177. Power of Encouragement with Jamila Jackson
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
*Transcription Below*
Questions and Topics We Discuss:
Will you tell us about your small beginnings and advise others how we can progress in our own dream?
What has God taught you through your journey with depression and anxiety?
Will you give us some practical ways you have learned to hear from the Holy Spirit and recognize His voice?
Jamila Jackson is the Chief Encouragement Officer of loved+blessed, which provides care packages and community to help you encourage yourself and those you love. She spent over 20 years working as a buyer, sourcing manager, designer and creative director for a global creative product agency and some of the world’s most well-known fashion and beauty brands. Her greatest dream was to become a mother, but God had other plans. He helped her overcome the depression and hopelessness that accompanied her infertility when she founded loved+blessed and started using her talents to create boxes of encouragement. Her message is one of hope that will inspire you to celebrate the joys and keep moving forward through the challenges of each day.
Other Episodes Mentioned:
Powerful Purpose of Introverts with Holley Gerth
Uncover Your Purpose with Clarity with Isimemen Aladejobi
Thank You to Our Sponsor: Justin Maust
Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website
Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!
Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”
Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
*Transcription*
[00:00:00] <music>
Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.
[00:00:17] <music>
Laura Dugger: I'm excited to introduce you to an old friend and today's sponsor, Justin Maust. He's an expert EOS implementer, a certified speaker for the John Maxwell team, and a passionate coach committed to glorifying God by helping business owners get everything they want from their business.
Jamila Jackson is a faithful woman who is the founder of Loved and Blessed. Through sharing personal stories and processes that helped her grow from small beginnings, she's going to teach us how to heed God's timing in whatever dream or business we're currently pursuing.
Here's our chat.
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Jamila.
Jamila Jackson: Thank you so much. I'm excited to chat with you.
Laura Dugger: I'm thrilled for this time together. Will you just get us started by sharing your testimony? [00:01:17]
Jamila Jackson: Oh, absolutely. Now, let's see. I'm a talker, so I'm going to try to give you the condensed version. Wow. It's so funny. Whenever I share my testimony, there's so many different parts of it. Obviously, the part that is most near and dear to my heart is probably kind of the thing that's launched me into where my life is today and kind of the mission that God's put me on.
But I really, from birth, have wanted to be a wife and a mother. People always laugh at that. And I'm like, "No, really from birth." I pretty much... you know, that was always my dream. I've had other dreams and aspirations, but that's always been my primary dream. And never kind of assumed that that wouldn't happen.
So I was blessed to get married in my 30s and still married today. It's been 16 years, going on 17 soon. We tried to start having children probably about three years in. We had some trouble, I'll say, in the beginning, but didn't necessarily think anything of it because, you know, everybody tells you sometimes it just takes time and all of that. [00:02:30]
But we found out later after trying for a while that I have some issues that make it pretty much, as far as the doctors have said... you know, the doctor, I think, was just trying to give me a little hope. But he told me that I have a less than 3 percent chance of conceiving naturally. I think he probably wanted to say I have almost no chance. But I think he was trying to give me a little bit of hope there.
So we really prayed about it. It was very devastating, I think, for me personally, because my life had really been wrapped up, up until that point, in wanting to be a mother. Once I got married, it was kind of like, Okay, next, have kids.
I share with people sometimes that I kind of got obsessive about it. I've said before that really becoming a mother became an idol in my life in a lot of ways because I really planned everything around that. And even when we found out that I would have some trouble and we prayed about it and talked to our pastor and talked to some other friends and got some really godly counsel from other friends who'd have similar issues, we decided to try IVF. [00:03:40]
We went through a few rounds of that. But the very first round, I actually got pregnant, and I was overjoyed. I can't even put it into words how overjoyed I was. Unfortunately, we ended up having a miscarriage. But interestingly, in kind of that season, that was really the most devastating.
You know, we came to a point where I realized through my husband and I talking, and I realized personally just that I had centered my entire life around getting pregnant at that point. It was a dream that I had always had and always assumed would just happen. And then when it didn't happen the way that I thought it would, I thought, Oh, well, the Lord's given me another outlet, another way for this to happen through IVF.
