A little bit of my Story…

I love making things. I have always had a passion for creativity and a desire to grow in it. But when I gave my life to Jesus in 2022, that desire grew exponentially. I began to see creativity differently. I loved discovering the ways I could work with Him to create, and suddenly the things I made carried so much more meaning. Craftsmanship became one of the ways I connected with Him. It became worship.

My creativity is a gift He has given me, and something I am continually learning to steward well. I find myself constantly praying over it, asking Him to purify my intentions, grow my skills, and teach me to use what He has placed in my hands for His glory. Jesus really is at the centre of why I do all of this. It is all from Him and all for Him.

In 2024, I spent a month in New Zealand completing a prayer internship. During that time, a passion for prayer and intercession was birthed in me in a new way. I desperately wanted to stay, to continue learning and interning under the leadership there, but I felt a strong sense that the Lord was calling me home to finish my degree.

So I came home.

What initially felt like a long season of waiting has become incredibly precious to me. Somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing these years simply as the time before the next thing and began to realise just how sweet and kind the Lord had been to me in the midst of waiting. He has built a life around me that I genuinely adore. I have found myself deeply known, deeply loved and surrounded by people and places that have allowed me to flourish.

And I think that has taught me something beautiful about the character of God. His goodness has so often looked different, and been so much better, than what I would have chosen for myself. It makes leaving bittersweet, but I know this isn’t goodbye, I’m going for a season to learn, grow and be equipped, with the hope of returning with more to give to the community the Lord has so kindly given me.

So now, as I prepare to leave again, I'm not running towards the next thing because this season wasn't enough. I'm leaving with a very full heart, knowing more deeply than before just how kind He is, how sweet He is, and that there is still more of His goodness to discover. I am now in my final semester of university, and after a lot of prayer, waiting and dreaming with the Lord, I am so excited for what comes next.

At the beginning of next year, I’ll spend a month in Northern Cyprus, living and serving alongside a missionary family. From there, I’ll travel to the UK in February to spend four months with the 24-7 Prayer Academy at Waverley Abbey, growing in prayer, justice and leadership, and learning more of what it looks like to live a life centred around the presence of Jesus.

And somehow, this little shop has become part of that story too. Sweeter Still is now a core part of my fundraising for this next season. Every piece purchased helps me cover the costs of going, while allowing me to fundraise through something I genuinely love doing. It feels incredibly fitting that God would use something He has placed in my hands to help me say yes to where He is leading me. So my prayer is that, as this little store front eventually shifts and adapts with my life, that Sweeter Still will continue to be:

• A place to make beautiful things.

• A way of stewarding what God has put in my hands.

• A practical way of saying yes to where He is leading me.

• And, above everything else, an offering of worship to Jesus.

Thank you for being here, for believing in what the Lord is doing in my life, and for championing me as I continue to say yes to a life laid down for Him.