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.

Finding Free- Coming Soon!

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Finding Free cover

Finding Free

I am so excited about my new book coming out in just a few weeks—Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Content, and Happy You. To give you an idea of what the book is about, continue reading below. This is the introduction to my book.

Introduction

If you had told me years ago that I would write a book on finding free, I would have laughed. I was the least free person I knew! My life felt out of control; I lived a frustrated life, one in which I was just existing. I didn’t wake up each day excited about the possibilities life had to offer. I didn’t know who I was or what God wanted me to do with my life. I was merely being carried along by other people’s desires and plans for my life.

The process of getting to where I am today was not by my own planning or choosing. Actually, it was quite the opposite. God turned my life completely upside down and changed everything for me. I didn’t realize it at the time because so many changes were coming at me hard and fast. But I realize now, looking back, that God was turning my life right side up. He was changing everything around me and subsequently changing me as well.

I talk to so many women who are lost, confused, frustrated, lonely, fearful, and feel like they have lost sight of who they are. That was me. If you feel like there must be a better way to live, that God has something more for you, then this book is for you.

What Finding Free Isn’t

Before I explain what finding free is, I want to start by telling you what it isn’t. Finding free is not a problem-free life. If you picked this book up with that in mind, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Jesus himself told us that this life is not going to be easy. He tells us in John 18:33 that in this world, we will experience tribulation. We could just stop there. Life is hard—end of story. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t stop there with those hopeless words! He continues with five hope-filled words: “I have overcome the world.” He didn’t leave us to try to figure things out on our own. He promised he would never leave us nor forsake us in this world full of hardships (Hebrews 13:5).

Our life is not going to be problem-free just because we find free. My life is probably more problem-filled than it’s ever been, but here’s the key: I have incredible peace and am so content with where God has me despite the messy life around me.

So many women I talk to are not happy, not content. They are stuck in jobs they can’t stand or are at home living lives that are empty and unfulfilling. We want more, want to experience more; we crave finding what will truly make us happy and content. Yet, we are utterly clueless about how to find it or even know what it is we’re searching for.

Finding More

I felt so trapped in the life I was living for so long. I spent so many years spinning in circles, trying to find what I was missing and what I was supposed to do with my life, trying to figure out why things weren’t working out and why I wasn’t fulfilled. I knew God had more for my life, but I didn’t know how to find it.

God created us to experience an abundant life, not a mediocre, okay life. He said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” That doesn’t sound like a boring life. It doesn’t sound stressful or empty. It sounds like what finding free looks like.

What Finding Free Is

Finding free is about discovering who God created you to be and being completely okay with that. It’s about finding what God has created you to do and chasing after it with your whole heart. It’s about learning to turn a deaf ear to critics and people who don’t want you to succeed. It’s about learning to abandon people-pleasing, about realizing that you will never please everybody.

It’s about learning to step into the life God wants you to live. It’s about leaving behind busy and pursuing peace. It’s about pushing perfectionism out of your life and accepting the messiness of your life. It’s doing more of what fills you up and less of what drains you. It’s about creating a life you love. It’s about letting go of the secret rules you have that are holding you back. It’s about finding momentum and moving forward. It’s about letting go of shame and comparison. It’s about finding total freedom. It’s about finding the love you’ve always wanted but don’t know how to have. Finding free is about all of this and more.

I have broken down finding free into five simple steps. We’ll spend several chapters on each step so we can really delve into them:

  1. Understand Your Personality
  2. Discover Your Purpose
  3. Create a Life You Love
  4. Allow God to Redirect You
  5. Release the Shame

Finding Free is a Journey

I’m going to warn you: finding free is a journey. You aren’t going to find it in a day, and you won’t find it a week from now. It’s going to take time. It took me years to get to where I am today. But don’t let that discourage you. There’s a secret that every traveler knows, and it’s this: there’s joy found in the journey, not just the destination.

Throughout this book, I’ll share parts of my story of finding free to help you get your journey of finding free started. After that, it will be up to you to continue your own journey. The key is not quitting until you have found your freedom. As Tony Robbins says, “The only impossible journey is the one you never take.”1

Don’t get discouraged and quit halfway through this book or halfway through your own journey. You won’t ever find free.

It may feel at times that you’re better off just staying where you are in life. There may come a time when it feels like it’s too hard to create your own version of free. Don’t believe the lie! It will be work, and it will be difficult. There will be decisions you have to make, people you have to leave behind, and things you must release from your life. However, if you stick with it, I promise you will come out on the other side living your own version of free, and you’ll be so grateful you didn’t throw in the towel.

