Author Archives: Amanda Manney

About Amanda Manney

Hi friend, thanks for stopping by! I'm Amanda. I am a pastor's wife and a homeschooling mom who has a passion to encourage women to faithfully step every day into what God has for them.

What’s Your Cross to Bear?

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I am convinced that each of us has a cross to bear in this life. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Jesus told the people of his day that if they didn’t pick up their cross and follow him, they couldn’t be one of his disciples.

And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27

What’s Our Cross?

It’s sometimes hard to know what he was talking about. It’s kind of confusing. How do we know what cross it is we’re supposed to bear? This thought is so familiar to us as Christians, and yet I’ve never really fully grasped what Jesus meant.

But the longer I’ve been a Christian and the longer I live this life, I have come to believe that each of us is given a cross to bear. Our crosses all look different, but I believe that God gives each of us something difficult in this life that we have to choose to pick up and carry every single day.

Something Different for Each of Us

For my daughter Macey, it’s type 1 diabetes. There is no cure, and she will have that disease for the rest of her life. For my mom, it’s a lifelong debilitating disease. For my husband and I, it’s been financial burden and the weight of a small church. My friend’s cross is being single for so many years and wanting so desperately to be married. For another friend of mine, it’s being stuck in a bad marriage. Another friend of mine faces debilitating mental health. I could go on and on.

For each of us, it’s something different. But it’s our “thorn in the flesh,” just like Paul had. It’s something God gives us to keep us humble and keep us trusting in him.

Jesus taught us that we have to pick up our cross every day to be a follower of him. How does that work? Why would he say that? Does he not love us?

The Answer to Why?

On the contrary, God knows if he gives us something that’s “our cross to bear” in this life, it will drive us to our knees every single day. We will have to depend on him. There’s no chance of making it through this life without him.

There are so many questions we don’t have answers to this side of Heaven. Kay Warren says we should write those questions down and save them for Heaven one day. Your cross to bear—loss, a bad marriage, divorce, singleness, infertility, poverty, health problems, a wayward child, a blended family, being wronged…is one of those questions to ask God one day. I don’t have the answers.

Encouragement from the Psalms

I think of the verses that the Psalmist writes in Psalm 77.

When I was in deep trouble,
    I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted.

And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
Psalm 77: 2, 11

From Hopelessness to Hopeful

You can feel the hopelessness, the sense that God doesn’t care, that he’s turned against us. But thankfully he doesn’t stop there.

But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
Psalm 77:12

What was the answer to his desperation? To remember the things God has done in the past. That’s the same answer for us today. How do you pick up your cross every single day? How do you deal with whatever it is God has given you as your cross in this life? You remember what he did for you in the past. You focus on the fact that God got you through yesterday, and he will get you through today.

So you choose each day to pick up whatever it is God has given you to deal with in this life, and you choose to carry it, while following Jesus. And just maybe, lead some others to Jesus along the way.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my post, Handling Trials, or check out my book, The Hidden Pain.

Looking Past What is to What Could Be

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One of my most favorite things is to watch those before and after pictures of homes on HGTV. There’s something so satisfactory about watching an old house transform into something beautiful, trendy, and fresh. It always makes me look around my house and imagine what could be.

Before and After

We love to see the after; but for most of us, it’s hard to see the after when you’re looking at the before…unless you have a gift like Joanna Gaines. I do not have that gift, and I am perfectly okay with that.

God is in the business of creating before and after pictures, but he does it through our lives. He has the amazing ability not to see us as we are now, but for what we can become.

Jesus’ Conversation with Peter

At the last supper, Jesus tells Peter that he’s going to betray him. Peter can’t even begin to imagine any circumstance in which he would deny Jesus. In the midst of this conversation, Jesus tells him something that is so key to understanding how Jesus works.

Jesus says to Peter, “After you have repented and turned again to me, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus could see past Peter’s failure to the man Peter would become, in spite of his failure.

