International Women's Day #GOALS

She makes plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail [Proverbs 19:21]. His plans are for good and not for disaster, to give her a hope and a future [Jeremiah 29:11]. And if God gives such attention to the wildflowers, don't you think He'll attend to His girl? [Matthew 6:30] He delights in every detail of her life [Psalm 37:23]. She is His workmanship, His poem [Ephesians 2:10] -- and He is her salvation, her song [Isaiah 12:2]. He knitted her together in her mother's womb -- fearfully and wonderfully made [Psalm 139:13-14].

Her hands are busy [Proverbs 31:19], working skillfully with all her heart, as unto the Lord [Colossians 3:23]. She can do all this through Him who strengthens her [Philippians 4:13].

She trusts in Him with all her heart, not leaning on her own understanding, but acknowledges Him in all her ways. He makes straight her paths as she keeps on asking, keeps on seeking, and keeps on knocking [Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 7:7]. He gives her the desires of her heart as she delights in Him [Psalm 37:4].

Since God chose her to be holy, she wears compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience [Colossians 3:23] and is clothed in strength and dignity [Proverbs 31:25a]. Her mind is set on things above, not on earthly things [Colossians 3:2], so she laughs without fear of the future [Proverbs 31:25b].

Surely His goodness and unfailing love will pursue her all the days of her life [Psalm 23:6], for nothing can separate her from the love of God [Romans 8:39]. If He is on her side, who can be against her? [Romans 8:31]

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God's Word reminds us not only WHO we are, but WHOSE we are.

Who are the women that inspire you? Pass on the encouragement to the ladies you admire (#GOALS) and to those who may need a refreshing read about where our identity can be found. CLICK THE SHARE BUTTON BELOW TO PASS IT ON! >>

Much love xo

Jess

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Styling Tips for the Stripe-Struck

This post is action-packed with styling tips and I'm SO excited to share! P.S. Where did the weekend go??!

TRANSITIONING FROM WINTER TO SPRING

With the weather changing, it's hard to know how to shift your wardrobe! For us Dallas girls, Texas tends to be pretty temperamental before finally landing in a new season...and in the meantime, we have "nothing to wear." :) This dress is a great example of a versatile piece -- casual or dressy -- Winter or Spring. Paired with the suede, it nods to Winter, while transitioning to Spring...but can't you picture it thrown over a swimsuit on the beach, with flips in one hand and sno cone in the other? (Can you tell I'm vacation dreaming?! :)

TIP! For in between seasons: choose a Spring piece and build Winter accessories around it!*

Accessories I could've worn with this look: Velvet bag (here), chunky cuff (here or here or here), felt hat (here), light blue booties (here), fringe booties (here), rust booties (here)

STYLING MIDI DRESSES

Midi-dresses are everywhere and I've honestly been hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. If it's not paired with the right shoe, it can look a bit stumpy...but this Jessica Simpson bootie (here) combined with the diagonal patterned dress (here) compliment the midi length. Here's a few other booties that would've worked too!

TIP! For midi length clothing, add a chunky heel and/or an elongating pattern for extra height!*

The necklace I'm wearing is ROCKSBOX! They've offered my friends a month's subscription of designer jewelry for free! I didn't think I'd like the idea of jewelry "on loan," but here we are...I love it. Use my code and give it a try for yourself! JESSICASHEPPARDXOXO at rocksbox.com.

The Jessica Simpson booties I mentioned are on sale -- oh, and so is the dress...$34! Dress (here), Booties (here) (similar)

What are your favorite transitional pieces? Do you have any styling tips to add? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment below!

Much love xo

Jess

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030216 x Denim Rainbows

This Dallas weather has a way of understanding, don't you think? 72° says, "Something exciting is about to happen." It also says, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING INSIDE? Carry your desk and office chair into the parking lot, because seriously, SPRINGTIME FOR EVERYONE." March clearly has some strong opinions. 😁

Click above to shop my outfit! Handbag, sunglasses and shoes on sale (eeeeks). P.S. I mixed these two MAC lip colors: PINK NOUVEAU around the edges + SAINT GERMAIN in the center for an ombre look!