And then I got pregnant and again thought, Okay, now my dream is happening. And oh, what a testimony I'm going to have, you know? [00:04:40] Little did I know my testimony was going to be completely different.
So after the miscarriage, we prayed about it and just really decided that we didn't feel like the Lord was telling us to continue trying IVF. So when we finally decided that we weren't going to continue that route, I was really devastated. I felt so lost. At the time, I didn't realize it. I realized it later. But I was really angry at God. But at the time, I, you know, was trying to be positive and praying for a miracle in some other way.
But ultimately, I went into a season of fasting and praying, and God revealed so many different things to me. Like I said, I realized that I was angry at Him. I realized that I had put motherhood before Him in some ways because I was so focused on that.
There were seasons during that time where I literally... you know, I did my Bible study faithfully every morning, but I would only really study scriptures about barren women in the Bible. [00:05:47] And of course, you know, going to the Bible for your needs is something that we should do. But it does get a little bit kind of idol worship on my side where I got to the point where I was only going to it for that one thing that I wanted instead of asking God what He wanted.
Ultimately during that time of prayer and fasting, He gave me the idea to start Loved and Blessed and to really use the pain that I was going through instead to encourage other women. And so that's kind of the short version of my testimony. It took time, but He was able to replace that dream that I had of motherhood with another dream that I never even realized was kind of buried in my heart. And that's what I've been kind of doing ever since is really just encouraging women.
Laura Dugger: Wow. Thank you for sharing that journey. I can only imagine how devastating that was to hear the news and have the continued disappointment. [00:06:50]
Jamila Jackson: Yeah.
Laura Dugger: And then even now, you're encouraging us through your story how God didn't waste anything.
Jamila Jackson: No.
Laura Dugger: He used all your past experience to support this new dream. Just thinking of your dream, it reminds me there's this verse that's very dear to me in regards to The Savvy Sauce podcast. It's in Zechariah 4.10. And the first part says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin." With that scripture in mind, will you tell us a little bit more about your small beginnings and advise others on how we can progress in our own dream?
Jamila Jackson: Yeah. He doesn't waste anything. And I think when He initially gave me this idea in my quiet time, a lot of times I feel like I hear from the Holy Spirit. Again, it's not necessarily an audible voice, but there's just this sense or these words that will flow kind of into my mind and into my spirit that I know aren't me. [00:07:51]
So in that, initially, it was this idea of boxes of encouragement. And I was kind of like, what is that exactly, Lord? And so I wrote it down. And then I really prayed about it. And in praying about it, I was kind of like, "I don't really know exactly. I think this is what you're telling me, and I'm excited about this new possibility and this idea." It was such a big idea for me that I was excited about it. And at the same time, I was a little bit like, OK, I know this is from God. I know I'm going to do this, but I'm also a little bit scared about how to take that first step.
I realized over time that He had given me all the skills that I needed to start this small business slash personal ministry, I always call it, but I hadn't really seen all those pieces before. I have a background in product design and in manufacturing, and I used to give a lot of speeches about trends and things like that. [00:08:50] And then later in my career, I ended up doing a lot of professional development coaching.
And all of those things were done in the secular world. But I didn't see how all of those seemingly random, if you look at my resume, different roles and jobs that I had were actually preparing me to do something for His kingdom.
When you talk about small beginnings, I think a lot of ladies, they get an idea, and it seems so big. There's a few ladies in my loved and blessed community that have these ideas to start businesses, and they or they want to start something on Etsy, or they want to start a ministry or they want to write a book, and they are so passionate and so talented. And it's like everybody else can see it, but they're still a little bit scared.
So what I always tell people is, you know, first of all, as simple as this sounds, write it down, because a lot of times people get all kinds of ideas, and then it's almost like you're scared to write it down because it makes it real. But write it down, and just word vomit onto the page. Just write down everything that you're thinking, everything that you feel like the spirit's giving you, everything that feels that it's got inspired in your mind. [00:09:58]
Obviously, you want to pray about it. Pray about it and pray about it often and multiple times, not just once. And then just take one step. That's usually the key to kind of unlocking those small beginnings is like to progress in your dream, you just have to take a bunch of little steps. You don't wake up the next morning, and everything's just kind of done, right? You have to kind of take every little teeny step.
