Shadows of My Heart

10/27/2023

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8BJuJvx/

47.2K likes, 417 comments. “ ”

10/26/2023

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8k7sbUR/

75.7K likes, 1300 comments. “That weight youve been carrying... Let it go today! The Lord is YOUR shepherd!”

08/15/2023

This song is on repeat in my head today…it’s so true.

Watch the official audio video for now!Listen to "Truth Be Told" everywhere: https://MatthewWest.lnk.to/BrandNewtbConnect with Matthew:Email lis...

07/22/2023

This is a page from the book “Biblical Truths for Creatives”. This was what we used for Donuts & Devotions time this morning. The conversation that came from it was amazing. So grateful for the blessing that the Lord has given me to have the store and use it to help promote and speak about Him in this world that can sometimes seem dark and dismal.

12/09/2022

Hey friends…just thought I’d share here, in case anybody wants to do this with me…in 2023 I’m starting the book 52 weeks of gratitude. It’s an Ink & Willow publication. if you need help getting a copy and want to do this, just let me know.

11/07/2022

It’s OK to cry. It’s OK to get angry at what the devil throws your way. It’s OK to have tears and frustration running down your face. You’re body is human. It’s not immune to the effects of living in a sinful world. Many ask- why God would do this to me, and I’m here to tell you, that He isn’t the one tormenting your flesh! He isn’t the one hurting you! Don’t believe the lie that He is! The devil is a liar! You are a child to a King that knows you by name! 🔥You see, I am not a warrior because I chose to be. I’m a warrior because God has called me to be. YOU are a warrior! Why? Because He dwells with you, and at the end of the day and at the end of this life here on this earth, you will be victorious because His death truly conquered the grave!

YOU ARE a child OF GOD! 👑💛💫🙌🏾🔥

10/28/2022

I was blessed to have 2 women Stand in the Gap for me last week. Satan was attacking hard but these women were constantly embracing me and praying over me. I know I have an entire army of prayer warriors regularly covering me with prayer but these women both on separate occasions , they grabbed my arms, looked me in the eyes and then wrapped their arms around me, put their head on my shoulder so that they are at my ears, with hugs, so warm that I had no choice but to allow my body to literally melt into them and they prayed prayers of comfort, strength, protection, and so much more straight to God in my ear.

In total transparency, it's been an ultra hard month. I'm tired. Not physically like i need a nap (although a nap might be good on some of these days), but emotionally, spiritually, mentally. Tired. Satan has attacked hard this month. He has attacked my little family. In the darkness of the hospital rooms, he has taunted "where is God now? huh? If He was so strong things would be better or you wouldn't be here. And while you are here, how is the store going to survive you being closed so much? huh? How do you think your God is going to help you with that? Does God craft?" and then as I proceeded to do an event in another state without my best friend able to help me because he was recovering, once again Satan attacked. He said, "really, you aren't ready for this. You aren't prepared. You didn't bring enough. You didn't bring your best self. How dare you try to do this when you can barely operate at home right now." But God. God sent women of faith to Stand in the Gap and here I am getting ready to close out the month. As a guy I follow on social media says (he is a marathoner and one of those guys that does all of the hard things like mountain climbing), "It's gonna get ugly, but it's gonna get done" and that is what my October has been. It was ugly. It was stained with tears and blood and so much more. But God, with His amazing grace and those women standing in the gap, have delivered me to the end of this month intact and ready to look forward to another month with hope. If you ever get the chance, please Stand in the Gap for somebody. You never know how much that person may need it at that time and whose life you are impacting so much.

10/25/2022

This is so so important. This past weekend I did an event that was emotionally overwhelming but I had 2 (probably more) but 2 very strong faithful
Women who literally hugged me so tight and prayed over me at times that I just felt the power and grace and love fall over me and thankfully they were holding on because their love and prayers brought me to tears and would’ve brought me to my knees otherwise had they not been holding on so tight.

07/25/2022

So I have always always always hated alcohol. I do not drink alcohol at all and that’s a personal decision I made when I was younger. I grew up in the era of “just say no” and “d.a.r.e.” I had seen a lot of people who liked to drink, perhaps a bit too much, and allow it to help them be a conveyor of bad decisions and risky actions. The smell of alcohol makes me want to gag and I try my darndest to not put myself into situations where there are large amounts of alcohol around.

However a few weeks ago, I made the poor decision to hang out with some acquaintances for a couple hours that were heavily drinking. They had been drinking for hours by the time I dropped in and the room reeked of alcohol. I even mentioned it as I walked in, in a joking manner because when I get nervous or am in an uncomfortable situation I turn to extreme sarcasm and humor as defense mechanisms. I truly meant to just drop by, drop off a couple things and leave, but then I felt bad because I hadn’t seen this group of folks since before the pandemic and I felt that it’d be rude to just drop in and make the delivery and leave. I tried to stand as close to the door (fresh air) as possible and intended on just observing, smiling and nodding. However, I got pulled in to the conversation and I stayed for way too long. When I finally departed, I felt hot and sick and couldn’t wait to get to my nice, quiet, safe space to puke and put a damp rag on my head to cool off.

The set of the entire hour and a half conversations as all of the nonsense and waste of talent and energy that was absorbed and reflected in their intoxication keeps rolling around in my head and it saddens me. It makes me realize that perhaps, although for them it was a relaxation or release mechanism, for me it was a means to see through and get a look at other things and personalities. Although I only drank a bottle of water (that I broke the seal on myself so I know it was pure), I walked away from that room with a foggy sense of reality that now, after dissecting it and sleeping on it (although not well), I’m starting to be able to piece together what I was supposed to get from that experience. And although I went against what I stand for and allowed myself to keep that company for that short time that night, I now need to forgive myself for betraying that pact and let it go. It’s so hard to forgive others sometimes but it’s even harder to forgive ourselves I’ve found.

Have you ever had to forgive yourself for something, and if yes, how? What process or method did you use?

07/06/2022

Today is hard. Not for any one particular reason...it is just hard. Do you ever have those days? The days when you feel like you are on the verge of tears and you are fighting them back through a smile and yet you don't know why your heart feels like crying? Maybe it is all of the ugliness in the world? Maybe it is the fact that everybody feels safe to leave their problems with you and now your heart and mind are full of all of everybody else's stuff and you are crying for them? Whatever the reason, when the days get hard, and they will...because if they haven't gotten hard for you yet, it is coming dear..trust me it is coming...when the hard day hits, and an explosion of tears and words and whatever else comes out like a volcanic fury of emotions, I hope that you can extend grace. I also hope that I can extend grace. And when the apologies happen and an explanation is given, don't brush that off. Extend grace. Smile. Hug, if you can. But accept that apology like a grown adult and know that the person is having a hard day and it is ok to not be ok all of the time. In fact, any person that says that they are "up" all of the time is lying. Grace.

06/06/2022