God has always had the ability to look past what is, to see what could be. He started the world that way. He took what was and turned it into what could be, an amazing creation. All throughout the Bible, God sees people for what they could become.

How God Sees People

Zacchaeus. Jesus tells him, “I’m coming to your house today.” He said that before Zacchaeus even changed his heart.
Gideon. The angel calls him “mighty man of valor” even while Gideon is hiding.
Mary. Gabriel calls her “favored” before she chose to go through with the pregnancy.
David. God saw him as the great king of Israel while he was still a lowly shepherd boy.
Esther. God saw a queen in a young Jewish girl.
Samuel. God saw a mighty prophet in a small boy left at the temple.
A little boy. Jesus saw a little boy who would feed over 5,000 with a simple lunch.
Jesus saw some lowly fishermen as the men who would turn the world upside down for Christ.

Seeing Us for What Could Be

God has never been content to leave us where we are. No, he sees what could be, who we could become. So he pushes in on us and chisels and works on us, chiseling off the rough edges. He sends trials into our lives that change us and mold us and grow us into who he knows we can become.

He does all this so that one day, we can become the “after” picture. In heaven one day, we will look back at the “before” picture and not even recognize ourselves, and we’ll see that he was busy crafting and changing us and molding us into who he wanted us to become.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my post, There’s Beauty in the Unmaking. A great book to read is Love Does by Bob Goff.

The Simple Tool I Use to Get More Done this Fall

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It’s September 1st! Happy Fall! I love September. I love getting back on track with schedules and structure, working on projects, hitting writing goals, and of course all the fun that comes with fall—hayrides, apple picking, pumpkin spice everything, the leaves changing, walking on trails, doing fall crafts with the kids, and more.

The Busyness of Fall

Every year when we hit September, we enter our busiest season of the year. I think most of us do. Our school schedule is full, our family days are packed, and our church and growth group schedules are overflowing. Then there’s all the work goals Matt and I have—book deadlines, writing projects, and more. If we’re not careful, it gets overwhelming really fast. I have to really protect my time and make every minute of every day count.

The easiest way I do this is so simple, you’ll probably laugh. But it’s the system that works for me time and time again! Here it is: I write down my to-do list for the day with a little empty circle next to it. When I finish that task, I check off the circle. It sounds so simple, but honestly, it helps me stay on track every day because otherwise my mind whirls and twirls with all that I need to be doing. Without a to-do list for the day, I can spin my wheels the entire day and work hard but not actually get anything accomplished for the day.

I’ve used a lot of planners over the years, and I love them. I have one that I’m using right now for the calendar. Honestly, though, what has worked even better for me is a clean sheet of notebook paper every single day, either loose-leaf or in a notebook. There’s something about a clean sheet of paper that represents a new, fresh day with endless possibilities.

My Favorite Tool

One of my most favorite thing in the world is spiral notebooks. I use them for everything!! I use them for meal planning, homeschool assignments, budget work, meetings at church, planning dates with Matt, book project deadlines and tasks, and so much more. I have found that they are absolutely invaluable. The other great thing about them is that they are cheap! I always buy a huge stack in the summer when they’re on sale for school. I just went to Staples yesterday, where they are currently $.35 and bought thirty of them (because that was the limit.)

Simple Hacks

I have found over the years that sometimes the simplest ideas have the most profound impact on our lives in the area of getting things accomplished. So that’s my hack for getting more accomplished this fall. Grab a spiral notebook and write down a to-do list every single day.

What are your hacks for meal planning, chores, getting more accomplished, keeping the house clean, etc? I’d love to know!

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my post, 3 Things I Do Every Night before Bed.

When the Winds of Change Begin to Blow

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Most of the time, we plod along in our journey of faith. We take step after step, following God’s leading in our lives. Most days, we know exactly what to expect. Each day is about choosing to do what God has for us that day.

