The Bibleverse t-shirts and more was created to help people think about God’s Word in every part of their lives. Below I’d like to share why I put it together as there is quite a bit behind it all in my thoughts and prayers.
The short version is that we all wear our beliefs almost literally on our sleeves with the t-shirts we wear and our day can be encouraged by an uplifting message on our coffee cup. I wanted to encourage you with Bible verses and inspirational sayings and so t-shirts and mugs seemed to be the way to do it!
To skip the long story below and just go to the t-shirts and mugs, CLICK HERE.
Here are a few samples, there are many, many more on the site and new ones are added regularly.
Why I put together the Bibleverse t-shirts and more shop
This area of creativity started for me when I was trying to figure out how to get people who perhaps weren’t interested in the Bible to at least think about it. So, I asked myself, what makes someone think about any random thought or action, good or bad?
When you see a snarky t-shirt, what does that do for you?
Me, I want to be snarky. And then I hate myself and try to be nice—but the message on the t-shirt initiated that series of feelings and potential actions.
When your drink your morning coffee from a mug that reminds you of a comforting or challenging Bible verse, what does that do for you?
I think about that verse off and on all day.
It seems to be a core fact of human nature that we are influenced by the short messages we see around us.
Moses recognized it in the children of Israel millennia ago. They heard God speak at Sinai and following that, Moses wrote five BIG books of very detailed rules. Yet, at the same time he also recognized the need for less thunderous and lengthy reminders, when he said:
Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates Deut.6:6-9, MSG
Today our visual reminders are not on doorposts or phylacteries (the leather boxes, Orthodox Jewish men wear on their heads and arms during prayers) today we have t-shirts and mugs!
There is a t-shirt for everything.
A major event happens, and t-shirts appear almost before the news blast is over. People’s politics, beliefs, causes, and attitudes are all loudly proclaimed by the t-shirts they wear.
So as part of my ministries of wanting to get people to focus more on God’s Word (www.Bible805.com) and effectively creating church communications, I thought I need to learn to create t-shirts! Maybe that tiny turning to the things of God will lead people to greater exploration.
That was my first idea, but it took the longest to bring to reality. I started researching it, but oh my how complicated (cheery, loud, YouTube videos aside) it is, in reality, to actually create a LEGAL business where t-shirts are printed and reach people.
While researching t-shirts I came across the idea of Printables, (Bible verses and sayings printed out and framed as visual reminders) which I quite liked.
I’d already been doing things like this for years for my personal use. The desire to create Printables that will encourage and challenge believers, plus give them an easy way to create gifts and communications for their churches resulted in the Bibleverse Shop, (www.payhip.com/Bibleverseshop) and you can read all about that lengthy process on that site.
But I still wanted to do t-shirts and mugs.
Designing them was super easy for me but how to sell them? And more importantly, how to sell them without being consumed with the business details of sales tax, shipping, and much more?
My primary ministries are teaching and writing (through www.Bible805.com and www.effectivechurchcom.com ). The creation of these items I realized could be an important way to support the ministries, which I desperately need to do, but I could not let that overwhelm my teaching and writing time.
Fast forward through months of trial and error (I am a slow learner in some things) and I’ll detail it more on my blogs, but I finally found www.bonfire.com to sell my t-shirts and mugs.
Yes, for those of you who know about such things, I could make more profit with other companies than Bonfire, (for a $17-$23 product I get maybe $4), but Bonfire does ALL the hosting, handles the shipping, and most important of all to me pays the proper sales taxes to the states and countries that require it.
The Bonfire people have been quite pleasant and helpful to work with, do not charge anything until a product is sold, and their interface for uploading products is simple and intuitive (compared to dreadfully difficult for me ones like Shopify, Woo Commerce, and others).
I am extremely excited about this new adventure. I love to create designs when my mind is too tired to write or teach, and I feel like it gives me a way to make the most of my time for our Lord. As I’ve shared in other places, I can do design work while being a companion to my husband watching TV at night (him in his recliner and I in mine). Simply watching TV for me is an exercise in fidgeting and frustration but working on ministry designs with the TV on and chatting with my husband at breaks is both relaxing to me and productive.
But how I use my time is not as important as what I pray the mugs and t-shirts do for you. When you sip your morning tea or coffee, I pray the encouraging words will help turn your mind to Jesus. When you wear a t-shirt with a Bible verse or Bible-inspired setting I pray it will help you remember to represent Jesus well and give you an opportunity to share about your life in Him.
Leave a Reply