Finding Free: 4 New Products!

Manney Resources

If you have been around Faithfully Stepping for any amount of time, you probably know by now that Matt and I started Greater Philly Church ten years ago outside of Philadelphia, and that’s where we work and minister every week. What you may not know is that my husband and I started a business in 2020 called Manney Resources. After our paycheck got cut in half a few years ago, we started writing books and selling them on Amazon to try and offset the loss. Last year, we created a website to put all our resources together in one place—Manney Resources.

We create and sell books, journals, and devotionals to help people grow in their faith one morning at a time. Thank you so much to those of you who have bought our resources and helped to support our family!

We work hard during the year producing resources that we believe will help people change their lives. Well, we just released four resources this month; and I’m super excited to tell you about them!

I just released a book called, Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Content, and Happy You. Along with this book, we also released a study guide, a thirty-day devotional, and a thirty-day journal.

Finding Free Resources — from left to right: Finding Free book, Finding Free Devotional, Finding Free Study Guide, and Finding Free Journal

I love all the products we release through Manney Resources, but this set right here might just be my favorite release yet!

1. Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Content, and Happy You.

So many women today are not living lives that are truly free. They are not living a life they love. More than that, they are miserable. Maybe they don’t know who they are or what they are supposed to do in life. They feel empty, like they are missing something. They feel like they are a mistake, or not good enough. They’re stuck working jobs they can’t stand, or are at home living a life that is empty and unfulfilling.

We want to experience more, crave finding what will truly make us happy and content. Yet, we are completely clueless on how to find it or even know what it is we are searching for.

In Finding Free, I share my story of spinning in circles trying to find what I was missing, what I was supposed to do with my life, and trying to figure out why i wasn’t more fulfilled. I knew God had more for her life, but I didn’t know how to find it.

Finding Free is a journey in discovering five steps to a more peaceful, content, and happy you.

Understand Your Personality and how God wants to use uniquely you.
Discover the Purpose God has for your life.
Create a Life You Love.
Allow God to Redirect You into the future He has for you.
Release the Shame that’s holding you back from living a life of freedom.

2. Finding Free Devotional

Discover the five simple steps to a more peaceful, happy, and content life by living free. In this 30-Day Devotional Study you will learn to understand your personality, discover your purpose, create a life you love, allow God to redirect you, and release your shame.

Find Your Way

Stories: So many people struggle to find freedom in Jesus. Stories help to bring truth to light in the revealing timeless truths in a practical, everyday way. Each devotional contains an engaging story.

Focus Your Thoughts

Scriptures: How do you learn to take the steps to Finding Free? Discover specific Scripture readings each day to direct your thoughts and fill your heart with encouragement and answers to help you take each step toward Finding Free.

Fuel Your Hope

Solutions: God’s word is the way forward. Without hope and direction from God, our way is lost. Each devotional concludes with a series of questions for reflection and discussion on the Scripture reading to stimulate your thoughts and forge a way forward.

The Finding Free Devotional is perfect for personal use, a book club, or small group study.

3. Finding Free Journal

One of the greatest challenges we face at women is getting caught in the hustle, bustle, and hurry of the everyday life. We spend a lot of time and energy, but all we have to show for it is tired eyes and weary hearts. The Finding Free Journal is a guide to help you keep Christ the center focus each day and discover how to become a more peaceful, content, and happy you.

The Finding Free Journal is a guided 30-day experience. Each day features a section for journaling your prayer time and a section for journaling any insights or encouragement you gained from reading your Bible or a devotional. After that, you will have a journaling prompt, an affirmation, an excerpt from Amanda’s book Finding Free, a prayer, or a life hack to implement the principles from her book.

If you are not familiar with journaling, the Finding Free Journal is a great place to start. If you have been around church for a while and know the prayer and Bible reading routine but need something new and different to try, welcome to the next level of spiritual growth. Using the journal each morning will help take the guilt and guess-work out of growing your faith so you can gain spiritual momentum and growth your faith so you can change your life.

4. Finding Free Study Guide

For too long, you have sought to do the right thing, but you found you were doing it the wrong way. Discover the key to Finding Free!

You are about to discover what it means to FIND FREE. In this six session study guide, you will uncover the five simple steps to a more peaceful, content, and happy you. The “you” God created before your life began. You will discover not just “who” you are but “whose” you are on this journey to a life Jesus described as the “abundant life” in John 10:10.

