Last week Tapestry hosted their Virtual Marketplace Experience after taking a break from it... It WAS MAGICAL!!!

Started off >>> Celebrating the beautiful Pamela Zimmer for receiving the Crystal Reilley B.L.I.N.G. award. This award was first presented to Crystal last year for her dedication to ALL things TAPESTRY. Crystal leads her life with integrity and exemplifies servant leadership and what it means to embrace the Tapestry sisterhood. To encourage, empower, elevate and equip God’s daughters. It is who she is and what she does. Pamela follows the same path, shines bright for God, and exemplifies what it means to be a Tapestry Sister. It has been incredible to see just how beautiful these two women are in all the areas of their lives!!! Thank you Amanda Brown for all you do to serve The Tapestry Network of Reno. You are setting the example of leading well and loving BIG!

NETWORKING next>>> WE got to learn about each woman. One thing about her business, a win, something she could use support with, her ideal client/customer, and then each woman boldly professed what she is in Jesus!!

THEN>>> the beautiful Claire Winson had her talk, "For such a time as this, what it means to be called into the marketplace!” All through her talk, what continued to echo is each one of us has the ability to not just have impact on who we serve, what we sell, what we buy, how we use our gifts, talents and time… THERE IS A RIPPLE effect to EVERYTHING WE DO!!! She challenged us to truly be the salt and light for Jesus… despite what we see and especially what we see happening around us. WE ARE HIS CHOSEN and that is how we MUST SHOW UP!!!

THEN>>> Today, we showcased Anita Smithson and her ministry Sober by Grace (https://bio.site/soberbygraceministry), where she provides a safe space for any woman at any place in her addiction journey. ONE of the things that Anita does is sends out "Sober Celebration" gifts. Each envelope that is sent out has the most incredible thoughtful items to remind the woman receiving it just how special and important she is to God. We raised $140 for her today... BUT GOD!!! God MULTIPLIED IT - like ONLY HE CAN DO!!! One of the items included in every gift is a "sober coin." They are normally $6.40 per coin. Today, after our gathering, she refreshed her Amazon Wish List, and they had the same coins for a TWENTY FOR PACK for $12.99... LIKE WOW!!! So we were able to purchase 5 packs of coins (THAT IS 120 COINS) plus other times on her list. The normal cost for 120 coins would have been... $768 dollars... LIKE NO WAY!!!

SO TODAY I AM SINGING GOD'S PRAISES and THANKING HIM FOR JUST HOW AWESOME HE IS!!!!

Thank you to all the amazing women who showed up and made today just so incredibly special!!! You are dearly loved, chosen AND found!!!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 21st 10:30 am to 12:00 noon PT... Rose Parma is our speaker and Barn of Grace Ministries is our featured non-profit!!! Waaa HOOOOO!!!

~ The Tapestry Network

Wow, I never thought I would ever arrive at this place in my life where I could joyfully, authentically and truthfully accept myself for all that God designed and created ME to be.  Becoming the person or bearing the fruit that God created to emanate from my seed design or brand blueprint has been no easy task.  In fact becoming me was a very long and hard 53-year journey and I actually just turned 53, 23 days ago today-6/13/2023).  To arrive at this place I have traveled through and experienced 53 years of ups, downs, confusion, depression, turmoil, pseudo victories and colossal defeats.  However, the one thing that has remained consistent and steady in my life is Jesus.  My problems never started with Jesus, but He was always ready and willing to jump into the dirt with me and do the heavy lifting to set me free.  I can gladly admit now that the problem between He and me was always ME.  My lack of understanding, faith, trust and real love kept me settling for mediocrity and Christ didn’t die for the me I was creating.

The eye opener came when God introduced me to my 4 M’s and the reality that He had called, created and died for me to become the authentic brand that He had in His mind when He formed Me in my mothers womb (Jeremiah 1:5).  The more focused I became on His word, the more I desired to become all of ME and God was ready and willing to do in me what I needed to become WHO I was, WHOSE I was, WHAT I was and to show me WHERE He destined me to arrive at the conclusion of this earth journey (MISSION).  He was also eager to help me uncover my WHY (MOTIVES), so that when the going got rough I would learn lean on my real motivation.  Uprooting all of my self limiting beliefs would be the key to the development of my real gifts, talents and skills (METHODS).  It was crazy how the enemy had planted so many weeds in me that I didn’t know what was good about me.  It would take the gentle hand of the Father to put me back together again.  Lastly, I learned that my forecasted goals and the fruit I was bearing were completely and totally out of alignment with God’s plan.  As a matter of fact God showed me that I had fallen in love with fake fruit and that wasn’t pleasing to Him.  He wanted my goals and His goals to be in alignment and they weren’t.  I was celebrating when He wasn’t and I was crying over things that made Him smile.  He worked hard to align His plans and mine so that my forecasted and realized fruit were perfectly aligned with His plan, ways and timing (METRICS).  My 4M’s Blueprint would lead to the uncovering of His game plan for my life and I wanted all of the smoke.  I was ready to allow God to Make My Brand.