And then, there comes those times when everything starts to shake up. I call it the “winds of change.” The ground beneath you isn’t quite as steady as it used to be. You start noticing things, small things at first. But those small things start adding up until you realize that something is happening. It takes a while to put it together, but then you realize that the Holy Spirit is working and moving, and things are starting to change.

Change is Both Exciting and Fearful

These times don’t happen a lot in life, but when they do, it’s both exciting and fearful at the same time. It’s exciting because you don’t know what God is doing, but it’s also fearful because you don’t know what God is doing.

It’s these seasons of life that make being a Christian exciting. It reminds you that you aren’t living your own life. No, God is directing and guiding you in every aspect of your life. He is working and moving, and you and I are simply instruments to be used however he sees fit.

Some people get worried when change comes, but I get excited. Why? Because it means God is still working in my life; he is still actively involved in my life. It’s way more scary to not have God do anything in your life for decades.

God is at Work

When you feel the winds of change begin to blow, you’d better hold on. God is at work; he’s starting to move. Don’t be afraid; instead, be excited. Do what you can to be ready. Because when God decides to move, there isn’t anything that will stand in his way.

Matt has a saying for times when God is working.

When God opens a door, you can drive a Mac truck through it!

So if you’re feeling God moving, if the ground beneath your feet is beginning to shift, don’t fear it. Lean into it. Get excited and ready to see what God is going to do in your life!

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Knowing When to Wait and When to Move Forward. A great book to read is Matt’s book, Momentum.

How to Know if God is Answering my Prayer

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How do you know when God answers your prayer? How do you know if it’s a yes or no from him?

Praying Specifically

Matt and I were talking with one of our friends and church members recently. She is going through a lot and needs a lot of prayer right now. We were praying with her about what to do about her living situation. I encouraged her to pray specifically, so she would know which direction God wanted her to go.

The next day, God answered her prayer so directly, it was impossible to miss. She told me with big eyes that she knew exactly what to do for her next step because God answered her prayer so directly.

That’s the thing about specific prayers—that they get specific results.

Seeing How God is Leading and Guiding

Sometimes, I think the reason we don’t get our prayers answered is that we don’t pray in a way to know if God has answered that prayer. We say things like, “I’m just praying about it,” or “I’m just praying for God’s will.” How do you know if the answer comes? How do you know God’s will?

I always encourage people to pray in a specific direction. Tell God, “I feel that you are leading me in this direction. I’m going to continue to go that direction. If you don’t want me to, then please close the door.”

When you prayer in a certain direction or specifically, then it’s easy to see how God is guiding and leading.

The Two Blind Men

God is a fan of specific prayers. Look at the two blind men who called out to Jesus in Matthew 20. Jesus stops and listens to their cries. Then he asks them a question: “What do you want me to do for you?” They respond, “We want to see.”

The directness of our prayer may not be for God’s benefit, but it’s definitely for ours. It helps direct us and guide us so we can be certain as to how God is leading in our lives. Have you ever had a prayer that you prayed so specifically that when God answered, you just knew this was the next right thing? It’s a good feeling, a really good feeling.

The next time you have a big decision to make or something you need God’s direction for, pray in a specific direction so you can know exactly which way God is leading you. It makes all the difference in knowing if God answered the prayer or not, and it takes away the confusion of knowing how God is directing you.

For More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post: Specific Prayers Get Specific Results, or check out Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker.

When You’re Exhausted

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Exhausted. It’s a mom during a 2 AM feeding for her crying newborn. Weary. The guy working third shift to make ends meet. Tired. The college student pulling an “all-nighter” to complete a paper for a class at 7 AM. Worn out. The family that’s trying to help their loved one overcome addiction. Burned-out. The boss who can’t meet payroll. Drained. The couple who wonders if they should end their marriage.

**Today’s blog post is an excerpt from our 30-day Devotional You Are Not Alone.

Fatigue

Fatigue can make us fearful, doubtful, and depressed. It’s one thing to be physically tired. It’s another thing to be so weary at the soul level that you lie awake at night staring at the ceiling. You’re so exhausted you can’t sleep. That’s tiring.