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, if you have followed Jesus for most of your life, you just started to follow Jesus, or you are searching for what it means to have a relationship with Jesus, you will discover why you were created by God and how to unlock His purpose in your life.

Through discussion-based questions, reflections, group and personal exercises, you will learn the process to stop trying harder and lean into the life Jesus intended for you to live. This study is perfect for any setting for those looking to do a study without a video-based teaching. Whethey you are walking this path alone for personal growth or with a small group, you are just a page turn away from the start of a whole new way of living without the guilt and guess-work. Welcome to Finding Free!

Putting it All Together

Matt and I have a system we use every morning during our morning time routine called 30-to-THRIVE. Simply put, here’s how it works:

10 minutes reading a devotional or Bible⠀⠀⠀
10 minutes journaling ⠀⠀⠀
10 minutes reading a book ⠀⠀

You spend ten minutes reading your Bible or a devotional. Then you spend ten minutes journaling—this includes prayer time. Lastly, you spend ten minutes reading a book that inspires you to grow your faith or teaches you something new. Just thirty minutes a day can revolutionize your morning and change your life!

Be sure to check out all of these resources by clicking any of the links or by going to Manney Resources. I hope they are a help and encouragement to you! Let me know if you have any questions about any of the products!

Specific Prayers Get Specific Results

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Specific Prayers Get Specific Results

I believe that specific prayers get specific results. So many times, Matt and I talk to and counsel with people who are considering a major life change. Maybe it’s deciding if they should pursue a new career or opportunity, a big move, a potential spouse, taking a chance on something, and more. When I ask how they are praying about it, they say something like this, “I’m just praying that God will show me.”

While that sounds good on the surface, that kind of a prayer does nothing to show you what it is you’re supposed to do. I am a huge advocate of specific prayers. I believe specific prayers get specific results. When you pray a specific prayer and line it out for God, you will know very clearly what his answer is.

An Example of Specific Prayer

A great example of this in the Bible is the story of Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac needed a wife, so Abraham (Isaac’s father) sends his servant back to his homeland with the goal of finding a wife for his son. Think of the enormity of the servant’s task. Knowing he his not equipped to be able to do this on his own, he enters the homeland of his Master Abraham and comes to rest at a well, and prays. He says God, I need you to point me to the right woman. Then he lays out his specific prayer.

He prayed, “O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, ‘Lower your jug and give me a drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and let me also water your camels’—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I’ll know that you’re working graciously behind the scenes for my master.”
Genesis 24:12-14 MSG

He let his specific requests be known to God, so he would know whether or not God had answered his prayer. When Rebekah comes to the well, she does exactly as he prayed she would. She offers him a drink and offers to water his camels. Then he knows that God has answered his prayer.

Learning to Pray Specifically

Too often, our prayers are not specific enough; so then we don’t know whether God is really answering that prayer or not. The best way to get God’s answer on a matter is to pray specifically.

For example, when Matt and I were praying about buying a building for our church, we prayed for the building to drop to a specific amount. We also prayed that the financing would work that we would rent from the owners of the building. When both of those prayers were specifically answered, we knew that this was the building God had for us.

If we had just prayed, “God, help us to know whether or not we should buy this particular building,” we wouldn’t have known if we God was answering our prayer or not. Praying specifically takes the guesswork out of prayer, out of knowing whether or not God is answering a specific prayer.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post Stop Wavering in My Prayers and check out the book, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson. The Circle Maker is one of my favorite books on prayer.

An Update on Macey and the Last Six Weeks

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The Last Six Weeks at Home

We have been home from the hospital for about six weeks now and are adjusting to our new normal with Macey, who was diagnosed at the beginning of June with Type 1 Diabetes. She has been such a trooper and so brave and strong through all of this.

Macey’s New Dexcom

I am so happy to say that she got her Dexom—a continuous glucose monitoring system. It has made things so much easier for us to monitor her numbers continuously. It makes traveling soo much easier. With the touch of a button, we know her numbers. Whether it’s while she’s swimming in the pool, playing outside, traveling in the car, or sleeping…we can know what her numbers are and help to prevent any highs and lows. It’s been a game changer for us. The Dexcom takes the place of pricking her finger. So we don’t have to do all the finger pricking all day long, and she’s super grateful for that!

