New Book: 31 Days of Prayer for the dreamer & the doer

It's Here!!! 

A few weeks back I mentioned this on my Instagram. 

So, last year, I was asked to join a talented group of Christian women to co-write a book called "31 Days of Prayer for the Dreamer and the Doer" founded by the women at The Well Studio.   I was asked to be part of this beautiful & powerful devotional by contributing a prayer on Marketing + Branding and I admit, at first I was like, "oh my gosh, what am I going to pray?!?!? God pls help!!!" Well, thank God, I figured it out.  Below is a peek at my prayer as I was writing it down, before it was even published. The book is officially released! With over 200 pages, I know this prayer book will inspire & encourage you throughout year!  My prayer is on 'branding + marketing' and you'll find it on page 171.  I am SO excited & honored to be part of this!!!

This is a different type of devotional & I love how it is specifically for the dreamer + doer.  So, I'm curious, have you ever asked yourself these questions:

What kind of dreams do I have, that I want to start putting into action? 
How does God play a role in my business? 
Can I pray about my business & goals?

YES, we CAN certainly pray about business.  Our dreams don't have to be just dreams.  In fact, 'the Lord delights in our asking' -  as written in Proverbs 15:8.  I can't wait for you to read all the prayers by these 31 women. (including mine). 

If you're wondering, the book covers topics like:

faith • comparison • God’s word • freedom • serving • online influence

authenticity • identity grace in my home • singleness

marriage • creativity • collaboration + opportunity • branding + marketing • comparison

motherhood • success + failure • busyness & more!!

You can buy the book directly via  Made By Girl - a percentage of the proceeds from each book will go to NYC Rescue Mission (the charity of my choice).
 

Some of the AWESOME Christian women involved in this book include: 

Aedriel Moxley / Alisa Keaton / Beth Ann Platt / Casey Wiegand / Chelsie Birks / Claire Hogan / Demi Austin-Thomas / Dianne Jago / Esther Havens / Francie Winslow / Gina Ziedler / Hilary Rushford / Holley Gerth / Jen Ramos / Jennie Allen / Jess Connolly / Jill Monaco / Marshawn Daniels / Megan Smalley / Nancy Ray / Kristen Steele McCall / Kristin Rogers / Lara Casey / Lauren Chandler / Lindsay Sherbondy / Maggie Whitley / Megan Burns / Rebecca Lyons / Tricia Goyer / Valerie Woerner



-post by jen ramos

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pRAISE Clothing

I'm always impressed by women entrepreneurs - their drive, ambition & their struggles to make it. I know so many women like myself who decided to take a risk & go after what they were passionate about. Perhaps it's a God-given gift they've had & never really touched upon until recently & then BAM! Their ideas & creations were realized & seen by the world. My story is very similar in the sense, that I always had passion, drive & talents I never explored. However, today, I'm experiencing the fruit of those talents which I feel are gifts from God. 

With that said, I wanted to share a different type of post & introduce you to a woman who has inspired me with her business & her boldness in her faith. Alma Meza is the founder behind the fashionable t-shirt line called pRAISE.  She believed that fashion lacked support for those who loved God (& wanted to show it). 

She has a great testimony on how she started her clothing line & it's pretty interesting- I'll let her tell you in her own words, so sit back, enjoy & grab a snack.

Below: Here I am sporting a few Alma's T-shirts from pRAISE clothing - love them! You can get 10% off your purchase, just insert the CODE: MADEBYGRL
at checkout! Good until April 30th.
 

My name is Alma Meza and I am 27 years old from Los Angeles, California. I recently re-entered the fashion world after having gone through some pretty nasty things that ultimately made me despise the fashion industry. I was forced to depart from the clothing company I built for 6 years with a partner who later betrayed me in late 2011. I was pretty lost in regards to a career path. During this time, so many other things in my life were crumbling- one of the most significant events was the death of my nephew, Sebastian. 

It seemed like it was all happening at once. I was overwhelmed, but felt God tugging at me and so I wholeheartedly turned to Him.  God revealed to me that I couldn't continue to coast through life with a casual,  superficial relationship with Him. I took a little over a year to be still, as The Lord encourages us to do. I maintained a corporate job that was stable financially, but spiritually draining. 

I started to feel that nonprofit work or speech pathology might be my next move and I began to take baby steps toward exploring each. Around this time, I started having dreams and visions about designing again, only this time the garments were showcasing either scriptures or faith related graphics. God was gently nudging me to come back to fashion, only this time with renewed purpose. That is how the idea for pRAISE was conceived. This was a result of diligent prayer and increased intimacy with God. The more I contemplated on this, the more I was being flooded by ideas and designs. I loved it all, but I was simultaneously starting to be crippled by fear. How will this be received? How can I do this all by myself this time around? Do I really want to return to this shady industry? 

All of these questions took over my thoughts for weeks until I finally realized this may very well be my calling. I decided that these concerns and doubts are silly compared to what God is able to do in and through me. I started to proceed with more conviction. 

Once I completed my designs for a collection, I was very emotional. Excited, in awe, and humbled best describes what I felt. Meanwhile, I was still working full time for a company that was starting to lose its ethical foundation. It took so much time away from my day and I was miserable there. In October of 2012, I built up the courage to step out on faith and resign from my position. I broke down in tears and utter fear. How will I support myself without income?
  
I prayed for provision and decided no matter what, I had to see this through. On January 12th, 2013, I launched pRAISE- All glory to God. My brand encompasses many of the values that are near and dear to my heart- using eco-friendly material, helping impoverished children around the world by donating a portion of the proceeds to Compassion International, and spreading God's love through fashion. This endeavor has been nothing short of incredible thus far. I've been blessed to connect with so many beautiful believers that have even thanked me for introducing this type of brand to an industry that is exceedingly being filled with dark imagery and immorality. I never imagined doing anything remotely close to pRAISE. I am publicly promoting my faith through fashion. 

