Design a Life You Love: Who's Your Tribe (July 10, 2017)

You’ve probably heard the saying “even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.” This essentially means that we all need someone. It’s impossible to get through life without connection. We were made for community and interconnectedness. I think it’s healthy to periodically reflect on our friendships. Ask yourself the following questions about friendship. Once you’ve completed answering each question, take a little time to pray your answers back to God.

XOXO,

Myah

Who’s Your Tribe- Friendship Questions

1.      Outside of your spouse and your immediate family, who are your 3 closes friends?

2.      What do you love about these individuals?

3.      How do these individuals bring you closer to Christ?

4.      How do these individuals help you pursue your dreams?

5.      How are you a good friend to these individuals?

6.      How can you become a better friend?

7.      If you do not have any friendships outside of your spouse or immediate family, how can you develop new friendships?

Help, I'm an Outcast- April 17, 2017

Have you ever felt like the black sheep?  When you are radical in your faith, it is not uncommon to be outcast. I have been outcast by friends before. I’ve been outcast by family. Being an outcast is painful, but it is something you can survive and use to glorify the Lord. Here are a few tips to help you if you are in a season of being “out-casted.”

1.      Begin to pray and fast on a regular basis- This will strengthen you mentally and emotionally (and of course spiritually.)

2.      Find older Christians who can cover you in prayer- the longer you are in the faith, the more likely you are to have had a season of being a spiritual outcast. Finding older Christians to lean on can help you get through this season, because more likely than not, they have been where you are at some point or another.   

3.      Ask God, what He wants’ you to learn from this season of solitude- There is never a season we go through where God does not want us to learn something. If you are going through a season of being outcast ask the Lord what he wants you to learn.

4.      See if you can find people who are accepting of your faith outside of your family/friend circle. Sometimes finding a new circle of like-minded people can help you through this season.

5.      Get comfortable with the idea that you may lose friends. There is always a possibility of losing friends as you go deeper in your walk. Learn to accept it and trust that if you lose friends God will eventually restore you with even better friends.

6.      Began to confess scripture about your God given identity. Confessing scripture out loud helps to remind you who you are as a child of God.

I hope these tips help!

XOXO,

Myah

Why Church Community Matters 12/5/2016

Have you ever heard the saying “even the Lone Ranger had Tonto?” It’s a proverbial truth that essentially reminds us that nothing we desire to do can be done alone. I am the queen of “do it myself.” But something the Lord has been teaching me in my 20’s is how important it is to have a team and build community. Salvation is a tale of relationship. God never intended for us to do life alone. He wants his children to be in an intimate relationship with him and with each other. Church community is that fellowship together of his children. And it is so, so very important.

I have a younger brother and no one understands our parents like he and I do, because we were raised by them. We are a part of the same family. We share the same bloodline and the same lineage. We hold the same inheritance. We are loved equally, by the same two people on earth. That is a unique experience that only he and I share because we are both children to Michael and Mallory Gary. It’s the same thing when you a child of God. Your brothers and sisters in Christ (or church family) understand God on a level that only his children can. They understand his love, his grace, his favor and even his chastisement in a way that only his children can.

There is a uniqueness in the community that is being a believer. With all that being said, it is so important that we hold on to each other. Not only is it a command found in Hebrews 10:24-25, but it is so necessary to the advancement of our own walks with Christ. I need my brothers and sisters in Christ to help me develop and become more like our father. And since God is their daddy too, they understand him and can help me become more like him than women in the world can.

As the times grow darker, we need people who get us, who can keep us accountable, who can show us love and mercy when we screw it up (and we all will screw it up at some point) and snatch us out of hell if they see us slipping in our walks. We need each other. We are strongest when we are intertwined in this walk of faith together.

XOXO,

Myah Lonye’