Category Archives: Personal Growth

Our Faith Determines How God Works in our Lives

Leave a reply
definition of faith

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

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

Their Plan

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

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

Their Request

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

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

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

Our Faith

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

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

James 1:5-7

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

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

How to Increase our Faith

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

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

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

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

More Encouragement

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

Making the Most of this Season of Life

Leave a reply

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

My Favorite Parts of Summer

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

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

summer fun in the pool

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

Taking Advantage of This Current Season of Life

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

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

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

For More Encouragement

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

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

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

When Trials Knock Your Feet Out From Under You

Leave a reply

Have you ever been at a place in your life when you feel that you can’t tell which way is up anymore? The trials just keep coming. Life has knocked you down, and it feels like the hits just keep coming?

Job’s Humanity

I’ve been doing a study in the book of Job. Every time I read about Job, I am reminded how desperately human he was. The words that pour from his mouth show his humanness. There are so many verses in Job that are so accurate at putting grief and pain into words.

An example can be found in chapter three.

What I always feared has happened to me.
    What I dreaded has come true.
 I have no peace, no quietness.
    I have no rest; only trouble comes.

Job 3:25,26

Don’t those words so accurately describe the feelings we have when we’re going through something that is just too much? As painful as Job’s story is, there is such beauty in his writing.

Bitterness of Soul

One of the verses that caught my attention this week comes from chapter twenty-seven.

I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
    by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—

Job 27:2 NLT

That phrase embittered my soul really encapsulates the feelings we go experience when we’re in the middle of a trial. The King James Version puts it this way:

As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

Job 27:2 KJV

The word vex means “to make bitter,” and embittered means “anger or resentment at having been treated unfairly.” If we’re honest with ourselves, isn’t that exactly what we feel when God allows us to go through something that tests us to the very core of our faith? We would never say it out loud, but at night when it’s quiet and we’re all alone, those thoughts come to the surface. We feel that God has treated us unfairly, and we don’t know if we’re going to get through what we’re going through.

Reminder for Today

I don’t know what trials you’re facing today, but I know a little about what it’s like to feel like God has forgotten you, like he’s turned his back on you. God got me through that dark time in my life, and you can read about it in the book I wrote. But I’m here to remind you today that this is not the end of your story. God will get you through this.

I am here to remind you that God has not forgotten you. He sees you, and he knows what you’re going through. You are not alone. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but he’s right there with you and he’s not going anywhere. He hears you and will answer you when you cry out to him.

For More Encouragement

If you’re are in a trial right now and feel so alone, check out our devotional You Are Not Alone. It’s a thirty-day devotional with readings each day and verses to remind you that you aren’t alone even in the midst of life’s hard.

You can also read my post Handling Trials.

Our Colorado Trip and the Ark Encounter

Leave a reply

We just got back from our annual trip to Colorado. It’s a twenty-five-hour trip (without stops) from where we live outside of Philadelphia to Colorado. Of course, we take lots of stops. It’s a pretty long trip but so worth it. We had a great time seeing family, exploring, continuing our search for the best cup of coffee, and more. Matt and I got to do our morning time routine one morning by a beautiful lake, and that was a highlight for sure.

Seeing Family

We get to stay with my parents. We love getting to spend extra time with Grandma and Grandpa. We also got to spend time with my Grandma, who turned ninety this week. That’s always so special.

Ark Encounter

On our way home, we always stop in Kentucky to see my older sister and her family.

This year, we set aside time to visit the Ark Encounter while we were there. It was so much more than I thought it would be. It was an entire experience. Besides the actual ark we visited, there was a zoo, a playground, a restaurant, pizza and ice cream shops, a carousel and more. It was really a fantastic experience, and I highly recommend it.

Every year, before I go on vacation, I wonder if we should—if it’s worth the time, the money. It’s a huge trip across the country. Yet, every year, I am reminded that it is so worth it. It is so good to take a break from everything and just leave it all behind. It’s a change of pace and place, and that helps bring perspective, gratitude, and peace. Can’t wait for next year!

