It’s Time to GO!
Since the inception of Bridgette Breaking Barriers, I had the desire to expand it beyond just a blog. T-shirts have always been something I wanted to add, I mean who doesn’t love a good inspirational shirt? I love them so I figured I’d incorporate what I love with the needs of people. We all know, words have power and I believe that inspirational shirts are a constant reminder of how powerful words can be. It’s not just for you but for others as well. It can spark conversation. You never know how God will use you. “Hey girl, what does your shirt mean?” And boom, you have a whole conversation on how they too can break barriers in their life :).
Knowing you want to do something or have a desire for doing something and doing it are two different things. It’s been a struggle for me to get my T-shirts out to the world lol. And it wasn’t because it was so hard, I had my own internal battles. “What if no one buys it? What if I fail?” The spiraling of thoughts occurred for me several times. Thinking, “I have to get it perfect,” “how can I do this without doing that.” It was a snowball effect of thoughts, day after day, month after month. Until a voice from a respected advisor said, “just do it. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Now that I have overcome my own internal thoughts (it’s actually a continual process), I want to share some of the lessons learned along the way. I’ve often shared, breaking barriers is a continuous process. You can break one barrier one day and then another will come. There’s always something to overcome. Here’s what I learned on my journey from idea to conception.
Trust God – As I shared before, I’ve had the idea of creating shirts to accompany my blog since I started the blog. God has proven himself over and over again in my life. I don’t why I still have trust issues, but I do sometimes. And perhaps it’s not the fact that I don’t trust him, but I don’t know if that’s what he really said. What I now know is that you have to stay constant in prayer with God. In any relationship, if communication does not happen, the relationship will suffer. The same is true in your relationship with God. You have to keep in constant communication with him. And don’t worry, if you’ve fallen off (been there done that), get up, ask for forgiveness and get back to it. Communication with God includes reading his word. He speaks to us in that way as well. You can trust God if you keep yourself tuned to him.
Scripture: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Community – A few years ago, God placed on my heart to start a book club. It was totally innocent, just me and the women of my family reading a book I had come across that I thought would be good for us to read together. Almost 4 years later and we have grown from 5-6 ladies to 20+ ladies from all age groups and areas. It has been a blessing in so many ways, we laugh, share testimonies, pray together, and encourage one another. This community has been a blessing to each of us in different ways. It gave us something that we didn’t realize we needed until we got it. Community is everything. Surround yourselves with people that will encourage you and push you to be your best self. If it weren’t for my trusted advisor telling me to “just do it,” I would probably still be somewhere trying to figure things out.
Scripture: “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV
GO! – I recently heard a quote, “God said GO.” Sometimes God gives us ideas or tells us to act on certain things and we sit back and ask all the questions. Why now? Are you for real? What if it doesn’t work? Blah, blah, blah. I know God is sick of me LOL (he’s so not). Sometimes we have to stop questioning things and just go. If it doesn’t work out, perhaps there is something for you to learn from the experience. If you haven’t already learned in this life with God, we never lose. There is always something to be gained or learned even in the journey. Be okay with going and allowing things to just be. Sometimes God won’t give further instructions until you move. Just like the navigation on your phone, if you are not moving it’s going to say the last thing it told you to do. So just start moving and he will be with you every step of the way to provide direction.
Scriptures: “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” -Isaiah 41:13 NIV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9 NIV
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28 NIV
I pray my insights are helpful to you. You may not be looking to start a business, but perhaps these tips will help you face whatever barrier that has come in your life. It’s time to Go!
Prayer: Lord, I pray that whoever needs to hear this comes to read this blog. I pray that through this blog others will draw closer to you and develop a better relationship with you, whether they had one previous or not. Thank you, Lord, for each person that will read this blog. I pray their needs will be met and perhaps even exceeded. In the name of your son Jesus, I pray, Amen!
Shameless plug: In case you were wondering, how can I get one of these t-shirts, check out my site here. Let me know what you think. Purchase your Barrier Breaker t-shirt today!