stories from my booth!

Well, the SHINE conference was a huge blessing! God moved mightily in my heart, and also in the hearts of those there. My booth went really well, too. I met so many wonderful women from all over the country and got to pray for lots of them. I wanted to share some of the awesome stories of the necklaces that they bought, and how God encouraged these ladies! (I am still super tired and kinda foggy in my brain, so I'm just gonna write bullet points - no big paragraphs today!)

* one girl was drawn to a sterling necklace with a little wing on it and a pendant with the word "covered" on it. Turns out, she used to live in Boston and was a big runner when she was in college. The logo for their cross country team was a wing - just like the little charm. She got the necklace to help her grieve through the terrible Boston Marathon tragedy that happened just a few weeks ago, as well as remind her that she is "covered" by God's wings of protection (psalm 91)

* one sweet teenager shared a story with me about how she has been seeing crowns everywhere. (She recently moved here to Charlotte (aka the "Queen City") to go to ministry school, and its been a hard adjustment for her.) She realized that the Lord was showing her crowns to encourage her and remind her that He had brought her here to the Queen City for His purposes and that He will take care of her. As she was sharing her story, I remembered that one of my kids had brought a little crown charm up to me last week. They had found it on the carpet. I put it in my jewelry box. I knew in that moment while she was sharing her story, that the crown was for HER! I stood there and made her a little bracelet and gave it to her and prayed for her right there at my booth. It was a sweet time with the Lord.

* one woman bought the "DIVING INTO HIS OCEAN" necklace that i just loved for her daughter that just moved from Florida to Nevada, and is really missing the water. she bought the necklace to help her daughter remember that God's ocean of love is always close by! So sweet!

* a precious lady was drawn to a little bracelet that had a bird stamped on it. I had prayed about the meaning of the bracelet, and the Lord showed me the scripture, "Sing a new song to the Lord". God had also been speaking that verse into her heart, too. And she laughed because she said she doesn't have a good voice! But God thinks so, and wants her to sing her song to Him! And then the next night during the evening service, the speaker prayed for her on the stage and said to her, "Sing a new song unto the Lord!" I mean, come on!! How cool is that?!

* one woman came and immediately picked up the "overcomer" necklace with a red bead and a cross (to symbolize Revelation 12:11, which is: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." She then shared with me that she used to be a cutter, and that God freed her from that and now she has a ministry to young girls that cut themselves! And she said, the blood of Jesus freed her so that she could overcome shedding her own blood to ease her pain inside. Hallelujah!

* a sweet friend bought the "looking up" necklace to help her keep her eyes on Jesus as she grieves the sudden death of her brother.

* another lady bought a necklace that was stamped with "taken care of" to give as a gift to a friend that was in a tragic car accident where every other person in the car died. She miraculously survived and had to relearn everything - how to walk, talk, etc. She has certainly been taken care of by the Lord, hasn't she?!


* at the very end of the conference on Saturday night, a beautiful girl came up who had recently lost her grandfather. She's had her grandmother on her heart so much and prayed this morning that there would be a something at the conference that night with a sparrow on it. (She sang "His Eye is on the Sparrow" at the funeral, and she wanted to get something with a sparrow for a gift for her grandmother.) Well, that very morning before I left for my booth, I sat down for a few minutes to make a few pieces to bring with me. And one of the pieces I felt led to make was a necklace with a sparrow charm and an aquamarine crystal. She saw that necklace and burst into tears. She knew that it was for her grandmother. And her grandfather passed away in March (the birthstone for March is aquamarine). That was to symbolize his birthday into Heaven! God is so good. I got a chance to pray for her and encourage her and pray for her grandmother as well.

*I was going to take down my booth on Sunday around lunchtime, but decided at the last minute to sit by my booth that morning and listen to the service on the loudspeaker. As I was sitting there by my booth, a friend came up to look at the jewelry and all of a sudden, felt really light headed and almost passed out right in front of me! I was able to help her, get her water and some food, and pray over her. If God hadn't led me to come to my booth that morning, I wouldn't have been there to help her! So grateful for the Holy Spirit and how He leads us and guides us. Amazing!
 

in my happy place

It was an amazing four days. I felt so thankful and blessed that God would choose to use little ole me. I am convinced that if we dedicate the works of our hands to the Lord, however small or insignificant they may seem to us, He can take them and make them GREAT in His kingdom and for His purposes!

Thanks to all of you that prayed for me! I really felt your prayers!!!