From the start of my ministry, I knew that no matter how faithful you are to the Word of God and noble your intentions may be, you’ll still be tested in life and need a reminder to take the higher road. I wanted to work with trusted friends of the ministry and local artists to bring my ideas to life. These are pieces I have come to cherish and keep with me in my everyday life, and to serve as daily reminders of where I have been, who I have become through His Wisdom, and who I will be through His Design.
I’ve asked the artists if, for convenience’s sake, I could link the products on my site, so the below links will take you to their site listings which I do not profit on. If you feel like you need an extra reminder to stay diligent to your path, feel free to like and support the artists below.
If you know anything about me, the mantra I hold dearest is “Your Words are Powerful, Be Careful What You Speak”. From my early days as HR Director, I would often have employees in my office for conflict resolution. The cause of these problems was, more often than not, someone running their mouth when they shouldn’t. Through prayer, God showed me a red zipper, and everything made perfect sense. I had this red zipper made for me, and I have been able to counsel so many with the understanding of minding your own business and understanding the power of words. This zipper has remained on my desk ever since, and has become a central motif in my writings and my books. As an extra reminder, I had one of my artists create an image of zipped lips onto a phone case so I can keep this reminder with me everywhere I go and share this lesson with anyone who needs it in my daily travels.
The first time I ever did a public speaking engagement, I was so nervous to get in front of people and be vulnerable about my story and my personal relationship with God. At this point, I almost asked the pastor if I could get out of the arrangement and take my seat, but I didn’t want to let anyone down so I needed something to help settle me. I asked my daughter to run to the car to grab my makeup bag, as just knowing it was there would be something I could grab on to like a security blanket and keep me able to focus on something. And it worked! I was able to begin sharing my story and helping others through my words. This was such a powerful moment for me. So I worked with another artist to create a bag to pay homage to this moment, a “Mind Made Up” bag, as it wasn’t the makeup that served as my armor but the resolution of my character and the Love and support of God and my parish that got me up there to speak and keeps me going every day.
