How did I accidentally start a business?

“Help me!”

I woke up from the dream, covered in sweat. It felt so real.

It was my wedding day. Many of the details are foggy, but one thing was prominent; The wedding was about to start and I was not ready.

I had been so busy handling everything else that I didn’t leave time to prepare myself for the biggest day of my life. “What was I thinking!?” I felt so gross. My hair was a mess. My dress was crumpled underneath my “work clothes”. I desperately needed a bath, a deep breath and people to help adorn me as I took on the identity of the bride.

The guests were all seated. Music was playing. I could see through the crack in the door that Rob was already waiting at the altar.

My two daughters, who were young teenagers at the time, were the only ones in the bridal suite with me. I took one glance in the mirror and was horrified at my ungodly state and the fact that time was not in my favor. I looked at them and cried in desperation,

“Help me!”

I needed them to hook the tiny little buttons on the back of my dress. They tried, but finally looked at me and said, “we don’t know how”. I asked one of them to do something quickly with my hair and the other one to help me with makeup. Once again, their reply was “we don’t know how”.

I fumbled for a few more seconds. The doors opened, and there I stood.

All eyes were on a disheveled, flustered, ratty-haired, naked-faced bride who had busied herself with everything EXCEPT getting herself ready.

Have you ever had a dream that you knew had deeper meaning?

As I prayed about it, clarity began to come. I felt the Lord wanted me to see a picture and feel the urgency of time and this was his way of getting my full attention.

The two prominent things I sensed The Lord saying were:

1. My Bride has been busying herself with things that don’t matter in eternity. She needs to be awakened to the time we are living in and focused on being prepared for my return and our Holy Wedding Day. (Matthew 25, Revelation 22)

2. The next generation needs to be equipped for the coming days. (older women teach younger women)

This dream was a catalyst that alerted me to the Divine calling on my life;

“Living in the Fringe” began as an urgency God placed in my heart for my own children to get excited about the Word of God. I thought, perhaps if I gifted them some really gorgeous bibles, with room to freely express with pen and color what they were reading, that would be the beginning of their equipping; Oh, it was so much fun to put purpose to this passion and be creative in doing so. I prayed over them as I twisted and pressed. Knowing that we are living in uncertain times, I desired that my children would be so hungry for the Word, that they would “eat it up”, and that their faith would be deeply fortified and fully activated. So many books are being canceled, but nobody can take away what is hidden in our hearts.

That was the story.

Until it became bigger.

The girls loved the gift and shared pictures of their new, “bougie” bibles on social media. Then their friends wanted one. And their friends. And pretty soon, moms were reaching out, wanting new bibles for both themselves and their daughters.

Before I knew it, I was living in a glorious mess of yarn, tassels and pom poms.

Generations were desiring to draw near to Jesus.

It was at this moment that I was reminded of the story of the endearing woman in the gospels who desperately needed Jesus. She pressed through the crowd to just touch the tassels from the hem of his garment (read more here). Her faith touched him and she was made whole. Some translations say “she touched the FRINGE of his robe”. That is where the name “Living in the Fringe” was born.

As it turns out, this wasn’t just a mother’s yearning and an accidental business. Our God is so creative and his plans are so much bigger than our own.

Women everywhere are desiring wholeness in their lives and in their families. The wisdom of the world has left us wanting. We are reaching for the only one who can truly heal.

Let’s begin Living in the Fringe, together.