Working on this Squarespace website for Julia Jeffress Sadler was so much fun! Julia had a vision for a bright and colorful website with light gold touches. Our team was excited about her vision and transforming our Kira Reid template as part of our Restyle package. The first step was creating the color palette and logo for her brand as part of our Logo + Brand Kit. Next we jumped into designing the rest of her website to match the clean, bright and colorful feel of her brand! The end result is a bright, inspiring and welcoming website!

GO LIVE: WHERE DID YOUR PASSION FOR THE INDUSTRY OR CRAFT START?

Julia: My first big writing project was the famous family video "Mr. Bean goes to Hawaii!" a script I wrote as an 11 year old and made my whole family star in. I also used to write plays as a little girl and invited my friends over to dress them up and act them out!

GO LIVE: DID YOUR EDUCATION HELP PREPARE YOU FOR THE INDUSTRY OR FOR STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? OR ARE YOU SELF-TAUGHT?

Julia: I felt God call me to full time ministry when I was eleven years old at an event where my Dad was preaching. I've always loved telling people about Jesus and when I found out you could have that as an actual job, I was thrilled and knew that's what I wanted to do. However, after struggling with an eating disorder as a teen, I became very interested in counseling and psychology. I decided to pursue my masters and get licensed as a professional counselor. After counseling and teaching in a Christian trauma hospital, I realized how much I love teaching, speaking, and encouraging people with biblical truth, humor, and practical help. God opened the door for me to write a book, be on TLC, and work full time at First Baptist Dallas which is just amazing!

GO LIVE: WHAT’S THE HARDEST LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED IN YOUR BUSINESS?

Julia: The most loving thing you can do is to tell people the truth. And that if you want to be liked, don't be a leader, sell ice cream!

GO LIVE: WHAT DO YOU WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU WHEN YOU STARTED OUT?

Julia: I was blessed to have a Dad that is years ahead of me as an author, minister, and leader. He has given me the best advice. "Worry about the depth of your message and let God take care of the breadth of your message."

GO LIVE: WHAT WAS THE MOMENT YOU HAD WHEN YOU SAID, “I SHOULD DO THIS” OR WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THE JUMP INTO WORKING FOR YOURSELF?

Julia: This may sound weird, but the moment I knew I wanted to be a speaker and author was the day I was teaching a grief recovery group and had 30 adults laughing. I realized I love talking about hard topics from a biblical, practical, and humorous perspective that helps people heal. I knew I was supposed to be a minister when I was 11 and found out people talked about Jesus for a living. It's all I wanted to do, I just didn't know that was a job until then!

GO LIVE: WHAT THINGS HAVE YOU GAINED / DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN IN YOUR LIFE FROM FOLLOWING THIS DREAM?

Julia: The Bible verse, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect." 1 Corinthians 15:10 best sums up what I want to "get" from being an author, speaker, and minister. I want to give to others the hope that has been given to me through Christ.

GO LIVE: WHY DID YOU ULTIMATELY DECIDE TO WORK WITH US FOR YOUR RESTYLE OR CUSTOM DESIGN?

Julia: You have a super impressive and versatile portfolio! I wanted designers who would provide a creative but also timeless look.

GO LIVE: ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW OR WANT TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST?

Julia: YES! My first book: Pray Big Things: The Surprising Life God has for You When You're Bold Enough to Ask comes out September 3, 2019!