What can you do when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel? Take a glimpse into David’s life.

David was exhausted from being in conflict with people.
Psalm 57:6

David was weary from an all-night sob fest.
Psalm 6:6

David was worn out from waiting.
Psalm 119:81

David was tired of the toxic people around him.
Psalm 120:6

David was broken from a weary soul.
Psalm 63:1

David was tired of God’s heavy hand on him.
Psalm 39:10

Sometimes it feels like God is actively working against us. It’s in these times, we seek God’s rest.

What’s God’s answer for you when you’re exhausted? More work? Trying harder to do better?

Rest for the Weary

God’s answer is rest. He gives rest for your mind, your body, and your soul. How can we practically activate this rest?

1. Set a stopping time for your work. Your body will give you the stopping point and give out on you otherwise. God gives rest for your body. “My body rests in safety.” (Psalm 16:9)

2. Look for the natural rhythms God gives you. Don’t be a martyr. No one wins awards for making things harder on themselves. Instead, work toward peaceful healthy places and spaces in life. Who are healthy encouraging people you can be around? Where are safe places? What drains you? What fills you up? God leads you to peaceful and healthy places naturally. Look for them in your life. Don’t fight against them. “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.” (Psalm 23:2)

Flip the Script

If you can worry, you can worship. Whatever narrative you’re telling yourself must change if you want rest.

Replace: “I’ve got to try harder” with “God is working for my best when I’m at rest.”

“God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalm 127:2

Replace: “People in my life are dangerous and can’t be trusted” with “God is my safe space and place.

”I“… live in the shelter of the Most High … find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Psalm 91:1

Replace: “Nothing ever works out for me” with “God is ever and always good to me.”

“…the Lord has been good to me.” (Psalm 116:7)

What kind of rest do you need from God today?

Taking It Further

Today’s Bible Reading: Psalm 127

What does God say about rest? (verse 2)

One of the reasons you may find yourself so exhausted is that you may be doing more of drains you than what fills you up. Take a few minutes to answer the following questions.

What drains you?

What fills you up?

Which are you doing more of—what drains you or what fills you up?

If you picked what drains you, then there needs to be a change. Write down some ways you can get more of what fills you up into your weekly schedule.

For More Encouragement

If you enjoyed this devotional, be sure to check out You Are Not Alone as well as our other devotionals.

You can also check out my post, Have You Ever Tried a Sabbath Day?

You Get to Choose

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Do you ever feel like you work really heard, yet people rarely seem to notice? If you’ve felt that way, you are not alone. Many of us feel like we put in more than our fare share of work, but we don’t get praised or thanked for it like we should. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that God doesn’t notice; or worse, that he doesn’t care. He just wants us to “do more things” for him.

Two Different Sons

Jesus tells a story in the New Testament about two sons. Both sons worked for their father, but both of them had a very different story. It’s the well-known story of the prodigal son. We are all familiar with the story—how the younger son asks for his inheritance and leaves. He goes out and lives a life of luxury and partying. Then we know how he comes to the end of himself and finally comes back home. We usually focus on the prodigal son, but we often neglect the other son in the story.

Two Different Choices

The older brother in the story works for his father as well, but he stays faithful and does what he’s supposed to. When his younger brother comes back and his father requests a party to celebrate, the older brother is outraged. In fact, he refuses to come inside for the party. His father tracks him down and asks him why he won’t come to the party. Notice the older son’s answer.

All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
Luke 15:29,30 NLT

Notice the word slaved. The older brother shows how really feels about all these years working for his father. I can imagine that those words were a dagger to his father’s heart. His father didn’t want him slaving for him; he simply wanted him to enjoy the work that they did as a family.

Slaving for God

When my husband, Matt, brought these verses and words to my attention a little while ago, we sat and talked about it for a little bit. I think that we as Christians act the same way to God sometimes. We treat the work he gives us to do as toil and labor and view ourselves as slaves to the work he’s called us to…almost as if he’s a taskmaster, and we have no choice but to obey him.

