I was nervous.  Really nervous.  I was having lots of fun creating prints and playing around with different designs and giving them to friends and family members for birthdays and baby gifts.  I was finding my style.  Then said friends and family members liked my prints so much that they started to encourage me to put them for sale on Etsy.  So my husband, Tim, and I had this conversation every day for at least two weeks.

Me: Do you think I should start an Etsy store?
Tim: Yes.
Me: Really?
Tim:  Yes.

I Can Do Everything Through Him Wall Art

I already knew the Lord had put the desire in my heart to have His Word in prominent places in our house.  Now I felt He was leading me to put in out there in the world.  After much hemming and hawing around and generally dragging my feet (quite similar to the process of starting to tell my story on the blog), I did it with reservations. What if nobody liked what I had done?  It was my whole heart out there. What if everybody liked it so much that I couldn’t keep up with orders and everything fell apart and everybody was unhappy because mom was too busy and stressed out?

Because I am a wife and a mom and child of God, and Red Letter Words was and is my hobby.

When my mind got to the point where it was quiet enough to hear what the Lord had to say about this, He reminded me of another desire I had in my heart – to glorify Him with whatever spare time I was given.  And I was reminded that He wasn’t going to give me this desire and vision without providing the means to accomplish it.

Let Your Light Shine Pillow

So that fall of 2009 I was busy.  Really busy. 

And then someone contacted me through Etsy that changed everything.

It went like this:

Do you license your work?  Do you want to license your work?  I work for Demdaco.

Um,  let me think…Yes, Yes, Yes!  Yes I absolutely do want to license my work!

Many, many phone calls and emails and brainstorming sessions later, Urban Soul entered the marketplace in January 2011.

One of the things I do every month is write down goals.  Habakkuk 2:2 says, Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that he who reads it may run with it. Some of the goals are very specific, but others are super open-ended like this one:

Do what I can to bring God’s glory to lots and lots of people.  I feel like this totally leaves the door wide open for God to come in and do what He will. 

(Speaking of open doors, one door that was opened was The Heart Collection – a line of art prints and candles that feature quotes from Holley Gerth!)

The Day Had Come Wall Art

So all of this comes from a simple desire to have our favorite scriptures displayed boldly and prominently in our house. 

What is your favorite scripture to display in your home?

By: Dee, Red Letter Words

This month only, use the coupon code: UrbanSoul25 to receive free shipping on your Urban Soul Purchase over $25!  Click on over to shop around!

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