Manna Moments

In this episode, Cydni and Sher explore what it really means to trust God in life’s wilderness seasons, those dry and uncertain times when His daily mercies sustain us. With humor, scripture, and heart, they remind us that happiness comes not from avoiding the desert but from recognizing the manna God sends every single day. This episode is "Manna Moments," and we are so glad you are here!

This Week's Challenge
This week, look for your own “manna moments” by noticing one tender mercy from God each day and thanking Him for it.

Sponsor:
Finley Law Firm -  Comprehensive Estate Planning
Be prepared for the expected and the unexpected.
Take the first step to peace of mind now.
Click here for a free consultation with Chris Finley.
Be sure to ask him how he behaved in Sher's 9th grade class!

Show Notes

Drip-Drip Drop, Words and  Music by  Matt Hoiland
Click here

Follow and connect with us:

#joy   #truth   #christian   #LDS   #faith   #uplifting #manna

instagram.com/cydniandsherpodcast

https://www.youtube.com/@CydniandSher

Transcript

Episode 132 - Manna Moments

Cydni: [00:00:00] Sher. To start this episode, we're playing a game and this game you have to tell me who said it. Was it the children of Israel? Or was it kids in the big two five? Are we there yet? Both. I don't like the way this taste. Both. You don't know anything? 

Sher: Definitely big. Two, five. Both. 

Cydni: I was thinking of you as a teacher on that one. I know there's a snake around here somewhere. 

Sher: Okay. That is the Children of Israel and your house. 

Cydni: Yes. And then do we have to eat this again? Both. That's good. . I can't help but notice, as I've studied this time, that the children of Israel, 100% should be called children. Welcome to the Cydni and Sher Podcast. 

Sher: Today, Cydni, as you have alluded to, we are going to be talking about the children of Israel, and part of being happy is [00:01:00] trusting in God's plan, even when you aren't getting your way, you pray and you have faith, and then you still don't get your way.

It's very frustrating. And so today we are going to talk about manna in the wilderness. Because the children of Israel, they wanted to be free so bad, but I don't think wandering around the wilderness for 40 years was part of their plan. I don't think they realized that was coming their way, but it was God's plan.

And the reason it was God's plan is because he has the whole picture. And he knew that he needed to prepare their children to receive the promised land. So there was a reason for them wandering around the wilderness for such a long time. 

Cydni: Actually Sher that is perfect for a scripture that I read about. Why did they wander? Because if , they would've gone from slavery and miracles and right into a promised land, which to me is a good story. That's a great story to go if it seems like they've suffered enough.

So why did they go right into the [00:02:00] wilderness and why would God let them wander for 40 years? And this is in Deuteronomy eight, verse two, it says, and thou remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these 40 years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee and to know what was in thine heart. Whether thou wist keep his commandments or no. 

Sher: That lays it out pretty darn well. And that's exactly why we wanted to talk about this today because we are in our own wilderness and God is preparing us and humbling us and finding out what's in our heart, 

Cydni: and it helps us to have purpose in the pain that we go through if we are fortunate to have an understanding that we go into the wilderness. Or wait, maybe we don't go into the wilderness. God. So lovingly , places us into the wilderness where there's no food and water and snakes around. I guess to humble us, to prove us and to know what's in our heart. [00:03:00] And when I was looking up the word wilderness, there was a few definitions that stood out.

One is that it's an undeveloped area. It's uncultivated and uninhabited. And so it seems to me this area is really like a canvas with so much potential. And could I just add the other night I was telling Iana something and she said, you kind of sound like a hippie. And I was like, thanks, IANA.

And she's like, you are not the canvas. You are the alt. And I was like, well, yeah, that's true though. She's like, you are not the building. You are the architect. And then she said it was a hippie. 

Sher: wow. She is definitely your daughter. 

Cydni: I know. I was so proud of her. And also my feelings were hurt. I said, God, what wilderness is this? What wilderness is this motherhood experience with this daughter? Very intelligent and says witty things that cut. So speaking of canvases, I do feel like the wilderness is just like it says, an undeveloped [00:04:00] area and there's so much beauty there that can be brought out. But first you have to do some camping of the soul, I guess you could say.

And Did you know what manna actually means? The actual definition? I'm ready for it. Lemme have it. It is, what is it? And I am cracking up over this because I thought of how many times when you think about the wildernesses that we are in, in your personal wilderness of wandering and trying to figure out anything and how you're gonna survive How often are we like, what is this what is happening? And so I love, that's what the actual definition is. Yeah. It's perfect. In my studying with the children of Israel, the thought that what they have been through and what they have seen with Moses, and also I thought Moses spends a whole lot of time in the wilderness too before he becomes who he's supposed to be.