Why I Wrote this Book

The life I am living now can simply be summed up as finding free. I spent my entire life trying to live a certain way, be a certain kind of person, and letting others dictate my life for me. Now I am content in who I am and what God has me doing.

It’s taken a lot of years, a lot of purposeful decisions. Our family has made a lot of changes over the years. We’ve made sacrifices to live the life we are living now. But I can say without a doubt that we are peaceful, content, and happy with the life we have created.

I decided to write this book for this very reason. So many people I talk to are not free. They aren’t living a life they love. More than that, they are miserable. They don’t know who they are or what they’re supposed to do in life. They feel empty, like they are missing something. They feel like they are a mistake or not good enough.

This book is for them. If you feel any of those things, this book is for you. I want you to find your own version of free. I don’t want you to struggle like I did for so many years. I want you to learn from my mistakes so you don’t have to make them yourself.

Using This Book

If you want to find freedom, then use this book as a manual. Keep a pen and a highlighter handy. Underline things, cross out what doesn’t work for you, highlight what helps you. Mark this book up. Digest it; let it change you. The best books I’ve read are marked up because I don’t want to forget what I learned from somebody else. I want to learn from their failures so I don’t have to experience them myself. I want to learn from their successes so I can experience those successes myself.

When you’ve finished this book, pass it on to somebody else. We all need to find free in our lives. Are you ready to get started? Are you ready to begin your journey of finding free? Grab a pen and get ready. Finding free begins now.

finding free cover coming soon

*Be sure to follow Faithfully Stepping on both Facebook and Instagram for a release date. While you’re waiting for Finding Free to release, check out my other book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life. You can read about that book in The Hidden Pain: A Peek into the Book I’m Writing.

Discouraged? 12 Ideas to Try

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graphic heading: 12 ideas

A Bad Start to A New Year

It’s been a week! We started out the new year ready to let go of 2020 and all the negativity that came with it. Yet, here we are, just days into the new year and it’s a mess again. As a result, you are probably feeling as hopeless and discouraged as I am.

Our Reminder

However, I listened to a message by Rick Warren that reminded that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. Jesus told us repeatedly that He was not of this world and that his kingdom was not of this world. When it was time to go to the cross, Jesus rebuked Peter when he tried to fight off the guards who were preparing to take Jesus away. He looked at Peter and said, “If I wanted to fight, I could call legions of angels at this very moment.” But that was not God’s plan.

God’s plan has never been to make this earth perfect. He told us in John 16:32, that in this world we will have tribulation. That’s because this world is full of sinful people. We live in a broken, sinful world. We can focus on that and be discouraged, or we can focus on the fact that this isn’t our home.

Jesus reminds us in the book of John that He was not of this world, just as we are not of this world.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

John 17:14 KJV

They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.

John 17:14 MSG

This World Doesn’t Define Me

When we get discouraged and disillusioned by all that’s going on around us, we need to remind ourselves with this truth— this world doesn’t define us. This world of sin, brokenness, and hatred does not define us.

We need to take our eyes off of our circumstances and everything going on around us and look up. Remember where our kingdom is. We are part of a heavenly kingdom, a place where there is no sin.

So, what do we do in the meantime until we get to that heavenly kingdom? Because right now we’re stuck in a world of hatred and hurt. Here are twelve ideas to try when you are discouraged to get your mind off of things around you.

Twelve Ways to Be Filled Up

  1. Find encouragement and strength by starting your mornings with God. Start a morning time routine.
  2. Read inspirational and encouraging books that help you focus on the good in life and not all that’s taking place around us. Check out Manney Resources for books to encourage your heart.
  3. Listen to uplifting, God-centered music. Try these 3 Songs to Encourage Your Heart.
  4. Spend time with friends or family. Sometimes just being around people that love you and that aren’t going to drag you down can really help at times like these.
  5. Don’t look at social media or watch the news. Take a break from all the negativity.
  6. Plan a fun night with your family— a movie night, a game night… something to get your mind off all the negativity around you.
  7. Take a nap. Getting extra rest can be really helpful to take away the feeling of helplessness or depressing thoughts.
  8. Buy one thing that brings you joy. Buy some fresh flowers for your table, a candle that you love, a puzzle to work on, some new nail polish, a new pair of earrings, a new book… something that brings you joy.
  9. Bake some cookies to take to your neighbors or take a meal to someone who is having a hard time.
  10. Drive somewhere new and explore the area. Find a new restaurant or coffee shop to try.
  11. Get a craft kit and create something or try your hand at something new like sewing, knitting, painting, etc.
  12. Pick one drawer, closet, or space in your home that you want to organize and feel good about it when it’s done.

