“But you are known as Kingfolk…the place that sells the cute Bibles. I don’t understand?!”

It was market (Atlanta market to be exact) and a retailer of our product line was standing in my booth trying to come to terms with what I had just told her. We had a booth full of products but the look in her eye was that of someone who thought I was committing business suicide.

I smiled at her because I knew something she didn’t. . .I fully trust in the Lord’s guidance and when He had guided me away from selling Bibles, I listened.

Actually, let’s back up because I didn’t quite listen at first….

The full story

It was the end of 2024 and I was beat down from the holiday season. I wanted to throw in the towel with everything. Bibles. Stickers. Business. Everything. I was exhausted both mentally and physically and the only thing I was looking for was an exit sign. I needed the off-ramp.

So, I prayed. And prayed. And I prayed some more. Looking back now, that’s probably the most I have ever prayed for something. I was so broken. My friends and family were so worried. I was going through a season of grief and I’m not sure why. I know the feeling of grief all too well because I had to walk through it after my dad passed away suddenly in 2017. So having grief creep back into my emotions was both strange and confusing to me.

I didn’t hear the Lord audibly but I felt it in my spirit that I needed to let go of designing and selling Bibles. Surely not Lord! It’s literally your WORD that I’m getting in the hands of thousands of folks. I must have misheard Him. Probably Satan, I thought.

I kept hearing the whisper in my spirit, but I was convinced it couldn’t have been the Lord. I needed another sign before I could give up Bibles. After all, that’s who Kingfolk had become….the place for cute Bibles!

I shared this with my team. And by “team”, I mean the 2 other girls that worked for me. (P.S….they are still here and absolutely rocking the running of Kingfolk…I could write books about their service to the mission)

I can’t really remember much of their advice when I told them, other than to pray about it and that they were here for whatever decision I made.

I decided that surely God wasn’t telling me to stop selling Bibles and that I maybe should place a small order “just in case”.

We were doing such good things with our Bibles…even donating hundreds of Bibles to different ministries both locally and across the nation.

The process of ordering Bibles

Here’s a good time to tell you a bit about the process of ordering Bibles through a publisher. It’s a lengthy process. From the time I place my order until the time the Bibles show up is typically anywhere from 6 to 9 months. (and for you Madagascar movie fans….69 months?! No! 6 to 9 months! IYKYK)

Our current inventory of Bibles would barely limp us along to the next shipment and because I wasn’t exactly sure if I was hearing from the Lord or not, I wasn’t going to place my normal big order, just the very minimum I could order.

With an uneasy knot in my stomach, I emailed my contact person that I place orders with and told her I needed to order the minimum of ESV Journaling Bibles.

I get an immediate reply from her.

“The ESV Bible translation is being updated and all orders of ESV Bibles have been paused for a year.“

FOR A YEAR?!!!

I sat at my computer desk in complete shock.

The Lord wasn’t surprised but I thought I was going to puke.

This is why He was trying to tell me that the direction for Kingfolk was changing.

He knew this all along.

I took a few days to process the shock of not being able to secure inventory of the product that Kingfolk is most known for and then I told my team.

They weren’t worried. They laughed and said “well you were wondering if the Lord actually told you that Kingfolk was moving into a new direction. I guess now you know for sure.”

The pivot

We pulled back on promoting Bibles to our online audience and pulled them from the wholesale website and didn’t show Bibles at market.

Looking back at the timing of things, our sticker subscription had taken off and it’s where my heart was but letting go of such an important part of our business (and hello, it’s the B.I.B.L.E) seemed crazy.

But the Lord doesn’t call us to do the comfortable thing.

He calls us to be faithful to Him.

That was over a year ago and the Lord has had His hand on Kingfolk ever since.

In fact, I trust Him more now than ever.

When that retailer said “But you are known as Kingfolk…the place that sells the cute Bibles. I don’t understand?!”, I simply thought in my head…I don’t want to be known for anything other than being faithful to the Lord in whatever direction He guides me.

Kingfolk has never belonged to me. It has always belonged to the Lord.

The Lord has been so gracious to me and to Kingfolk.

I am so thankful that we were able to have such an amazing chapter of selling these Bibles on our website.

And, I don’t think Bible designing is something that I am giving up, it just looks different now.

My collab with Zondervan

My collab with Zondervan for 2 NIV Journaling Bibles is proof of that.

A God-story for another time, perhaps.

So, if you were wondering why Kingfolk suddenly isn’t selling Bibles like they were before, now you know the full God-sized story.

I’m so excited for the next season at Kingfolk where we are focusing our efforts on getting women IN their Bibles and studying Scripture on a deeper level.

That’s where my heart is right now because that’s where God has me.

God is the author of everything and that includes Kingfolk.

I trust in His direction and look forward to seeing what amazing things He has in store for us!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6