Madison Jade's Journey

  Wellllll! It has officially been almost two months since I did my last blog post and I have yet to get better at posting consistently. Smh-- I'm sorry ya'll. I know I literally start out every single blog the same way "so much has happened over the last month", but ya'll. When I say so much has happened over the last month and a half-- I mean it! My life has been a series of ups and downs lately, but hey right now we're on the up and up so I'm happy about it.  As ya'll can see from the title of this...there has been a lot of major changes happening in my life and one of those is the fact that I actually CHANGED MY MAJOR! I went back and forth in my mind of whether or not I was even going to tell anyone besides my family but I thought hey why not. For anyone close to me or just for anyone that knows me from IG--you're probably thinking "I thought she was a nursing major?!" and I have been up until this point.  I'll take ya'll bac...

I would like to start this blog post out by saying that I have SERIOUSLY got to get better at posting more frequently. School has been kicking my BEHINDDD lately, but writing is what I love to do so I need to spend more "Writing-time" and less "Sitting-around-doing-absolutely-nothing-time."  Anyyywhoooooo. This topic that I am going to be talking about today is probably one of my favorites yet. I feel as though this topic needs to be talked about more--ESPECIALLY for people my age. (I.E. college age/young adult age/and for sure high school age as well.)  As you can see from the title of this blog, I am talking about authenticity. The definition of the word is: "The quality of being authentic." Authentic means: "Of undisputed origin; authentic."  If we're being 100% here....Authenticity is a rare quality nowadays. We are constantly being told how to think, dress, act, etc., without even realizing it. When you turn on the t.v., when you are at ...

Back in the beginning of 2020 when I was still in high school, I wrote myself a note. Yes, I wrote MYSELF a note- but technically it was for God..I'll explain. I was sitting at my desk listening to one of my classes...I attended a Christian school (Abeka), so I remember that I was listening to my Bible class (it was a mandatory class- but my favorite) and I don't even remember the lesson or the message or anything...but it must have been pretty good, because I remember opening up my desk drawer, pulling out a piece of scrap paper, and writing on it: "God,  When I start college in the fall, I'm gonna be pretty busy and I'm going to be having a lot going on. Please help me to keep you first in everything I do and help me to not forget what really matters and what doesn't... no matter what You have to do- help my relationship with You grow." It didn't seem like much to me. I wrote it and kept on listening to my class- I do remember though thinking in my h...

I saw a quote the other day that said "Starve your distractions, feed your focus" and it really made me think long and hard about it. (Right after I changed it to my lock screen)  What does that mean? Starve your distractions, feed your focus..... In our world today there are so many distractions. Literally SO.MANY. Right when you go to do your homework, your phone dings. It's your best friend shooting you a quick text that would maybe take 20 seconds to reply to, but before you know it somehow the wind blows you to Instagram and now it's been three hours and none of your work is done. Instagram isn't going anywhere but uh....that homework is due at 11:59 and it's......11:30 now.. And that's just one example- don't get me started on TikTok. Then if you're like me and you follow lots of motivational accounts, it just makes you feel worse when you know you're slacking...But even if you decide to "Starve your distractions" I.E. take time...

I am going to be honest, this past month has been the hardest month for me to date. I have gone through so many highs and lows and it has left me feeling completely exhausted. I, like many others, for most of my life have tried to be perfect and have came up short every single time. I try so hard to be the "perfect daughter," the "perfect Christian," the "perfect student," the "perfect friend." I have learned lately that when you strive for perfection, you are going to end up disappointed every.single.time, because there is always going to be something that you are not perfect at-you might even be terrible at it.  My entire life (literally) I have said (you can ask anyone that is close to me and they can vouch for this) "I can't wait to be an "adult" and go to college and just GET ON WITH MY LIFE!" I have said this since I was like 11. Gosh, I didn't know what I was saying. The reason I put adult in quotation marks is ...

There are two types of people when God tells you to do something-those who obey and those who do not. In the Bible, there are many examples of this! I am going to be talking about two people today who reacted to God's calling in these two different ways- Abraham and Jonah.  In Genesis, (12:1-4) it records this, "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him"  It goes on, but the main point I wanted to show here was: the Lord said "go" and so Abram went. Now lets look at the other story- Jonah's. Jonah 1:1-3, "Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son...

Who you are in Christ: You are loved-   (1 John 3:11) "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." You are forgiven- (1 John 1:9) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." You are redeemed-  (Ephesians 1:7) "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." You are a new creation- (2 Corinthians 5:17) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." You are holy-  (Hebrews 10:10) "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." You are set apart- (Romans 8:30-39) "Moreover whom he did predestinate, then he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified: and whom he justified , them he also glorifi...