And I then reflected so many amazing people in the scripture. Spent time in the wilderness even Jesus, he was in the wilderness for 40 days [00:05:00] and that's when Satan came to tempt him. So it feels like there really is something about the wilderness. I'm hoping there's a more air conditioned indoor plumbing wilderness for me and my time. 

Sher: I agree 

Cydni: because I didn't wanna be a pioneer woman from the start. So the wilderness I'm signing up for needs to be like more resort. Wilderness. I like your wilderness a lot. I'm sure God will provide for me in this.

Sure. so what I have found the most with this whole journey of going through the wilderness is that they just saw so many miracles and now they find themselves in the wilderness. Why are they in the wilderness to be proved, but they don't want to be proved and they complain about everything all of the time.

Now, granted, I also probably would because I wouldn't want to be out in the heat. I find it wild that they say things like, you've freed us from slavery, just so that you could kill us. I'm thirsty. I'm hungry. And they have seen miracle after miracle after Miracle, and I really do [00:06:00] see how I can see myself in all the different situations that sometimes I probably would feel so grateful and so I think the story, if you spend time pondering on it, really does showcase humankind across the board. 

Sher: I agree. And I have a scripture that goes perfect with what you just said, Cydni in Numbers chapter 21 verse five. It says, and the people speak against God and against Moses. Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness for there is no bread, neither is there any water. For Our soul, loathes this light bread.

Okay, so they're referring to the manna. They're sick of it. They're sick of wandering in the wilderness. They're sick of eating the same thing every day, and they don't like it. And then here was the response. The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people and much people of Israel died. What I learned from that is maybe I should be grateful for what I do have and then keep my mouth shut. [00:07:00] I don't want the fiery serpents. 

Cydni: But don't you think if there was fiery serpents sent more often, maybe it would help us stay on track a little bit better? 

Sher: Yeah, let's not wish for that. Okay. I'm good. I'm grateful. 

Cydni: Well, hopefully love it all my child losing a snake in our neighborhood helped you keep it together a little bit.

Sher: It did. I walked around with a pistol for two weeks. All right. Rabbi Daniel Lapin talks about this and he says, the Torah consistently presents complex pictures of human beings.

It is not a history book, but a guide to life. If the people in it were one dimensional saints or sinners, it would not be useful to us because that is not how any of us really are. The Torah teaches that the greater a person is, the greater is his capacity, both for good and for evil.

In fact, ancient Jewish wisdom, based on the following verse, teaches that anyone who is great enough to accomplish, exceptional things [00:08:00] will by definition. Do some wrong things as well. And here's the scripture. There is no righteous man on earth who does only good and never sins it all.

And that's in Ecclesiastics chapter seven, verse 20. Now, I love that Daniel Lapin said this because this gives us some perspective. All of us have those moments that the children of Israel had. All of us have those moments when we wanna whine and complain as we learn, as we're reading about the children of Israel, they were not perfect children. . And Cydni, I had something happen to me this last.

Week. That is kind of embarrassing to my soul and heart, but it fits in really well with what I'm talking about here. I love good content. I have been a classroom teacher for over 30 years, and then I retired and then I went back and I'm now in a different classroom environment, but I'm still in a classroom environment where I teach the kids who had been kicked out of the school multiple times and this is their last chance basically.

Alright, now there's [00:09:00] a new teacher at our school and he was doing some things that I was like. Hey buddy, and I tried to give him some good advice and he seemed to receive it okay. Like, he's like, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then he just kept doing the same thing. And so I talked to him again about it and I was like, Hey, you know, here's an idea and suggestions and let me tell you why. And I thought I gave him really compelling evidence, right? And then after this we had a meeting with a bunch of teachers and another teacher who is not in the same area as us, started talking to him and he wrote down everything she said, and then he was telling her how great it was and that he was gonna do it, which was the opposite of what I was telling him.

And so he embraced this other. Thing and went full gun in it. And it really frustrated me. So there was a part of me that wanted to yell, scream, and then there was another part of me that was like, keep your [00:10:00] freaking mouth shut. And so one day before work, I was struggling with just keep your freaking mouth shut.

And so I set a prayer to help me just to calm down and not take it personal and just let him do him. And. If it works, that will be awesome. If it doesn't work, I will be kind and gracious and help him clean it up, so to speak. And as I was praying, God said to me, something Cydni very clear. I heard. Now you know how I feel right into my brain.

And I felt so humbled because God has given us the plan to be happy, and he's taught us how we can have a good life and how we can make it better. But I keep doing my own thing and then I fail , and then I'm like, well, I'm gonna try this over here. God continues to allow me to learn for myself and to make good choices and bad choices.