In the months to come, we are hoping to get her on an insulin pump. That will take the place of most of her insulin shots, so we are still praying and hoping for that sometime in the future. Right now, we are enjoying the freedom of using the Dexcom.

We got to go see our friends in Ohio and their new book store!

Back to Her Happy Self

Thank you to so many of you that have been praying for us and praying for Macey. She is doing so much better. She is back to her normal self, something that we are so incredibly grateful for. It took several weeks for her to be back to the “Macey” we know, but we are so happy with where she’s at now.

Macey and her daddy — Macey on a date with her Daddy

She turned six last week and celebrated by having a Wonder Woman party! We had our family over for the day, and the cousins all ended up in the pool! It was a great day.

Macey at her birthday party — Macey’s birthday party

Being Reminded of God’s Goodness

It’s during times like these that we are reminded of how good God is and how blessed we are to have family and friends that love us and pray for us. We experienced such an outflow of love from people. Macey received card after card, balloons, presents in the mail, and more. We are beyond thankful for all of you! Thank you so much!

We are so thankful that God prepared us as much as possible to be able to handle Macey’s diagnosis. Every time we meet with a new doctor or nurse, they ask us if we are ready to handle the trials that come from having a Type 1 Diabetic child in school. Every time, we are able to tell them that we don’t have to worry about that because I homeschool the kids. Every time, without fail, they say something like, “Oh, good. That will be so much easier!” God is so good. He knew exactly what Macey would need before we did.

Our Biggest Blessing this Summer

God has an amazing way of meeting needs before we even know we know them. One of the biggest blessings we’ve experienced this summer is getting an Intex pool in the backyard. We have wanted one for several years and just haven’t pulled the trigger. We decided that this was the year. It has been a God-send. One of the things that keeps Madcey’s numbers from going too high is exercise. So, every time her numbers start to climb, we throw her in the pool…which she is happy as a clam to do! It’s been such a blessing!

Sometimes, you have to pull back and look at the full situation to see God’s hand of blessing in your life. Other times, it’s so evident that you can’t miss it. I feel like that’s how the last several weeks have been.

We continue to trust God and his plan for Macey as we move forward. We are continually reminded of his faithfulness and goodness to us.

For More Encouragement

If you are in the midst of a difficult season right now in your own life and need some encouragement, check out our devotional: He Still Calms Storms: Finding Calm in the Midst of Chaos (a 30-day devotional) or read my blog post: When Problems Disrupt Our Lives.

4 Life Lessons You Can Learn from a Potter

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A Local Potter

There’s a shop in Lancaster, PA that sells beautiful pottery pieces from a local potter. Each of the pieces are unique and beautiful, brightly colored and eye-catching. They’re also really expensive. That’s because each piece takes hours to create, and no two pieces are the same. They are all uniquely different. I’ve bought a few pieces over the years as gifts for people.

A Potter in Old Testament Times

The picture of the potter seemed to be a popular way for the people to understand how God works, because God was constantly using the potter to teach his people lessons in the Old Testament.

In the book of Jeremiah, God tells the prophet Jeremiah, “Go on down to the potter’s house and watch the potter. I’m going to use him to teach you and my people a few lessons.”

So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot.
Jeremiah 18:3,4 MSG

Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
Jeremiah 18:5,6 NLT

Lessons from the Potter

What do these verses teach us about God, as the Master Potter? Here are four life lessons we can learn from the potter.

1. A potter doesn’t discard the clay when the vessel he’s creating doesn’t turn out right.

Just as the potter doesn’t throw away the clay simply because it didn’t turn out the way he wanted, so God doesn’t set us aside when we make mistakes or when we experience massive failure in our lives. He simply helps us put the pieces of our life back together again and uses those failures to shape us into who he wants us to be.

2. The potter knows the value of the clay.

The potter knows the value of good clay and won’t throw any of it away. In the same way, God sees value in us long before we become anything spectacular.

3. A potter doesn’t get angry at the imperfections; he just starts over.

A good potter doesn’t react in anger when what he is creating doesn’t turn out. He simply molds it together and starts again. Similarly, God doesn’t get angry at us in our frailty. He patiently molds us and shapes.