Remember…

These are just some simple ideas to help get our focus off of everything around us. The most important thing to remember is that we are not defined by this world, just as Jesus wasn’t defined by this world. Let that thought encourage you today.

A New Year! 3 Steps to Take to Have Your Best Year Yet!

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365 New Mornings

It’s a beautiful new year. There’s something about the beauty of a new year. It’s empty and full of so many possibilities. Because my passion is mornings, I see 365 mornings stretched out before me. I see 365 new mornings and new mercies.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV

God’s compassion starts fresh every morning. He gives us a fresh supply of mercy and compassion each morning. That’s the most encouraging thought as we face a brand new year.

Facing this New Year with Confidence

While everybody around us may face this new year with fear, trepidation, and uncertainty, we can step into this year with confidence in a God who has not forsaken us, in a God who gives us a clean slate every day.

Just as we can be sure that the sun will rise every day this year, we can be equally sure that God will walk alongside us every day in this new year.

If you want this year to be better than any other year so far, I believe it begins with three simple steps. If you want to have the best year yet, start with these three steps.

1. Write Down Your Goals and Dreams for this Year

You May Say I'm a Dreamer Journal
My Dream Journal

If you want to accomplish something great, it starts with writing it down. Take the time in these first few days of the new year to write down all the dreams you have for this year and what you want to accomplish.

open journal with the words 2021 goals and dreams written
Inside my Dream Journal before I wrote down my goals for the year

If you don’t write it down, you probably won’t accomplish it. Every year, I take the time to write down what I want to accomplish. Those goals range from books I want to write, projects I want to complete, vacations I want to take, places I want to visit, things I want to do, goals personally, and more.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

Tony Robbins

“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.”

Brian Tracy

2. Get Up Early

If you want to accomplish great things for God this year, it starts with getting up earlier. When Matt and got really serious about our mornings and got up earlier than we ever had before and started doing it on a consistent basis, our creativity and productivity grew in leaps and bounds.

If you want to find extra time in your day to begin to accomplish your dreams, I believe it can be found in getting up earlier and starting your day with God, then moving on to what He has for you for the day. There’s so many wasted hours waiting to be claimed in the early morning hours.

“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for 40 years, supposed a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”

Philip Doddridge

3. Develop a Morning Time Routine

After you set goals and determine to get up earlier, the third step is to develop a consistent morning time routine. This is the routine you do every morning that sets you up for success for the rest of your day. My morning time routine starts with making a cup of coffee and lighting a candle. Then I begin my time with God. Reading my Bible, journaling, and doing my prayer time. For more details about my morning time routine, read Creating a Morning Time Routine You Love.

Matt and I have created a system we call 30 to THRIVE. It consists of reading your Bible or doing a devotional for 10 minutes, journaling for ten minutes, and reading a book for ten minutes. You can find out more at Manney Resources where you can download a free Morning Time Guide to help you get started on your journey,

Matt and I believe that if you can change your morning, you can grow your faith and change your life, and you do that best by developing a morning time routine.

2021

2021 can be your best year yet! Start with writing down your goals for the year, then figure out how to get up earlier consistently. Lastly, implement a morning time routine and see if that doesn’t make this year your best one yet!

The Backwardness of the Manger and Bethlehem

manger

Why Bethlehem?

The little town of Bethlehem must have been buzzing the day Joseph and Mary finally arrived. Out of town guests were looking for lodging. Roman officials were dealing with the local Jewish tax collectors. The tax collectors were scheming and plotting. Pickpockets were eyeing up unsuspecting targets. Airbnb was trying to keep up with the onslaught of business. What was it about Bethlehem that made it the locale for the census to be taken?  

Bethlehem was Joseph’s hometown of ancestry as a descendant of Kind David, the most famous biblical character known for coming from Bethlehem. It was a perfect rest stop for travelers going north or south.

The census ordered by Caesar was not a pleasant event. Some historians believe Caesar called for multiple censuses throughout the years to be sure the Jews were being counted and most importantly, taxed. It’s amazing how God orchestrated a political event with a prophetic event to bring about His will.

Why the Manger?

