A Vulnerable Position

Today I find myself in a vulnerable position again as I announce my newest venture. As I mentioned in last Monday’s blog post, there are a few things that I really love to do. I love to create, to write, to doodle, to paint and to encourage. And though, I’m not the greatest at any of those things, I believe that God wired me to use those passions that burn deep inside my heart by letting them ooze out my fingertips and my mouth. Whatever I’m doing and however I’m spending my time, I’m always looking for ways that I can use those passions for the glory of God.

I am a creative thinker, and sometimes I visualize a design or picture when I am reading my Bible in the mornings. As I meditate on the words, I grab my markers or colored pencils and draw it out.

For at least two years now, I have been posting some of my “doodles” to social media. I don’t always have time to doodle things out during my quiet time before work, but spending time reflecting on God’s word and then doodling it out is a great way to clear my head and rest a while at His feet. So, I decided to treat myself to a little extra time with this activity on my “day off.” As a result, Friday morning, “Doodles with God” was born, and I started posting the creations nearly every week.

My reason to post my designs was to share God’s word with colorful doodles and encourage my Facebook friends.  A few of my friends said that I should make cards to sell. I loved the idea because I have always enjoyed making cards for family, but I didn’t know if my cards were good enough to sell. Then one of my sons suggested I should open an Etsy store and also see if any little shops around town would allow me to sell cards. Again, I was flattered and dreamed a little bit about making cards for more people, but I quickly tucked the dream away.

On January 20, out of the blue, my friend, Debby sent me a message asking if I would consider reproducing some of my doodles and framing them for her to sell in her boutique. I asked her if someone had put a bug in her ear. “No,” she replied, “only God if anyone. It hit me out of the blue as I was seeing one of your doodles run through the news feed again. And of course, I have learned to act when those thoughts run across my mind.”

Before I could even back out, Debby was requesting frames on Facebook and telling me to get ten ready for the grand opening of her 2^nd boutique. I excitedly texted my son who once again reminded me that I needed to get an Etsy shop going.

On February 16, I delivered eight framed doodles to Debby’s Nzuri Boutique Ltd. in Greenville, and I made my first sale. I didn’t cash the check because I wasn’t sure if anyone would purchase any of the prints from my friend. When I offered to return the check if the if the pieces didn’t sell, she said she was fine and that she liked the word being seen in her store. That made me happy because finding ways to spread God’s word is one of my greatest desires.

Meanwhile, my son and husband continued to encourage me to open an Etsy shop. Finally, early in the morning on April 7, “Every Season Creations” went live with six of my favorite designs for sale. Today, I nervously make the public announcement and try to spread the word so that people will visit my shop.

So, here I go. I present each doodle as a humble offering created with love for Jesus and a desire to point others to Him. I hope to add more designs to my shop in the near future and even have some other great items I hope to find time to produce soon.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a scary and vulnerable moment for me as I wonder what people will think of my work. However, Debby’s words help me remember what I am trying to do. Just as she likes the word being seen in her shop, I want to get God’s word out there to be seen by as many people as possible. I would love for my designs to be used not only to encourage people to know that God is near and that he is faithful, trustworthy and loving, but also to inspire others to meditate on his word and find ways to spread it through the passions that he puts on their own hearts.