And he does this because he wants me to grow and because he loves me and he knows that's the best way for me to learn [00:11:00] and I need to remember that in my life as well. That just because I can see the train wreck coming. If that's what the person wants to have happen, that's how he's gonna learn and grow, and then we can move on from there.

And it's helped me get through this week a lot better because I have felt in my heart and soul that there are some things I need to work on. So I need to take care of myself and not worry about what somebody else is doing. 

Cydni: I would assume that's why it was 40 years. Maybe it could have been one year, maybe it could have been 10, but it was 40. I also can relate to the story I just talked about one when my Tahoe broke down and the power steering was out, and I was like, why is this so hard to control? And God's like, mm-hmm. Yeah. Not trying to control you. But relax a little bit and let me, take the will. And I'm like, no, Jesus, don't take the will. Let me make it hard. I prefer the hard route. That's what these guys are doing. They're like, I don't wanna be in the wilderness, but I wanna be in the wilderness and I'm going to prove it by how I react. [00:12:00] And I just think, how insane are these people that they saw the Red Sea part and they were saved by 10 plagues., And they're just like, I'm thirsty. I wanna go back. I liked it better there. The meat was better that they would choose the meat and the water in captivity because it's more comfortable 

Sher: and they don't like the free food that God's sending to them. Every single day. They, except for on Sunday and it's bread, dude. What else 

Cydni: do you want? It was too light. It's something more hearty. They got quell in the evening. Their protein. Oh yeah. They were really making sure to follow their macros and get that protein in. God provided everything they needed, and yet they didn't listen. Which none of us clearly relate to. That's why it's taken over 40 years for me too. 

Sher: Well, I've well past you, over 50 years now. Still wandering. 

Cydni: The children of Israel have nothing on us . What we have learned by studying all of this is all of us are going to be in the wilderness. We're all going to be in an undeveloped, [00:13:00] uninhabited, terrible dry land, and the reason is to help cultivate who we are supposed to be.

There's an author, Paul Miller, and this is what he said about it. God takes everyone he loves through a desert. It is his cure for a wandering heart. Desert life sanctifies, you, you have no idea. You are changing. You simply notice after you have been in the desert for a while, that you're different. The desert becomes a window to the heart of God. He finally gets your attention because he is the only game in town. The best gift of the desert is God's presence. The protective love of the shepherd gives me courage to face the interior journey.

I find that to be so beautiful, and for those of you who have gone through a wilderness in your own life, I think it's easy to look back and see. It took this desert [00:14:00] time in your life it took this desert time in my own personal life to finally recognize God's presence He allows everything that we hold onto to fall apart so that we hold onto the right thing because then he will fix our hearts, he will mend us, and we could truly be made whole by focusing on the right thing.

I was listening to Sherry Dew talk about her own personal experiences, and she says in most of her talks that she always wanted to get married and she never has had the opportunity. And that one time she was speaking and a woman came up after her talk and said, Sherry Dew, I know why you're not married. You're not married because you focus too much on your career. And she said that woman crushed her. 

Sher: Oh, I thought she gave her double fingers. 

Cydni: I bet she did, but she didn't include that in the talk. If you listen to Sherry Dew, there's no way she let that slide, she put that woman in a wilderness and that's why I love her.

And she said something that stuck [00:15:00] out to me a lot. She said first that if that woman had any idea. Of her desperate pleads to God for a good thing that she has not received. That woman would not have said that. And she said, what came to her heart was that she was so grateful for what she's been through, because it was the process that sealed her heart to Him and that sentence I have thought about all week long, the process that sealed my heart to him. In my pondering, I have realized that everything that has sealed my heart to God has come from a place of desperate pleading. It has come from a place of feeling like my prayers are not being answered, and it has come from a place where I feel I'm alone in a wilderness. I have never felt the sealing process happen in a time of plenty. It's always been a time of desperation where I turn completely to God. I only see Him and I'm only worried about my [00:16:00] relationship with Him because everything else has failed.

We learned this from the children of Israel, that God loved them so much. Like Paul Miller says, he puts those He loves in the desert and He does it because He loves us. He wants us to learn how to trust Him and rely on Him. And that caused me to ponder why does he want us to trust him so much?

And I had to think about my own children that I want them to trust me because I want what's best for them, and I'm pure in that I genuinely want what's best for them or my friends or family. I want them to trust me because I want what's best for them. And any relationship that flourishes, there's trust.

God wants to be connected to us. He wants us to trust him because he wants what's best for us and he loves us and he has the answers. And sometimes the direction we want to go is not the direction that will lead us through the wilderness that we need to go through.