Why does the word manger come up so many times in the Nativity story? Luke mentions it several times. He tells us Mary wrapped baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn. (Luke 2:7) The angels tell the shepherds they would know Jesus was the baby they were looking for because they would find him wrapped in swaddling clothes, evidently something you didn’t normally wrap a baby in, and laying in a manger—again something that was not necessarily a custom of their day. The shepherds leave the fields and go looking for Jesus. They find him just as the angel said, lying in a manger. Luke records for us in Luke 1:32 that Jesus was destined to sit on the throne of his father David. Yet we find him lying in a feed trough for animals.  

The feed trough or manger we picture today in our Nativity scenes looks nothing like what Mary used to lay Jesus in. The wooden cross-piece of furniture set center stage in a creche is a far cry from the stone piece used in the first-century. Mangers were often crafted with a combination of clay mixed with straw and formed into a trough to place feed or hay in for the animals to eat from. Other times they were chiseled into natural rock outcroppings.

Why didn’t Mary just hold Jesus? Where was Joseph? Mary and Joseph were simply human. They were exhausted and needed to sleep; just as baby Jesus needed to sleep. They needed a safe place for Jesus to lay while they slept. The manger was what was available, so that’s what they chose to use.  

For Such a Time as This

Sometimes we try to sanitize Bible stories. Think about the turmoil of Bethlehem politically, socially, religiously, and economically. The Jews already hated the Romans because of their overbearing taxation. The presence of the Romans was undeniable. The people couldn’t get away from the heel of the Romans pushing down upon their necks. Yet, God chose such a time as this for Jesus to be born.  

Imagine the cries of a baby Jesus filling the stable. Imagine the tired eyes of a weary, post-labor and delivery Mary. Think of the worry of a humble and hardworking Joseph looking to protect and provide for his newborn and young wife.

These are the moments to watch God work. God doesn’t come with a grand ad campaign, billboards, and thirty-second commercials on television. God didn’t crowdsource His cause with masses wearing wristbands and t-shirts with a two-toned silhouette of a baby with the words “FOR the MANGER” screen-printed across the front.  

God’s Subtle Work

Jesus slipped in unannounced. He settled into a shelter used for beasts of burden. He came in the form of an unassuming six-pound baby. And when God felt the need to let people know about it, He tapped the least credentialed social group in town to come to the party—the shepherds. Everything was backward about Bethlehem and the manger, but that is exactly what arrests our attention.  

God’s way and plan is always the best plan. He works even through our difficult circumstances to get us where we need to be at just the right place and just the right time. 

Recapture Christmas

This post was taken from Recapture Christmas: Unwrap the Mystery and Wonder of the Manger, a 30-Day Devotional Study. Each day contains a reading similar to the one above and Scripture reading and questions to answer for application. If you liked this post, then you will love the devotional.

If you still need Christmas presents, check out this devotional or A Few of My Favorite Things.

A Few of My Favorite Things…Gift Ideas for Christmas

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(This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure HERE.)

Sometimes coming up with Christmas ideas that are new and different is so difficult. I love when somebody else makes a list of their favorite things because it gives me new ideas for things to try. So I made a list of some of our family’s favorite things. Hopefully, it will give you some ideas.

Some of Our Favorite Games

  1. Five Crowns Matt and I love to play this game on date nights or days off. It’s a fun card game that you don’t have to think a whole lot about and can just sit and talk as you play. The kids enjoy playing it as well.
  2. Werewolf This is a great party game. The more people, the better it is. It’s great because it has an app that goes along with the game. You can download the app for free. It does all the work for you. It tells you when to put your head down, who looks up and what action they do. It’s super fun, and kids and adults love it.
  3. Telestrations This is another fun party game. It’s like whisper-down-the alley but pictionary style. It’s hilarious and super fun!
  4. Ticket to Ride This game is a little expensive. Somebody bought it for us, but we like it. It’s a longer board game, but it’s not complicated. Even our five and six-year olds can play it.
  5. CodeNames- Disney We have CodeNames and CodeNames Disney. We love these games! Super fun family game. The kids have a blast; we’ve also played it with adults and had just as much fun. The kids of course loved the CodeNames Disney the best!

My Favorite Hand-Crafted Gifts

  1. Emily Lane Designs I have recently discovered Emily’s handmade clay earrings. They are amazing! They are beautiful and so unique and different.
  2. Masterpiece Candles Co My friend, Keya makes and sells amazing candles on Etsy! Check out her shop. You won’t regret it! A few of my favorites scents are Candy Cane, Vanilla, Cinnamon Bun, and Birthday Cake.