Then depending on what it is, try to find somebody either that you already know in your life or maybe reach out to somebody and introduce yourself the way that we can be connected through, you know, technology and social media these days. Introduce yourself. And actually ask people about what they've done and learn from them.
Ultimately, the goal in that would really to be defined, I didn't coin this phrase, but your kind of dream defenders. Those people who are going to walk with you and give you honest feedback but also encourage you along the way and, you know, share their wisdom with you. [00:11:03]
I think the small beginnings could really even just start with those few steps is just writing it down and praying about it and taking that first step to find somebody to connect with that's going to help you stay on the track of the idea or whatever it is that God's put on your heart, but that's also going to be honest with you along the way to tell you if you get off track or to tell you if an idea that you have is is terrible, which I thankfully have a few dream defenders in my life who've done that for me.
Laura Dugger: Well, that is so helpful to hear you lay out that process. And that's really what you followed. So, can you give us a glimpse of what Loved and Blessed is today?
Jamila Jackson: Yeah. It was started as a membership and subscription box. So it was a monthly box where I was sending basically a care package of encouragement to you every single month. Then, just last year, again, I felt the Lord, and that's the whole other thing about those small beginnings and is being open to change because God is always doing a new thing. Right? [00:12:09]
So last year, it was our seventh year of shipping boxes, and I felt the Lord telling me that that part of that mission with Loved and Blessed had come to completion. Now Loved and Blessed is ultimately really we're focused on growing the community. So we have a completely free online community that's off of kind of traditional social media. You can get to it through our website. And really, it's growing that community, spending time there, planning lots of events. We have in-person events and online events.
Then, of course, you know, we still offer our boxes of encouragement through the website, whether you want to encourage yourself or encourage someone else. The idea is that our boxes are very special because I always say that they're God-breathed, really, because I, you know, over the seven years of creating different boxes with different themes, I'm talented, but I'm not that talented. Like, I know that God gave me every single one of those ideas. [00:13:11]
There's a devotional in each box, a gift of encouragement in each box. Again, like you were saying, God didn't waste anything. He used all of those different experiences professionally in my life up until this point to really prepare me to do this.
So we still release new care packages a couple times a year. And then we have all kinds of different encouraging products on our website. But yeah, Loved and Blessed is pretty much all about encouraging yourself or someone else.
Laura Dugger: And clearly you're the queen of encouragement. So what ideas do you have for encouraging others or tips for staying encouraged ourselves?
Jamila Jackson: As simple as this sounds, the thing that I always tell everyone is for yourself, be proactive because, you know, we all are uplifted in different ways, right? Different things speak to us. So, for some people, it may be something like our box of encouragement. For other people, you know, something that encourages you might just be playing with your kids, or it could be volunteering somewhere in your community, or it could be reading a good book. [00:14:19] It could be through your Bible study, hanging out with a friend, getting your nails done, I don't know.
But there's so many different ways that you can be encouraged. But the key for me is to be proactive because I think some of us have a tendency to wait until we're in that storm of your life. You know, you're in that trial, you're in that frustrating season, or you're physically and emotionally just exhausted from whatever's going on in your life. And then that's when we seek encouragement.
But for yourself, the greatest thing I found and the thing that I encourage everybody to do is to proactively prepare for those, you know, desert, wilderness, hard seasons. So every day finding a way to infuse encouragement into your life and make it a part of your lifestyle, whatever that means for you. And I could give you a million different ideas, but I think the key is being proactive because then when something happens, you are much more prepared, you are on a more solid foundation. [00:15:26]
For me, that proactive encouragement very much does come from my daily time with God and really doing Bible study and praying. Sometimes that daily time with him is literally just singing worship songs for 10 minutes. Like it can change and shift. But I think it's finding something that you're going to daily pour into yourself.
Then I think for others, you know, encouraging other people, the biggest thing is being intentional. Sometimes I talk to people and it's almost like they feel intimidated about encouraging others. And I'm like, there's no wrong way to encourage someone. You don't have to have the exact right word. Sometimes it's just letting somebody know that you're thinking about them, that you care.
