger, podcaster, author of Word by Word

Nancy’s sharing of her journey gives me encouragement that I, too, can get through the arid deserts of life and find renewal through the Holy Spirit. Nancy’s tips are the best for developing a sense of ease in sharing your own faith story — Virginia Lieto, author of Adventures of Faith, Hope and Charity.

Unlike our Protestant brothers and sisters, we Catholics have not been taught to evangelize. There is a yearning for the truth and a longing for hope in our wounded world. But how can we help others if we cannot even share how God is working in our lives? Nancy Ward tells her own conversion story while coaching others on how to share their stories. – Jean Heimann, author of Learning to Love with the Saints

Sharing our faith story plants seeds of encouragement in others whose faith might be wavering. Nancy Ward demonstrates how we can share our faith stories in different situations from an elevator speech to a blog post or magazine article.Margaret Rose Realy, blogger and author of A Garden of Visible Prayer

Diocese of Dallas:

(Safe Environment credentials are with the Diocese of Dallas)

Each of us has a story. And if you’re a Catholic on fire for your faith, you likely have an amazing story and testimony. People are more moved by real life stories than by mere teaching so if you’re alive in your faith, why would you not want to tell the whole world your story? This is where Nancy Ward’s new seminar for evangelization, Sharing Your Faith Story, comes in very handy. Just because we have a story, even a great story, doesn’t mean we know how to effectively relate it to others. By telling her own story and teaching others how to tell theirs, Nancy Ward takes you step by step in learning how to be an effective evangelist by talking about what you know best, your own story! None of us can sit by idly any longer. The world is hungry to hear stories of faith. The world is hungry to hear your story! You just need to learn how to tell it and that’s why I recommend Nancy’s Sharing Your Faith Story for everyone who desires to bring souls closer to Christ. — Dave Palmer, Executive Director of KATH 910 AM (Guadalupe Radio Network- North Texas) and author of St. Thomas Aquinas for Everyone- 30 Quick and Fun Lessons, Activities and Outdoor Adventures Based on the Summa Theologica.

Nancy Ward brought her Sharing Your Faith Story Seminar to our Women’s Group and it was very well received. Nancy has a gift for outlining the steps in a simple yet non-threatening way. As our Holy Father encourages us to share our faith in Christ and be effective witnesses for the New Evangelization, this Seminar is an excellent tool for getting us prepared. Then we will be ready when the opportunity presents itself. –Terry McDowell, Facilitator of Women’s Ministry, Christian Community of God’s Delight, Dallas, TX

Nancy Ward gave our Catholic Study Group a powerful talk on sharing our one-of-a-kind faith stories. Nancy spoke of her wonderful faith story and gave her listeners many tips on how to organize and write a faith journey. For many of us who had never thought about a faith journey, much less sharing it, the talk awakened new possibilities for jotting down memories and growth in our personal faith. We are thrilled that our pastor is now bringing the Sharing Your Faith Story Evangelization Workshop to our entire parish family. It will be a wake-up call for many to recall their faith journey and then share it with others. What a joy and blessing to hear Nancy Ward!!!!! — Shiela Seifert, Facilitator of the Catholic Study Group, St. Michael the Archangel, Garland, TX

Our Sister Intercessors group welcomed Nancy Ward and her stirring talk on how and why to share our faith through personal witness. We followed up with the DVD to mine the treasures in her teachings, especially the Ten Tips on Sharing Your Faith Story. – Regina McQuiston, facilitator of Sisters Intercessors, Catholic women from several parishes in Dallas, TX

The kind of personal sharing we learn to give through Sharing Your Faith Story brings hope to others that can’t seem to let go of things concerning their past. It will draw them to want to experience a life filled with trust in the Lord in small and big areas of their lives. — Gloria Castro, Spiritual Companion for the ACTS Retreat, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Duncanville, TX.

The Women’s Bible Study and Faith Sharing group was blessed to have Nancy Ward teach us how to move out of our comfort zone when it comes to sharing our faith journey with others. Our topic of study this year was “The Bible and the Virgin Mary” and Nancy masterfully shaped Mary’s story into a model for recognizing, maturing and sharing our own story. By sharing her own faith story, Nancy helped us to ponder our own story as Mary did so that we too may find the unique joy that is hidden in our own journey so to witness to Christ and bear fruit for the kingdom. It was a blessing to hear forty ladies paired up and sharing their stories amongst each other. As I listened I could hear the pleasant hum of honeybees gathering grains of pollen to bring forth the sweetness of knowing Christ and living a joy-filled life in the Spirit. The ladies are still buzzing with delight from all they learned about evangelization through Nancy and her humble partnership with our Blessed Mother! Thank you for sharing and spreading your joy Nancy Ward! – Diane Roe, co-facilitator of Women’s Bible Study and Faith Sharing, Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, Rockwall, TX