Gifts for Her

  1. Impress Nails These are my go-to when I don’t have time or money to get a manicure. I love these press-on nails. My sister got me started on them. You can’t go wrong with the price, and there are lots to choose from!
  2. PaperMate Colored Pens These are my favorite pens to write with, and they make a great present too.
  3. Lap Desk Matt got me this lap desk, and I love it. I use it all the time. It’s a perfect gift for the person who is always working on their laptop.
  4. Apron Matt gets me these aprons from Williams Sonoma. After ruining countless shirts from cooking, I wear an apron every time I cook now. These aprons are great because they are really hardy, almost like a canvas material. I love mine. I saw they even have a cute Christmas one this year.
  5. Clear Coffee Mugs These make the perfect mugs for company. They go with any place setting and look dressy without costing lots of money. I’ve had mine for sevaral years and can’t remember which exact ones we bought, but the ones in the link look just like mine.
  6. Erin Condren Personalized Planner These planners are awesome because you can personalize them with a picture and a name on the front. We love them.
  7. Books
    1. My Faithfully Stepping Journals
    2. Devotionals by Matt and I
    3. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted by Shannan Martin
    5. Don’t Overthink It by Anne Bogel
    6. My Fantasy Series
    7. Love Lives Here by Maria Goff

Gifts for Him

  1. Bose Wireless Speaker. This is definitely a more expensive gift, but we got one of these years ago and use it every day. It’s great becaue you can take it with you to every different room in the house for music or take it in the car for road trips. We listen to music, podcasts, and audio books on it.
  2. Bluetooth transmitter for car. This is a nifty gadget that we need to get. My father-in-law has one in his car. You can plug it into the auxiliary power outlet in your car and play music from your phone through the car’s sound system. This is great if you have an older car that doesn’t have Bluetooth capability.
  3. Parker Pens. My husband loves these pens and asks for them every year. They write really smoothly, and he uses them all the time.
  4. Books
    1. Play the Man by Mark Batterson
    2. Gears, Grease, and God by Matt and Tom Manney
    3. Men’s Daily Journals
    4. Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
    5. The Artisan Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus
    6. Dream Big by Bob Goff.

Gifts for Kids

  1. Bliss Lights My brother-in-law got all three colors of these for my kids. We absolutely love them. We put them on every single night. They are by far the best night light. You have to check them out.
  2. Fire Tablets We scored these last year for $20 on Black Friday, but they’re still a great deal at $40. Our kids use their tablets all the time. On their day off, they can watch stuff on them like Netflix or Disney and play games. Instead of them fighting over the tv, they can each watch what they want. They also use them for alarms and for listening to audio books or podcasts or music during rest time. We love them and get a lot of use out of them!
  3. Books
    1. Wings of Fire Series
    2. Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Series
    3. Mr. Lemoncello Books
    4. Dog Books by Jennifer Li Shotz
    5. Kingdom of Wrenly Series
    6. Kid’s Daily Journals
  4. Magnetic Bookmarks Our kids love these and use them all the time.
  5. Kinetic Sand I’m not sure what it is about kinetic sand, but our kids love it. We usually buy some every year for Christmas.
  6. Dot Markers All ages love these markers. I love that they’re so easy to use that my little ones could use them when they were little, but my older kids now still love using them too.

Those are some of our family’s favorite things. Hopefully, it gave you some ideas to finish up the last of your Christmas shopping!

If you enjoyed this and want some other ideas, try Revolutionize Your Morning Time with These Ten Products.

3 Truths You Need to be Reminded of This Christmas

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Macey and Me at the Hershey store

Four Suicides Too Many

Overall, Christmas 2020 looks a little different than any other year. This year has been a year like no other. Some people have been able to continue on as if nothing ever happened, and others have had their lives literally torn apart. I started a file of pictures on my phone of people that we know that have taken their lives this year. Right now, I have four pictures in that file. That’s four lives too many; four lives cut short way too soon. My heart breaks every time I look at those photos.

I keep those photos because I don’t want to forget the huge impact this year has had on some people. Unsurprisingly, this year, more than any other year, we have dealt with divorce, infidelity, depression, and suicide more than any other year in our ministry.

3 Truths Somebody Needs to Hear From You

I say all that to encourage you with this— Don’t underestimate the power of a kind word this season. This year more than ever, we need to remind the people in our lives of these three truths:

  • They are loved.
  • They have value.
  • They are needed.