But being intentional is really important because I think... you know, sometimes people will share something with us, or we know they're going through a tough time. And we may pray for them in that moment or in that moment talk to them and encourage them and try to cheer them up, and then it kind of slips our minds. And it's not from any bad intention. But we look up and it's a week later and that person in that week may have gone through even more trials with whatever they're going through. [00:16:37]
So I'm a writer. I write everything down. I call myself a Post-it queen. So, keeping lists of just people that we want to check in with, putting it in your calendar and your phone. Sometimes I'll talk to a girlfriend and they'll tell me they're going through something really tough.
And as soon as we hang up, I'll put a note in my reminder in my phone to call them three days later because I have the best intentions of checking in on them. But sometimes it just doesn't happen. And so being intentional is the key to really, really encouraging other people. Even if you don't know what to say in that follow-up, just text them and say like, you know, here's a heart emoji. I'm just thinking about you. Let me know if you want to chat, or I hope everything is as well. I guess that's kind of for both. It's like with yourself, it's being proactive. So it's being intentional with yourself. And then with others, it's really about being intentional and continuously connected and following up beyond just the moment that maybe somebody shares what they're going through with you.
Laura Dugger: And now a brief message from our sponsor.
[00:17:40] <music>
Sponsor: Thank you to my friend and sponsor, Justin Maust, for making this episode possible. As an expert EOS implementer, Justin has provided over 500 full-day sessions helping business owners implement EOS into their business.
EOS is the Entrepreneurial Operating System, which is a complete set of simple and practical tools to help entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses.
Justin helps business owners and leadership teams achieve three things: vision, traction, and health. For vision, that's simply helping you get everyone in the organization 100% on the same page with where they're going and how they plan to get there. For traction, that's helping to instill focus, discipline, and accountability throughout the company so that everyone executes on that vision every day.
When we think of healthy organizations, let's be honest, there's often a fair amount of dysfunction with teams. But Justin loves helping leaders create a more cohesive, functional, and healthy leadership team. And once the leaders are healthy, they help the whole team become healthy.
Mark and I have been friends with Justin and his wife, Jenny, for years. We've witnessed them apply these practices to their own life and their family and their business, and the results are transformational.
With Justin's love for Jesus and passion to serve business owners to be better stewards of their businesses, I highly recommend you learn more about his services at his website, justinmaust.com. That's justinmaust.com. Thanks for your sponsorship.
[00:19:25] <music>
Laura Dugger: Well, and I love how you talk about your boxes and that they're God-inspired. So do you have any specific examples of encouragement from some of your past boxes that people told you were especially meaningful or any stories of ones that really stand out to you?
Jamila Jackson: Oh, gosh, there's been so many. We've done 85 boxes, which, again, is why I'm like, there is no way I could have come up with 85 different themes all by myself. So I know it was the Lord. I think my favorite and the one that I was most nervous about, but that actually got the biggest response and to this day is something that a lot of ladies come to our site and buy for themselves and for others, is actually one that was themed You Are Loved and Blessed.
It was really the gift in the box is this set of dice. There are these beautiful rose quartz dice with this gold ink like inlay on them. [00:20:23] The idea is that you roll them and on the sides, there's different activities. So some of the activities are like, you know, fellowshipping with a friend. There's a little music symbol for music and worship or singing or whatever, you know, or just listening to music. There's a little journaling symbol for writing. There's a Bible for Bible study. There are praise hands on one side of the dice.
The idea is that you roll them and there's a set of three and that you do whatever the three things are that come up and in doing those three things, you will feel encouraged after you've completed them.
I have struggled with depression and anxiety. So, for me, sometimes I need something in the moment that's going to kind of snap me out of it. As a Christian, as much as I want to say that, you know, oh, when I have one of those moments, I just immediately pray. Sometimes it's really hard for me to just pray in that moment. So I need something else.
So these dice was an idea that I was super excited about. But I also thought, like, people are going to think this is the weirdest thing ever, like rolling a dice and deciding what to do. [00:21:30] But again, that was one of those things where I just had to trust the Lord because I was like, Lord, I know you gave me this idea. So I'm going to do it, even if everybody laughs at me.
