Meredith Rucker: 0:05

Welcome to what a Ruckus, where faith meets creativity and quiet voices make bold moves. I'm your host, meredith Rucker, a designer, educator and faith-fueled creative on a mission to stir things up in the best way. All right, let's make some noise. What up, ruckus fam? It's your girl, the Ruckus, and I'm back with the second episode of the what A Ruckus podcast. Thank you all for joining me on this journey. I'm so excited to share my personal journey of faith, creativity and entrepreneurship with you. If you remember the intro episode, I talked about my own fears and insecurities of starting a podcast. Was my voice valuable? Would anyone want to listen to what I have to say? But, as the Lord told me, it's time for you to move from being a visual evangelist to being a vocal evangelist, and so, as creatives, I know it's easy for us to get comfortable behind the scenes and let our work speak for us, but it's time to come from the back to the front, and so I know if he's speaking that to me, then he's speaking it to you as well. So let's jump into episode two, entitled God gave me the blueprint, but I was scared to build. God doesn't give us blueprints based on our perfection or power. He gives them based on purpose, even when you feel unqualified, overwhelmed or afraid. Obedience is the first step. You are valuable. You are not building alone and, yes, the vision should be bigger than you.

Meredith Rucker: 2:03

I didn't always have the desire to be an entrepreneur. In fact, from the age of five, I wanted to be an animator and illustrator for Disney. Like any kid back then in the 80s, I was obsessed with the Disney Channel. If it was on the free cable weekend, of course the free cable weekend, of course so I would be parked in front of the TV watching Mickey Mouse, donald Duck, goofy, pooh's Corner and Dumbo Circus. I wanted to be a part of something that provided wholesome family entertainment. And so, from that point on, whatever I could get my hands on art supplies, pens, pencils, paint all through elementary school, middle school and high school, I took every art class I could, and then, as I got into my teenage years, I started developing an interest for digital art, or what at that time was called desktop publishing. So that was a class that taught how to make flyers and brochures in Microsoft Office. But then, as the years went on, I began to discover commercial art or digital design.

Meredith Rucker: 3:19

My first bachelor's degree was in studio art, which is fine art drawing, painting, ceramics and photography. My concentration was in drawing. I'm actually really glad that I learned the foundation of art principles instead of going to a school that focused on graphic design. While you learn all those things, in addition to the technical aspects, I'm thankful that I really got to really immerse myself in color theory, 3d printmaking and those sorts of things. So after that, I wanted to get a degree in graphic design, and so that's why I moved to Florida to get a degree in graphic design, and so that's why I moved to Florida. I wanted to pursue my degree in graphic design and eventually move on to working for Disney, but God had other plans.

Meredith Rucker: 4:15

So after I got my degree in graphic design, I went into the workforce and had the opportunity to work for various companies. I wanted to gain experience, and so my whole thing was no matter what it took, no matter the cost, whether the opportunities were paid or free, I was going to hone my craft, and so, while that's good, I didn't have many boundaries in place, and by that I mean I was willing to work for anything, for any amount of money. You could call me in the day or night. My phone was always on. And so I really became depleted. Even in the job that I loved. I had a boss that I loved, clients that I loved. I mean, I had worked my way up from being a freelance designer to being the junior creative director, and so I truly loved my job.

Meredith Rucker: 5:17

But again, I didn't have any boundaries. And that brings me to my first point you must build with boundaries. And that brings me to my first point you must build with boundaries. When you don't have any boundaries, you become depleted because you're not taking care of yourself. I was not only being the employee, I was being the counselor, I was being the friend, I was trying to be everything to everyone. In addition to my full-time job, I had another job, being the creative director for my church, and I was up at all times of the night. My pastor could call me at one, two, three o'clock in the morning. Everything was needed. Now, nothing had a timeline, and so I was really burning both ends of the candle.

