Tag Archives: success

When Everybody Else is Succeeding Except for You

Do you ever feel like everybody else is succeeding in life except for you? Sometimes it feels like everybody has their act together except for us. Of course, the way this most often manifests itself is on social media. Everybody on social media is succeeding; at least, that’s how it feels

I’m not usually one of those people that has to take a break from social media. I am on social media often because of trying to build a platform for my books and for Manney Resources. Usually, I can hop on, scroll around, and hop off and it doesn’t bother me. Lately though, it’s been a source of continual frustration.

My Own Personal Struggle

Let me peel back the curtains and give you a glimpse into my personal life. I write books and blog posts for Faithfully Stepping, but I also write fantasy fiction books under my pen name, A. J. Manney.

Well, there is a young mom on Instagram that started writing this past year. She’s an independent author like myself and published her first book on Amazon in November of 2020. She had very little social media presence prior to her book launch.

Her book has done exceptionally well. She has over four hundred reviews already for it. She’s written three more books since then, and they’re all doing really well. Meanwhile, my book hasn’t even hit twenty reviews yet, and it’s been out for a year longer than hers. Watching her book take off has been incredibly hard for me. I’ve really struggled with wondering whether I should even continue down this path.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out why it is I’m not succeeding, trying to figure out what to change. I’ve cried, stressed, worked harder, tried more things, only to come up empty time and time again. I’ve been so frustrated with it lately, and I feel like every time I jump on social media I see somebody else who is killing it. It’s really been defeating for me.

Then God gave me a simple reminder a few days ago that came in the form of a simple flower.

Two Different Flowers

When you look at the two pictures below, what do you notice? How are they different? Which one do you want in your home?

I think we would all say that we love the first flower. It’s beautiful. It’s in full bloom and doing what it was created to do. The second flower, not so much. It’s not beautiful yet. It’s actually kind of ugly at the moment. It doesn’t draw our attention like the first flower does.

I saw these two flowers the other day and snapped a picture. God brought this thought to mind, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since: There is only one difference between the first flower and the second…time. Both flowers receive the same amount of sunlight and water. The same caretaker cares for them. They are similar in every way except one bloomed sooner than the other.

When it’s the right time, that second flower is going to bloom. It will be beautiful. It will catch people’s eye. No one will remember when it was ugly; they will only remember it in full bloom

A Time for Succeeding

Solomon reminds us in the book of Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 KJV

If you’re in a season of life right now like I am where you feel like everyone around you is succeeding, but you’re not and no matter how hard you work, you just can’t seem to get ahead…maybe it’s simply a timing thing.

Remember that God took Moses to the backside of a desert for 80 years before God led him to free the children of Israel. It took fifteen years for David to become King after Samuel anointed him. Joseph was around seventeen when he had his dreams, but it wasn’t until he turned thirty that God brought his dreams to pass and he became second in command of all of Egypt. Jesus waited thirty years before beginning his public ministry that only lasted three years. Yet, those three years of ministry make Him the most well-known person in history.

I think we could agree that each of these people led amazing lives of faith that still inspire us today. Yet each one of them had this in common—they led lives of obscurity until God brought them into the light.

God’s Timing

God’s timing is so much better than ours because he thinks so differently than we do. Why? Because we think only in terms of the here and now. God thinks in view of eternity.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8,9 MEV

If you are feeling right now that you just aren’t where you thought you’d be by now, that you just aren’t succeeding as you should be, let me give you two thoughts to encourage you.

1. It’s a Timing Thing

It’s just not the right time. You just aren’t in full bloom yet. Right now, you’re still growing, still finding your way. When it’s the right time, you are going to bloom…and it’s going to be beautiful.

But don’t stop working hard, pushing, striving, creating, and becoming the best you can be at what you are doing. So when the time is right, you will be ready to succeed.

2. God Is Using the Tension to Push You to Greatness

I’m reading When Women Pray: 10 Women of the Bible Who Changed the World through Prayer by T. D. Jakes as a part of my morning time routine. I’m loving this book. It’s been such an encouragement to me and just what I need right now.

I read this the other day…

Do you realize that God often intentionally brings rivals into your life to provoke you? Not to provoke you to anger or jealousy, but to provoke you to greatness. To poke you and prod you toward the potential He sees in you.
When Women Pray

Go back and read that again. It’s so good, isn’t it? I decided that this author has been brought into my life to provoke me. Not to make me mad or jealous, but simply to push me towards the potential God sees in me. What an amazing way to turn things around. What a great way to think about it!

Who in your life right now is God using to push you towards your potential, towards the greatness He knows is inside of you because He placed it there Himself?

I don’t know where you’re at right now. Maybe this doesn’t even apply to you. But if you are someone who needed to hear this today, I hope these words encourage your heart.

Encouragement for Today

If God has placed someone in your life who is always one step ahead of you. She has more social media followers, she makes more sales or income, has a nicer house, dresses better, and on and on the list goes…realize that she might be in your life simply to push you towards your potential. So don’t get mad. Don’t give up. Use it to push you towards the greatness God has for you.

If it’s a timing issue, there is absolutely not one thing you can do. It’s in God’s hands. Read this verse and let these words encourage your heart.

So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time.
I Peter 5:6 MSG

You be you, and let God do the work of promoting you in due time. When it’s the right time, you will bloom and it will be the most beautiful thing to see.