When we sent them out, I just got so many encouraging messages from ladies who it really helped them. They're carrying them in their purse and they would just roll them when they were at work and super frustrated and they would do those three things. It really helped to kind of break that cycle of whatever the anxious or stressful or annoying or anger thoughts or whatever it is in their minds.
Then I loved the stories of the ladies who took that set of three and they actually gave out two of them to a friend. They would roll the dice, but then they were also encouraging someone else. That's really ultimately the goal of everything that I do is that you not only would be encouraged but that encouragement and that joy would overflow to somebody else. Most recently, that's been one of my favorite boxes that we've done.
Laura Dugger: I love your vision there for sharing it and paying it forward. [00:22:31] I think you bring up something really profound because most things do exist in a both-and. It's clear that both you have joy and I appreciate you saying you also struggle with depression and anxiety. So what has God taught you through that journey?
Jamila Jackson: For me, it's something that I talk about a lot in the online community because I think so many of us struggle with it, whether you struggle because of a specific incident. Right. So it's like a depression that maybe is related to, you know, something that's happened recently.
So maybe you're depressed because a lot of things have been going wrong in your life, or maybe you're feeling anxious because of something that you experienced, or maybe you're grieving. For me personally, I actually have been diagnosed clinically with major depressive disorder. [00:23:30] And it's something that I experienced from very young. I remember being 12 and 13 and feeling, you know, all of these feelings, but I didn't really realize what it was until I was in my early or late 20s, early 30s.
That was the first time that I had gone to therapy and really actually realized like, oh, this isn't how I have to think, if that makes sense. I think sometimes when you struggle with something, you start to think that it defines who you are.
For me, for a long time, you know, I was always the sensitive child or I was very emotional, and all of these words that people would use to describe me and that I would start to use to describe myself because I would go through these bouts of depression that I couldn't really explain. And then I would feel bad for not being able to explain why I was depressed.
So I struggled with that for a very, very long time. It's something that when I did finally seek help, it was actually the year after I got married. Interestingly, it was something I had just gotten used to because it was just the way that my mind worked. [00:24:42]
I would just have these bouts of depression where I couldn't really get out of the bed. I had a hard time thinking straight. And then I kind of swing between depression and anxiety where there are times where I'm so anxious that my thoughts kind of run into each other. And so something negative would happen, and I would spiral within 10 minutes to, you know, everything is falling apart. And I wouldn't be able to stop crying.
There are all these things that I've experienced. And when I got married, that was the first time that, you know, my husband and I are now living together, he sees me not able to get out of bed or on the floor of the bathroom crying. And he's like, "This is not..." I hate to use the word normal, but that's basically what he said to me. He's like, "This is not normal. This isn't okay. Something's wrong."
It'd been 30 years at that point. I just had assumed that that was just the way that my life was, that I would have these kind of ups and downs. [00:25:41] But when I went to therapy and I actually talked to the therapist and we talked through a lot of things, I realized that there was actually a different way to handle those things. So, eventually I ended up going to a psychiatrist that she referred me to. And I did go on medication on an antidepressant for a while. Interestingly... you know, it's funny.
I'm like, I didn't realize until I went on to the antidepressant the way that other people's minds work. That's the only way I can describe it for myself is that, for 30 years, I was used to reacting a certain way to things or feeling different emotions in certain ways. And what the medication was able to do for me was actually to help me process what I was actually thinking.
So as I was starting to feel something, I actually was like, Oh, I'm starting to feel like I might be getting into a depressed season or I can feel the anxiety or I can think straight when something happens. [00:26:52] My mind doesn't automatically race to the worst-case scenario. I was able to slow down and actually go, Oh, okay, this bad thing just happened, and I'm going to choose how I react to it and I'm going to process it.
And so for me, being on that medication actually allowed me to be able to realize like, oh, this is how someone who maybe isn't struggling with depression, anxiety, this is how their brain is able to process these normal life situations. Okay.