Does it ever feel like you’re slaving for God? Like he’s your taskmaster, instead of your father? I think that’s what Satan tries to convince us of—that we’re just slaves, doing what God wants us to do; and we have to be miserable to make him happy.

That’s now how God views his relationship with us at all. God calls us sons and heirs. There’s a big difference between a slave and an heir! God says that he has adopted us into his family.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Read the verses below and take a moment to really think about these words:

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Romans 15-17 NLT

I love those rich words. We are adopted as God’s own children and have all the privileges that come with being an heir of God. What do heirs receive? They receive all the privileges that come from being born into that family. In God’s case, that’s a lot of privileges!

We can choose to live like a slave or we can choose to live like a son.

The Choice is Ours

We can go through this life choosing one of two ways to live out our life in Christ—as a slave or as a son. The choice is ours. God’s already said what we are, but we have to choose to live that way.

For More Encouragement

A great song that goes along with this post is Zach Williams’ song, No Longer Slaves, or check out my post, When You Can’t Feel God in Your Life.

You Bring God Joy

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In the kids’ class that I teach at church, this past week we learned about John the Baptist. Then in my morning time this week, I was reading about him again. There’s a section in the story I can’t get away from.

It’s when Jesus comes up out of the water, and God the Father from Heaven says, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Mark writes it this way, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Great Joy

I’ve been mulling over those words this week. Here’s what I’ve been pondering: God says to his Son, “You bring me great joy.” That’s what God sees when he sees Jesus. The Bible tells us multiple times that because of what Jesus did on the cross, when we accept God’s gift of salvation, we become sons and daughters. So does God look at you and me and think: You bring me great joy? I think he does.

If you have children, think about what they do that brings you great joy. For each of my kids it’s something different. Our eight-year-old Macey has the best laugh. When she gets going, it’s the cutest thing. It makes Matt and I smile with love and affection. Each of our kids bring us such joy. We love them so much.

God’s Joy

If we love our kids that much and they bring us such great joy, how much more does our Heavenly Father love us? How much joy must we bring to him?

We get so hard on ourselves and so down on ourselves because of our failures and mistakes, but we need to remember how God sees us. We need to remember this:

You bring great joy to God!

So when we get down on yourself and feel discouraged or worthless, remember that God sees great value in you. You bring him great joy just by being you. So be the you he created you to be and find your value in him!

For More Encouragement

A great book to read to be reminded of God’s love is David Jeremiah’s book, God Loves You: He Always Has or check out my post, Living Loved.

Our Faith Determines How God Works in our Lives

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The more I live life and the more I study God’s Word, I find that so much in life comes back to faith.

The Gospels are full of men and women who had extraordinary amounts of faith. Matthew tells us the story of two blind men who sat alongside a road who had more faith than most people. We don’t know any details about them than just those that—they were blind and they sat on the side of the road. We can assume that they were homeless, or at least outcasts. They had nothing. They could only rely on the pity of others to help them out.

Their Plan

We don’t know how old they were, how long they were blind, if they were related or just found themselves in similar straits. What we do know is that somehow they heard that Jesus was going to pass by. Whether or not they planned it or they both spontaneously decided to do it, they both began to shout. They shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.”

The crowd around them responded the way most crowds would today. They tried to get them to be quiet. But the Bible says they only shouted louder. Well, their plan works. Jesus stops in front of them and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Their Request

They respond, “Lord, we want to see.” Jesus takes compassion on them and instantly heals their eyes. After that, Matthew writes simply, “Then they followed him.” We don’t know for how long they followed him, but it was worth noting that they did.

Whenever I read this story, I am struck by their determination. It didn’t matter what anybody thought of them; they were willing to risk everything to get Jesus to heal them. Their desire to be healed mattered so much more than their pride.

