I'm going to push pause on Testimony Tuesday. Possibly until the first of 2014. And possibly forever.
This summer I really felt led to do something with this space. I love to hear stories from real people of what God has done in their lives. I started dreaming of sharing friends with you and their stories. My hope was to encourage and inspire with just ordinary people who love an extraordinary God.
What I was not expecting............was a lot of push back and negative feedback. I got SO many emails. SO SO SO many emails and I read them and listened. I realize that there are a million different backgrounds and beliefs who come together here and I know that I will never please everyone and criticism honestly has never bothered me. But I started wondering if I was doing something that I wanted to do or something God wanted me to do.
Because my whole purpose was to encourage and to edify God. And I want to do that effectively. And I guess I'm not sure if I was. So I just want to stop and really pray about it. I'm not stopping this because of criticisms, I'm stopping because I just want to do what I'm called to do.
What I want to say is that a testimony is not just about when you meet God. It's an ongoing story of what God is doing in your life. And a testimony doesn't have to be dramatic or tragic to be effective. It can be a story of constant, simple faith. And that's amazing.
I realize a lot of you are struggling. You are struggling in life, you are struggling with your faith, you are just barely holding on. And you want to hear that you are not alone. You want to hear that others are struggling too and not just what appears to be a bunch of perfect Christians who have it all together.
What doesn't always come across - is that we are ALL broken people. Sometimes that isn't always shared publicly. But we all have our inner struggles. Which is why we are all in need of a perfect God.
I've been asked many times if I would let people from other faiths share on here. And this is my answer. I believe the Bible. Period. I believe with all my heart that it is written by God and is true. So it wouldn't make sense to me at all to have people share on here who believe in contrast to that. That doesn't make me narrow minded (even though I'm sure most of you are thinking that) - it just makes me faithful to what I believe. I'm sure there are a lot of blogs out there who will share lots of different faiths or view points and if you search - you will find them. This just isn't that place. I want to share what I believe to be true. And if you don't agree - you have every right. But you also don't have to be angry with me for not sharing things I don't believe in. I would imagine you wouldn't either in my shoes.
I'm closing comments on this post. I just wanted to let you know where I am and what my heart is. I don't need to hear whether people agree or disagree. I just need to hear from one voice and that is God. So I'm going to pray and listen.
Thanks for hanging with me either way.