And then I was able to work with my therapist on understanding how my brain works, but then also some kind of behavioral things that have helped me to really deal with it. And then when we started trying to conceive, with the help of the doctor, I went off of the medication and I was actually off of it for probably 10 years, maybe even longer than that. [00:27:46] Because for me, it's a clinical diagnosis, so I still would have depressive episodes and anxiety, but I was much more able to deal with them than I was before having gone on the medication and not realizing that there was another way, you know, that I was... and even that I was strong enough to be able to handle certain things.
In my case, that was good for me. Some people need to be on medication and can't be weaned off of it. And that's okay too. I always tell people, like, sometimes within Christian circles, we can feel less than when we're going through something, and we do need medical help.
For me, I think going through the challenge of infertility and having on top of that, the challenge of being someone who struggles with depression, anxiety, it really compounded a lot of things and there were very well-intentioned, you know, sisters in Christ who would come alongside me and try to encourage me. [00:28:46]
But a lot of times their encouragement would be around praying more or praying harder or praying in a different way or just, oh, you just need to relax more and then you'll get pregnant and you'll be less depressed.
Again, well-intentioned. But ultimately, I believe that God made our brains and our minds such intricate, amazing creations. Sometimes there are things in there that we need the help of a professional to unlock. I always say that without Jesus and without prayer in my relationship with Him, there's no way that I would be able to daily work through those challenges of depression, anxiety that I still struggle with.
But at the same time, weirdly, He used one of the most depressing times in my life to actually push me to a point where I was able to get enough help that I learned how to choose joy every single day so that when those seasons come up where my body decides that it's going to kind of go into one of these depressive episodes, I actually can mentally be prepared to realize that that's my body, it's not my mind. Everything is actually okay. [00:30:03]
I hope that encourages somebody who may be struggling because it's a tough topic to talk about, but it's so important to talk about.
Laura Dugger: Yes. Jamila, thank you so much for sharing your personal story with that because I do think it provides freedom for someone who's listening and maybe they relate to this. And I think you lay out so well the clarification that that clinical depression and anxiety, that is not a personal sin.
Jamila Jackson: Yeah.
Laura Dugger: And I think that's something that really grieves me is when, like you said, a well-intended brother or sister in Christ actually heaps shame on top of the person struggling with this when they diagnose it incorrectly as a sin issue to be treated with more scripture, more prayer. Like you said, that's not always the answer for that. That's not how God intended. [00:31:04]
It reminds me of one other episode on The Savvy Sauce and the guest was Holley Gerth, the powerful purpose of introverts. She lays out beautifully how the biblical definition of anxiety is so different from clinical anxiety and just the harm that can come up when we share the wrong diagnosis for someone going through that. So thank you for sharing your story.
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I've also heard you interviewed before, and I was always drawn to your explanation of your personal process for discernment. [00:32:08] So will you give us any of your practical ways that you've learned how to hear from the Holy Spirit and recognize His voice in your life?
Jamila Jackson: I think that's another one where sometimes we struggle because it's almost like we make it harder than it needs to be. I don't think God is trying to confuse us, right? We know He's not trying to confuse us. I think sometimes we make discernment this big major thing that actually ends up holding us back, and we become, you know, what do they say, a deer in the headlights where it's like we procrastinate on doing something or we use that we're waiting on discernment from God as our excuse to not move forward.
For me, my practical kind of ways of discerning whether or not something that, you know, I'm feeling in my spirit or something that I've thought of even that I know is a thought that came to my mind, but discerning whether or not it's God's will is really first and foremost emptying my mind before I pray about it. [00:33:16] Because I find that a lot of times the thoughts and whatever's just going on in my life obviously can influence how I'm hearing from God.
And so before I go to God with asking to discern what I'm feeling is of Him, I will just get a blank piece of paper and literally write down everything that I'm thinking. It could be I need to go get a smog check, I need to just try to empty my mind so that I can kind of quiet my spirit.
Then really I will literally be quiet and listen before I ask anything because I personally feel that before I've even asked, God already knows what I'm thinking and knows why I'm coming to Him before I even come to Him. I like to try to kind of sit quietly and just listen after I've kind of emptied my mind.