Sher: [00:17:00] Okay. Cydni, you made me think of so many things, so hopefully I can remember it all. But let's just start with this, that God used wandering in the wilderness to seal the children of Israel's hearts to him, and it worked. Their children were able to enter into the promised land, but they all needed to do the work first.

Including that gratitude and acknowledging that it was God that was the one that was keeping them. Physically alive, let alone spiritually alive. But God was the one doing that. And we just learned that they complained a lot about the gifts that God was continually giving them every single day to sustain them.

And I was just thinking that sometimes it is really difficult. To receive those gifts that God is giving us on a daily basis because God sends us tender mercies constantly. And are we acknowledging this gift? He's giving to us.

Elder Bednar [00:18:00] said the simpleness, the sweetness and the consistency of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. Okay, so if we think about the children of Israel, how they were constantly getting these tender mercies with manna or finding water or quell and protection in general.

They were constantly receiving these tender mercies that they started to take it for granted. But God does the same thing for us. And when we acknowledge them and we receive them with a grateful heart, Elder Bednar teaches us that those tender mercies will protect us and fortify us.

Just like God did for the children of Israel? I think that is just so beautiful so that is what Tender Mercies did for the children of Israel, and that is what tender Mercies can also do for us. Elder d Todd Christofferson said the day after Jesus [00:19:00] miraculously fed the 5,000 in Galilee with only five barley, loafs, and two small fishes. He spoke to the people again in Capernaum. The Savior perceived that many were not so much interested in his teachings as they were in being fed. Again. Accordingly, he tried to convince them of the immensely greater value of. That meat, which endure unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you. Jesus declared, I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die.

I am the living bread, which came down from the heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. So our Savior teaches us here that it's his way and his path that will fill our soul and sustain us.

Now, the reason I bring this up is because as I was pondering this, I thought of the bread during our sacrament. Are [00:20:00] we taking it lightly like the children of Israel did with manna? This is our manna in the wilderness. This is our time to ponder and repent and reflect on the tender mercies that have been made visible and manifest the last week, and it's preparing us for the next week of our time in the wilderness.

Do we do that? Do we take the time to really reflect on the importance of this life sustaining bread that we take each week? Or Cydni? Are we texting and sending memes to each other during the sacrament? Just saying, I know a couple of people that might be doing that during the sacrament. 

Cydni: There possibly is a group text going around.

Sher: Possibly, and that probably isn't a good example. 

Cydni: I already know which one I'm sending you. Now during it, it's gonna be one of Jesus like looking around the corner like I see you 

Sher: that's gonna spend, please don't, I'm gonna block you. All right? So God is giving us time to repent and reflect to get us through the next week, but are we taking those [00:21:00] opportunities?

Cydni: The manna was always about. Building trust in God and the fact that it showed up every morning and they were instructed to collect it and eat it that day, not save it, except for on Saturday.

Saturday they were to collect enough for Saturday and Sunday and it wouldn't spoil. What's wild to me is so many people didn't listen and they would try to collect it for multiple days, maybe not sure it would show up again, which again, there's so many real human feelings and actions and all of this that I'm sure we can see in ourselves that we don't always know if the man is gonna show up. Even though it showed up for 40 years, there was still doubt, there was still fear. There's parents who are not sure their kids are going to eat or the elderly are going to eat. So to go through an experience that shows, God shows up every single day is no different than things he has done in our life.

He has shown up for us. Every single day. So the man is not about eating. The [00:22:00] manna is about the miracle that God is there for us every single day, and not so much that God will take us out of the wilderness, but that God is willing to meet us in our wilderness. 

Sher: There's so much symbolism with the children of Israel. You can go down a rabbit hole for days and days with this, there's so many little lessons and side lessons to learn, and we've only just barely touched just a little bit of them. 

Cydni: It's so true because we even mentioned just in planning how interesting it is in the Lord's Prayer that it says, give us this day our daily bread.

When you consider. What the manna, what the bread represented, which is God, give me daily trust. Give me an opportunity to prove my heart. Give me an opportunity to show where I stand That is really difficult because some days I feel like I would be the one to collect extra food just in case God forgot about me, even if he remembered me for 38 years. [00:23:00] What if he didn't on a random Tuesday? So it does show lack and it shows doubt, and it shows fear. But thank goodness for this example that even after everything they'd gone through the miracles that they saw, the water coming from a rock that still, there's room for doubt and fear and still God will show up. Even with that, but also I just like how often bread is talked about, so maybe. Carbs are not so bad. 

