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marilynn chadwick 
March 19th, 2012 at 11:18 am
First of all, I would like to thank you for you book. Although I’ve been a Christian for my entire life it seems like I am getting to experience God in a deeper level. I’ve always loved God with all my heart, but I always thought of Him as a God that we must respect and pictured Him as a powerful sovereign God that I must be very proper to talk to. Through your book God has been revealing to me that he is not only powerful and sovereign, as I always thought, but also a comforting and loving dad. I am trying to develop the habit of praying constantly. I’ve been looking for “watchwords” and I am excited to grow a lot in the journey that I hope to last for more than only 21 days.
In your book you mention how God can speak to us through dreams. Recently I dreamed that my dad died. It was awful. I kept waking up throughout the night and praying about him. I must say that I was very tired and couldn’t get myself to get out of bed and pray, but as I would wake up I would ask for God to protect my dad, to be with him. The next day I shared my dream with my mom (both of my parents leave abroad). She was out of town, but she said he was okay, and it was just a nightmare – even though it felt pretty real for me. A couple days later my mom said that she came to find out that in that day my dad’s defibrillator had chocked him twice! He went to the Doctor and they said it was a mistake. However, I am sure that it was God protecting Him and I could feel that my prayer – although short and sweet, almost asleep – was answered.
I would also like to mention that the order of my checkbook prayer requests are just right. I can really see how even though I numbered them randomly God through his great works did it in a ordered way.
I am going through some stressful times in regards to my future and career. I usually get very stressed about it and can’t focus, which become very detrimental. However, also I learned through your book, to spend my energy in praying and fighting agains the evil instead of worrying.
Thank you for your book!
I honestly think you should get it translated into other languages (E.g. portuguese). My mom doesn’t speak English and I think she could really learn a lot from your book. 🙂
March 19th, 2012 at 8:17 pm
Hello Thais,
Thanks for your comments. I am glad to hear that the book is helping to deepen your prayer life. It sounds like you have such a heart for God. It means a lot to know that the practical prayer tips are valuable. My hope in writing the book is that it would motivate people to carry prayer into their busy days. I want to encourage you to keep up your great work. As we know, we can’t “work” our way to God or earn His love. But our relationships with the Lord seems to grow when we invest some time and “work” into getting to know Him better through prayer.
Blessings,
Marilynn
June 25th, 2012 at 8:31 am
Hi Marilynn! My Life Group in Rock Hill/Fort Mill SC is starting this Prayer Journey with you- we have been reading your book together for a few weeks now and the timing was perfect since we have several BIG prayer needs right now! One of our ladies recently moved to Dubai with her husband and daughter, another has cancer, another just had surgery, one is at Duke for 7 weeks with her mother while she goes through bone marrow replacement, and the usual worries about husbands and children, etc. Thanks so much for sharing all you have learned in your own prayer journey! We meet on Wednesdays and I am looking forward to hearing how everyone is doing with their “Chubby Books”!
June 28th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Leta, you know I’ve got you on the Thursday list, so now I am praying for your group on that day as well. They seem to be going through storms…and I know you are helping them to grow their roots deep to withstand the trials. Trusting your group will come through all this “as gold.” They are blessed to have your leadership! Bet y’all will have some good God stories!
November 18th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
I read this book two years ago with my small group at Forest Hill. During this time, I had just moved to Charlotte and became paralyzed with fear, no matter where I was… home, church, public places, outdoors, etc. I didn’t want to go anywhere alone and just felt trapped. Beginning the prayer chubby book really started to change my life and began to release my fears. When I wrote down the things I wanted to pray for, so many had to do with fears of protection. Over the past two years, the fears have been uplifted immensely of which I am so grateful for!!
The past year or so, I was praying and journaling, but kind of stopped doing my daily chubby book prayers. I wasn’t holding prayer to the high standard that it is! Fear crept back in to my life in HUGE ways with the emergence of ISIS, Ebola, and other terror attacks around the world. I would read things and just freeze, get scared, and not know what to do with my emotions. I would wake up in the middle of the night and wouldn’t be able to sleep because of my fear of the world. I then started reading your book again and re-wrote my daily prayers down, which included some of the same prayer requests and some different requests from two years ago. In just 3 short weeks, I have found a new light. I read the news, and immediately begin to pray. I hear of unimaginable things happening in the Middle East, but start to pray before I start to fear. I have countries that are wore torn and persecuted on my list daily. Instead of living in fear with every news article I read, I am praying to God for his miraculous power and for his hand on all these situations. It has turned my life around once again. I am getting excited to pray and am seeing prayer as the most powerful tool I have. My days are much more peaceful and fear is not paralyzing me. This has only happened through turning my fears into prayers. Thank you for writing this book. For someone who struggles with fear, this completely has changed my life for the second time!