Meredith Rucker: 6:10

You have to have boundaries. Let's take a look at a verse. It's Proverbs 4.23. And it reads above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. And so we have to have boundaries. We have to guard not only our hearts. We have to guard our mental health. We have to guard our physical health because we are so busy pouring out If we don't take time to pour back into ourselves. That's when we become tired, that's when we have burnout, that's when we have nervous breakdowns, and so I had to learn to develop boundaries. I had to learn to say no, n-o, no is a complete sentence. Or could you give me a little bit more time to do that? It doesn't fit into my schedule right now, but can you wait and I'll make space for you on my calendar. You have to learn to say those things, or else you're going to run yourself into the ground. To run yourself into the ground Now, because I was allowing myself to be so overrun, something happened. I started making mistakes, fired out of there, and so that was really one of the darkest times of my life. Which brings me to my next point.

Meredith Rucker: 7:54

Your value does not come from your work. It comes from God. As creatives, we get into this space of perfectionism and we think that if we execute a project perfectly, if our art piece comes out perfectly, then that's where our worth is, in what we produce, and sometimes people will even make you think that it's easy, as a creative, to feel like a commodity or a product instead of a person. But I'm here to tell you today no, your worth comes from God. And that brings me to the next verse, psalm 139, 14, which is actually one of my favorites. It says thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. How well I know it. So David is saying this to God. Another version says I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. But listen to this verse Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. How well I know it. So no, your value comes from the fact that God made you. You're a son or a daughter of the Most High God. It's not in the fact that you executed that project flawlessly. It's not in the fact that you didn't make any mistakes. No, your worth comes from God.

Meredith Rucker: 9:35

And so when I got let go from that job, I went through one of the darkest periods of my life. I was depressed. I was having suicidal thoughts. I thought Lord, who am I? I was the junior creative director. I worked in the office downtown. I had worked so hard to get to that spot and I was finally satisfied with my career. But now, here I am struggling. I'm applying to jobs and I'm not getting them. What am I to do now? I don't even feel like I deserve to be here anymore. So God had to show me and retrain my thinking, to show me that my value came from him as my Heavenly Father.

Meredith Rucker: 10:27

So, finally, through a lot of prompting from other people and nudging from the Holy Spirit, I decided to launch out and start my own business. So, in February of 2015, I started the first iteration of my business, which is Meredith Creative Marketing. So I did logos, branding, flyers, brochures for small businesses and kingdom entrepreneurs. Was it hard? Yes, but God was with me every step of the way. And that brings me to my second point you weren't meant to build alone.

Meredith Rucker: 11:08

And that brings me to the story of Moses in Numbers, chapter 11, verses 11 through 17. Now Moses, as you know, is leading the Israelites through the, the desert, through the wilderness, to the promised land. But the Israelites were not easy on Moses. They were always crying, complaining about how they wanted to go back to Egypt, how they didn't have enough to eat, how they didn't even like the food that God provided them. So let's take a look at that passage. And again, I'm reading from Numbers, chapter 11, verses 11 through 17,. And I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

Meredith Rucker: 11:53

And Moses said to the Lord why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me. What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me saying give us meat to eat. I can't carry all these people by myself. The load is far too heavy and if this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery.

Meredith Rucker: 12:35

So right there, moses had had it. He had enough. He was like Lord, just take me now. If this is all that's going to become of my life, you can go ahead and take me now. This place is ghetto. These Israelites are loud, they keep whining and crying, and you gave me the responsibility to lead them to the promised land. I'm not going to make it. Just go ahead and take me now.

Meredith Rucker: 13:03

So, as you can see, moses was burning the candle at both ends himself. Think of it A million Israelites, and he was the only one that they were coming to. Can you imagine? I know we have families, we have businesses, we have friends, but have you ever had the responsibility of looking after over a million people? And this was Moses' job? All right, so I'm going to pick up in verse 16.