I still become a bit intimidated at the thought alone, but I am reminded that I can do all things through Christ. God's ways are not our ways. I know that He is orchestrating beautiful things for my life. He took me out of darkness and blessed me with pRAISE. I am looking forward to His promises and not being jaded by yesterday's heartaches. I'm blessed and honored to be designing for His glory. When you place God FIRST in your life, there's no need to look back because you are looking forward, looking to the Alpha and Omega...and trusting in the ultimate Navigator. So here I am, allowing God to use me as I realize this Divinely-inspired dream.

Do you have a gift that you feel you need to act on??

 
 

-top 3 images by jen ramos

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Thank You

Hello everyone, 

Between all my work - I finally got to read every comment & email, I am so overwhelmed at God's power. It is through people like you that God shows his love. I'm amazed & overjoyed at all the orders coming in - which we will donate 100% of the proceeds to Women's Initiative. Thank you to all of you.

My friends told me to trust God & that he would stir the hearts of people who followed me online and that they would know my heart today.  I was moved with tears by many of your comments, but they were tears of joy & love. My heart even broke when I read that some of you were experiencing similar trials & were feeling down. I pray for those women today hoping they will shed their shame & hurt.

People will continue to call me names, lie about me & envy the new life I live today, but I don't care. I take responsibility for my past but I have been redeemed & TODAY my identity is in Jesus. I look to him & he gives me strength. For those of you experiencing something similar, something painful, something ugly, something challenging, you aren't alone.... God is always with you. 

Thank You.

video: hillsong united - 'hosanna' - sung by brooke fraser

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The Truth about becoming Free

Today I wanted to share something that's been on my heart for a while. I'm telling you this so that the truth can be known instead of a twisted version of it. This is straight from the original source: me, the person who lived it.

My life isn't perfect. For the last several years, I've been a designer & an artist. In the past, I worked as a nude model. It was my job at one point, several years ago. 

Have you passed out yet? NO? Ok, keep reading.

In my earlier years, my life as a young girl was a happy one; I'm NOT a victim of abuse or a sad home life--in fact, I had a great family and still do! I've always been a straight-A student. I've never done drugs and never cared for alcohol much, but, I got caught up in a bad decision. I'm not going to justify it. It wasn't an easy thing to do--but at the time, it meant that I would eat, have a place to live and go to school--all on my own dime. My parents are not well off and were never able to help me financially, which in turn put a burden on me to support myself entirely. I had no role model, never experienced any abuse, just a longing desire to do something with my life, and I knew I needed money to get to that point. So, I posed nude to make money. More importantly, I quit after a short while because deep down I felt convicted. I started to feel unimportant and not valued.

The point is, I made a bad decision, and I'm aware of it. If I could turn back time, I would. However, I can't beat myself up, and I refuse to continue to feel shame. The reason is because I think back to what Jesus did for me, for us. He died for all the wrong decisions I made in my life and will make. But if I continue to live in hurt and shame, that would mean he died in vain. A story that resonates with me is the story of Jesus and the immoral woman found in Luke 7:36-50 where Jesus says to the woman: "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

What Jesus said to that woman is what I feel now: at peace. This letter to all of you was the last bit of darkness I needed to reveal in order to be set free. It's interesting that the few people who tried to "expose" my PAST will now have nothing to talk about. I'm no longer going to feel shame for something I am NO LONGER DOING. God has blessed me with a tremendous amount of love, support, a wonderful Christian church here in NYC and a great business. That is why I continue to lift up his name.

From "SHE" by Kobi Yamada

I hope that women out there who are struggling with money, feeling devalued or lacking hope, can read this and be inspired. Women, who are working as models or in any industry that is looked down upon, should know that they are smart and capable and that God has a purpose for their lives, too. You don't need to feel hopeless or continue to feel shame.

For those people who have tried to taunt me through threats of exposure, you cannot touch me.

"Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now." (Genesis 50:20)

For the last few years, I've been living God's purpose for my life. I have NO intention of ever going back to modeling, because today I live for Christ--everything else I've let go. Some of you may be shocked, some of you may not care, some of you may relate and some of you may understand that none of us is perfect and that we all make mistakes and bad decisions. The only difference is my bad decisions were made public, therefore,  I also decided to make my truth public. I feel God pressing me to do this now, and I know this is his way of taking the evil intentions and turning it into good. I always knew that I would have to talk about this; I just needed to be ready and strong. Today, I feel that strength which I know comes from Him.

If anyone is truly affected by this and feels the need to discontinue their online friendship with me, you are free to do so. If you are 'not satisfied' with my testimony about my past, then you are free to never visit my blog/site again.  Labeling me or calling me names - is not my problem, but yours.  I have moved past this and hopefully you will respect the situation and do the same.  I will let my current work (MadeByGirl) speak for itself.

When I look at past provocative images of me,  I know it’s me, but I don't feel a connection to that "past" anymore. This scripture explains it quite well, when Jesus said "Behold, I make all things new." (Revelations 21:5)

I'm a new person. My intention is to continue to create a strong impression on women; a positive effect. A friend told me yesterday "Let God finish the masterpiece that he started." So I am.

In light of all this, and to focus on the good, I would like to offer 20% off on MadeByGirl products for the next **3 days*. 100% of the profit for all 3 days, will go to both Children's Cup - an organization serving the needs of the poor children in Africa offering opportunity for them to go to school + more & Women’s Initiative - an organization empowering and assisting low-income women to become financially independent. Just use the coupon code FREEDOM at checkout. Thank you.

* MadeByGirl products only, accessories and products from other designers are not included, sorry.
* expires aug 30th, 2012

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