Don’t Run When the Pruning Starts

Leave a reply
pruning a tree

There’s an orchard in Lancaster, PA that we love visiting multiple times throughout the year. We pick apples, peaches, and strawberries there. I saw a post from them this week about the pruning they are doing on their peach trees. It reminded me of how God works with us.

Pruning and training early in the life of the tree will help establish the desired form of the tree and make future pruning and maintenance less complicated. The rewards of proper pruning and training are abundant yields of high-quality fruit that are easily harvested.

Cherry Hill Orchards
Pruning at Cherry Hill Orchards

The Pruning Process

When I read this post, it made me think of how God prunes us. I feel like this is exactly how God has worked in our personal life and ministry. The pruning in the early years of ministry really changed us and molded us and prepared us for the kind of ministry God wanted us to have.

Pruning isn’t fun. It’s often painful, but it’s how God prepares our hearts and changes us into the person he wants us to be. He does it so that we can actually produce more fruit.

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 

John 15:2 NLT

How God Prunes Us

The most common way that God prunes us is through testing and trials. He allows things into our lives to begin this work in our lives.

What I’ve seen time and time again over the years is that people run when God starts the pruning process. They get scared and take off instead of staying. They leave a ministry, a job, a relationship, a career, a church. God starts squeezing and putting the pressure on, and people get scared and run.

What Happens When You Run

There’s one thing I’ve learned about God’s pruning. If you run, the process will simply start again at another time. You may escape it for now, but then the testing and trials will start again in a different form.

The best thing we can choose to do is to stay in it. Stay in the pruning, the testing, the struggle. Don’t give up. Don’t run, even though it feels like everything inside of you is telling you to run. Stay still; allow God to work. Allow him to change and mold and shape you into who he wants you to be.

If we don’t run, if we don’t give up during the testing, we will produce fruit.

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing

John 15:5

Choose to stick with it; don’t run during the pruning process. If we stay faithful, we will get to see what it looks like when God uses us to produce fruit.

For More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out a great video by the Skit Guys called The Chisel. It’s all about this process of pruning that God takes us through. Or read my post Peach Picking and Sticking With It.

What Matters is How You Finish

Leave a reply
picture and how you finish quote

We all know of people who started out well but didn’t finish well. You don’t have to look far for these kinds of stories. There’s a story in the Old Testament about a king who started out so well. He was a really good king until one day, he wasn’t. His name was King Asa.

Who was King Asa?

King Asa was a good king. He followed God and did what was right, and God blessed him in his reign. Everything was going really well for him, until something changed in his life. During the thirty-sixth year of his reign, King Baasha invades. Out of fear, King Asa sends money from the Temple to another king and asks for an alliance. King Ben-hadad agrees to the alliance and helps drive King Baasha out of King Asa’s land. Success right? They drove out the invading king.

Not so fast. After they drive out the invading king, Hanani (a seer), comes to see King Asa and delivers this message:

“Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram.

II Chronicles 16:7

What was Hanani’s message?

Hanani tells King Asa that he’s been a fool for trusting in a human instead of in God and that from now on, he will be at war. King Asa gets so irate, he throws Hanani into prison. What’s interesting to note is that the Bible says that from that point on, King Asa began to oppress some of his people.

King Asa goes on to develop a serious foot disease but still doesn’t choose to turn back to God. Just five years after these events, King Asa dies, leaving behind a tragic legacy.

King Asa started out so great, but he didn’t finish well. It doesn’t matter how we start something, it’s how we finish. We can have the best start, but it’s the finish that matters the most.

What was King Asa’s Downfall?

He stopped trusting God; it’s as simple as that. He knew better. He knew to trust God and to obey him; yet, somehow, he turned away from God and started trusting himself. That was his downfall.

So many people start out strong in their faith, but then life happens. Our feet get knocked out from under us, and life batters us. We get so bruised and battered that we lose the will to stick with it. Soon, we fall away from church, we stop meeting with our small group, and we stop reading our Bibles and even praying. Before too long, we find ourselves in a dark place, far away from God.

How do we keep from being like King Asa?

We have to continue to trust God each and every day and not lean on our own understanding of life and situations. We have to remember these familiar words from Proverbs and continue to put our trust in God and not depend on our own selves for direction in life.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5,6

Who do we trust?

