About Me | The Story Behind Sunday Olive

Hi, I'm Leslie

I am a wife, a mom of two, a homeschool teacher, a boutique owner, and a woman who found her way back to Jesus on a Sunday morning when she needed Him most.

I have been a boutique owner since 2014 and currently own Bennett Avenue Boutique here in Houston, TX. I am active in my church and in community groups like MomCo, where I get to walk alongside other moms in faith and in life. My daughter is 29, my son is 10, and together they keep me grounded, grateful, and always on my toes.

The Sunday That Changed Everything

In 2019, I found myself at one of the lowest points of my life. There was no one who could reach me where I was. So one Sunday morning, feeling completely lost and overwhelmed by all of life's "things," I got in my truck and just drove.

Jesus was driving that day.

My truck wound up in a church parking lot. I sat there for a moment, practically in my pajamas, with every thought of judgment flooding my mind. But I found the strength to walk inside. I slipped into the back of the sanctuary, the way most people do when they are not sure they belong. I sat. I listened. And the message was exactly what I needed to hear.

That morning, I made the decision to re-commit my life to God and to Jesus. The process was slow, but it was steady, and I never stopped. Every Sunday since, I have attended church or watched services online to stay close to my Lord and Savior.

Reading the Word

While in my MomCo group, we were asked to fill out a bucket list. That was a hard question for me. I had already done most of what I had set out to do in life. But there was one thing I had never done — read the Bible in its entirety.

I wrote it down: Read the Bible in its entirety.

And then I set out to do exactly that. I joined a Bible 365 class, attended orientation, and carved out quiet time every morning from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM. At first it was a discipline. Then it became something I could not put down.

I read the entire Bible in four months.

When I reached the final word of Revelation, the feeling inside of me was indescribable. I finally knew the Word of God and of Jesus. Not just pieces of it — all of it.

Why the Olive

As I read through Scripture, one thing kept standing out to me: the olive. The olive tree. The olive grove. Over and over again, God and Jesus used the olive to teach, to nourish, to give light, and to connect us to Him.

From Noah receiving the olive branch as a sign of peace and God's promise, to the olive oil that lit the lamps of the Tabernacle, to the anointing of Baptism, to the Garden of Gethsemane — the Mount of Olives — where Jesus prayed His final prayer before the crucifixion. The olive is woven through the entire story of our faith.

That is why I created Sunday Olive.

The cross connects us to Him. The olive branch reminds us of John 15:5 — "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing." And the olive stone — a seed — is a reminder that what is planted in faith grows strong. Olive trees have stood for over 2,000 years, weathering every storm, still rooted, still bearing fruit.

That is my prayer for every person who wears a Sunday Olive piece. That you would be rooted. That you would bear fruit. That you would plant seeds in others and help them know, follow, and share Jesus.

All rooted in the Lord our God.

— Leslie