My Not-So-Great Start to the Year

The Ending to our Holidays

So it’s a new year, and ours is off to a crazy start! We spent the holidays in Illinois with family and drove back to Pennsylvania a few days after the start of the new year. Well, my husband Matt (who has a severe wheat allergy), got wheat somewhere on our trip and spent the entire night in the bathroom at our hotel throwing up. From there, we drove home, stopping every little bit for him to use a bathroom on the way. We finally got home, began the long process of unloading the van and unpacking the suitcases and fell into bed in the early morning hours.

The Disaster at Home

The next morning, we awoke to a disaster in our kitchen. We have had a mice problem this winter and have been repeatedly setting traps. Well, apparently they decided to throw a party while we were out-of-town. They got into everything in our pantry! We had to throw out every single item in our pantry. Frustrated doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt! Matt went out and bought more traps, we called an exterminator, and spent the next few days cleaning out every closet, every shelf, every storage bin in our house, and more. It was quite an undertaking.

In the midst of all this chaos, I took an afternoon to read a little bit to try to take my mind off all the craziness. I went upstairs to read while my kids played in the playroom. A few minutes later, I looked up from my book to see my three-year-old Maggie standing on top of the Lego table trying to jump rope! Seriously?! I told her immediately to get down. What happened next was a disaster. I watched as if in slow motion as she tried to jump down from the table. She went one way and the table went the other way. The momentum shoved her off-balance and into a corner wall where she hit her head and split it open.

A Visit to Urgent Care

So my quiet afternoon was interrupted by screaming, lots of blood, and a visit to urgent care. We spent the night in the urgent care getting four staples into Maggie’s head. That was not a fun process, and not one I am looking to repeat anytime in the near future.

Maggie all wrapped up and ready to go home.

That night was followed by a flu bug that hit our house. My six-year-old Madison threw up all the next day. Soon after that, Malachi got the bug and spent his day throwing up. With all the craziness, we didn’t do any homeschooling for the entire week.

So that is why I find myself halfway through January and just now getting a post out. Our start to 2018 has been a train wreck! I’m a little scared to see what the rest of the year is going to bring!

Success in God’s Eyes

I was so looking forward to a new year and a fresh start. This is not how I was planning on my year starting out. I can get all worked up and crazy about it, or I can choose to just accept it for what it is. I am reminded of a message Matt preached a few weeks ago.

In a message Matt was preaching before Christmas, He talked about success and what success looks like. One of the phrases he said really caught my attention.

Success isn’t achievement; it’s obedience to God.

He followed up with a few questions to ask ourselves to see if we are truly being successful.

Did I do what God said?
Am I doing what He created me to do?
Am I doing the best I can with the abilities, resources, and opportunities I have been given?
Have I followed through?

I think my picture of success probably looks so different from God’s picture. My picture of success looks like starting out 2018 with a bang. Exercising every day, eating right and losing weight, getting my entire house cleaned and organized, homeschooling each day like a pro, writing a couple of blog posts a week, working on my book, and on and on the list goes. I wonder instead if God’s list looks something like this.

Spend time with Me today.

Love your littles and take care of them today.

Encourage and love your husband today.

Notice the people who I put into your path today. Love them for Me.

Do your best to keep your home and home school running smoothly but don’t stress about it.

Rest in Me, and let Me control your life. I can do a much better job anyway.

This year, I want my definition of success to be simple obedience to God each and every day by stepping into what He has for me that day. ~Faithfully Stepping~

Photo credit: Ben White

Guaranteed Success for Moms

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All Different Mom Types

There are so many types of moms out there. There are strict moms, fun moms, organized moms, scatterbrained moms, funny moms, serious moms, boring moms, safe moms, edgy moms, creative moms, techie moms, sporty moms, artsy moms, saver moms, spender moms, fashion moms, entrepreneurial moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, leader moms, baker moms, and so many more. That list intimidates me. When I see a list like that, I feel like I have to be every one of those, plus some. I don’t do many play dates, coffee dates with friends, phone calls with friends, and more because I always compare myself to whoever I am hanging out with; and I always fall short. Do you ever feel that way?

There is a verse in the Bible that applies to this issue that always catches my attention.

II Corinthians 10:12 …but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

This is something I have really struggled with over the years and am trying to work on. I have spent the past few years trying to figure out who I am, what I am passionate about, and learning to be comfortable with my own personality, passions, and talents. Thanks to Mark Gungor and his flag page test, I am learning to step into who I am. I am faithful, creative, independent, musical, and inspirational. There are a lot of characteristics and attributes that I do not have, but I choose not to focus on those. I choose to focus on my strengths and not get frustrated and discouraged when I see my weaknesses as strengths in other Moms. I can rest content in the Mom I am because God made me specifically this way to be a Mom to Malachi, Madison, Maggie, and Macey.

Content to be Me

I am learning to be OK with who I am, and I’m making progress! Last week I called two of my friends and scheduled a play date for last Friday. We had an awesome time! I saw in them strengths that I don’t have, but that’s OK. God made them perfectly to be the best Mom they can be to their own children.

God has made each of us specifically and uniquely. He has given you talents and abilities and passions that He has not given me; that’s why we can be friends. If we were the same, one of us wouldn’t be needed. I am the only one that can be my children’s Mom, and you are the only one that can be the Mom your children need.

On this Mother’s Day, I am choosing to be OK with who I am. I am loved by God, loved by my husband, and loved by my kids… and that is enough. I am guaranteed success as a Mom when I choose to be who God created me to be, when I choose to simply be me.

Left to Right: Madison, Maggie, Malachi, my Mother-in-law, me, and Macey