4. The potter sees the final product in his head before it takes shape in his hands.

A potter has in his creative mind what the final product is going to look like. Then he patiently works at it until the piece resembles the picture in his mind. God does that same with us. He sees the final product, and he won’t give up until we resemble that final product.

Our job in all of this is to simply stay moldable, shapable. How do we do that? We have to constantly be tuned in to his voice and working in our life. We can do that in four ways.

1. Spend time every morning with God.

The easiest way for me to do this is to start each morning with my morning time routine. Check out My Best Tips for a Morning Time Routine.

2. Get plugged into a local church.

One of the best ways to stay close to God is to connect and align ourselves with him each week by listening to good preaching, participating in worshiping God through music, serving God and others, and fellowshipping with other believers. We can do all this by getting plugged into a local church.

3. Join a small group.

I am a huge proponent of small groups, even though I didn’t grow up with small groups. But after more than eight years of participating in small groups, I can see the amazing value of them. There’s something about being accountable to the same group of people week after week. Sharing a meal together, doing a Bible study and praying together each week, and just doing life together week after week keeps you accountable in a way that church just doesn’t. We love our small group and couldn’t imagine doing life without the members of our group.

If you’re interested in learning more about small groups, I devoted a chapter to small groups in both of my books—The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life and Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Content, and Happy You. You can check them out on Amazon.

4. Listen to good music and podcasts throughout the week.

Another way to stay close to God during the week is to listen to good Christian music and podcasts. By filling our hearts and minds with more of God and his goodness to us, we keep a tender heart towards him and are more apt to hear his voice and see his hand guiding us.

It’s our job to stay moldable, ready and willing to follow as God leads in our lives. It’s God’s job to make us into the person he created us to be. When we do our job and allow God to do his job, we will find ourselves at complete peace.

5 Signs You Won’t Make it Through this Storm

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My husband, Matt, wrote this post for his blog this week. I liked it so much and thought it was so helpful, I decided to share it for this week’s post.

The Perfect Storm

October 30, 1991, was the day a nameless storm hit the North Atlantic seaboard. Just a few days before, Hurricane Grace developed off the coast of Bermuda and headed to the Southeast coastline of the United States. As the days progressed, Grace came head-to-head with a low-pressure system hailing from Canada. The clash of the two storms created the perfect storm. The National Hurricane Center chose not to name the storm for fear it would confuse the public.

During the developing weather system, a crew of six manned a 70-foot fishing boat called the Andrea Gail. The crew headed to the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic, where they were hoping to catch swordfish. When the crew failed to arrive back into port on November 1, a search party was sent to look for the them. Sebastian Junger records the tale in his book, The Perfect Storm, which became a motion picture. The unnamed perfect storm swallowed the crew who were never found.

A Storm of Biblical Proportions

The disciples were used to fishing on the twelve-mile-long and eight-mile-wide Sea of Galilee. What they were not used to were the freak storms that could whip up at a moment’s notice. The sea was nicknamed “The Great Abyss” by the locals. While the sea gave the men their livelihood, it also posed a threat to their lives.

While we might not be in a literal storm like the disciples, we all face “storms” that threaten to take us down, along with the people we love as well as our future. How do you know if you’re going to make it through your storm? Here are five signs that indicate you won’t make it.

5 Signs You Won’t Make It Through the Storm

1. You are about to quit.

The worst time to leave a relationship, quit a job, or make a drastic decision is in the midst of a storm. It’s been said, “Don’t make a long-term decision, for short-term inconvenience.” Storms have a shelf-life with an expiration date. What’s the answer? H-A-L-T Don’t make a decision when you are H (Hungry), A (Angry), L (Lonely), or T (Tired.)

2. You think you’re the exception

You think you’re the exception. Sometimes the temptation comes to sail head-long into a bad situation, do nothing, or just hope for the best. “Let the chips fall where they may.” If you have advanced warning of a storm, experts say the best course of action is to find a port. Don’t look for just any port. Find a port that’s a “hurricane hole,” with high mountains or cliffs around it and a good holding. What’s the answer? Go to God. Reach out to friends who will point you back to God. Get to church. Church is a great port of refuge for those times we are the most troubled. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

3. You think another ship might help.

Target fixation can be a real problem in a storm. There are people and places you might think will be a help but will only sink you faster in the midst of chaos. What’s the answer? Have a plan and conviction before the chaos and crisis hits.