 BIOS

Nancy WardNWard2012about

Nancy HC Ward shares about Catholicism, her conversion and Christian community at JoyAlive.net,
7 websites and magazines. She facilitates the Dallas/Fort Worth Catholic Writers and a critique group for the Catholic Writers Guild, where she serves as a board member. She loves to share her faith story and help others share theirs through her Sharing Your Faith Stories seminars and DVD. She contributed four chapters to The Catholic Mom Daily Devotional (Ave Maria Press, September 2016).
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Nancy Ward writes from Texas on conversion, Catholicism and Christian community on  JoyAlive.net, where she hosts the Joy Alive Network of spiritual support. Nancy is a Catholic convert with forty years experience in writing and editing. She earned a journalism degree, staffed the diocesan newspaper, the Archbishop Sheen Center for Evangelization and started a successful writing and editing service. Published in Charisma, Our Sunday Visitor, New Covenant, St. Anthony Messenger, Vocations Magazine and Shalom Tidings .  She facilitates the D/FW Catholic Writers and co-facilitates a CWG non-fiction critique group. Find her also on seven websites.

She contributed to The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion: A Book of Daily Reflections (Ave Maria Press,  September  2016). She blogs at AssociationOfCatholicWomenBloggers, CatholicMom.comCatholicSpiritualityBlogs, CatholicWritersGuild, GodsDelight.org, ConvertJournal.com and NewEvangelizers.com.

Nancy HC Ward is a convert, journalist, blogger and speaker on conversion, Catholicism and Christian community. She has a passion for evangelization. “All baptized Christians have a unique story and all are meant to be evangelists. The most effective way to evangelize is through the faith story only we can tell.”
(175 words)

(Safe Environment credentials are with the Diocese of Dallas)


Sharing Your Faith Story

SYFS Cover Amazon lgSharing YOUR Faith Story, a three-part seminar for evangelization is Nancy’s new DVD. She is published in The Texas Catholic, Charisma, Our Sunday Visitor, New Covenant, St. Anthony Messenger, Vocations Magazine, Shalom Tidings, and the CatholicMom.com Devotional (Ave Maria Press, 2016).

She founded the Dallas/Fort Worth Catholic Writers and co-facilitates a critique group for Catholic Writers Guild, where she serves as a board member.

She collects conversion stories on her blog, JoyAlive.net, where she hosts the Joy Alive Network of spiritual support and inspiration. Find her also on  seven websites and presenting evangelization workshops in Catholic parishes and conferences. (150 words)


Mission of blog, Joy Alive Network

JoyAlive.net celebrates the Joy of the Lord alive in our hearts, experienced in unexpected and astounding ways.  It’s the touchstone we need for inspiration, encouragement and motivation. Catholic writer and blogger Nancy Ward hosts the Joy Alive Network.  Together we create this spiritual support network by sharing our stories of discovering, nurturing, and experiencing the miraculous ways the Lord reveals his presence in our lives.  As Joy arises from the depths of our hearts, doesn’t it always surprise us with grace, enlivening us when we need it the most?  As we expand our capacity for joy together, we discover amazing ways to live in the Joy of the Lord and give away his Joy.

JoyAlive.net celebrates the Joy of the Lord alive in our hearts, experienced in unexpected and astounding ways.  It’s the touchstone we all need for inspiration, encouragement and motivation to fulfill our writing mission.

The JoyAlive blog developed from my desire to share my own struggles and victories in a more personal way than my other writing projects. I want to use my talents, training, and insights to share the joy alive in my heart. I have seen the results in others and deeply experienced in my own life the joy of the Lord in stunning and delightful revelations. The joy alive in my heart prompts me to share it, sing about it, write about and converse about it with everyone.

As a Catholic writer, website editor and now blogger, I am hosting this site to create the Joy Alive Network among readers. Here’s the twist: as we share our stories of discovering, nurturing, and experiencing the miraculous ways the Lord reveals his presence in our lives we create a network of spiritual support and inspiration. The synergism of the Joy Alive Network increases our capacity for Joy. So the Joy Alive Network lives and grows through the comments, guest blogs and personal stories shared on JoyAlive.

In support of all our readers who need inspiration, hope and wisdom, I invite you to join this new venture with me. Send your stories of how God’s supernatural gift of Joy steals into your life and changes everything.  These can be a 300- to 1000-word description of an incident when you know you experienced a miracle or supernatural insight into God’s unique ways of penetrating your marriage, motherhood, homeschooling, relationships or anything pertinent to your Catholic identity.  Share these amazing moments on the Joy Alive Network.

Together through the Joy Alive Network we can discover and nurture that awe-inspiring Joy arising from deep within our hearts. It will overflow into our lives, our friendships, our families and our relationship with God.  As we share our stories we share the joy of our hearts with one another. We will learn more about each another, more about our true selves and more about how much the Lord loves us.

Nancy Ward

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