She Speaks Life ft. Jessica Jackson
How to keep the faith
This guide will help you keep the faith in the valleys, & give you tangible steps to grow your relationship with Jesus.
Jessica Jackson is one of my dearest friends, and I am so pumped to have her share with us some of her wisdom. She is an encourager, bright light to everyone she meets, a stay/work at home mama, a worship leader, and so much more!
I am so excited for you to read my interview with her below.
We pray this will bring you some peace & love.
- What was your experience growing up with the church?
“Oh man, loaded question right out of the gate! I think growing up in church every Sunday made me appreciate God’s grace and forgiveness. I think one thing that holds people back or turns them off from the church is that they think everyone in church is perfect. So when they see “church people” doing wrong they’re automatically labeled a hypocrite. But the Church isn’t for perfect people...we still come up short daily but His mercies are new every morning. Church is a place where imperfect people go to learn, fellowship, worship, and serve with other believers who are also trying to be better than they were yesterday. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, it’s made me appreciate having a group of people to help hold me accountable in my walk with Christ.”
-What is your best advice for anxiety and/or depression?
“Best advice... REFLECT. Find out what triggers your depression/anxiety. Is it something you can work on to slowly eliminate? More than likely, when you start to reflect on this and document when you’re feeling this way and what triggered it, you can usually make
changes to help your situation.
Depression and anxiety has been a thing since the beginning of time... our bibles are very clear about that, but the Bible is also clear on how to fix it. I used to be the biggest “worry wort” there was. Constantly losing sleep about random, made up scenarios in my head about bad things that could happen(but we’re so unlikely) when I finally read what the Bible says about worrying, I completely gave that up to Him and I've honestly not had a problem with it since. Keep your minds renewed daily. Focus on the good! And read His word daily.”
-How does your praise look in the valleys and on the mountain tops? Does it change? Stay the same?
" Alright, I thought long and hard about this question. The amount of Praise looks the same, but the type of praise is messier. Let me explain...
when I’ve been in the valleys and low points in my life, it’s been messy. Lots of tears, sleepless nights, maybe some questioning, confusion, & things that I didn’t fully understand in the moment but I was still able to praise Him because He was my constant in the chaos. Most of the time the valleys were because of my own short comings and messes I’ve gotten myself in to or things I may not have necessarily chosen for myself & I had to learn to praise Him through the storm. Because HE stays consistent! HE is always good! His love for us never changes. When life is golden, I give Him all the praise because He is worthy. When life is throwing me curve balls and craziness, I praise Him because He is my rock and my refuge.”
-What do you do to keep your faith strong?
“ I’m gonna relate this one to working out...what happens when you miss a week at the gym? You become weaker & it’s also a lot harder to get yourself back in the rhythm of going back to the gym. That’s kinda like your relationship with Jesus. When I am not walking with Him daily, talking to Him, reading His word, etc., I start to become weak. I’m more likely to fail a test, I’m more likely to give in to the attack of the enemy, & I’m more likely to doubt God. When you fill yourself up with His word daily and you’re in His presence, walking the walk and not just talking the talk, then you see how faithful God really is. Also, I’m a big fan of watching YouTube videos of people's testimonies. It just fires me up to see God working in so many peoples lives!"
-What is your favorite scripture?
“ For a year or two now my favorite scripture has been Romans 8:28.
“For we know that ALL things work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose”
All things y’all... even the things we consider to be a bad thing....God’s gonna find a way to work it out for our GOOD! How amazing is that?
-What would your advice be for someone who maybe has walked away, but wants to come home?
" COME ON WIT ITTT!!! Really though... no matter what has held you back, whatever bitterness or confusion or self-doubt the devil has been using to keep you away- toss it out the window and come on home!
Is there anything better than true joy & feeling unconditionally loved?!? He’s waiting on you with arms wide open!"
-How has the current pandemic affected you & your family? What have you done to stay positive?
" I’m probably going to annoy people with my answer for this one, but the pandemic has only reminded me of how thankful I am to have a relationship with Jesus & how good our God is. I’m going to get real blunt, if that’s okay. There is a verse in the Bible that talks about not fearing man who can kill you, but fear God who after man kills you, can throw you into the lake of fire. Yes, I just went there! My point is, the worst thing this virus can do to me is kill me, but I have a relationship with Jesus which means I know where I’m going when I die. We are all going to die one day whether it be from a virus, car wreck, old age, etc. I know that’s probably too much for some, and I’m sorry but I’m just being real with ya. Also, I got that Peace that surpasses all understanding, yo! Y’all- it’s 1 am and I think my responses are getting more gangsta."
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