4. You’re in denial.

Ever heard this before? “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” Some of us don’t like bad news, to feel pain, or deal with reality. We might get so used to chaos and living in a “storm” that we get comfortable with drama, stress, and toxicity. If you don’t get help or make a change, eventually you’ll start taking on water and sink any chance of making it through the storm. What’s the answer? Get HOT- be honest, open, and transparent with where you are in life. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. We are only as sick as our secrets. We’ve all got problems. If you’re in an abusive, unhealthy relationship, it might be time to reach out to someone and ask for help.

5. Your emotions are calling the shots.

Panic is the most dangerous crew member in the midst of a storm. If panic takes the helm and starts giving orders, the risk of injury and fatality increase exponentially. What’s the answer? Have a plan and stick to it. Get a buddy system. Who can you call to help you have objectivity in your situation? Who can you check in with on a regular basis so that you can keep a level head?

Your Own Perfect Storm

Maybe you’re facing your own unnamed perfect storm right now. You’re fearful of your circumstances swallowing you up. You fear no rescue party could find you. Friends and family have their own worries to tend to. You may feel alone like the disciples and wonder if anyone knows or cares about you. Be encouraged to know that Jesus will always come to you in your storm.

In Matthew 14:22-33, the disciples experienced a literal storm. Jesus came to them in the midst of their storm and guided them safely to shore.

Jesus will allow for situations to unfold in which we feel far from him. In the start of the story, Jesus tells the disciples to go on ahead without him. Sometimes there are situations in life when we feel alone and far from Jesus. It’s simply a part of life. But just because we feel lonely doesn’t mean we are alone.

Remember this: God may allow storms, but he doesn’t abandon us in them. When you are in the midst of your storm, call out to Jesus. He will be there and help guide you safely through your storm.

For More Encouragement

Check out our thirty-day devotional, He Still Calms Storms: Finding Calm in the Midst of Chaos or my post: How to Prepare My Heart for a Difficult Season of Life.

Waiting for the Promotion and Not Giving Up on Your Dreams

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God’s Plan of Promotion

God’s plan of promotion is so different than ours. Often, God’s promotion can be summed up in one word…TIME. Whereas, we want the raise, the huge platform, the fame, and the income now.

Your dreams may look like they are never going to come true. You may feel like this thing God has called you to is just not working out, and you may begin to doubt yourself and doubt what you thought God wanted you to do. Feeling like a failure because this is not how you saw your life going, you begin to doubt yourself and question God’s purpose for your life.

Don’t Give Up

When those doubts come, don’t jump ship. Don’t give up on the dream God has given you. His plan is completely different than yours. We see the here and now; God sees eternity. He can do far more than we could ever even imagine or ask for in our wildest dreams.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 NLT

David’s Promotion

David was a nobody until God made him a somebody. He simply fulfilled his duty. He showed up every day to fulfill the task he’d been given. It wasn’t glamorous, and it wasn’t fun. Yet because he was faithful in the small things, when the time was right, God pulled him into the big leagues.

Then he chose David, his servant,
    handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.
One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs,
    the next day God had him shepherding Jacob,
    his people Israel, his prize possession.
His good heart made him a good shepherd;
    he guided the people wisely and well.
Psalm 78:70-72

David had no idea when he got up early to go tend sheep that his life was going to change forever that day.

Show Up Today

How do we get God to use us? It’s simple. Choose to show up today to whatever it is God has for you.

Too many of us are guilty of searching for our own significance. We try to find the perfect job, create an amazing platform, and promote ourselves until we’re blue in the face. What if instead, we chose to just show up and fulfill the roles we’ve already been given and wait for God to promote us.

But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
Psalm 75:7 KJV

Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living—
first you learn humility, then you experience glory.
Proverbs 15:33 MSG

God decides when it’s time for us to enter the limelight. It’s his job to promote us in his timing. So if you’re stressing today, take a deep breath. Get back to the basics. Do what you need to do today to move forward. Take the next step, and leave the rest up to God. Don’t spend all your energy trying to promote yourself. Do what needs to be done today. Work hard; then leave the rest in God’s capable hands.

