A fulltime mother and corporate professional, Grace is an avid writer, reader, and doodler. She writes during nap time and after her children's baths and bedtimes (when she’s not reading something). Through writing, her hope is to encourage you in the Gospel and encourage you to read with your children and for yourself.

Grace started writing a children’s book, The Bright Promise, before her oldest son was born. In the midst of infertility and pregnancy loss, she needed to study God’s Word, know his promises, and channel her grief and also her creativity. Today, she testifies about God’s faithfulness through her writing and with her children’s book. Writing is a stone of remembrance, not only for little ones like hers, but for herself that God will always do what he says he’ll do.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science from Auburn University and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing from New York University. Her career spans from the United States Senate to New York Fashion Week to one of the largest construction companies in the South.

Grace and husband Keith have two children: Barnes and Marilyn. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church. You can find out more, buy her book, or request a reading at her website: https://www.graceharrelson.com/about-grace

Emilie earned a BFA and MFA from Mississippi College and has been practicing her craft for 10 years. She began painting and illustrating out of pure enjoyment and loves creating beautiful things, such as stories, which have life in them. Studying book illumination and how monks utilized these masterpiece manuscripts has deepened her faith, and she enjoys spending her time on this work and presenting these quality pieces to the Lord. 

Emilie believes that she has been created by the most awe-inspiring Creator, who has invited her to co-create with him on this side of heaven and into new creation. Painting is such a pure form of expression that helps enrich people’s lives with beauty and wonder no matter his or her age. It is a wonderful way to gently and powerfully share God. 

Emilie and husband Isaac live in Jackson, MS, and attend My Local House Church.

Hannah had always wanted to learn how to make sourdough bread, so she started experimenting. It took about two years to perfect her recipe, and eventually, friends asked if she could teach them. Her husband encouraged her to to create a brand and, ultimately, a business. Hannah said, “While it has been hard, I am in my element when making bread, and the Lord has taken this journey and turned it into a ministry. Jesus is my daily bread and as I have walked through hard times of suffering in my own life, the hobby of making bread has allowed me to slow down, pray while I knead, and give God glory for everything he has given us.” 

Along with her nursing background, Hannah has a strong passion for preventive medicine – how to live a healthy life and steward our bodies well before we are sick and in the hospital. She loves healthy living and sourdough bread making is a part of this – nourishing our bodies well. Another tremendous part of her bread-making journey is honoring her dearest friend, Nikki. Towards the end of 2018, Nicki fought a valiant battle with breast cancer. In February of 2019, she went to be with Jesus in heaven. Before she passed she brought a beautiful baby girl into the world, Hope. Nicki had a 100-year-old starter for her sourdough, so Hannah mixed it together her my 3-year-old starter to create “Hope.” Through the starter, Hannah will be sending each participant home with a little piece of Nikki’s life to carry on through the years.

Leah and Lucas have three children - Luke, James and Charlotte, and they attend Covenant Presbyterian Church. She has been making bread for more than 12 years. Leah believes that meal planning and bread baking reflects the creativity of our maker by using the good gifts he's given us on this earth to make wholesome and balanced meals. It’s a joy to be an image bearer as we serve those in our midst with this creativity. Leah loves wholesome, homemade meals and bread and knowing the Lord has gifted her in the planning, preparation, and execution of them. She believes the Lord calls us to share the gifts he has given us with others!

Emily has enjoyed art projects all of her life. The craft of creating is an opportunity to learn and design, as well as make mistakes and try again. She enjoys having the opportunity to create with other Christians because it provides encouragement and support, as well as meaningful relationships. Emily has dabbled in many different kinds of crafts for years and is passionate about learning something new and being able to connect with fellow artists. She has a Master’s in Library Science. She and husband Joe have two children – Whit Strickland (wife, Rebecca) and Roe Strickland. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Penny has been cross-stitching for 40 years and sewing since she was a child. Through her own experiences of creating, she has developed more awareness and appreciation of all the ways God is creative. He clearly loves beauty and order and design, and she has had fun experiencing that part of God in her own little way.