If you’re not struggling this year or this season, use your strength to help someone else. Give your love to somebody this Christmas. Write a card, call someone just to let them know you are thinking of them, cook a meal for a family, send flowers, do Christmas for a family. If you look around, you won’t find it hard to find someone who needs extra love and encouragement this Christmas season.

3 Truths You Need to Hear

Maybe you are at a place where you need to hear these truths yourself. Maybe you are the one who needs to hear these truths. So, let me repeat them.

  • You are loved.
  • You have value.
  • You are needed.

Don’t believe the lie of the devil that your family would be better off without you. We’ve been there too many times to pick up the pieces after a suicide. Let me tell you—the family and friends left behind have never been better off. Their hearts and lives are beyond devastated, and they aren’t sure if they will ever be whole again.

Whatever you are dealing with or going through right now, I know with one hundred percent certainty that your family is not better without you. They need you. They can’t do life without you.

More Encouragement

Two of the Christmas songs that I am loving this year are Hope is Here by Building 429 and Behold Him by Francesca Battistelli. Both songs came out within the last month or two. Listen to the words and let them encourage your heart as they have mine.

For more posts like this, read Now is Probably Not the Time and What Now?

**With a post like this, I feel that I need to say that if you are seriously struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please get the help you need. Get professional help. There is no shame in that. We all need extra help sometimes.


Black Friday Traditions

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My Favorite Day of the Year

I think over the years that Black Friday has become my favorite day of the year. I like it even better than Christmas. Every year, we get up and make a nice breakfast. Then we drag the tree and Christmas boxes up from the basement. We put on our favorite Christmas movies like Elf, Noelle (Disney), The Grinch (the one with Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Grinch), Christmas Chronicles (Netflix), and more. We spend the day watching movies while we decorate both the inside of the house and the outside.

We make fun treats like Christmas bread and Christmas cookies and homemade Chex mix, inspired by Pioneer Woman. Matt has perfected this recipe over the year by making it gluten-free and tweaking some of the spices, like adding extra Worcestershire. It’s soo good, and it makes the entire house smell amazing.

Early Black Friday Shopping

Mom and daughter ready for Black Friday shopping
Maddie and I early this morning

We usually stay home every year on Black Friday, but my daughter Madison has been begging me for weeks to take her shopping on Black Friday so she can use her money to get Christmas presents for the family. So I caved and took her out early this morning. We had a good time together. She got all her Christmas shopping done; then we got home to make breakfast and get started decorating.

Helping decorate the tree

Keeping Traditions

There’s something about traditions, about doing the same thing each year. It’s predictable and something to look forward to. Sometimes the best traditions don’t cost anything; they’re simply about being together with the people you love. It’s about being purposeful and sticking to the tradition, even when you don’t feel like it.

Whatever your traditions are for the holidays, don’t give up on them this year just because everything is different and more difficult. In a year when everything is topsy- turvy, sticking with your traditions can help bring a sense of familiarity and comfort to you and your family.

If this post encouraged you, check out God’s Gifts at Christmas.

Don’t Cancel Thanksgiving Just Yet

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Canceling Thanksgiving

With some states shutting down again and others feeling like a shut-down is imminent, and being told how many people we can have over, or if we can have anybody over at all, it feels like maybe the best thing to do is to cancel Thanksgiving this year. I feel your frustration.

While Thanksgiving is going to look different for all of us depending on where you live, I want to encourage you to not give up on the holiday. Find a way to make it work, even if it’s just for those who live in your home. Thanksgiving is too important of a holiday to miss. Satan would like nothing better than for us to miss this holiday altogether.

Thanksgiving is about 2 Things

Thanksgiving is about two things. It’s about setting aside a day to focus on our blessings and give thanks to God for all he has blessed us with. Secondly, it’s about spending time with family and friends and sharing with them how grateful we are that they are in our lives. We all know we should show our gratitude all year long, but with the busyness of life, it’s nice to have an entire day set aside to allow us the time to be grateful.

So even if it’s just the people or the person who lives in your home, make it special. Still make a turkey or a turkey breast, make some mashed potatoes and gravy, and all the fixings that make Thanksgiving special for your family. If you’re not a pie fan, like me, give these pumpkin bars by Pioneer woman a try. They’re amazing!

Setting the Table

thanksgiving table
My table from last Thanksgiving

Set a beautiful table, light a candle, and play soft piano music in the background. You don’t have to spend a lot. You can see from my table last year that I used paper plates and a plastic table cloth and just some decor items I had in the house. There’s something special about sitting down at a beautiful table.