Meredith Rucker: 13:38

Then the Lord said to Moses gather before me 70 men who are recognized as leaders and elders of Israel, bring them to the tabernacle to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there, I will take some of the spirit that is upon you and I will put the spirit upon them also, and they will bear the burden of the people along with you you, so that you will not have to carry it alone. So One Moses didn't have to build alone. God took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on 70 trusted elders and leaders of the community to help him lead Israel. When we don't have boundaries, when we don't delegate, that's when we begin to despise our gift. That's when those suicidal thoughts come in. That's when we want to give up. But no, we weren't meant to build alone.

Meredith Rucker: 14:44

God will send you to the people that will help take you to your next level. I mean, god is so amazing. He sent me to a new church. Amazing, he sent me to a new church, contagious church, where the leaders have a heart for building kingdom entrepreneurs. I've been able to take part in mentorships and classes to help develop my entrepreneurial skills and take my business to the next level. He even sent me a best friend back during that time where I lost my job and I had almost lost my identity. He sent me a best friend Back during that time where I lost my job and I had almost lost my identity. He sent me a friend to help me walk along the way. He sent me a friend, one that was also a Christian as well. We could share our thoughts and our ideas, we could bounce off of each other, we could pray for each other, we could prophesy to each other, and he sent me someone who would not just take from me but pour back into me as well. So God truly has your best interest at heart. He sees exactly where you are and he's not going to leave you to build the business, build the brand by yourself. God is ready and waiting, with people who will surround you and lift you up and be in your corner. Now he'll also give you the discernment to help you choose those who are supposed to help you run with the vision and build your business but it's a process and to help you develop your discernment in knowing who's for you and who's against you.

Meredith Rucker: 16:27

Now let's talk about the final point. Now your blueprint should be bigger than you. If you have a dream and you can do it in your own strength, guess what? You're not thinking big enough. God wants you to dream so big because he wants to help you build it. It will be God and God alone. When people look at your life and look at your story, they'll be able to say, no, it was God that did that. And so I want to look at another verse Ephesians, chapter 3 and verse 20. And it reads now, all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we could ask or think.

Meredith Rucker: 17:17

So what's your dream that scares you? What's that thing that you're like, god? How am I going to be able to do this by myself? Guess what? You weren't meant to do it by yourself. You were meant to do it with God. You were meant to do it with the help of others. What is that dream? I thought the big dream for me was working at Walt Disney. No, the big dream for me is having my own business, launching schools, writing curriculum, writing books, even launching this podcast. This was not on my radar 10 years ago. I'm doing something that I never even thought of doing. So what is your big dream?

Meredith Rucker: 18:06

I want to challenge you to begin to write things down. Write the outline, sketch the logo, the outline, sketch the logo. Do the research and make that first step of obedience in drafting the blueprint. Guess what? God is right there beside you. He's going to send you the help. He's going to send you the partners. He's going to send you the mentors. He's going to send you the support system you need to build the vision and build it according to how he designed it to be built.

Meredith Rucker: 18:43

I'm so proud of you. I am so proud of each and every creative, every entrepreneur who has pushed past their fear and decided to keep going. Their fear and decided to keep going. Remember, you have to build with boundaries. Guard your heart. It's all right to say no. It's all right to say I can't do it right now, but can we do it sometime in the future? Number two your value is in God. It's not in your work, it's not in perfectionism. Your value is from your heavenly father, who created you. Again, you were not meant to build alone. God is sending you the support system you need to build and build successfully. And lastly, it's all right that the vision is bigger than you, because that means God has his handiwork in it.

Meredith Rucker: 19:41

If this stirred you, share it with a friend and tag what A Ruckus Podcast. Let's keep building brick by obedient brick. If this episode spoke to you, like, share and subscribe. You can find me on YouTube, ig, facebook and TikTok at what A Ruckus Podcast. You can also visit my website at wwwwhataruckuscom. All right, let's keep making a ruckus the right way. Thanks for listening.