The only way to get through this life is to trust God every step of the way and not our own selves. Jeremiah tells us that our hearts are deceitful and wicked, and we can’t trust them. We have to learn to trust God and not our own emotions, thoughts, and feelings; those can lead us away in a big way. As soon as we stop trusting God, we begin on the path to our demise.

Choose to listen to God, to listen for his voice in the midst of all of life’s craziness. Set aside time every morning to spend time with him through a morning time routine. Stay faithful to church, get involved in a small group. Most of all, continue to trust God one day at a time. If we do, we can finish strong and leave a legacy of godliness for our kids.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my post, Encouragement for the Weary Soul. Want to develop your trust in God by growing in your walk with him? Check out our devotionals and journals, available from Manney Resources.

Taking Personal Responsibility for My Life

Leave a reply
responsibility ahead sign

Taking Responsibility

One of the things that Matt and I deal with time and time again is the issue of taking personal responsibility for your life. I can’t tell you how many times we have sat across the table with people whose lives are absolutely a mess, and they look us straight in the face and say, “It’s not my fault. You don’t understand what happened to me.”

The fact of the matter is we don’t. We don’t know all that has happened to people. We’ve heard some heart-breaking stories over the areas—stories that nobody should have to go through! It breaks our hearts, and we know it breaks God’s heart. We don’t understand, but there is someone who does. God understands, and he has walked by their side every step of the way.

Turning to Something Else to Take Away the Pain

As horrible as our circumstances may be, God still expects us to live in a way that honors him. He expects us to turn to him and let him guide us through the trial. Yet, that’s the opposite of what most of us do. Most of us throw our hands up and say, “I can’t. I give up. This is too hard; I can’t do this.” When hard times hit, people give up on God, their families, their friends, their job…Soon all that’s left is a bottle. So they turn to that bottle, because at least the bottle is consistent. The bottle promises to help relieve the pain, take away the feeling of a broken heart. Satan convinces us that the answer is in that bottle, or that pill…that next high. And we have no idea that we are just driving ourselves further away from God and from others around us until we’ve lost absolutely everything.

I talked to three people just this week who are in this exact circumstance. The fact of the matter is that so many people convince themselves that what they’re going though is not their fault and it gives them permission to destroy their lives with whatever has a grip on them—drugs, alcohol, sex, spending money, gambling, pornography, anger, lust, and the list goes on and on.

Just a Victim of Our Circumstances

So many people feel like they are the victims of their circumstances. We fool ourselves into thinking that whatever has happened to us is not our fault, and therefore, we’re not responsible for our actions. The truth is that we are responsible for ourselves, our actions, and our lives no matter what life throws at us.

We all have life happen to us; what counts is how we respond. Nobody escapes this life problem free; none of us come out unscathed. Yet, we choose what happens next; we write the narrative on our lives.

It’s vital that we remember these three things:

  1. My life is my own personal responsibility.
  2. I have control over my life.
  3. What anybody else does or does not do has no control over me or my life.

The Reason God Allows Bad Things into Our Lives

Why do we have to go through bad things? Why does God allow testing to take place in our lives in the first place?

James gives us an idea of why God allows testing in the first chapter of his book.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:2-4

The Goal

James explains to us that with testing comes an opportunity to grow in our faith and as a person. Every test that comes our way is a chance to grow our endurance. Then, when our endurance is fully developed, we will be perfect. The definition of perfect here is mature or complete. From these verses, we understand that the only way to become spiritually complete or mature is to grow our endurance by getting through trials, by learning to deal with life as it comes at us.

What’s the Goal?

The goal in all of this is not self-control; rather, it is spirit-control. We want to be guided by the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and not by ourselves. If that’s the goal, how do we know if we’re succeeding? Paul gives us a checklist in the book of Galatians.

 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22,23

Spirit-Filled vs. Our Sinful Nature

Here’s how we know if we are spirit-controlled: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goddess, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control come flowing out of our life.

What is the opposite of that? What if we aren’t being led by the spirit’s control? Well, it will look like the list Paul gives only a few verses earlier.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. 

