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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43 comments

  1. Great post...Love the T's.

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  2. Buying my first pRAISE tee now! It takes guts to dig deep and find where your God-given talent merge with His purpose- I'll always support that! (Plus they're super cute).

    Margaret
    www.rummageliving.com

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    1. You're absolutely right about the guts part! God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power and love. The enemy will cleverly try to hold us back from reaching our true potential.
      Thank you for supporting my line! It means so much to me! I hope you love your tee! God bless! Xo

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  3. You are a wonderful witness to God's goodness and His promise. I will be visiting your site to purchase gifts for those I love. They will be thrilled to learn that purchasing your designs supports a fellow believer and further, provides for impoverished.

    Blessings to you and to Jen for kindly sharing your story on her site!

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    1. Thank you for such kind words, sweetheart! There's nothing more amazing than living a purposeful life. I don't feel lost and like my pursuits are aimless any longer. It's such a blessing and an honor to have this relationship with God and to connect in such a special way with fellow believers! God bless you and your loved ones forever and ever! Xo

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  4. Such gorgeous shirts! I've seen the funny fashion t shirts like celine me alone but would much rather wear one with a message like these. Great find and good luck to her and her company! She deserves it!

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    1. I truly appreciate your sweet words! Thank youuu! And yes, I've seen many parody tshirts lately also. I consider this collection, "parodies with purpose!" Glory to God... And nothing/no one else! :) Xo

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  5. Aaah. I love this. What a wonderful story showcasing His love and His glory and ultimately His redeeming power! Thank you for posting. Love the t-shirts!

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    1. Thank you!!! I feel tremendously favored and blessed to be in this position. At times unworthy, but I know that's the enemy trying to stand in the way of God's abundant and unconditional love for each of His children! He loves me and He adores you too! Xo

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  6. @miranda: i also saw the celine me alone, but these def spread a beautiful message. So I thought the same thing as you. :)

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  7. Beautiful idea and message!

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  8. I am deeply touched and inspired. It is always so good to see people spreading God's word and love. This is amazing! I love it... on my way to buy some pRAISE clothing!

    Victoria

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    1. I totally appreciate your comment, Victoria! It's so humbling to hear that I've inspired someone! I never thought I'd hear those words! This journey has been incredible thus far.. All glory to God! Thank you for your support! Xo

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  9. What a beautiful, heartbreaking but really inspiring story...Things happen for a reason, my mother always reminds me that what doesn't break you only makes you stronger. These life lessons are hard but I love the fact that you built the inner strength to go out and realise your dreams. For me, my youngest son now 15 months old had a bad neck when he was born but through patience, persistence and a lot of physio - he is fine. It was one of the darkest years for me especially because he was just a tiny baby. Now that he is ok - I have finally worked on my dream of Nectar and Stone...a cooking and lifestyle blog which is partly created to inspire mums, girls and women that no matter what is happening or how busy you are..,there can be some time for you as a person to your dream and passion.

    It is great that Jen has been a support and advocate for you...I think she is also amazing and a great role model.

    Hugs and Kisses

    Donna
    nectarandstone.blogspot.com

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  10. Such an amazing testament to God's redeeming love :) AND what a fantastic line!

    pRAISE is where you were supposed to be all along. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story!

    God nudges me to write poetry and I listen and jot down words. I'm thinking of publishing now!

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  11. Love the story behind the brand , those tshirts are amazing.

    xo Meg<3

    Meghan Silva's Blog

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  12. love these tees! Will definitely be looking to purchase one :)

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  13. There is a group on my campus called Girls for God and I just know they would LOVE this. Thank you for sharing.

    xo
    Maggie
    Love Scrapbook

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  14. So inspiring and motivating!! Praise the Lord and may God continue using you, Alma and your business to spread his word.

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  16. So inspiring and motivating!! Praise the Lord and may God continue using you, Alma and your business to spread his word.

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  17. wow, what a great idea she had! really love the tees! definitely going to bookmark her site.
    xx Allie | A Song to Pass the Time

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  18. So inspiring and motivating!! Praise the Lord and may God continue using you, Alma and your business to spread his word.

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  19. Such a wonderful testimony! And the tees are so cute. Thank you for sharing.
    --Angelica
    www.savvygirllife.com

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  20. This is pretty stinkin' sweet. I love how the Lord drew her to Himself. Praise God that he died for us while we were yet sinners!

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  21. OMG JENNIFER! (if you hate that name I'm sooo sorry-just using it for emphasis). That story is so powerful and really spoke to me. As someone with a strong faith, I'm always wondering how I can give God the glory while purusing my creative passions. This is such a wonderful validation of how God can use people. Will definitely be paying attention to the line.

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  22. Alma you are amazing!!! Sebastian along with God are so very proud of you. We love you and can't wait to continue to see your message be heard all around the world.
    Love, Sebastian & Samantha's mommy

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  23. Alma you are amazing!!! Sebastian along with God are so very proud of you. We love you and can't wait to continue to see your message be heard all around the world.
    Love, Sebastian & Samantha's mommy

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  24. Alma you are amazing! Sebastian along with God are so very proud of you. We love you and can't wait to see your message be heard all around the world.
    Love, Sebastian & Samantha's mommy

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  25. WOw! This is so inspirational for me! With God ALL things are possible. Just have faith & let Him take the wheel!

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  26. What a wonderful testimony of God's goodness. Beautiful tee's ...hopping over to your site to take a look. Wishes for a lovely weekend. Sharon

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  27. I love this line! So cute. Thank you for your story. I am currently developing my own business and everyday I must continue to have faith in the plan God has for my life. Thank you for your affirmation today!! xo

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  28. Such an encouraging testimony!! I just bought my first pRAISE tee! Thanks for sharing this!!

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  29. I don't know if my last comment published, so sorry if this a repeat!

    I'm so glad you shared this post! What an encouraging testimony. When one door closes, God always opens another! Just purchased my first pRAISE tee; money well spent!

    xo, Char

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  30. Amen, sister! I LOVE this and how you stepped out of your comfort zone and are not doing it for yourself, but for His glory! Can't wait to check out your work! I pray for many more blessings and success to come!

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  31. This is am amazing thing you've shared with us! Thank you for being brave and posting this and sharing what God is doing in your life! Keep it up girl!

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  32. These T-shirts breach major copyright laws and intellectual property laws and are illegal. I'm just mentioning it as I know you are very passionate about the subject if someone is ripping off your ideas.

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  33. I can SO resonate with her story! I recently took a leap of faith in obedience to what Christ is calling me to do. Although I'm still in the "waiting period", I am at peace with His perfect plan. He is GOOD. Continue to seek Him first!
    Michelle

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  34. @mrwisblessed in many aspects of our life, we can remain in the 'waiting period' for awhile...God always has his plan for us, as long as we remain obedient we will see it come to fruition in the way he feels it is best for us, which im sure we will know then it is also best for us.

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Thank you for your comments! Be sure to visit my shop at www.madebygirl.com