I wonder how many of us let our pride or something else keep us back from getting serious with God. When was the last time we got serious with God and asked him, even begged him for something with no holds barred? When was the last time you begged God for something and wouldn’t let it go until He answered?

Our Faith

James tells just that if we’re going to come to God to ask for wisdom, we’d better come in faith without wavering.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord
James 1:5-7

Faith is so important to God. The more I read and study the Gospels, the more I am convinced that Jesus dealt with people according to their faith.

It always comes back to faith. We know this. We know that without faith, “it is impossible to please God.” Yet, we often forget and need to be reminded. God deals with us according to our faith. Our faith can be a big determining factor for how God works or doesn’t work in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my lack of faith to be the reason God doesn’t work on my behalf or my family’s behalf.

How to Increase our Faith

So how do we grow our faith? How do we know if our faith is strong enough to withstand a storm? The disciples had the same request. “Show us how to increase our faith.” Jesus answers them in an odd way. He turns to them and basically says, “If you had the tiniest amount of faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you could tell this tree to go jump in the lake, and it would obey.”

He’s exaggerating of course, but the idea is this: If you just have a little bit of faith, amazing things can happen. Why? Because it’s God we’re talking about. God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to Ephesians 3:20. We just have to do the first part…ask. And when we do ask, we have to ask in faith.

*Here’s a fun side note. Did you know? Mustard seed plants can grow to be twenty feet tall? Pretty amazing from such a tiny seed!

I don’t pretend to know how God works. Why he answers some prayers and leaves others seemingly unanswered. Why he meets some needs and seemingly not others. What I do know is that God will always work according to our faith, so let’s not give him any reason not to work in our lives. Let’s have the faith to believe that he’s going to come through for us in this season, just like he did in the last season. We may not see it yet, but we can believe it!

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post The Eight-Step Process of Faith. A great book on faith is The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.

Making the Most of this Season of Life

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Summer is in full swing in the Manney home. It’s one of my most favorite times of year. Fall is still my favorite season, but summer is right behind that. Some people complain about the heat, but I am so grateful for it. I think part of it has to do with Pennsylvania winters. Though they’re pretty mild, winter lasts a long time here. So when summer finally comes, I am so ready to enjoy it.

My Favorite Parts of Summer

There are so many great things about summer that I love—cookouts, park trips, playing in the water, sitting in the sun, beach trips, vacation, iced coffee, fresh fruit…the list goes on and on. But one of the things I enjoy the most is sending my kids out to play in the pool.

We have an Intex pop-up pool in the backyard, and I am so incredibly grateful for it. I always wanted a pool and think it’s the absolute best investment ever! I love watching my kids play for hours in our pool.

Summer is about choosing to spend more time together as a family simply because you can. As a natural planner, scheduler, I have to really work to let go of expectations during the summer and just let my kids enjoy the break. They need it, and I do as well. It doesn’t come easily to me, so I have to choose to make it work.

Taking Advantage of This Current Season of Life

Take this morning, for example. After our walk, Matt told me he was going to go cool off in the pool with the kids for a few minutes. I sat outside to watch the kids swim and have fun with their dad. Of course, they begged me to come in the pool too. I had a choice. I could either sit and work on this blog post (which is what I was planning on), or I could get in the pool with them. I chose the pool. It’s summer; I’m not going to get this opportunity in a few months. I need to take advantage of the hot summer days while I can.

There are certain things you can only do in this season of life, both literally and figuratively. There are things you can only do in this stage of life you’re in right now, and there are things you can only do in the literal season we are in.

Whatever stage of life you’re in right now, take full advantage. You are only in this season of life for a period of time. God has opportunities that will only come during this stage of life. So be grateful for it, and make the most of it!

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out Hands Free Mama. It’s all about enjoying the time you have with your kids now while you can.

If you’re looking for a good book to read this summer, check out my summer reading list from 2022.

If you need a devotional for the summer, check out one of our 30-day devotionals, available from Manney Resources.