Sometime during the meal, spend a few moments sharing what you are thankful for. It doesn’t have to be long and drawn out. Before we pray, we simply go around the table and say what we are most thankful for this year. The kids usually say something quick and easy while the adults may say something that’s on their heart that’s a little longer. It doesn’t matter how long or short it is; it simply matters that you took the time to be thankful.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Psalm 100:4

Thanksgiving Fun

Our books from the library and crafts from Hobby Lobby

We like to spread Thanksgiving into the entire week. We got to our library and get all the Thanksgiving books we can find. We just took back our last haul of Thanksgiving books that we have read the last two weeks. I think we got all the good ones. These were the ones that were left when we went this week. The week leading up to Thanksgiving and the week of Thanksgving, we tried to read at least one Thanksgiving book every day.

We also get Thanksgiving crafts to do during the week. Hobby Lobby is my go-to place for holiday crafts. I also bought Thanksgiving place mats for the kids to color on Thanksgiving while they are waiting for the food to finish up.

Don’t Cancel Thanksgiving

Don’t cancel Thanksgiving this year because it feels like you’re being pressured to skip it. Hold the line and celebrate this important family holiday with whoever you are allowed to celebrate with. Choose to make the most of it whether that’s with one other person or twenty.

If you liked this post, check out Don’t Let This Holiday Pass You By.

Enjoy the Stage of Life You’re In

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Picture of mom and daughter
Macey and me

We just recently got Madison a new bed, so we could get Macey out of her toddler bed and into the bunk beds with Maggie. I took a picture of the toddler bed and sent it to my friend to see if she wanted it. After I took the photo, I looked at it for a few minutes. It kind of made me sad. The bed was the last of our baby and toddler stuff. We had already gotten rid of the crib from when the kids were babies. I can’t believe how fast time has flown. It made me think about what I would tell the younger version of me, the one so stressed trying to keep everything together with four little ones under foot.

toddler bed
Macey’s toddler bed

Dear Weary Mom,

If I could give advice to the younger version of me, I would tell her to relax. The time is coming when I will have a perfect house. The furniture won’t have stains on it, the mirror won’t have handprints on it, there won’t be spilled juice on the floor making it sticky, there won’t be toys everywhere. There’s coming a time when I won’t have to pick up my house twenty-four seven. In the blink of an eye, I know this time will have passed.  

Our oldest is already pushing eleven years old. We have seven more years with him. After that, I don’t know what God has for him. I know that I left my home at eighteen, went to college, married right after college, and moved away. Too soon, our home will be empty. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will wish for toys on the floor. I will look longingly at my mirror and remember the handprints that used to line it.  

Mom and son
Malachi and me

I will look back at the craziness and the chaos and miss it. I will wish that our house was loud and messy once more. Even now, I miss the baby stage. Though I don’t miss late-night nursing sessions, carrying a heavy diaper bag everywhere I go, and cleaning up diaper explosions, I do miss the snuggles of a baby. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would choose to spend less time trying endlessly to get the house clean. I would choose more time rocking my baby, snuggling with my toddlers, and playing hide and seek with my preschoolers.  

Enjoy this Stage of Life with Littles

The thing is, that exhaustion that plagues you every moment of the day with littles will pass. You will get past this stage. Life will get easier. Those babies will grow up. They will be able to help as they get older.  

For now, soak in those baby cuddles. Embrace the time with your littles. Spend time doing the things you can do now that you can’t do once they go to school. You have five years with your first child before they go to school. Once they go to school, things really change. It’s really hard to let them go. That’s one of the reasons we love homeschooling so much. We don’t have to let them go. I get to take an active role in their education. I don’t have to send them away every day, and I love that. 

The Days are Long, but the Years are Short

The best phrase I have heard when dealing with littles is this: “The days are long, but the years are short.” It’s so true. The days were and still are at times so very long. Yet in the blink of an eye, the years have passed. I can’t believe our oldest is almost a teenager. It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. The years have flown by. All too soon, he is going to be leaving us. God has great things in store for each of our kids, and I am excited to see what they are. But I know it’s going to be hard to let them go. So, I am going to spend the time now, while they are still in my care enjoying every minute of my time with them. I’m saying this as a reminder and challenge as much to myself as I am saying it to you.  

Choose to Make the Most of Whichever Stage of Life You Are In

Malachi, Madison, me, Maggie, Macey

Whatever stage of life you are in, soak it in. Enjoy it. Too often, we want to just jump to the next stage of life. Choose to love the stage of life you’re in right now and all that goes with it. There is joy in each and every stage, but we will miss it if we have our eyes focused on the next stage.