Created to Do More

Looking for books that inspire you to do something more with your life? Check out Called to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk by Jordan Raynor, Soar: Build Your Vision from the Ground Up by T. D. Jakes, and Money-Making Mom: How Every Woman Can Earn More and Make a Difference by Crystal Paine. These books are all favorites of mine!

Also, check out my post Stop Praying and Take a Step of Faith.

Our Week in the ICU and God’s Grace for Every Moment

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Needing God’s Grace and Strength

Last Sunday, I stood before our church family and gave one of the points of Matt’s message for the day. The point was this… God allows weakness into our lives so that we fully depend on God’s grace and strength. I spoke about how there is never going to be a day that we don’t need God. I had no idea that those words were about to play out in my life in a very real way.

On Monday afternoon, we took our five-year old, Macey, to the emergency room. She had been throwing up for twenty-four hours and grown progressively weaker and dehydrated. She got to the point where she could no longer walk and had to be carried.

Transfer to Chop

By the time we got to the emergency room, she was pretty much comatose. We could barely get her to respond, her heart rate was really high, and her eyes were sunken in. They immediately told us they suspected type 1 diabetes. Soon, they drew her blood and told us that her sugars were 1795—something they had never seen before. They immediately contacted Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania to come pick her up and transfer her.

Macey was completely comatose for the transport to CHOP. There was a team waiting for her in the ICU when we got there and they immediately got to work. They got three IVs going, and she was put on fluids and insulin.

The Next Forty-Eight Hours

Over the course of the next forty-eight hours, she had blood work every two hours, finger pricks, shots, and more. They couldn’t get her blood to draw easily, so every time was complete torture—her screaming and crying for it to stop for twenty minutes every time.

Every night when I laid down around midnight to get a little rest in between blood work, after Matt had gone home to be with our other kids and I was alone, the tears would start. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m not strong enough. I can’t take her pain. I hate this…”

Each morning, I would wake up, pray for a few minutes, read some of my Bible on my phone and start again. God would carry me through the day once again. It was literally an hour by hour thing of depending on God to get me through.

On Thursday, I got to hold her for the first time. Neither one of us said anything. She was just grateful to be held, and I was grateful to hold my little girl in my arms.

We got to leave the ICU on Thursday night and move to the endocrinology floor where Matt and I continued our training to be able to care for her at home.

We finished our training late Friday afternoon and finally got to begin the discharge process. Then, around dinner time, we got to take our precious girl home.

Our Lives Forever Changed

Our lives have forever changed, and so has Macey’s. We had absolutely no idea what we were dealing with when they diagnosed her. Wrongly, we assumed that we would have to limit her sugar, help her eat healthy and exercise, and give insulin when needed.

We couldn’t have been more wrong. What we didn’t know was that Type 1 Diabetes is an auto-immune disease for which there is no cure. It’s not maintained by diet and exercise.

Simply put, her pancreas doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. Because of that, she can’t put anything into her mouth ever again without first taking insulin. That means she has to check her blood sugar with finger pricks five to eight times a day and get as many shots.

We have to figure out how what and how much she is going to eat every time she eats and figure out how much insulin to give her before she eats. That doesn’t include a nightly dose of insulin as well as checking anytime throughout the day when we suspect her sugars are low or high.

When we sat down and told her what was happening at the hospital—that she has diabetes and we were going to have to continue the finger pricks and shots at home, she cried… and my heart broke. To have to continue this every day for the rest of her life is staggering. To be the one to do it to her is absolutely crushing.

The events of last week have been the hardest thing Matt and I have ever dealt with, and it’s not over. It’s just beginning.

Grace for Today

When I opened my eyes on Saturday morning after a short, interrupted sleep, I thought of the words I spoke on Sunday…just a few days before. That there isn’t going to be a day we don’t need God. I recalled the verse I used from II Corinthians.

Paul asked for his problem to be taken away, and God said no. God didn’t take Paul’s problems away; instead He responded with this these words.

My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
II Corinthians 12:9

During those long days in the hospital, those words were all that I had to cling to. That his grace and strength would be enough to carry me through to face another hour and another day. That he will be there for my little girl just as much as he was for me.

