i'm julie, and this right here is my little crew.
i'm wife to that handsome man in the middle, eric. and i'm the proud mama to the little one, Levi.
i blog over at green eggs & hammes. and i have a brand-spankin' new shop one simple red stitch, where i sell all of my creations. most everything in my shop is one of a kind. and everything is durable and adorable! precious things for you & your kiddo's. aprons for you, crayon rolls for your toddlers, onesies for the littlest ones & more!
i had the great privilege to be in Jessi's mentorship group this past fall... and is Jessi not the greatest? ever. i am thankful to be able to say that this internet thing is seriously real, and that she is as awesome as they get.
she and a few others were instrumental in giving me the kick-in-the-pants that was much needed in order to open up my shop.
i needed a lot of encouragement for many reasons. one of them being, do you ever look around the internet and find yourself thinking, "who doesn't write a blog?!" or "who doesn't have a shop?!" it used to just be etsy that was overwhelming, right? but now it's big cartel and store envy and all kinds of other avenues. and sometimes, y'all... sometimes it is hard for me to want to break into all of that talent and say "hey there! i make stuff too!"
i attended the Influence Conference in October, and i loved every second of it... but i won't lie. i found myself occasionally having to fight those confidence battles within myself. that my story is valid. that my value doesn't come from numbers or what others think of me... but rather it comes from the story that He has written just for me. that story is enough. His life in mine is just enough. and His life in all of these other women is just enough, too. embracing the differences & celebrating what God is doing in and through all of these lives.
so when i went to go and open up this little shop of mine: i did a lot of asking of the Lord. we have had quite the past few years in our little family, and i wanted to make sure i wasn't entering into a business for the wrong reasons. i wanted to make sure that He was so involved in the process. and that i was running into the story He wanted for my life.
and question after question to the Lord about One Simple Red Stitch, came the answer "yes".
yes, julie. trust me.
opening up my shop, in a way, became an act of faithful obedience. and i was excited about it, too... truly! i absolutely love what i do. i am thankful that the Lord made me an artist with my sewing machine. but i found myself being so afraid most days leading up to the launch. and i was asking for the peace to step into something scary, and outside of myself in so many ways.
after a few months of prayer and planning. of good days & bad days... we did it. i had the most incredible support from my husband {he built the site himself!} and we put our hearts and our passion and creativity out there on one little URL.
i'm thankful to say that there's peace in the messiest of days. on those days, i remind myself to take my eyes off of me, and onto Him. and when i find that i'm having those moments when i'm comparing myself to others, and thinking "who the heck do i think i am?!" ... i remember that i'm not. but that He is. i'm not the one solely responsible for the growth or decline of my shop. He is.
because He called me to it. He asked me to trust Him. and i'm so glad that He did.
thanks for allowing me to share a little bit of my shop story!
y'all, please pop in & say hi?
i want to offer all of you a coupon code to get a little something for yourself or a loved one for Christmas! 'NAPTIMEDIARIES' gets you 15% off of your entire order until Monday December 17th! all orders should arrive to your doorstep in time for Christmas!
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