the blog.
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"But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."
Psalms 73:28 |
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 Happy Tuesday, fam! Today we have a guest post from a friend of mine, Makyna. She has a gift of writing and loving on people and I know you will be blessed by this! Love you all <3
Hey, there! My name is Makyna! I am the owner of the Instagram @simplylovingjesus and the blog www.makynaelise.com. Emma asked me to share something that was on my heart with you and I don’t know any better to share my heart then to share my journey of battling chronic pain. Enjoy! At the age of 10, when you ask God to use you in big ways, you think that He will send you to a small village in Africa or ask you to lead someone in your school to Christ. But God's plans for me to be used was unlike those of a village in Africa or leading someone to Christ on the playground! He knew that the things I was about to encounter wouldn't be the same as if He sent me to Africa. Nope, instead at the age of nine I began what would be a LONG journey of not actually being truly diagnosed with a disease but rather being labeled under a broad umbrella of having a Connective Tissue Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I've always thought of myself as a positive person. I'm like, nope, I almost never say anything bad about anybody. I'm not that complainy or whiny. Not at all.
Yeah...no. In the past couple months especially, I've been realizing how blind I am. I really haven't been as positive as I could've been, and sometimes I was even unintentionally making fun of someone without realizing it until later. I've been mentally shooting people down, and my actions have been reflecting that in small ways - but that doesn't justify it one bit. On Mother’s Day, our church had a guest speaker, Shaunti Feldhahn. She's the author of the Kindness Challenge, a book in which she shares about the seven patterns of negativity. One of the patterns, sarcasm, really stuck out at me, as I’d started to be a lot more sarcastic then usual. Honestly, sarcasm and sassiness really tires me out. It kind of…well, in a way, it caused me to stop seeing the good in people right away and instead seeing something that could be used as a funny joke or something. I didn't mean it in a mean way, but sometimes it came across as that. Ephesians 5:4 says, "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking." There’s another thing that I feel can sometimes be negative: laughter. Laughter is such an amazing thing – it brings people together, it lightens the mood and makes people smile. Joy and laughter go hand in hand, but laughter can also be used in a negative, non-uplifting way. Early this year, I went to a youth retreat that was hosted by our old church. I was placed in a small group with a handful of high school girls and a leader that was probably in her late twenties. I was pretty quiet, not saying much. I was letting fear control me, and therefore did not really share my thoughts of the sermon (which was amazing, btw!). We were talking about trials and how we need to go through trials in order to grow. We also talked about how hard they could be. A verse popped into my head, but I was unsure whether or not my brain was mixing two different verses together. I timidly said, “Wait, isn’t there a verse that talks about how He will not let you go through trials that you are not capable of bearing…?” When I finished talking, the leader started laughing. Laughing. She chuckled, “Well, if that were true, we wouldn’t really learn anything.” She laughed again, and one of the girls joined in.  Hi everyone :) I am really, really sorry I have not been able to post the last couple days like I promised! I had plans of posting every single day, but turns out God said differently! I will try to do another guest post week for you sometime in October to make up for it, God willing. Since I ran out of guest posts as of right now, I decided I'd share with you all my own testimony. Now, last year, I thought my testimony was weak, and useless. I thought that, because I didn't go through like deep depression or drugs or anything beforehand, no one would think it a drastic change or anything, and it would not be as important as someone else who fought suicide or something. I'm learning now that everyone's story is significant in its own way! If you think your testimony will never make a difference to anyone, you are WRONG! Excuse my bluntness, but seriously, your story matters!! God has brought you through a beautiful journey that is completely unique, and I promise you that someone will be able to relate to parts of your story! Don't be afraid to share. I hope He speaks to you through this. Love you all!
Like maybe some of you, I grew up in a Christian home (and am growing up in a Christian home still). When I was four, my mom took me aside and explained the gospel to me. She then asked if I believed it, and I said yes. That day, I became a Christian, and that is actually my earliest memory, which is pretty cool! Well, I grew up just like any other kid, pretty much. I knew I was a Christian, and I tried to do what my parents told me do and tried to not do what they told me not to do, but this faith was not really my own.  Welcome to Watch Them Fall: Day 1! Today we have an encouraging message from a good friend of mine. What she says is so true, in that we need to trust Him through it all, and I think she really hit on some strong points! I'm praying for you all as you read this, and I hope our faithful God will speak to you through her words. And don't be afraid to comment and let us know what you thought or how God used this to teach you something. Love you all, but remember that God loves you more.
... I grew up in a Christian family with really strong foundations. Not only were my parents pastors of the church, they were our teachers. The persons that guided us through our daily life with the word of God. They have been very optimistic and encouraging my whole entire life but… sometimes it’s hard for us to be like that. |