Our New Normal

Life looks a little different at the Manney house than it did just a week ago. We have things I never thought we’d have like a medical shelf in our closet filled with syringes, glucose strips, alcohol wipes, and more. We have a medic bag we take with us everywhere we go.

It’s amazing, though, how God’s grace carries us through. Just a few days ago, I felt hopeless, confused, and exhausted. Yet, we are adjusting to this new normal and continuing on with life just as we did before Macey’s diagnosis. That’s God’s grace.

Macey is smiling again; she’s going to be just fine. Are there challenges ahead? Yes. Is everything perfect? No. Are there hard moments and tough days? Yes. But God will get us through them by His grace…one day at a time.

God’s Grace for Today

If you’re going through something today, and you don’t know how you can make it through. I understand; I get it. The words of hope I want to give you are the same words I clung to last week. God’s grace is enough for today. Cling to that thought today and let God’s Grace and strength carry you through the next day, the next hour, the next minute even. Don’t look ahead to the future; just focus on today.

More Encouragement

Two books to give you hope when you’re going through a difficult season would be It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lisa TerKeurst and my book, The Hidden Pain. Or check out these blog posts: When Problems Disrupt Our Lives and How to Prepare My Heart for a Difficult Season of Life.

5 Ways to Connect Regularly with Your Husband

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Sunrise at the Beach

Last week, we were at the beach for a week with my husband’s family. My husband, Matt and I decided to get up early each morning and walk to the beach, so we could watch the sunrise. It was amazing!

Matt and I will celebrated fifteen years of marriage this year. Do you know how many years it’s taken for both of us to get up early to go watch the sunrise at the beach? 14 years. This is the first year we’ve done it.

For many years, exhaustion kept us from getting much sleep as we had little ones. Other years, he got up early on a morning I didn’t or I did when he didn’t. This year we both were on the same page and went every morning together. After that, we would jump in the van and drive twenty minutes to the nearest Starbucks to get coffee. It was like a mini date every morning. It was amazing, but once again I repeat… it’s taken us fourteen years.

The Process of Time

When Matt and I first got married, I hated being a newly wed. I wanted to just jump ahead to being married several years. Similarly, I wanted to skip the newly wed fights and trying to figure each other out.

What I didn’t understand as a new wife was that there was nothing I could do to rush through the process of growing our relationship. Some things come with only with time, and a good marriage is one of them.

We can only get out of our relationships what we put into them. Am I saying that Matt and I have a perfect marriage? Nope. Far from it. Do we fight? Yes. Do we get angry and frustrated with each other? Yes. Have we said things we regret? All the time. Although we fight, we continue to choose to ask for forgiveness and choose to love the other person regardless.

We don’t get it all right, but we have figured out five ways to connect with each other on a regular basis.

5 Ways to Connect Regularly with Your Husband

1. Schedule a regular date night. We are blessed to live near family that can watch our kids, so we can have a date night each week. We go on a date every Thursday with very few exceptions.

2. Figure out a time to spend together every single day. We spend our mornings together. Matt and I get up early every morning and do our morning time routine at the table together. We enjoy the time together before the kids get up.

3. Spend time talking to your husband. It sounds so simple, but don’t underestimate the power of this. One of the common characteristics of couples we counsel who are on the verge of divorce is that they don’t talk with their spouse; they don’t connect with them on a regular basis.

4. Choose to forgive again and again. I am ashamed to say that it took me several years of being married before I would ever be the first one to say “I’m sorry.” There is incredible power behind the words, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me.” So many marriages could be saved if we could just learn to humble ourselves and say those words.

5. Lastly, figure out a time to connect physically. We schedule a weekly time to be physically intimate. We’ve told other couples this in counseling, and people are always are shocked when we say this. It sounds so unromantic. But the fact of the matter is, most couples struggles with their sex life. We learned early on that the best way to be consistent was to schedule it in.

Start Connecting This Week

These are just a few ideas to get you started connecting with your spouse. It’s an area we can all grow in. Choose one or two ways to try this next week and see if it doesn’t make a difference in your relationship.

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out Pillowfights: Handling Marital Conflict, a book Matt and I wrote or iMarriage—a DVD series by Andy Stanley about staying in love. Or check out my post, All the Ways My Husband Has Hurt Me.