Then I will actually pray about whatever the thing is and ask Him for His guidance. [00:34:15] I really always ask Him, what is it that You want of me? I desire what You want. Your will, not mine, Lord. Sometimes I'm literally just repeating that over and over and over again.
And then I go back into listening and trying not to edit what I'm hearing or what I'm feeling. Again, I just tend to write a lot. So I just like to write it down. Sometimes it seems like it doesn't make any sense. You know, I remember writing down boxes of encouragement during that quiet time with the Lord and being like, what? You know, at the time I had no idea what that meant.
I think just writing it down, but not editing what you're hearing or you're feeling. And then holding that back up to the Lord and saying, Lord, this is what You've given me. Some of this doesn't make sense. I think some of this might mean this. But literally just holding it back to Him, praying about it, looking for wisdom in His Word that might clarify some of those things.
And then taking action. [00:35:21] I think that's the part where a lot of us get held up is that we're in that season of waiting on the Lord so much that sometimes I think He's like, why are you waiting on me? I gave you the idea. You might not understand all of it. Or, you know, I told you what to do. You might not understand all of it. But trust Me. Take a step. Take that first step. But keep listening to me and listen for my redirection. I will redirect you if you're going in the wrong direction.
So I think we have to be able to discern, but then trust Him enough to take a first step towards whatever that thing is He's telling us to do. And then listen for Him because there may be a redirection in it if we have understood incorrectly, or He meant for us to do it a different way. But I think that taking action, sometimes we can be still too long, because we get comfortable in thinking that we're waiting on the Lord when He's already kind of told us what to do. [00:36:24]
Laura Dugger: Wow, that final step is so great. I mean, really all of them. But that final one reminds me of one other guest. Her name is Isimemen Aladejobi. She talked about action begets clarity.
Jamila Jackson: Yes.
Laura Dugger: I hear that's what you're saying with the Lord too. And it does require faith and it builds our trust in Him. So that's exciting to hear you put it so succinctly. I think this is kind of related, but from your own experience, how do you recommend we go at the right pace and stay in sync with God's timing rather than racing ahead of Him or lagging behind?
Jamila Jackson: One of my favorite books is called Follow the Cloud by John Stickl, the pastor. He talks about the Israelites and following the cloud. It is that sense of staying aligned right with God, like right under Him. And like you said, not rushing ahead, not falling behind, but just staying right there aligned with Him. [00:37:29]
I guess one of the biggest examples recently was I had a big event planned for Loved and Blessed. We love to do in-person events. And I had this big event planned. And of course, with the pandemic going on, that was not something that was probably going to happen the way that I had initially planned it.
And I remember, you know, I have a lot of friends who also have their own kind of ministries and different things that they're doing and or conferences and things. And a lot of them were just canceling their events because they thought that the vision that God had given them wasn't going to come to fruition in the way that that vision was originally given to them for this big in-person event. So they were canceling them and rescheduling them.
I remember talking to a friend and saying, you know, I am going to still do it because I feel that this is God's time... [00:38:26] Like the timing of all of this happening doesn't seem... you know, I don't believe in coincidence. So I was like, it doesn't seem like it's just random. I don't believe that He gave me this theme and this idea for this event, which ended up being How to Choose Joy.
But this event by accident, I was like, "We're in the middle of a pandemic. He's given me this idea for this event. I have these, you know, beautiful, encouraging ladies lined up to speak and all of these ladies so excited. We're going to have it. I'm going to move it online, even though it seems like that wouldn't be as intimate and whatever."
And can I tell you that it was the most intimate thing ever? There were so many testimonies that came out of it of all of these ladies... you know, I'm in Los Angeles and all these ladies who are part of the Loved and Blessed community that have wanted to be able to come to one of our events, but can't fly all the way out to California for a day or for a weekend or whatever. [00:39:29]
So they were able to actually attend online and experience this event. The testimonies that have come out of that have been so, so amazing. And I think back to those moments where I was thinking like, I should just not do this. I should just postpone it till it can be done the way that I wanted it to be done in the timing when I wanted it to happen.