Galatians 5:19-21

Measuring Ourselves

So the test is to see which verses our lives line up with. Is it the first list or the second? That will give us an idea of how we’re doing. If our lives are lined up more with the second set of verses, then it’s time to change; and God can help us do just that.

It’s time to take responsibility for our lives, our choices, and our actions. Only then can we allow God to change us and become Spirit-led instead of self-led.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in Our Souls, and a good book recommendation is Get Out of that Pit by Beth Moore.

What to do When You Can’t Sleep at Night

Leave a reply
girl unable to sleep

I’ve always been the kind of person that falls asleep pretty much as soon as my head hits the pillow; I never really struggled with insomnia. That is, until a few years ago.

Our Car Fire

A few years ago, we experienced a car fire in the middle of the night. I was in the middle of a sound sleep when I heard a loud sound. My eyes shot open, and I laid in bed for a moment, trying to figure out what in the world the sound was. Moments later, somebody started banging on the front door. I quickly woke up Matt and ran into the kids’ room to check on them.

Matt ran down the stairs and opened the door for the police officer, that was banging on our door; and I woke up our two older kids and grabbed our third from her crib and raced down the stairs. We stepped outside and immediately felt the blast of heat hit us. I looked over and saw flames shooting high into the sky as we ran down the steps and away from our home.

Eventually, the firefighters came and put out the fire. We found out sometime later from the detective on the case that it had been intentionally set. The fear that came from that night stayed with me for a long time.

Insomnia

For months after the fire, I woke up every night between 2:30 and 3:00am. No matter how tired I was, I woke up single every night. It was exhausting and a dark time in my life. I really struggled with fear and consequently, with sleeping at night.

During that season of my life, I put some things into practice to help me be able to get past the fear and to be able to start sleeping all night again. I still use those practices today.

If you’ve ever struggled with insomnia because of fear or lack of peace or worry, it’s so frustrating. You can’t sleep because of something, and then that something just gets worse because you’re not sleeping. It’s a circular problem. A lot of women that I talk to struggle with sleeping well at night, whether that’s because of fear, shame, worry, anxiety, or something else.

Help for When You Can’t Sleep

Here are the things that helped me get through that time that I still do nightly:

  1. Every night before I go to bed, I spend just a few minutes in prayer. I thank God for something good that day, confess anything I need to from the day, and pray for a good night’s sleep and safety around each of us and our home as we sleep.
  2. Every night when I get into bed, I open up YouVersion on my phone and read a Psalm before going to sleep. I do this so that it’s the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep.
  3. During that time my life when I couldn’t sleep, I started memorizing passages of Scripture to say to myself at night when I couldn’t sleep. There’s something about reciting verses at night that helps you to relax. Not always, but most times, if I can’t sleep and I start reciting a passage of Scripture, I will usually fall asleep around verses 10-13. If I’m having a rough night and can’t get to sleep or wake up and can’t get back to sleep, I will start reciting those verses to myself until I fall asleep again. If I am particularly struggling with fear, I will recite verses about fear to myself repeatedly.

Verses to Memorize for When You Can’t Sleep

If you’re looking for some great verses to memorize to help you sleep at night, here’s a few good ones:

  1. Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
  2. II Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
  3. Romans 8:38-39 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Passages of Scripture to Memorize for When You Can’t Sleep

  1. Psalm 23
  2. James 1
  3. Psalm 100
  4. Psalm 91
  5. John 14:1-6

I hope this post gives you a few things to try when you can’t sleep.

More Encouragement

If you want to know more about my story with all this, check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life or read my post The Hidden Pain—a Peek into the Book I’m writing.

Simple Steps to Get Back to Reading Your Bible Each Day

Leave a reply
picture of a girl reading her bible

Have you ever found yourself getting away from reading your Bible and praying each day? We all know we’re supposed to do it every day. But then one day slips away from us, then two, then three. Soon, we find ourselves going way too long without a routine that involves Bible reading and prayer each day.

What do you do when that happens? Have you ever found yourself there? It’s paralyzing. You don’t even know where to start or what to read anymore. How do you get it going again?