November 20th, 2014 at 1:42 pm
After writing my comment a couple of days ago, something really cool happened. I had been reading in”sometimes he whispers. sometimes he roars” about watching for Gods work and prayers that had been answered. I realized that i rarely watch for answered prayers. My on demand prayers I do, but rarely would I watch for those prayers I prayed for every day. I had also just read the story from the book about the pennies.
Well, I have been praying for a family member of mine who is on and off extremely mad at different people in our family, and distant. You never know what side of her you will see. Recently, she has been very kind and has loved having new babies around from some of our family members. I hadn’t actually thought that God might be answering my prayers. I just thought she was in a good mood. Well, yesterday right after I read the penny story, I go to the mail and there was a card from her! Never have I received a card from her. I immediately started to cry because it was God’s way of showing me that he does here my prayers. So, thankful for this new journey of prayer! 🙂
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:31 am
Amanda,
Thanks for taking the time to respond with such refreshing honesty and clarity. I love hearing that the daily disciplines of using the Chubby Book and reading God’s Word are able to combat fear. That’s my continual experience, too:) And I do love the story of how you noticed the shift in your family member’s attitude. I totally agree. Sometimes I forget to watch for answers, but when I do, tiny (and not so tiny) miracles seem to come my way. Love hearing from you!
Marilynn
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:22 am
Thank you so much for responding to my posts Marilynn! Last night I was praying with one of the girls in my life group. She was asking me how I thought to pray for such specific things in her life. I told her I had been on a prayer journey. It started with fear and it led me to reading your book again. Then, I realized that I can pray anything, no matter how big, small or crazy it might be. God hears everything and I have been learning to channel fears, worries, and emotions with the expectation that he hears every word. It was wonderful to share this with my friend. Thank you again for writing this book. I hope more and more people read it. It has been one of the most impactful and practical books I have read. It will definitely be given as a Christmas present this year. 🙂
April 21st, 2016 at 9:34 am
I am about to begin the 21 day challenge to try to deepen my faith in Christ. After a pretty rough year my anxiety took control of my life and I decided to come home from college. I had always been a Christian but never really understood what it meant to hear the word of God. I am finally understanding how to listen to his plan for me. A couple weeks ago I was very touched by the sermon on how weakness is a blessing because we are able to grow closer to God. I asked God to help me grow closer to him while I am dealing with the pain he has allowed into my life. About a week ago I was cleaning out my drawers when I came across this book I had received from church a while back. I was reading the section about anxiety and worry when a carpenter bee flew right by my ear. As a child they were one of my biggest fears. I guess I am still a little afraid because I immediately bolted out of the chair. When it buzzed away I looked back at the words I had just read “do not worry about anything but pray about everything” Philippians 4:6. I then realized that God has a sense of humor. I decided my symbol of hope would be a carpenter bee. Every time I see a carpenter bee I will remember to trust in God because just like my anxiety my worries may seem threatening on the outside but in truth I am in no real danger of being stung. I cant wait to continue to grow closer to God I am already feeling him working inside me. My anxiety is so much better and I am feeling stronger both mentally and physically everyday:)
April 21st, 2016 at 11:26 am
Blair, Thanks for your insights. And especially for your honesty about your own journey. I have no doubt God will use this “training time” for your good and His glory. And I’m pretty sure your story will impact others who are struggling. You may be home from college for a while, but you sound like you are definitely “in school” with the Lord right now. I can’t wait to hear how he blesses your 21 Day experiment. Like it says in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Keep me posted:)
Love, Marilynn
March 27th, 2017 at 4:29 pm
Marilyn,
I thought after a year of sending this book with rave reviews to my family and friends I should thank you for writing and sharing! I’ve officially sent this to my sisters, cousin, and friends after reading it last year and revamping my prayer life! You provided a really easy way to structure my daily prayer- and watch God work! Thank you for being so open and honest. With a recent move I made from Charlotte to Chicago I have prayer warriors spread around the country now! I can’t say enough how much I love the chubby method. I’m re-reading your book a second time now after a year of following your tips- God is alive and moving and he is so generous with his gifts- your book being one of them for me.
Thank you!
April 24th, 2017 at 6:25 pm
Parker, I have been traveling off and on since your comment on my website. I do apologize for the delay. But I was so encouraged to read about how my book has impacted you and your family and friends. You have been a great “ambassador” for prayer in your personal circle. I join you in praying that as people get more creative and structured in their prayer lives, they will begin to see more power in their prayers. And with all your “prayer warriors” around the country, who knows? You might just ignite a movement:) So here’s from one Chubby-book friend to another. Stand strong dear friend. I believe the best rewards for you are yet to come as you persist in prayer and above all, abiding in Jesus. As a heads up, I have another book coming out in August that, while not specific to prayer, will include more answers and little (and not so little) miracles. If you will email me at march797@aol.com, I’ll send you a sample chapter. Much love, Marilynn