To tell the story actually, the making of my brand began in Elk Grove, California on, Wednesday, December 5, 2018.  I had flown in that afternoon from Southern, Ca for the Tapestry Network Christmas event.  Ironically, I was experiencing this weird sadness before the night even got started.  I believe God was preparing me for the breakdown that was about to occur.  As soon as the event speaker, Jackie The Street Preacher, began to share her testimony that evening my whole life got flipped and turned upside down.  I was so triggered by her story that I had a very public breakdown.  God had brutally exposed my very fractured root system.  Even though I had been in a very committed relationship with Jesus, there was some fake fruit on my tree and weeds that were preventing me from bearing the real fruit that I had been created to bear.  I needed to be Rooted and Rebooted, but I didn’t even know what that was or that I would be the one that would create it.  I needed to Know Myself, I needed to Own My Choices and I needed to Become My Own Champion and only God knew the plans that He had designed to make that happen for me (Jeremiah 29:11).  All He was asking me to do was surrender to the His process and quit accepting mediocrity as a way of life.  I chose to allow God to Rescue ME, Rehabilitate ME, Redesign, Reinvent, and Reimagine ME.  When He was finished with the R’s He started in with the B’s.  I stepped into the second semester of Rooted and Rebooted, confident that I had learned to BE content with exactly who I was and where I was, but I knew I wanted more.  Next, God and I began to BUILD the life that I and He truly desired for me.  He surrounded me with spiritual sisters, mothers, friends, and parents to help me shoulder the load of my cross.  He gave me safe places where the real ME could BELONG like The Tapestry Network.  There I was finally surrounded by a community that accepted me exactly where I was and wasn’t turned off by my growth and development process.  

The Tapestry women lovingly empathized, understood and supported me.  Lastly, God and His people helped me to BECOME the me that is now the face of the Unite and Change the World Together movement,  the CEO of SLB Enterprise, President and board member of the US Circle of Global Business Women’s Network, CCO of The Platform and founder of Shawnyvale Global Community’s, Rooted and Rebooted, SLB Global Media and TV.  All of those methods were living down on the inside of me waiting to bloom and now I can enthusiastically and proudly say that I AM finally ME and ME is ENOUGH!

-Shawn L. Brown

“How has The Tapestry Network equipped you, especially regarding your faith?” is the question I was asked. It didn’t take me too long to answer.

The Tapestry Network equipped me with the ability to pray out loud. That may sound like a simple feat for some, but for me, it was huge! Let me explain.

I’m a PK. Preacher’s Kid. My daddy is good at praying out loud. Very, very good. I’m not sure if that’s something taught in seminary, but if it is I’m sure he got an A+ in that class. Over the years, from his days in the pulpit to the blessings at our dinner table, his flowery words and confidence were obvious. Daddy knew just what to say that would be meaningful to everyone, not just God. And I knew I could never pray like that! If I was going to pray out loud, it was only going to be the “Bless Us Oh Lord” grace we pray as a family. Or the Our Father. Otherwise, my prayers were silent, between me and God.

Then a couple of years ago, I started attending The Tapestry Network meetings online, mostly Woven In Wednesday. I heard women praying out loud, using words that came from their hearts. Not the flowery words my daddy uses, but common, everyday language. The language I use in my everyday conversations. And it was meaningful and moving. What I learned from these women was that I don’t have to have big, flowery words when I’m praying, but instead I just need to be myself.

For several years I’ve had a desire to pray with my husband, something other than grace and the Our Father. Last Spring, I had my chance. John and I were making a cross-country trip and he made the suggestion that we pray for a safe journey as we hit the road. I immediately said yes. I even offered to go first! I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive but I did it, and I was immensely grateful for the opportunity to pray out loud with him. We took turns everyday, praying out loud together for 3 weeks. Not only did this help us grow in our faith, but it brought us closer together as a couple: what a bonus!

So you see, the sisters of The Tapestry Network equipped me with the power and confidence and courage to pray out loud. I’m not ready to pray in front of large crowds, but in a pinch, I know I can if there’s a need. For that, I’m incredibly grateful.

-Melanie Diehl

Did you know the oyster is equipped to heal itself from a foreign object that gets stuck between the shell and the organ that supports the growth of the shell? If you are unfamiliar with this, think of a splinter that irritates your skin. Yet, in the case of the oyster… something beautiful is produced from this healing.

Many things in life can cause an irritation. I am sure you have heard the expression, "Boy, that got under my skin!" These irritations can last a moment and sometimes a lifetime. We can get lost in the ugliness. Yet God equips us to get rid of the ugliness when we repent and surrender the irritation/burden. In this posture He redeems us, beauty from ashes!!!

God equips us through His living word, the Bible. He demonstrates His character, He shares His unconditional love with us, He promises to prosperous us and not harm us! He tells us that we are adopted into His family. He had His Son, Christ Jesus, pay for our sin on the cross, not because He had to but because He loves US that much!!! Talk about being equipped to bring heaven to earth and live our very best lives here on earth until He brings us home.

What I have learned is equipping becomes so much more powerful and meaningful in community. We are human. That is a fact. As humans, there are times when life is hard! Like really hard. And even though I know what I know in my heart, sometimes my mind will not agree with me. The “evidence” that God is not real or maybe even against me can present itself. In these moments of doubt, I can lean into my community of The Tapestry Network and know without a shadow of a doubt, they will be there to stand in the gaps!!! So just as the oyster is equipped to heal itself, in community I am equipped to not only heal but to live, grow, and celebrate!! This is the joy and beauty of community!

-Stephanie Sherwood