Find Freedom From the Burdens Weighing You Down

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What Burdens are You Carrying?

Do you have burdens that you’re carrying right now? Is there something that you really need an answer from God for? The best thing we can do is to take those concerns and worries to God, instead of trying to shoulder them ourselves. Paul tells us this in the book of Philippians.

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Philippians 4:6a MSG

Releasing Those Burdens

Instead of worrying, we need to talk to God and tell him about those worries. Tell him all of our concerns. Too often, we carry around the weight of the burdens we carry, burdens God never intended us to carry.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
I Peter 5:7

Turning Those Burdens into Prayers

It sounds good, but how do you do that? How do you stop worrying or stressing about those pressures or burdens that are so heavy on your heart? Paul gives us the answer in the second half of the verse.

Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Philippians 4:6b

We take those burdens and turn them into prayers. Maybe you need to take out a journal and write down your burdens. Write out a long prayer to God, telling him everything you feel. Write down every emotion you’re feeling and the pain and pressures you’re experiencing.

Finding God’s Peace

What happens after that? Paul tells us in the next verse in Philippians.

Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4:7 MSG

Can you feel that peace, even just in reading those verses? It’s a call to releasing those heavy burdens you’ve been carrying. It’s a realization that you don’t have to shoulder them alone anymore.

I don’t know about you, but I needed to hear these verses today. I have been carrying around some heavy burdens and have felt so overwhelmed by the weight of them. When I read those verses during my morning time routine, I stopped right then and prayed. After I told him all my concerns and worries and relinquished my hold on those burdens, I felt his peace.

Does that mean that my prayers were immediately answered? No. The burdens are still there, but I no longer have to shoulder them on my own.

What burdens, worries, frustrations, fears, and concerns are you carrying today that you need to relinquish your hold on? What would happen if you could let go of them and leave them with Jesus?

He’s waiting for you to do just that today. You were never meant to carry your own burdens. Give them to Jesus today. Let him do the heavy lifting; then feel God’s sense of wholeness wrapping around you—that feeling of everything coming together for good.

For More Encouragement

I just heard Great You Are by Jordan Smith for the first time the other day and absolutely loved it. It was such an encouragement to my heart and is one of my new favorites.

Keep Going Mama!

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Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day on Sunday, I just wanted to take a moment to encourage my fellow mamas. Being a mama is tough! Nobody tells you how hard it’s going to be before you start. Somewhere in the midst of the endless loads of laundry, dirty dishes, potty-training, fighting, and chaos, we lose sight of what really matters. Sometimes, we just need somebody to come alongside and say, “Don’t give up, Mama. You’re doing a great job!” That’s what this post is for.

Happy Kids Towell

I saw this hand towel in a store the other day and had to snap a picture.

I love this quote so much because it’s so true! We think that we’re a good mama based on how well our children behave when we’re in public, how clean our home is, how polite our child is, and a myriad of other things. When in reality, we should really base it on whether or not our kids are happy.

We strive so hard to do everything that makes us a “good mama;” but in the end, our kids don’t really need all that. They are happy when we simply choose to just spend time with them and love them. Below is an excerpt from my book Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Content, and Happy You that releases in a few weeks.

Dear Young Mama

As a young mom. I was so frustrated and weary all the time. I wanted my house to look like the other homes I saw. The problem was, those homes didn’t have four little children living there creating havoc every single day.

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. Too soon, our home will be empty. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that I will wish for toys on the floor and fingerprints on the mirror.

Looking Back

I will look back at the craziness and the chaos and miss it and wish that our house was loud and messy once more. Even now, I miss the baby stage. I love the stage of life that each of my kids are at, but I do miss having a baby in the house.

I don’t miss late-night nursing sessions, carrying a heavy diaper bag everywhere I go, and cleaning up diaper explosions. But I 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.

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 just 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 so 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 it. I’m saying this as a reminder and challenge as much to myself as I am saying it to you.

Don’t give up, Mama. Though the days are long, keep at it. Keep loving your kids, keep training them, keep forgiving them and teaching them how to love Jesus and the people around them. We only have this short amount of time with them; make it count!

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out one of my favorite mom books—The SuperMom Myth: Conquering the Dirty Villains of Motherhood by Becky Kopitzke and my post, Guaranteed Success for Moms.