a sweet, sweet friend
and writer of the
is doing a giveaway today!
Jackie is such an incredible woman of faith
and that is not because her life has been easy peasy.
no, Jackie has experienced some incredible things
(including being diagnosed with lupus in 2009)
and she always desiring to bring glory to God.
i just did a little shoot for her which she featured on her blog.
Jackie has this awesome etsy shop
and today, is giving away
a print of your choice or a stationery set!
if you're looking for the perfect gift,
look no further!
Jackie is having a one year anniversary sale on all prints:
2 for $35 or 4 for $65.
also, 10% of all sales go to
to help stop human trafficking.
i thought it would be fun to do a little Q&A with Jackie:
Q: where do you go to get inspired?
A: For the scripture art, the first place is the Bible.
As I’m reading, Scripture ideas will come streaming in for drawings.
I’m also hugely inspired by praise music and even children’s music.
Here are some of my favorite artists lately: Sara Groves, Ginny Owens, Britt Nicole, Jennifer Knapp, Tal & Acacia and J.J. Heller. I love Pandora because I’m always discovering new artists and songs that are inspiring.
I also have been very inspired by Frances England’s music… the one Hill and I saw together at the Getty. I’m working on a print right now inspired by Scripture and her firefly song. That kind of children’s music just makes me happy!
I also love Pinterest for all kinds of inspiration.
For my drawings, I also get inspired by photographs and vintage children illustrations.
Q: if you had a free day without any obligations, what would you do?
A: OH boy, where to begin… If I was all alone for a day, I’d start with a spinning class or hiking and then go antique shopping to my heart’s content in a quaint little town. Of course I’m pretending that it wouldn’t take long to get to all of these places, wasting most of my free time. I’d take a watercolor or mixed media class in Ojai and have a spa treatment and a yummy healthy picnic. I’d have my praise music and I’d journal and read my Bible. Oh and maybe I’d sit back and read a book. If I still had time, I’d go to a museum and look at everything slowly. That’s the biggest thing for me, I need times to do things slowly because when I’m too rushed I can’t create well and I can’t concentrate. The pace of this kind of day would just renew my soul.
(we have this print in our house.)
Q: how do you keep life organized and moving with three kids?
A: That’s a good one. So often I feel like we’re on this moving conveyer belt and I’m just along for the ride trying to keep all the balls in the air you know?
I’ve learned to let a lot go and to not stress so much about the messes in the moment.
I truly meditate on the fact that I am the keeper of my home and I can set the tone for stress or I can set the tone for peace.
I have this way of focusing just on what’s next. I keep my eye on the next thing I have to do and I do it. I can shut out all the other distractions. As long as I practice that, it helps me not look at everything all at once and get frozen.
I’m not good at keeping a calendar all the time, I’m not always good at mapping out my day and time to shop or what will be served for dinner each night. It’s funny because I am more of a detailed, organized person, but I’m also kind of a fly by the seat of my pants wing-it person, too. I think I’ve learned to become this way as a mom of three. I keep a lot of details in my head, which I know probably isn’t the most efficient.
Thankfully I have a totally understanding husband who is ok with a hodgepodge dinner. And I do forget things. Like today was a jeans day at my kid’s school and mine were in their uniforms. So I do feel like I drop the ball sometimes. But I try to give myself grace and not beat myself up. We can’t be perfect.
After bath we all have a clean up time where everyone helps put everything away. My girls will even sweep the kitchen floor. Do you know it wasn’t until after our dog passed away that it even occurred to me to ask them. They actually enjoy helping, most of the time.
Typically, I want my kids and husband to be happy and feel loved and for us to be a light for the Lord. So I look at what we need to accomplish right now, and what’s due for tomorrow. We do plan ahead some, but I pray to stay focused on what is most pressing and what matters most in their lives and to the Lord. I’ve learned to say no to extra things. To not commit to everything and to leave margins for relaxing and down time.
We don’t do a lot of playdates and I don’t do anything at night anymore on school nights. Family time is important and if we’re all being pulled in too many directions there’s no room for feeling relaxed and for developing our relationships with each other. I have to carve out time for calmness
Q: what is essentially important for you to do each and every day?
A: A couple of years ago I started making an absolute effort to get up about an hour before my kids for my quiet time. I think getting centered with God first thing in the morning helps me stay focused. That’s not to say it always works, but I’ve seen a definite change in the sense of peace in our home.
(and i adore this one.)
Q: what did you think you'd be when you grow up?
A: I initially wanted to be a veterinarian. But I turned out to be allergic to all kinds of animals so that wasn’t going to work out so well. I wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t think I was that great so I didn’t pursue it. The one thing I knew I wanted to be was someone in a suit doing presentations for people. It’s so funny to me, that I had that image in my head. I didn’t know exactly what career it would be, but I knew visually what I would be doing.
Q: what career did you pursue after college?