Sher: see, like I said, there's so much symbolism and things and lessons we can learn. Thank you Cydni, for bringing the hardcore right there.

Cydni: Go get some sourdough guys. Get out there. 

Sher: this reminds me of something you mentioned earlier about wandering in the desert . What did that quote say again? Cydni 

Cydni: in the beginning, he says God takes everyone he loves through a desert. It is his cure for a wandering heart. 

Sher: Let me tell you why I love that this reminded me so much of my dad. My dad was born in the desert and I'm talking desert [00:24:00] Cydni. there is nothing there. and my dad. Never lost his love and joy of being in the desert. He loved it. My dad could see the beauty. When I could see none, he would point out beautiful parts of the desert to me since I was a child. He would say, oh, look at this. Look at this rock. Look at this sage brush choose it. He could always find the beauty in the desert That quote gave me this thought. Maybe that's the reason why my dad was such a strong man, is because he saw the beauty where others could not, and he was grateful for the small little tender mercies he was grateful for the. Little finishing touches that God put on things that seemed to be not there. But my dad noticed them and that is how he lived his life is by seeing those little touches that God put in what seemed to be nothing more than wilderness areas. This made me wonder, are we seeing the beauty and the tender mercies and trusting in [00:25:00] God that he is providing that life sustaining manner in our wilderness?

After doing the research for this topic, Cycni, I just had one very deep thought. I'm so excited for this. Good. I'm glad you're excited because here's the deep thought. I realize that I suck. Your deep thought deserves to be buried in the wilderness, but it's true because I'm no what?

Because I'm whiny and I'm ungrateful, and I'm a brat. And I was thinking I am so far away from where I should be and where I need to be. But then I had this thought, okay, and this is actually a better thought.

I remembered something that 80% of the children of Israel that saw all those miracles in Egypt. 80% chose to remain as slaves in Egypt. Only 20% chose to venture out into that wilderness with Moses. And this made me realize, Cycni, that we chose to follow [00:26:00] God's plan. We are here and we are trying, and we're not perfect and we're gonna make mistakes, but I know that our Heavenly Father loves. Absolutely loves our effort, and I hope that we can fill that tender mercy in our soul knowing that our Father in Heaven loves the effort that we put in. And if we know he loves our effort, then maybe it will help us find happiness as we trust our wilderness plan that God has prepared for us. also, remember that our Savior is our biggest fan. He's our biggest helper, our guide, our protector, our teacher, our tutor. And our redeemer. And because he is who he is, that is why we can always feel joy in our personal wilderness. 

Cydni: I bet some people didn't. Eat the manna because they felt unworthy. I bet. They thought, I haven't been that good of a person. I kind of suck, so I'm not going to have any food today because I'm not deserving of it. Which goes back to [00:27:00] what you said about gifts and not receiving them, and I just felt like that was you right. Now you're like, I suck. You can't say that. only let me say that off air. About me or you? I'm not gonna say. But again, it's not about the manna, it's about accepting gifts from God, accepting his love and accepting the journey that he puts us on that has a purpose to prove us and to change our hearts. We challenge you this week to read the story in the Bible. You will find a lesson in it specifically for yourself, and read the story of the children of Israel, wandering through the wilderness. 

Sher: This brings us to our final thoughts. Even in the wilderness seasons of our lives, God sustains us with his daily bread. Sometimes through tender mercies, sometimes through lessons we don't fully understand yet, the Israelites learn to rely on him and so can we.

We may complain, [00:28:00] stumble, or feel unworthy, but our effort matters to a loving Father who meets us where we are. As we recognize His hand and trust His plan, we will find joy. Even in the desert places because He is our bread of life, our strength, and our redeemer. This is our prayer from Cydni and Sher. Sorry, I spaced out. Were you 

Cydni: thinking of all the things you want that you haven't gotten, and then reflecting on your faith and now you're in a faith crisis, Or just me, Okay. You just, just can you do, do

Sher: okay. Stressing me out. It's too late. Do, 

Cydni: Come on, come on. Ai. Help me out here. [00:29:00] Let me find energy. It's in me. It's in me energy. You got it. Energy. Energy. Come on Cindy.

Hold on and bye. I hope you like my sound effects. 

Sher: Mira Mira, like, I can say miraculously, you said it there. It was so good. Thank you. The day after miraculous. I always think of MiraLax. Holy MiraLax, MiraLax. 

Cydni: . Let the holy MiraLax work through your body. 

Sher: Miraculously use that just in case. 

Cydni: I just am trying to have this meme, the get ready for Sunday. Just kidding. That's not true. Again, it's not about the manna, the manna, manna. I don't remember what it is. 

Sher: Have a good week. Bye.