a conviction, a cause & a sponsor

i can't remember the first time i ran across the Noonday Collection

but i do remember

vividly

 the day i felt a strong pull in my heart to want to be a part of this company.

it's funny to even say "company"

because from the start,

i've really viewed it as a cause. a conviction.

the dream and a desire of a young mama

who "discovered that entrepreneurship was as old as the garden of Eden when God told Adam and Eve to produce bounty from what He had given them. she spent days walking beside Quechua women hand spinning yarn from wool. she fell in love with the vibrant markets of Guatemala. she learned that all people were created in the image of God and had the ability to take a seed and make it grow. 

she learned that entrepreneurship was sustainable and aid was not."

she brought back to the states

jewelry made in africa

& began selling it to raise money for the adoption of her, soon to be,

 little man jack

from Rwanda.

i read jessica's story while sitting in my comfy white chair

it was january & cold outside

but our heater was running.

i could get up from my fancy laptop

& walk into my kitchen

open a refrigerator and grab a cold diet coke.

i could plop back down in that comfy chair and continue to read

& be , without a doubt, inspired

but that day, while savannah & thousands and thousands of college kids

were at the dome here in atlanta

giving their own dollars

3 million in fact

to help end slavery,

i asked the lord if i could be part of this "company" 

this group of women raising awareness of the orphan crisis

this movement to help others in vulnerable situations

move towards economic self sufficiency through

dignified job creation. that of a

sustainable income for them.

while i may never go to a third world country

(although i pray i do have the opportunity...soon!)

and see the faces of these beautiful people

or touch the hands of the one with HIV

that creates my favorite piece to share,

i can share my passion

i can call a friend and ask her to open her home for an hour & a  half

( it's not planning a wedding, right jessica?)

i can share with you, my sweet loyal readers, the stories that move 

me each time i read them.

when i wear my noonday pieces

when i share the stories

when you purchase their jewelry

i DO see their faces

& i DO touch their hands

&

together

we are a voice for them, for the oppressed.

the lord obviously opened the doors for me to join noonday!

i fell in love with jessica's heart & her contagious passion

i ordered dozens of pieces of jewelry

& built displays

set up a facebook page ( trying to set up a page!)

but primarily i felt a connection

with these artists.

i have felt the lord birth a desire to raise awareness

for the over 150-160 million orphans.

( that number. i can't even wrap my mind around that number.)

i also commissioned beki to create a special necklace for me.

i chose the family monogram necklace but instead of our names

i had her stamp as much of the verse that would fit!

i was THRILLED with the final piece.

it's a 1.25" sterling disc with a fresh water pearl

that reads the verse on each noonday page & each tag.

the verse that reads

"when you satisfy the needs of the oppressed

your night will become like the noonday"

isaiah 58.10

the rusted chain is one of my new sponsors.

she's offering you, my readers,  15% off your purchase!

please use the code

SIMPLE15

{thank you rusted chain!!}

.

when dan & i were in the early stages talking about noonday

& talking about orphans

i wished his mom and dad were still alive to see this part of our journey.

dan's mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer after her was born.

she then had a hysterectomy & was unable to have any more biological children.

they went on to adopt twins & another daughter!

dan adopted my three girls when we married

& my dad's parents were foster parents when he was growing up.

so adoption holds a very special place in the heart of my family

& extended family!

 

here are a few of my favorites~~

"love grows here" found here

"how great is our god" found here

"create your own message" cuff found here

~~~

"when you satisfy the needs of the oppressed

your night will become like the noonday"

isaiah 58.10