When I began tossing around the idea of doing a shirt fundraiser for the World Race, I told myself that I wouldn’t sell shirts unless they had a design that was full of meaning and purpose.
While I appreciate that some of you would purchase a shirt simply out of support for me, I do not want you to buy another shirt that will serve no purpose greater than to hang in the back of your closet.
So after many, many good-but-not-just-right ideas, I’m so excited to share these meaningful and purposeful shirts with you!
Meaning:
1. Cultivate.
The word that’s been on my heart.
The word that’s been on my mind.
Cultivate has several meanings, and I love all of them:
* to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of crops,
* to foster the growth of,
* to refine,
* to further, encourage, and
* to seek the society of: make friends with.
Based on those definitions, I cannot think of a word to better describe my current season of life.
It would probably take a coffee date and a couple of hours together for me to explain to you all of the cultivation that has taken place in my life in the past year because it’s been an insane + incredible year of growth.
My life has been cultivated. My faith has been cultivated. My relationships have been cultivated. My purpose has been cultivated.
I have found firm roots. I have been prepared. I have grown. I have been refined. I have furthered my relationship with Christ, my relationships with others, and my desire to help further the Kingdom. I have been encouraged. I have found beautiful, authentic community.
But the cultivation isn’t over yet.
I can’t wait to watch all that is going to be cultivated in my life, as well as your lives, the lives of my World Race teammates, and the lives of many around the world in the year that’s ahead.
2. I love flowers, and centering the shirt theme around cultivation and growth gave me the perfect excuse to include lots of flowers in the design.
Each country is represented by its national flower or a flower commonly found in that country.
Australia: Golden Wattle
Indonesia: Jasminum Sambac
India: Lotus
Nepal: Rhododendron
China: Plum Blossom
Kyrgyzstan: Tulip
Kazakhstan: Lily
Azerbaijan: Gerber Daisy
Turkey: Tulip
Spain: Red Carnation
Morocco: Rose
In addition to the eleven countries, I originally included the United States’ national flower in the design because that is my country of residency, but I then decided that Missouri, although it’s not a country, would be more appropriately represented with its state flower.
Missouri is where I’ll leave from and where I’ll return. It’s where I’ve grown. It’s where I learned about Jesus and have seen Him move in my life. It’s where I’ve cultivated deep, lasting friendships. It’s where (most of) my people will be, rooting for me while I’m away and awaiting my return. It’s home, so I wanted to include it.
Purpose:
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Use this shirt to start conversations with those around you–friends and strangers alike. (If you know how much I love making connections with people, you should have seen that coming.)
When someone *hopefully* tells you that they like your shirt or asks you about it, use it as an open door to talk to them.
Share about the World Race. Share about what it means to cultivate a life full of spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and relational growth. Share about what cultivation means to you. Share about the importance of living lives full of cultivation. Share about an area of your life in which you are actively cultivating growth or an area in which you would like to cultivate growth. Share about being firmly rooted in Christ (Colossians 2:6, 7) and cultivating a relationship with Jesus.
I don’t know what you’ll share, but share something.
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When you wear it, say a prayer for the beautiful countries and the beautiful people that my team and I will encounter on the World Race, as we live out and share a beautiful Gospel.
Now, go check out the store! Sales will end at noon on October 17th.
https://creatordesigns.com/collections/easy-teesy/World-Race
As always, thank you for being a part of this journey!
Xo,
Jami
