What's in a Name?
Our business name has a deep meaning. My mother has always been a strong, spirit-filled Christian woman that prayed about everything. She spoke to God like he was standing next to her. She prayed in the spirit and spoke in different tongues (languages) and would hear God's voice. This would freak most people out, but it was normal to me and practiced in our church. When I was 13 (many moons ago), my mother received a word from God for me. She wrote it on a blank sheet of paper. I stashed it away in a scrapbook, thinking nothing of it. Fast forward 21 years, after I've dedicated my life to Christ, gotten married, had a daughter and been involved in many missions in my Christian walk. My favorite book of the bible was always Isaiah; his life just speaks to me. My heart was touched by a Christian evangelical missionary named Christine Caine and her dedication to ending human trafficking. I heard her speak at a conference and tell of her worldwide organization, A21, and their fight to end this senseless crime. I felt a huge desire to help somehow.
My daughter and I started making jewelry as a hobby when she was barely old enough to help. We wore our creations and gave them away as gifts. Then started taking requests and getting orders from friends, family, co-workers, schoolmates, etc. One day, she said something revelating. "Mommy, why don't we sell jewelry and donate the money to people that need it?" That's when the company was born. We could do something we loved, sell people things that they loved, and give the profits to the people that Jesus loves. Win, win, win. But we needed a name. I prayed endlessly for months about this. As a marketing and PR professional (it's my full-time gig) I knew that a name and a brand mean everything. I was cleaning out a closet to make space for our growing inventory of beads, clasps, and other items, when I came across an old scrapbook full of birthday cards, pictures, schoolwork, etc. Something fell out. I immediately remembered what it was. The page of my mom's handwriting from her vision about my future had the answer I'd been looking for.
Isaiah 49:1
Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me like a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
I cried for a full hour, realizing that what God had spoken to my mother all those years ago was exactly what I needed to see. How humbling to think that your days are written by the Almighty Author of life and that He hears us when we call out to Him.