She joined the stitchers at Covenant Presbyterian Church and learned about embroidery, stitching, and creating fabric books. Penny loves all things crafty – especially hand-sewing – and discovered that embroidery is a wonderful way to paint with fabric and thread. When she uses her hands to sew beautiful pictures, it soothes her soul and relaxes her mind.  Penny finds so much joy in looking at the things she’s stitched, and displaying them in a fabric book has been the perfect way to enjoy them.

Penny and husband Marty have two children: Samuel (Claire) and India.

Jennifer feels that any creative activity brings her closer to God because he is the Creator.  She became interested in needlework as a young child learning from her grandmother, but she really became consistent after the birth of our first daughter. Jennifer began needlepointing, smocking, sewing, knitting, and spinning. She loves working with fabrics and threads and putting them together in a unique way, which is why she loves fabric books and putting all of these textile practices together.

During the pandemic, she started taking online classes with a wonderful textile artist named Charlotte Lyons of House Wren Studio. Several of her classes were fabric stitch books, and Jennifer was hooked. 

Jennifer and husband Charlie have three children: Ellen (26, Molly (24), and Charles (22). They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Katie went to Auburn University and has owned a needlepoint shop for five years. She is a needlepoint lover who started her needlepoint journey because of a hilarious story that includes her mother-in-law (she will, of course, share the story in class). Her mother-in-law set her on a journey to her first project, a Christmas tree topper, that her mother began but never finished. Katie finished it and now it hangs at the top of her Christmas tree each year. From there she has added a nativity, stockings for everyone, tooth fairy pillows, ornaments, seat covers, and belts for her boys. She loves deciding who each project is for, and then being able to pray for them as she creates something out of her love for them.

Katie and husband Scott have two sons and a daughter, who has started her own needlepoint journey. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Meredith has BA in Hospitality Management from Ole Miss and is lead cake decorator at a bakery . As funny as it sounds, she gained her love of baking when she was young by watching Paula Deen put butter in everything on the Food Network. Over the years, she has baked in restaurants, bakeries, country clubs, event spaces, and out of her home. Meredith has a love for all things creative, from crafting with her kids to wood-working with her dad, but her favorite medium is a buttercream-filled piping bag. She loves to be in the kitchen, and the alone time it brings, and she enjoys being given a cake theme and using her own creative license to design a work of art in butter cream.

Meredith and husband Phillip have three kids – Dean (4), George (3), and CS (almost 1). They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Casey has been making jewelry for 10 years. She says that jewelry making, in general, is a creative outlet and so much fun for her. It can take your mind off of daily worries and allow you to really customize your pieces. Plus, you can have a trendy bracelet at a fraction of the normal price.

Casey has delighted in the truth that God has made her a creative person. He has gifted her with the joy of teaching others as she experienced when she shared this art with four teenage girls on a New Hampshire trip two years ago. 

Casey and husband David have a son, Charlie, and they attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Mary’s mother taught her to knit 64 years ago! Mary enjoys knitting and teaching knitting because It’s relaxing and fun. Mary is a widow with three adult children and 11 grandchildren. She attends Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Victoria has been practicing bookbinding for four years. One of her calligraphy teachers also taught bookbinding and box making. After a few of these classes, Victoria dropped calligraphy and pursued more bookbinding. Bookbinding covers a lot of creative bases for her, and she enjoys taking other art classes and learning new techniques that can then be used in bookbinding. Victoria likes having a product that she made that she can give as a gift or use herself. 

Victoria said that if she’s working on a project that she’s familiar with and has done many times, she find this an excellent time to pray and think about all that she is grateful for. When she is preparing to lead a group, she prays that her words and actions will be what someone in the group needs to hear.

Victoria is married with three children and five grandchildren and attends Trinity United Methodist Church.

Amelia first learned the craft of photography in school and has been a photographer for 30 years. She formerly ran her own photography studio and used to be famous! Amelia loves photography and creating, and says that the light needed for photography has strengthened her faith. She and husband Jason have three girls: Sloane (10) and twins Vesper and Hart (8). They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Courtney has a Bachelor's of Liberal Arts and a background in event planning, catering, styling, and marketing. She has been creating and sharing grazing boards for six years through her business, Savor Style. Courtney says that Savor Style has been a tremendous blessing over the years and has allowed her the flexibility to be at home, while also feeding her creative spirit. She is grateful for each opportunity to be a part of someone's celebration or to share her love for food and creativity with others! 