Much love xo

Jess

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SALE Alert! It's Mint To Be

Not sure what timezone I'm currently living in...can I get back to you on that? :) After only 3 days back in the U.S.A. was Gateway Generate's Night of Worship! I've had heavenly experiences on both sides of the world in a very short amount of time...it's been quite a whirlwind, to say the least, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Since the Night of Worship, I've been catching up on rest and the fashion weeks I've missed out on.

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I put together a SALE board for my blog friends...from plaid trends (inspired by NYFW) to fringe booties (that can easily be taken into Spring) -- of course I had to throw in a few draped trench kimonos, cause they're my favorite. Each item on the board is on SALE -- it's like it was *mint to be* -- 😁

Wearing Stila's All Day Liquid Lipstick. << Click here for shopping details!

Much love xo

Jess

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Hope in Tokyo

Tokyo has taken me by surprise...I never dreamed I'd love it so!

Gateway Worship had our first ever Worship Roundtable in Japan, hosted by Hope Church! This is a time when local church worship leadership comes together and bounces ideas off each other, learns from one another, and worships and prays together.

After the weekend Roundtable, we had the honor of participating in Sunday morning church at Hope. Did I mention that Tim Sheppard can PREACH?!

"God has created a language that any of us can speak -- from the youngest, to the oldest -- regardless of your background, race, or gender -- YOU can praise the Lord."  - Tim Sheppard

Melon Fanta ^^ I'm obsessed!

Much love xo

Jess

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Taiwan VLOG: Night Market

The night market is a popular spot for the locals, so we obviously hit the Kaohsiung streets 100% tourist mode. Food choices range from chicken feet to stinky tofu. This place engages all of the senses -- need I say more?! There's no place like the night market and it'll always be a must-stop for me when visiting Taiwan!

That's real life ^^

Matt's beloved prize ^^

Press play to watch my VLOG (and subscribe to my YouTube channel!) >>

[more from the photo diaries]

Much love xo

Jess

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VLOG Made in Taiwan: Gateway Worship

We teamed up with Joshua Band this week at Kingdom Culture Conference! My favorite moment of the whole conference was when my dad and Pastor Ewen Chow led "We Bow Low" together in worship -- back and forth, between Mandarin and English. Hearing another tribe and tongue sing familiar Gateway Worship songs is breathtaking, but worshiping as one is even more stunning.

"...How good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1

Press play for my VLOG made in Taiwan! >>

[Photo Diaries]

Taipei 101 ^^ *Hanging out* with Anna Byrd >>

Much love xo

Jess

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Taiwan VLOG: Kingdom Culture

Greetings from Taiwan! Gateway Worship is serving this week at Kingdom Culture Conference 2016 in Kaohsiung! We’re not only honored and grateful to be partnered with Asia for Jesus and the Joshua Band, but we’re especially excited to have our own Pastor Robert Morris speaking at this conference too! It’s a great joy to serve in ministry with him at home (Gateway Church), but it’s not often that we’re at the same place at the same time with ministry travel. Such an honor to lead in worship before he brings the word — on every occasion, but especially outside the four walls of Gateway and even outside the borders of the U.S.A…it’s been extra special.

^^Dad sharing at a Kingdom Culture Conference session!

A little clip of spontaneous worship that erupted last night...with 8,000 of our closest friends. :) What a beautiful sound...must be something like heaven. So glad Brett captured some of it on his phone!

It’s hard not to fall in the love with Taiwan, due to the PEOPLE! Their hospitality is overwhelming, their generosity is outrageous, and I’m so challenged by their hearts to serve. (Here’s just a few of their faces :)

More BEHIND THE SCENES photos! >>

VLOG coming soon!