A: I majored in television production with an emphasis in documentary making. I loved the power of a documentary to educate and inform people and I wanted to make a difference. I still believe in this. In my last term in college I started freelancing as a production assistant at CNN and was hired just after graduation. I went on to become a field producer and then was a segment and show producer at E! Entertainment Television when the True Hollywood Stories department first started. It was a pretty crazy and amazing time. I was 24 and just married. Because it was such a new department they’d let young people have a chance to do more than other networks would. Within that year I was writing and producing two-hour documentaries. We’d have just weeks to read biographies, research, book our interviews and travel around the country doing interviews on people such as Grace Kelly, Mia Farrow, and Janis Joplin before coming back to log it all and write and edit the shows. My husband and I met at CNN, he’s a cameraman, so during these years he and I would work together a lot. I loved being able to travel together on these shoots.
But as time went on, the THS department started taking more of a tabloid slant than I was happy with. It was the first and only time I left a job without having another job. My next assignment was going to be digging up dirt on Princess Diana for the anniversary of her death. I just couldn’t do it.
That was when my husband helped me put together a resume tape to become a reporter. When you start out reporting, you generally have to go to a small market which would have meant living apart from my husband. I didn’t want to have to do this because I had seen too many marriages not make it in this industry. So I went to a small market within LA County for awhile and then got a job working for ABC in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. With both of these jobs I would spend about three hours round trip on the road to and from work. It was crazy, but somehow it didn’t bother me. I was loving what I was doing.
I would typically have to put together two different stories a day with three live shots covering everything from political stories, court cases, human interest and environmental issues. It was fun and exciting and I loved the adrenaline rush of starting with nothing and working with your cameraman to put a story together. During this time I was able to also freelance in LA doing entertainment stories for CBS newspath and for other production companies that would send out stories on a feed to all the networks. I had this funny balance of covering really intense hard news for one station and then doing set visits and premieres for others. With the LA shoots my husband and I continued to work together. I still freelance a little with him, but I know these hours are just so long and unpredictable and I want to be here for my children. I feel blessed that I can make that choice.
(i know a little someone who might be getting this print as a gift!)
Q: what is something you want to pass onto your children?
A: The most important thing I want to instill in all of them is to see themselves as God sees them. To know His promises are alive and true for them. To have them so strongly rooted in the truth that they will be able to fight attacks from the enemy. I spent way too many years in bondage and filled with fears. I didn’t know Scripture. I didn’t know to put on the armor of God.
I consciously practice visualizing thoughts that aren’t from God just bouncing off of me. To not let them take root. I am teaching my children to do the same. To put on their armor and to guard their hearts and minds with a wellspring of Truth!
Q: do you have a favorite Bible verse?
A: This is hard. I have a lot. But if I had to pick one, I think I’d say
Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
I grew up Catholic so terms like, “What is your life verse” were foreign to me until my son was born and I started my first Bible study. So if I were asked today I think I’d choose this as a life verse.
If I can share one more verse I’ve recently discovered that I’m loving as a mom.
“The fruit of righteousness will be peace. The effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” Isaiah 32:16-18.
This is our forever promise with Jesus, but it’s also a promise for here and now. How much of an honor and responsibility is it to work with the Holy Spirit to have a peaceful dwelling place and secure home for our families. That’s what I want my children to grow up feeling about our home here and our forever home in Heaven.
Have you noticed by the way that I have a thing about quiet in both of those Scriptures? I can have a mind that spins, so this quietness is really important to me to feel connected to the Lord.
(i love that Jackie even has a print for a boy!)
Q: what is your favorite book?
A: Oh goodness, I’m not a good novel reader anymore. I used to love Shakespeare. But today, if I’m reading it’s a Bible study, Christian non-fiction or a parenting book. The two books that have impacted me the most recently are 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp and Hold Onto Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld. It was absolutely fascinating and educating. I must admit it took a flight to New York for me to be able to read it though. Typically when I sit down at night to read, I fall asleep!
Q: what is your favorite movie?
A: I really loved August Rush. I loved the little boy, the beauty of the way it was shot and the power of music.
(and does this one just make you want to dance or what?)
Q: what is your favorite color combination right now?
A: I’m in love with aqua… aqua and orange, aqua and pink, aqua and red.
I’ve also been very into gray and yellow and lately darker colors like teal and navy. I know you said one. I like colors a lot!
(she has also added a stationery set to her shop.)
how to enter:
(having trouble seeing the comment box?
click here and scroll down to enter a comment)
you can enter up to four times with four comments!
(having trouble seeing the comment box?
click here and scroll down to enter a comment)
you can enter up to four times with four comments!
1.) become a follower of Jackie's willow of wonder blog
and comment here telling me what print you like best
2.) become a follower of my little blog
and comment here telling me this
3.) like her facebook page
this giveaway will last through
monday, november 14th at 7:00pm pacific time.
monday, november 14th at 7:00pm pacific time.
i will announce the winner on tuesday, november 15th!
1576. not having to go to the hospital for L's breathing
1577. a short week
1578. being surrounded by Scripture
1579. a sweet friend's second little boy arriving!
1580. being giddy with delight
