Before I started the With Love project, I could say that I had a successful professional career. For nearly ten years, I worked in online sales and marketing for various companies. I had a stable job and a decent income. Part of me enjoyed the position that God had so graciously given me, yet at the same time, I felt God calling me to work for something greater. Using the skills I had gained to carve out a comfortable life for myself was a strong pull. However, I felt that God wanted me to use those same skills in a more Kingdom-focused way. Specifically, I felt called to start a business that would share the love of God through providing for people’s physical and spiritual needs.

With that in mind, I started to plan accordingly, trusting that God would take care of me. A few years ago, I started an online marketing consulting company, so that when it was time to leave my job, I would have established something to continue to provide and income and allow my entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. Shortly after starting the business, God gave me a vision for With Love Community Market and Cafe. Knowing that this type of project was what I had been waiting on God for, I immediately hired a team and got to work planning and visioning.

Having a full-time job, a consulting company, and a promising entrepreneurial project was a lot of work, so I planned to make the transition out of my work by the start of 2014. That would allow me more time to focus on the consulting company, and of course, With Love. Thankfully, God was orchestrating everything, so I managed to make the transition in the timeframe that I expected. I feel incredibly blessed by that.

Sometimes it’s scary to think that I gave up a lucrative and successful career to pursue this project. However, I know that God has better things than my own personal success in mind. After all, he did not give me these gifts and skills just so that I could use them for myself. Today, I don’t have everything figured out and am not 100% solidified on my personal finances, but knowing that Jesus is someone I can rely on for this, I am walking forward in faith. Please pray for God to provide for myself and the businesses in this area. We want to open this summer, so it’s go time!