Ideas. I usually have a lot of them so it is always fun to see which ones survive:) If you follow me on social media then you know that I recently launched a company. It is so exciting but it is also so involved so I wanted to use my blog platform to explain how it all came about and exactly what I will do at The J. Sappe Company.
Last Fall, after a particularly difficult season in our ministry, we took a break. We hit the pause button on Cross Roads Recovery and we re-grouped. We were down to one man in the house and when he left, we purposely did not accept any residents for six weeks. We exhaled, we prayed, we met with mentors and specifically with mentors in the field of addiction recovery. We decided we need to do that more often. Not pause the program but we need to meet more often with the people who are in the trenches with us and personally know the highs and lows of this kind of work. God taught us so incredibly much during our pause period and we are so thankful for it because without the discouraging time in the valley, the mountaintop would not be nearly as sweet! The ministry is currently thriving and we are so incredibly thankful for this new season we find ourselves in. God always has a better plan and lucky for us, His plans are always immeasurably more.
We know that just like life, our work will ebb and flow but man, it is nice when it flows:) One of the things we really prayed about during our pause period was regarding what God was calling me to do beyond my work at Cross Roads. First, He made it clear that He was calling me to get my Master’s Degree in Christian Counseling. I have counseled people for years but did not expect that I would be asked to go all official with it:) I also knew that we would one day have a counselor on staff at Cross Roads but I did not realize that I would be the first to fill that role. God likes surprises:) Next, God clearly told me that He wanted me to use my gifts and talents to start a business as an additional income stream for our family. I have never thought of myself as being gifted (those were the really smart kids in school who went to different classes, meanwhile I thought my mostly B average was amazing) or talented so I started making a list of all of the things that I love to do and ways that I could help people who may not love doing those same things or maybe they don’t have the time or energy. I initially had like a million things in my head and on my list and I met with a sweet, local lady who helps people organize their thoughts and market their business. Bless it. I am sure her head was spinning when she left our meeting and she was probably thinking “This girl has too many thoughts! There is no way to tie all of this together!” & a couple of weeks later I came to that conclusion too so I narrowed it down. Thank you, Susannah Maddux for listening to me ramble and helping me get to where I needed to be:)
First, I knew I needed to organize the company, get a tax id number and go through all the proper legal channels to become a legit entity. Thankful for attorney friends who navigate all those muddy waters for me. Since my services are still kind of broad, I decided to just use my name so I can throw anything under my company and it will hopefully fly:) When I first got married, I was adamant that I would always use my middle initial (my maiden name initial) in my signature so I always kind of neatly signed my name Jodi O. Sappe. Then as the days got longer and the years got shorter, I shortened my signature to JSappe. I was in banking when I first did that, there was always lots of stuff to sign in my role and then it just kind of stuck as I moved on in my business career and now it is how I sign everything from checks to my children’s signed papers from school. So, The J. Sappe Company just seemed natural for my company name.
I LOVE to share my God story as a means to encourage others and show the world how BIG our God is. He works miracles, He redeems, He restores & there is no end to His big ole’ love! Fortunately, I have had lots of speaking opportunities over the years & those have evolved from bible study groups to women’s conferences so I needed a separate tax id number for that work to fall under so now my speaking engagements will fall under the new company. Another passion of mine is interior decorating. I love to decorate my own home and love to change things up from time to time. I definitely get that honest because my Mama loves to decorate too. We always joke that the walls in her house are held up by paint:) It was nothing for me to go to a friend’s house for a day as a kid and come back to newly painted rooms and rearranged furniture. Mama was and is always doing something at her house. Mom passed that love of decorating on to me and as I recently thought about how much I love to dress up a room, I realized that everybody loves a pretty room but not everybody knows how to get it that way or maybe they don’t have time to work on it or maybe they know what they like but don’t know how to put it all together, etc., etc. & the second half of my business was born!
I offer design services for regular people. I can work on any budget and you don’t need tons of money to use a decorator and get your home freshened up. I do homes and business offices and I absolutely love it! (so far my clients have loved it too so that is a plus!) If you have ever thought to yourself that you would love to have some help decorating but probably can’t afford it, think again and give me a call! I might even share some spiritual insights with you while I decorate. LOL. I seriously need the emoji’s from my phone on this blog so I can accurately express how I am feeling as I type:) There probably are not many event speakers who also offer decorating services and vice versa but ya’ll know there is nothing about me or our little family that is completely normal. We like to live outside of the box and Lawson does not even know there is a box. We’re all (including you) gonna be okay.
All of that to say that this is an exciting season! A full season but an exciting one. I will still spend the bulk of my time managing the admin side of Cross Roads, planning events, meeting with donors, etc. but I will also be scheduling personal speaking engagements and decorating jobs. Then late at night when everyone is in bed I will be studying for my Master’s Degree:) I fully believe that God built me for this sort of thing. I always share in my speeches that whatever storm you are facing, you can know that is not a surprise to God and He built you specifically for it. I think He built me with strong and steady shoulders & hands so I could balance lots of things at once. Not sure if it is a blessing or a curse but I am going to keep moving forward in this calling until I know different. So, if you need a speaker for a ladies event, I can help you! If you need a room or lots of rooms in your home freshened up, I can help you! If you have moved into a new home and have a blank canvas, I can help you! If you are selling your home and need it freshened up to sell, I can help you too! The possibilities are endless! Be sure to follow my new company on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all the happenings.
Thank you for indulging my love of writing and for following me here. I printed my blog address on my new business cards because like I said, it’s all the ideas & my company is just my name so it doesn’t tie me down to any one idea:) Hope you have an amazing week – God bless you!
Living the Freed Up Life 