Much love xo

Jess

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My Favorite Fairytale

As for love stories, my parents' is the BEST. I'm not biased or anything...I'm sure you'll agree. ;) The way God wrote His faithfulness through every detail has always been a wonderful encouragement to me. My mom finally documented the fairy tale testimony on their 35th year of marriage and I thought it'd be fun to share this Valentine's Day. ❤

Kelly: I had just entered college and was still living with my parents in a small Louisiana town of less than 3,000 people located about an hour outside New Orleans. Living in an out-of-the-way place with virtually no good prospects for a husband (or so I thought) and also the aftermath of a disappointing dating relationship, I told the Lord that I was finished with dating. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what He had waiting for me just around the corner.

I had fallen in love with Tim Sheppard’s music through Christian radio and had all his albums. During my high school and college years, I always attended his concerts any time he was ministering in the New Orleans area.

In May of 1981, Tim came to New Orleans again, and there I was, sitting in one of his concerts worshiping the Lord. I thought he was cute, but I wasn’t even sure if he was single. Besides…he would never notice me. I was just another person in a very large crowd of people.

Two weeks later, I received an envelope in the mail. Inside was a handwritten letter from someone claiming to be Tim Sheppard. I thought it was a prank until I noticed that the envelope was postmarked from Dallas, Texas. Later, I found out that Tim had tracked me down by contacting the concert sponsor who brought him into New Orleans. The sponsor just “so happened” to know who I was from the description Tim gave.

Tim said some encouraging things about the way I worshiped, but overall, I would say it was more of a get-to-know-you letter…or so I thought. I decided to write him back, and we began to exchange letters.

After a few weeks, Tim started calling me. Then, toward the end of June, he asked me what I was doing for the July 4 weekend. I told him I didn’t have anything special planned…that I was just going to be with my family and some friends. So, he asked if he could come visit my family and me, and I said…YES!!!

I was so nervous when he flew in to New Orleans that July day! Writing letters was one thing, but what would I actually say to him in person? Would we even “hit it off”?

Well…we did! I remember attending church together that weekend. No one could figure out how Tim Sheppard ended up coming to my little home church, and that he was with me!

After a weekend with my family and me, Tim flew back to Dallas and kept calling me every day for two weeks. Then, he offered to fly me to Dallas to meet his family, and I said…YES!!!

On our first evening together in Dallas, we joined Tim’s parents for dinner. Afterwards, he and I stayed up late to visit, and he asked me to marry him! (He had begun writing me only two months earlier, and we had only actually been together for less than a week’s time!) Tim said his proposal was conditional upon both his and my parents’ complete approval. He was confident that the Lord would speak through them to give us direction, and if any one of our parents didn't have peace about us moving forward, we would either postpone or completely cancel our plans. And I said…YES!!!

Both of our families said YES!!! They believed we were supposed to be husband and wife. We all realized there would be adjustments in marriage that most couples talk through and work out during their engagement. However, since Tim was in full-time ministry, there wasn’t a way for us to spend more time together in person (since I lived over 500 miles away). We did spend countless hours on the phone talking, though. We kept the phone bills as a reminder. :)

We were married on October 10, less than five months from the day I received Tim’s first letter. Now, over 34 years later, I’m as grateful as ever that the Lord miraculously connected the dots for us, and that He also blessed us with our daughter, Jessica, as a perfect completion to our family. She is now 25 and has always served the Lord with us in ministry.

When I was 12 years old, I wrote down my petition to the Lord for a godly husband and often prayed over the specifics of that “wish” list. One of the items on that list expressed my desire to marry an evangelist. (The main thrust of Tim’s music ministry from the 70’s through the 90’s was evangelism!) In the natural, living in such a small, rural area, there didn’t seem to be any hope. In spite of the obstacles, God took a Southern girl from a little country town and brought the man of her dreams all the way from Dallas, Texas, to her doorstep. And he fulfilled every desire on my list. What made the miracle even that much more miraculous is that since Tim traveled full time in ministry, it was challenging for him to pursue a relationship!

Our God can do anything! He will orchestrate divine connections and intersections to bring the spouse of your dreams to your doorstep. He has fulfilled the desires of my heart. If you're waiting on "the one," I encourage you to have faith and rest in the fact that your answer is on the way!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Much love xo

Jess