Courtney started my business as a creative outlet while home with my one-year-old triplets. She’d always loved putting together cheese boards for events and parties throughout the years, and when a friend asked her to create a large spread for an art show, Courtney began to look for new and inspiring ways to create something that's both beautiful and delicious! She strongly believes in spending time around the table and has always found that grazing boards invite connection and conversation. 

Courtney and husband Ivan have three children: Liam, Elin, and Lach. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Beth took a handbuilding class at Birmingham Museum of Art 10 years ago and began her journey with pottery. Beth says that clay is kinesthetic, and she loves getting her hands dirty.  She enjoys this craft because you can have some early success but still spend the rest of you life learning about it. Pottery a deep pool.  

Many of the ideas in Scripture feel tangible to Beth through her clay journey. For instance, when centering on the pottery wheel it can be tempting to be "close enough" to center.  But as the walls of the vessel go up and pressure is put on the piece, it will start to wobble and won't be able to withstand the pressure. It won't be long until only being "close enough" will start to show.  Wow, such an understandable lesson that our genuine center needs to be with him, our gaze towards him, so that we can handle the pressures of life without wobbling.  Also, there are lots of analogies with the stages of clay, and don't even get her started on the reclaim!  All of the things we see as waste, God uses for good. These profound truths seem so clear and understandable to Beth through the medium of clay. 

Beth and husband Danny, have four grown children and attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Karen has been praying for her children for 52 years, all of their lives! She says she started praying scripture over her first born child out of desperation because he wasn’t born with a take-home manual. Karen believes that Jesus hears our prayers In accordance with 1 John 5, if we ask anything in HIS name, he hears us. If we know he hears us, then we know we have obtained the request made by us. Prayer has drawn her closer to Jesus because she cannot change her children’s hearts.

Karen and husband Reed have two children and seven grandchildren. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church. 

Maggie attended Auburn University and is self-taught when it comes to floral arranging. She has been creating Lenten wreaths for five years. Maggie says that making this wreath each year is a daily reminder of Jesus' love for us, and the wreath helps her to fix her eyes on Jesus.

Maggie and husband Tyler have three children: Daniel, Carolyn Joy, and Benjamin. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Laura earned a BA in Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and has been painting for 25 years. Laura gives credit to her great art teachers in junior high and high school who encouraged her to pursue art on the college level. She says that painting is a creative outlet for her where she is able to celebrate the beauty of God's creation. Painting has strengthened her faith by letting her sit in still, quiet places and observe the boundless beauty of his creation.   

Laura and husband Adam have three kids: Payne, Nell, and Walt. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Ruthie studied art at Auburn University Montgomery and has always had a paint brush in her hand! She has painted all her life but has been painting full time for a little over 10 years. Ruthie’s father owned a printing company and introduced her to the love of painting. Ruthie says that painting allows her the opportunity to share the gospel in creative ways and has been able to share the gospel so many times with friends and family through the experience of painting.

Ruthie and husband Eddie have five children and 11 grandchildren. They attend Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery.

Misty began sewing 25 years ago because she wanted to make smocked and hand sewn clothing for her children. She loves making beautiful things and being able to customize them to her specific taste. Misty also loves saving the money on designer home decor pillows by making her own! She hopes that once you learn how to sew a basic pillow you will realize that it’s easy to progress to more advanced embellishments.

Misty and husband Brent have five children: Gracie (married to Nick), Cy, Lydia, and twins Alice and Amelia. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Mary Virginia learned the art of creating floral crosses six years by working with others on the craft. She began making them for friends’ baby showers and then started selling the crosses through business. Mary Virginia says that God is creative and cares about all of the details in our lives, and she loves spreading joy through this tangible object for everyone to enjoy!

Mary Virgina and husband Matt have three children: Lela, Ellis, and Louise. They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Stephanie has a Master’s in Architecture and has been practicing various arts for over 30 years. She first began decoupaging when she worked with Created for A Purpose as a leader and creator of projects. Stephanie says that any form of creative expression is a way of participating with the work of Holy Spirit in the world; a healing exercise for us and a means of communicating love for others.

Stephanie and husband Eddy have three children: Maria Sivils (Jake), Daniel Alonso (Kathryn), Emilie Sanders (Isaac). They attend Covenant Presbyterian Church.