Monthly Archives: August 2021

What’s in Your Hand?

What’s in your hand that God can use?

Often, I talk to women who want to do something more with their lives. They feel like God wants them to do something, but they are unsure of what. One of the simplest ways to answer that question is to look at your gifts, talents, abilities, and passions. What do you already do or have that God could use? A good example of this is Moses.

What was in Moses’ Hand?

What did Moses have in his hand? A rod. A simple tool, something he used every day. It wasn’t extraordinary, and there was nothing special about it. Yet, in Moses’ hand, God used it to accomplish his purpose and do something amazing.

Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him?

Hardly!’” So God said, “What’s that in your hand?”

“A staff.”

Exodus 4:1,2 MSG

God used Moses and his staff time and time again to show God’s power. When Moses threw it on the ground, it became a serpent. When he held the rod over the Nile River, the river turned to blood. Moses used the staff to bring frogs out of the river, lice from the ground, hail from heaven, and locusts. When he held it over the Red Sea, the waters parted before the children of Israel and they walked across on dry land. In Moses’ hand, his rod was a simple tool. However, when God touched it it became an incredible conduit of power.

What’s in Your Hand?

What do you have in your hand that God can use to do something great? To you, it may seem simple; but in God’s hand, it becomes something incredible. Maybe think of it this way: What do you have in your hand that God has given you that you can use to help make someone’s life easier? What’s in your hand that you can use to encourage somebody else? It could be a…

  • a pen
  • a paintbrush
  • a spatula
  • a calculator
  • an instrument
  • a ruler
  • a handbook
  • a microscope
  • a phone
  • an espresso machine
  • a volleyball
  • a camera
  • a paint roller
  • a sewing machine
  • a sketchbook
  • a Bible
  • a vase
  • a duster
  • a laptop
  • a printer
  • a stethoscope
  • a bridle
  • a journal

Using Your Own Unique Gifting

God works within our personality, abilities, and talents. He’s not going to ask you to travel to a foreign country and help care for kids with medical needs if you’re a photographer. He’s going to use someone who is trained in the medical field.

My fantasy books

I write books, both Christian inspirational and fantasy fiction. My friend Keya makes candles. Aiesha, one of my friends, makes beauty products. My sister teaches piano, and my sister-in-law manages a Starbucks store. Kelley, another of my friends, runs a pony camp each summer for kids. My friend Jen manages a day care. Each of these women are so vastly different and yet each one of them is using their natural gifting, talents, and abilities to accomplish what God has for them.

My friend Keya’s candles

How do you get ready for God to use you?

  1. Be willing to try. You can do anything if you’re at least willing to try. Your first attempt may not be successful; maybe your second and third attempt won’t be either. But you have to be willing to try. God can redirect you as you go.
  2. Be ready to start. Pulling the trigger is the hardest step. Once God shows you what to do, go for it. Don’t let excuses stop you from moving forward.
  3. Don’t quit. It may not be successful right away, but that’s okay. As long as you don’t quit, God can use you. There is only one guarantee: If you quit, you will not get to see what God could have done and accomplished through you.

What’s in your hand today that God wants to use to make a difference in this world?

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post Six Steps to Finding God’s Purpose for Your Life.

Don’t Apologize for Being You

don't apologize

Sorry, Not Sorry

Matt has this crazy, loud laugh. When something cracks him up, he just lets lose. It doesn’t matter where we are or who we are with. It doesn’t bother me now, but it used to. When we first got married, I can’t tell you how many times I shushed him or kicked him under the table when we were out to dinner or at other people’s houses. It was embarrassing to me, and I thought in my immaturity that it should be embarrassing to him. 

The fact is, it didn’t bother him at all. Over a decade later, it still doesn’t bother him. I am embarrassed to admit I even confronted him about it once. I said something dumb about being a little quieter, about not bothering other people, and other stuff that just showed my immaturity and stupidity. As you can imagine, it didn’t go over very well. 

My Focus was All Wrong

The problem was I was focused on me. I am introverted and don’t like extra attention on me or my family. So, I will go out of my way to avoid any extra attention. I thought that Matt should be like that too. If you know my husband Matt, you probably just laughed out loud. Matt is the exact opposite of that. Matt loves attention. The more there is, the more he performs. He’s pretty much a “sorry, not sorry” kind of guy; he’s just not going to apologize for being who he is.  

What I didn’t realize early into our marriage was that is a strength for my husband. Him being able to throw his head back and laugh and not care who’s watching is something I desperately needed more of in my life. In those early years, I was so focused on doing the right thing, saying the right thing, wearing the right thing, that I was almost paralyzed from doing anything. I needed Matt’s fun side; I just didn’t realize that. 

Now, I understand, appreciate, and love the fun side of Matt. It’s what makes him a fun dad to our kids, a great husband to me, and a wonderful pastor. He is relatable to people, and people love that.  

Don’t Apologize for Being You

I realized at some point that I was trying to change Matt’s personality. That wasn’t my job or my place. God created him exactly the way he did for the tasks he has for him. I’m so glad my husband didn’t listen to me. He breathes life into our family every single day with his humor and fun-loving side. If he would have changed for me, our family wouldn’t be what it is today.  

Now, my extended family teases me that I laugh hysterically at anything Matt says or does. I do. I finally let my pride go and my sense of what was “appropriate” and can enjoy laughing with Matt. We have the best time laughing and having fun together as a family. He doesn’t apologize for being him, and I don’t apologize for him either.

Matt has taught me an invaluable lesson- don’t apologize for being you. This is something that I believe a lot of women struggle with, myself included. 

Just Be You 

I want to remind you of an incredible truth. You are created exactly the way God wanted to create you. There is nothing wrong with you, there is nothing you need to change. Don’t apologize for being exactly how God created you. However God has created you and crafted your personality, use it to help the people around you.

Learning who you are is freeing. You don’t have to hide anymore. You can boldly stand before God and the people in your life because you are okay with how God created you. That kind of a woman is unstoppable.  

When you discover who you really are, don’t hide that from the world. Show up as you. Own the personality God has given you. He didn’t make any mistakes when He created you. He’s not ashamed of His creation. It’s time for us to stop acting like we are ashamed of the way God created us.  

Be the Best Version of Yourself

Be the best version of you so you can be that for somebody else. If God created you strong, be strong for the people in your life who are not strong. Be strong for them. If God designed you to have a big heart to love and care for others, then do that. Love the people around you. Take care of those who are hurt and need someone to help them out. If God created you to be a leader, then step into that position. Lead the people around you. Be the kind of leader that does right by their people.  

Whatever you do, don’t apologize for how God created you! Step into that role and be the best you, you can be!

Excerpt from Finding Free

This post is an excerpt from my newest book, Finding Free: 5 Simple Steps to a More Peaceful, Happy, and Content You. If you enjoyed this excerpt, check out my book on Amazon or from Manney Resources.

For More Encouragement

For more Encouragement on this topic, read my post 4 Life Lessons You Can Learn from a Potter.

    

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.

Finding Free Book

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. 

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

2. Finding Free Devotional

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

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!