If you’re single, enjoy this time. Do things you can’t do when you’re married. Travel, experience life, have fun and soak in this time. If you’re married but don’t have kids yet, enjoy the time with your spouse. Take trips together, go on dates often, visit extended family, plan game nights with friends. If you have kids in your home, plan family days and spontaneous trips, read aloud to them, explore new places, and make family memories. If your kids are grown and out of the house, do the things you always wanted to do but couldn’t because of the kids. Write a book, start a business, create the products you always wanted to, learn a new skill, spend time reading or drawing, or whatever brings your heart fulfillment.

We can be sad about leaving a particular phase of life or we can choose to find joy in the stage of life we are in and thrive.

More on This Topic

If you enjoyed this post, another post you might enjoy is My Reminder from a Heart in the Sand. My book recommendation would be The SuperMom Myth by Becky Koptizke. It’s one of my favorite “mom” books. I loved it and marked mine all up.

What Now?

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What Now? graffiti on a wall
Photo Credit: Tim Mossholder

What Now?

With the kind of year 2020 has been, we shouldn’t be surprised at how this election is going. Yet, most of us are still shaking our heads saying, “What now?”

I told my ten-year-old and my nine-year-old that there has never been an election like this before. In elections past, if you stayed up really late, you would know who the winner was. If you couldn’t make it that late, you could wake up the next morning and check the news to see who the new president was. But not this year! Because this is 2020- the year of insanity!

I think I speak for most of us when I say this- we are scared right now. There is so much divisiveness in our country, and this election is just stirring up more unrest. No matter who you voted for, there is uncertainty, fear, and frustrations on both sides.

What Do We Do?

There is only one place to turn when life is uncertain and fear is so prevalent—God’s Word. I read these verses in Psalms, and they were a comfort to my heart. I hope they bring you comfort as well.

Hurry with your answer, God!
    I’m nearly at the end of my rope.
Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me!
    That would be certain death.
If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,
    I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.
Point out the road I must travel;
    I’m all ears, all eyes before you.
Save me from my enemies, God—
    you’re my only hope!
Teach me how to live to please you,
    because you’re my God.
Lead me by your blessed Spirit
    into cleared and level pastureland.

Psalm 143:7-10 MSG

How do we Alleviate Our Fears?

I love all of these verses, but the part that caught my attention was verse eight. “If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting you.” David understood getting up early to spend time with God. He makes references to it many times in the Psalms.

If we can make a habit of getting up first thing in the morning and spending time with God, reading His Word and praying, we can go to bed peacefully at night. Getting our hearts aligned with God every morning helps us to sleep peacefully at night.

With everything going on around us, our automatic response is to hide, to not deal with what’s going on. We are tempted to sleep in and not face life or get up just in time to get ready and head out the door for work. But it’s during stressful times like these that we need God the most.

So as hard as it is, (I get it) try to get up a few minutes early to be able to spend time talking to God and reading His Word. I promise if you do, you will find incredible peace.

If you want to get started with your own morning time, read Creating a Morning Time Routine You Love.

What to Read?

If you don’t know what to read, start with the Psalms. The Psalms are very peaceful and meditative. It’s exactly what we need right now when stress is running high. Just pick one chapter in Psalms to read each day. Pick a verse or a phrase that stands out to you and write it down in a journal for the day. This will help you remember it, so you can think about it throughout your day. When you start feeling fearful or stressed, think about that verse and let it calm you and bring peace to your heart.

My morning time with my Bible and my Faithfully Stepping Journal

What to Pray?

If you don’t know what to pray, follow this simple process.

  1. Thank God for something today.
  2. Confess your sins from yesterday.
  3. Pray specifically about today.

Simply talk to God. Tell Him what you’re scared of, what you’re struggling with. If it’s easier, write it down in a journal. Get what’s in your heart and rattling around in your head down on paper. If you do that and give those burdens to God, you are going to feel so much lighter as you begin your day.

Then as you head to bed at night, pray one more time. Give your burdens, worries, fears, and questions to God. Then sleep peacefully knowing your God is watching over you.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8 KJV

What’s the Point in Worrying?

So instead of throwing our hands up in frustration asking, “What now?”, let’s turn our attention to the One Who is in charge. The thing is, God already knows who will win the election. He knows what’s going to happen after the election. He already has it under control, and us worrying about it isn’t going to change one thing. So give your burdens to God today and sleep peacefully tonight knowing that God has it all in control.