I am so excited to share a special project that Gretchen, of Life Lived Beautifully, and I have been working on for creative entrepreneurs! Gretchen shared some thoughts on her blog (see the full post here!) to introduce the Shop Girl’s Code and she summed it up so perfectly, I had to share here as well! :
“I have wrestled with how to be in a business that shares Christ and brings glory to God. Once I was in business, I realized how mirky the waters can be and I knew that, as a believer, I have been called to a higher standard because I represent Christ in all I do. I started to study Scripture about owning a business and pray through how the Lord would have me run Life Lived Beautifully in a way that honors Him (both in my heart and in what I do online). I long to be Spirit-led in everything that I create, as well as to run the behind the scenes aspects of the business in a way that honors God. My friend, Val Woerner of Val Marie Paper, shared her same heart with me in the summer of 2015 that she longed for the same thing. She shared her vision to create a community of “kingdom-led creatives” who come together and decide to live differently than the standards of this world.
We prayed and started creating the “Shop Girl Code” that we could both use for personal accountability in our own business as well as encourage one another as we create and continue to make products that point women to Jesus. Our desire in the Shop Girl Code is to bring Christian women together to encourage one another and commit our work to the Lord. Instead of copying, criticizing, or comparing to one another, our goal is to champion our sisters through living a life that makes much of Jesus. Ultimately, we will stand before the Lord one day and be held accountable for all that we have done for the Kingdom, and we long to present our businesses as an act of worship to Him.
We pray that the Shop Girl Code would be an encouragement to you in your own personal accountability and an opportunity to live as set-apart Kingdom-led creatives!”
CLICK TO READ MORE ABOUT THE SHOP GIRL CODE!
your sisters,
Gretchen & Val
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Comments (29)
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Hey Jenny! I am so glad this post was helpful! Thanks for sharing a new resource to look into!
I am joining and am SO excited. I am so grateful! Thank you Thank you Thank you! I am a Certified Sleep Consultant for Infants and Toddlers and Owner/Founder of Bedtime Babble!
I love everything about this! So grateful to learn from other Kingdom women!!
Thanks Rebecca!
I’ve just added the badge to my website and will be using my new prayer journal to pray through some of these heart check suggestions. thank you!
LOVE this so much! Thank you for sharing and allowing others to join in this walk.
Hi my name is Kathie. I’m excited to learn more about God and meeting new friends. ❤️ May God Bless All Of You
Super fun and exciting to find you! I’ve just printed this for my shop planning and thank you for the encouragement. 🙂 Sometimes it’s super hard to run a business with the noise that tends to mask the blessings. Hope to meet you at Magnolia. I own a vintage paper and ephemera shop, and plan to attend!
I’m so thrilled to have come across this. I’m on the brink of starting a business selling my art, and as a stay at home mom and wife, my first priority is always my family and taking care of them the way God wants me to. But over the last 10 years of this, I think I’ve put my own gifts and creativity (which bring a lot of joy to my life) on the back burner too much. As I seek to step forward and really use the gifts & passion I believe God has given me, I want to be very careful about how I build my business. I never want to step out of God’s will, and I only want to go in the direction He would have me go with this. The outside world seems to say “hustle hustle hustle til you make it”, but in my gut that just doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t mind working hard, but I will not choose to exhaust myself in striving and then give my family the messy leftovers. Thank you for your resources, this Shop Girl’s Code is exactly what I needed to keep me pointed in the right direction.
I am planning to develop a website this year, but for now, I am on IG @lindsey.g.thomas_art
After reading the Shop Girls Code, I teared up. This is exactly what I need. Thank you tons! I know the Lord has given me a calling and I tend to get distracted by so much! I am so excited to be a part of your mission!
Ally Tapley
Oh my gosh Allyson! I am so touched!! 🙂
This is beautiful. Thank you!
This is a breath of fresh air! It’s so easy to loose focus, panic about sales, worry about promotion of goods etc etc but then I’m still, and remember God. He is my ‘Boss’ I answer to Him and need Him for everything. He governs my success, to Him be the glory! And then I feel the stress and competitiveness slide away! Thank you, this will be printed out and pinned in my studio.
Thank you so much for penning the Shop Girl’s Code. I am in the midst of opening up shop and I believe coming across this was indeed a divine appointment with God. It serves as the perfect reminder that we have a much higher calling – our businesses can be used for God’s glory. As Emily Ley titled one of her e-books “Customer service is a ministry.”
Thank you so much for writing this. I printed the code to post at my art work table. I am just beginning my creative business and I want it to glorify Him and not be about me. Thanks so much for supporting creative women and for your advice.
Ladies, thank you for such a heart of service. I absolutely love everything about this and have truly been longing to find a group like this for some time. What a blessing to have a group of working women on fire for the Lord, spurring eachother onward to continue to doing kingdom work in His name! I have been praying with what direction He wants me to go in my business as it is growing and developing. I am absolutely in and looking forward to seeing what is ahead.
I love this so much. As a new Etsy shop owner I so want to be in God’s will in all I do for the business, in particular the things He wants me to create and the direction my shop should take and how to advertise, run etc, this code will be such a help to me. Thanks so much to both of you and to our God who laid it on your hearts. Sharon x
Amazing things are happening with this post. We have not because we ask not. I believe every woman business can grow if we just come to the Lord in prayer and ask for the specifics instead of asking for things we want to happen. Cannot wait to see what he has in store for us Ladies. Happy Tuesday Ladies
I have been thinking about how to model who I am through my shop – this is timely
Wow this is coming at a great time for me. Definitely joining in and can’t wait to work through the heart check later this week. I have some thoughts swirling and I may email you later with some questions/ask for your wisdom! xo
What a great step in a great direction. This has been a HUGE thing I’m struggling with as I’m waiting to hear from the Lord on what is next in Christian business. Love the Scripture verses to go along with it!
I’m in. Can’t wait to get involved.
This is exciting. Thank you ladies. It is great to be in community with women with the same intention to encourage and learn. Amen. Amen
This is so AWESOME
Oh my gosh I LOVE this! Thank you for sharing this with us all. Can’t wait to dive deep into this.
Love the heart behind this so much! Grabbed the heart check worksheet, and will do some self-evaluation, and prayer to see what I need to refine. Thanks for the resource and encouragement.
I am so, so excited about the Shop Girls Code and am excited to print the code and post it by my desk. There is such a need for Kingdom-led creatives, and I’m so excited about the way this code will lead and guide women in a positive way! My businesses are Kelly Zugay, a life + style blog, and With Grace and Gold, a brand and web design studio! 🙂 Thanks so much for all you do!
So SO SO excited for you and Gretchen and the many many women who will be challenged and helped in this area, including myself!! Praying for you and excited to see what God does through this incredible ministry.