Jennifer Pratt Meyercheck :: Design Consultant
Bio
In 1993, I packed my bags and left small town life in Eastern Maryland for small town life in Pittsburgh (those of you who live here know what I mean). I began my schooling at The University of Pittsburgh as a Russian language major, taking lots of art and writing classes as well. Never one to commit, I quickly grew bored of big university life and transferred to Chatham College where I spent the majority of my time between the computer lab and the ceramics studio. As I dabbled my feet in just about everything, my time at Chatham confirmed to me that I was sort of a jack-of-all-trades. I just really love doing things and trying things. By the time I graduated in May 1997 with my BA in Media Arts, I had experience in ceramics, drama, choir, film and audio production, education, African dance, writing, world music, firefighting (long story), and had traveled to Italy to study art history.
I opened UnlimitedFOCUS in September 1999, after gaining practical and valuable work experience through both full-time and freelance work. God has richly blessed the business and has really used it to stretch me professionally, personally and spiritually. Through it, I've developed greater relational skills, business sense, discipline and reliance on God's provision.
I've recently felt God leading me to further develop my creative talents, and so I've made a priority to spend time nurturing these gifts, including the creation of functional and found art, singing, and playing piano. This passion and search for God's purpose in this next season of life led me to retire from UnlimitedFOCUS at the end of 2003. While I'll still pop up now and then as a freelancer, my primary means of putting food on the table comes from my full-time position selling paint at the local Home Depot. I guess you could say I've gone from being a marketing ideamaker to an interior design ideamaker.
Outside of work, my life is consumed with many joys. I love to walk, jump, run and laugh. I love to read, sew, knit, cook, create, and break plates. I'm known to sleep late, make strangely applicable analogies, laugh at my (ever-present) blunders, and apologize for things that are not my fault. An ideal world would provide an abundance of Maryland blue crabs, carrot cake, Gala apples, spinach, General Tso's shrimp, Starburst candies, and Propel Fitness Water for my dinner table. I prefer nonfiction to fiction. Kayaking, hiking, climbing, dreaming, springtime, children, singing, art, and playing piano energize me. My incredible, irreplaceable friends keep me young with their laughter and joy. My church surrounds me with love and helps me to grow and serve and learn. My God gives me abundant life.
Testimony
I’ve spent years trying to figure out what life is all about. It’s not that I haven’t been happy…I’ve had lots of really great moments. But joy, peace, clarity, purpose…now those are some things I didn’t quite get. Money didn’t make it all click for me. Neither did popularity, brains, talent, experience, or even being really nice. After 22 years of searching inwardly, something incredible and life-changing happened. Sitting in my little Festiva one autumn afternoon in 1997, a wave of peace rushed over me, and it hit me. I’ve been looking in the wrong place. The answer isn’t in me. It’s completely outside of me.
I’d had some very minor exposure to the Bible from some newfound friends, but wasn’t really sure what it was all about. Somehow, however, I knew that’s where I was going to find the answers I needed. When I got my hands on one, I was captivated by the stories of this incredible man who could totally turn a person’s life upside down and give them more than they could ever imagine. The real stuff too. The stuff that matters. The stuff that we all want but can’t seem to sustain…the peace, the patience, the joy, the self-control, the love. That man is Jesus.
After I read quite a bit about Jesus, I realized that all of those stories were true. This guy is the real deal. Fully man, fully God, absolutely perfect. He did the unthinkable by taking the punishment for all of my rotten behavior. And all I have to do is believe He did it and trust Him to handle things from here on out in my life. No sweat! So late one night I prayed to God and asked Him to forgive me and change me.
It never ceases to amaze me how God has transformed my life. He’s taken this broken, messed up piece of pottery and turned it into a great pitcher that He fills with His own strength and power and uses it to pour out His blessings on others. And trust me when I say it’s all Him. There’s nothing good in me except God. On my own I just keep being a selfish putz. But as I continue to daily trust God for all of my needs, big and small, I trust also that somewhere, somehow, people can get a glimpse of something truly different in me. An alternative to this constant striving for more and more.
So I’ve finally figured it all out. This life, it’s bigger than us. And it’s forever. You can live it abundantly for now and eternity. Want to know more? Drop me an e-mail. I’d love to chat with you.