But I'm grateful that I didn't do that and that I was still in that moment. I'm not patting myself on the back because there's plenty of other times where I'm very disobedient, but I was very obedient to God and to Him telling me like, this is the right time, even though it doesn't seem like the right time at all to anyone else. It was the right time for Him.
And I think there's such a blessing in that because at the end of the day, it isn't about me. It was about the women who needed to hear that and that was the time in which they needed to hear it. And I can't imagine if I had waited and that they didn't have that encouragement from the Lord and from the Spirit that we had in that event. [00:40:36]
And so I think staying in line with the Holy Spirit and with God and His timing, a lot of it is removing ourselves from the situation. So if you're questioning whether or not the timing is right of something, sometimes we start to think about if the timing is right for us or if we're supposed to do it now because of what's going on in our lives or how it's going to disrupt our lives or because of what else we have going on.
But I always ask people to think about what is it that God could do through you if you do it right now? What is it that God could do through you if you do it two weeks from now or a month from now or a year from now? Weigh those things and ask God for vision and understanding of when the right timing is. Because you never want to lag behind where God's trying to go and you also don't want to rush ahead.
I have a big idea for Loved and Blessed that I've been working on for about a year and a half that the Lord put on my spirit, and I'm so excited about it. [00:41:36] And at the same time, I feel as though He's just telling me to work on it and that it's not time to reveal it yet.
And so as hard as that is in my flesh, I want to tell everybody what I'm doing, working on behind the scenes. I want to get credit for all this work I'm doing behind the scenes that nobody sees. But at the end of the day, I know that the Lord is just slowing me down because when He releases me to reveal it, it's going to be the right time for whoever needs it at that moment.
Laura Dugger: And without giving it away or revealing it prematurely, do you have any insight yet on what God's saying is next for you?
Jamila Jackson: Oh, yeah. I'll put it this way. He's given me some book ideas. He's given me some ideas for another in-person event that's going to be a multi-day event, more like a full-on retreat. There's so many different ideas that He's put on my heart. [00:42:38] But like I said, there's one major thing that pulls it all together, and I'm really, really excited about what that is.
I'm excited about what He's doing, and I'm excited about whoever that is in the future that He's having me prepare this thing for. So yeah, there's a lot of exciting new things going on that He's definitely given me the kind of go-ahead to start working on and get out there. And then yeah, this other big thing that's just kind of in the background that I'm just... I'm trying not to say it now, I'm so excited.
Laura Dugger: Well, I'm excited about the work that you've already done and creating Loved and Blessed, and super excited for what the Lord has next for you. So if anyone wants to follow you online, where would you want to direct them?
Jamila Jackson: Super simple. They can just go to lovedandblessed.com, and you can see everything that we offer there. Our upcoming events will be there, and then obviously our shop if you want to check out our boxes of encouragement. [00:43:42]
And then you can also join our 100% free online community. I always tell people it is a beautiful place to kind of get away from traditional social media and just fellowship with other ladies who really just want to be encouraged and encourage each other.
Laura Dugger: Wonderful. We will link to that in the show notes of today's episode. You may already be aware we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge or discernment. And so as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?
Jamila Jackson: I would have to say my savvy sauce is definitely proactive encouragement, just preparing for future storms of life, you know, so that when they hit, you start from a place of strength. And so I think just that lifestyle of encouragement is definitely my savvy sauce.
Laura Dugger: Jamila, I just want to encourage you that the work you're doing matters and your joy and encouragement absolutely is contagious. [00:44:49] I've learned so much through your stories and your process of discernment. I think you really encourage all of us to seek the Lord and see what He has individually for us so we can ideally glorify Him.
Jamila Jackson: Amen, yeah.
Laura Dugger: Thank you very much for being my guest today.
Jamila Jackson: Oh, no, thank you. I love chatting with you. I truly do hope that something, you know, that was said by one of us, both of us, has encouraged everyone who's listening.
Laura Dugger: Amen.
One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.
This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. [00:45:53] We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute.
This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.
We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
So would you pray with me now? Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. [00:46:55] Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen.
If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.
At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?
First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.
Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. [00:47:57]
We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.
Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.
If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce
Practical chats for intentional living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.
They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!
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