Sometimes you just need to push reset and start fresh. You have to just decide that today is the day, and just do it. So here are my best tips for starting fresh.

My goal is not to overwhelm you in this post but to help you get back on track or start. Here’s just a few ideas to give you a jump start.

What Do You Need?

  1. Light a candle that you love. If you don’t have one, this is an excuse to go get one! It doesn’t have to be expensive. Aldi and Walmart both offer cheap, delicious-smelling candles.
  2. Make a good cup of coffee.
  3. Grab a journal. If you need a good journal, check out our Faithfully Stepping Journals. They were created specifically for morning time, using the system that Matt and I use every single morning. But for now, use whatever you have.
  4. Grab your Bible.
  5. Find a comfortable place to sit; grab a blanket if you need to and a pen.

What Do You Read?

  1. If you need encouragement, read the Psalms. A chapter or two a day is great.
  2. When you feel overwhelmed with trials and hardships, read I and II Peter.
  3. If you’re at a place in life that you need wisdom, read a Proverb each day.
  4. The Gospels are great if you want to just get more of Jesus.
  5. If you prefer to use a devotional along with your Bible reading, check out our Devotionals.
  6. If you want to use your phone, use YouVersion and pick a plan to follow.

That’s it. Simply grab what you need and choose what to read and simply start! Start today; start fresh tomorrow morning. The important thing is simply that you start! I’m super passionate about this topic, because I know I would not be where I am today without my morning time routine. It has kept me grounded over the years at a time in my life when nothing else could!

More on This Topic

This post is just to get you started. If you’re looking to take it deeper, check out my free Morning Time Routine Course. We also teach a system called Thirty-to-THRIVE, that you can check out HERE.

How Nature Helps Me Combat Discouragement

Leave a reply

One of the things I have found over the years that helps me combat discouragement is getting outside in nature. Because we homeschool, one of the things we try to do is to take nature walks. The kids look for as many things as they can find while we’re out and then write it down in their notebooks. Sometimes we draw or paint, sometimes we listen to a podcast about nature, sometimes we read a book, and sometimes we simply just write down everything we saw.

Our Walk Yesterday

white flowers on our nature walk
some of the flowers from our nature walk

Yesterday, we took a nature walk. We were so happy just to be outside. The sun was out, and it was finally warm after a long, dreary winter. One of the first things we saw was a furry and rather large ground hog wiggling his way across the grass. After that, the kids were off. We saw tadpoles, bees, fish, flowers, a spider, ducks, water, and more. We took pictures of some of the things we saw. I love flowers, especially bright spring ones. So we took pictures of those.

pink flowers from our nature walk

By the time we were finished, everybody was worn out and hungry, but refreshed and heartened after being out in nature.

When I find myself getting depressed or discouraged, sometimes a simple walk outside can make all the difference in the world. I’m not saying go crazy and pack a backpack and hike a mountain. I’m simply talking about grabbing a water bottle and a granola bar and a phone for pictures. Pick a place that has some beauty to enjoy and just get outside for a little while.

Here are a few ideas for getting out in nature.

10 Ideas for Getting Out into Nature

  1. Pack a lunch and eat by a creek or pond or lake.
  2. Go for a nature walk and write down or take pictures of as many “nature-y” things as you can see.
  3. Go for a walk and listen to good music or preaching.
  4. Listen to a nature podcast as you walk. We love the No Sweat Nature Study Podcast with Miss Cindy. She’s the best; my kids love her podcast.
  5. Sign up for a nature study or hike with your local library or a local park.
  6. Explore a new trail.
  7. Take a picnic lunch and eat in a field with nature all around you.
  8. Plan a visit to a garden or an arboretum. We score free passes for these things from our library.
  9. Find something beautiful on your walk or at a park and sketch it or paint it.
  10. Find a beautiful setting and write—journal your thoughts, write some poetry, write down a prayer to God.

There are so many ways to enjoy nature that don’t have to be crazy or a lot of work. It just takes a few minutes of planning.

The next time you are feeling discouraged, try one of the ideas above and see if that helps to encourage your heart!

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post, 10 Things You Can do to Combat Burnout.