stethescopes and statement necklaces

What in the world do stethoscopes and  statement necklaces have in common?  Well, other than the fact that they both start with the letter “S” and they both are worn around the neck.....  In my life they both have a lot in common.  They are both instruments that represent areas of my life where God has stretched me and grown me in my faith.  They represent areas where I can clearly see God using my giftings and passions to serve and love people and to advance His Kingdom.  Let me explain a little better.  

 

First up... the stethoscope representing healthcare.  When I started physical therapy school a little over 10 years ago I had no clue the way that God was about to blow me away with opportunities to learn and grow and to use my occupation to serve Him.  I was mentored and surrounded by a community of therapists, doctors, dentists, and nurses who refused to use their skills to advance their own plans and further their own statuses.  They chose to chase after different things than the world was chasing after.  They were instead using the platform that God had given them to be used in Kingdom building endeavors.  They taught me what it looked like to care for both the physical and spiritual needs of a patient.  They taught me how to treat the whole person and not just a diagnosis or a list of symptoms.  They taught me what it looks like to share my faith with patients and to pray with patients.  I have had the amazing and humbling opportunity time and time again to bring the good news of Jesus and healthcare to the impoverished all around the globe.  Healthcare opens so many otherwise closed doors.  It was so easy for me to begin to see healthcare as a ministry.   There are so many examples of it in Scripture…so many healing miracles…so many examples of the lame being healed and those who were paralyzed getting up and walking away.  It was so clear for me to see how my occupation could be used by God to serve him and bless others.  It was exciting and encouraging and life-giving all at the same time, but it began to be the only way I could see myself serving.  It was the only framework through which I could see the picture of my life unfolding.  Now I know this is so not true. 

 

Meanwhile, there has always been this deep creative side of me.  I love to create, to write, and to design things.  I enjoy sewing and making jewelry and craft projects and making things beautiful.  I grew up with a mother who had a degree in fashion marketing and who was always in the middle of some artistic or creative project.  So, it was only natural that I turn out just like her in this area.  I think somehow along the way I told myself that these things weren’t as important.  I think I sort of felt guilty when I indulged my creative side.  Almost like these things were so materialistic, and I was giving in to them.  I mean it’s easy see how helping to bring healing to bodies can bring glory to God.  It was a little harder for me to see how things like art and jewelry could be God glorifying.  Until more recently for me, that is.  Enter...statement necklace.

 

In recent years, I've learned more about Business As Mission ministries, community development, and how crucial it is for all areas of life to be represented in cross-cultural missions.  And, I've seen firsthand people who are implementing these very same ideas in my own community.  Almost two years ago I first learned about Noonday Collection and how Jessica was using business, entrepreneurship, and jewelry making to bring about real change in the lives of people all around the world.  Never did I imagine I would soon begin to partner with this amazing company.  I loved seeing how something as ordinary as business and jewelry making could be the hands and feet of Jesus to people.  Mothers were being able to provide food for their families.  Families could now afford to send their children to school.  People were able to have access to healthcare and medicines.  Hope and dignity were being restored to people's lives as they found a purpose in life and employment.  The emotional and spiritual lives of women were being healed from years of deep heartache and trauma.  All because of jewelry.  What?!?!

 

 

 

It all began to come together for me.  Jewelry is simply the vehicle for the change.  Healthcare had been only a vehicle.  The wheels started to turn.  How many more possibilities are out there?  I have come to see the possibilities are simply endless.  Almost anything, when stewarded in the proper way, can be a vehicle for empowering the poor and loving and serving people in the name of Jesus.

 

 What about you?  What are you passionate about?  What makes you unique?  What hobbies and interests do you have?  What special skills or talents do you have that could be used to point others to Jesus?  How might He want to use you and those gifts in the lives of others and in His Kingdom purposes?

 

I know of a woman in another city who always had a passion for baking.  She started a bakery and catering company, and she offers employment to women rescued from sex trafficking as a way to help them gain work skills in order to begin their own journey towards personal growth, empowerment, and success.

A young man in my town gathered together a group of high school guys from his inner city neighborhood to start a lawn service with them.  These guys have no father figures in their lives and this man invests in their lives spiritually as well as teaching them character and business skills through lawn care.

I met a group of ladies and young girls who have reached out to refugees from Iraq, Sudan, Nepal, and the Congo who are living in their city.  They have no friends, no jobs, no knowledge of how to get around in this new and strange country.  The group has started to teach them to sew and to sell their products online and at markets and on university campuses.

A young woman in my city who is an amazing artist is starting an art ministry to teach art to the children of the inner city.  She desires to enrich their lives by teaching them about the beauty of God reflected in art.

I know of a group that teaches cosmetology skills to women who have been rescued from sex trafficking.  This training gives them a skill so that they can provide for themselves and their families in a dignified way.

A mission agency I am involved with sends trips of business men and women regularly to other countries to use business as a ministry.  They teach concepts of ethical business in cross-cultural settings, use business networks to build relationships, and help with job creation and sustainability as well as community development.

 

A group of recent college grads from my church have moved into an apartment complex that is almost completely made up of international students who are here for a short time.  Their whole reason for moving there is to become neighbors with these people in order to share their lives and the love of Christ with them.  They are teaching English classes for them and building intentional relationships with them.

 

 

What about you?  Are you a plumber?  A builder?  A lawyer?  A teacher?  Do you enjoy gardening?  Cooking?  Playing soccer?  Playing the piano?  Hiking?  How might God be wanting to use those passions and those skills that He has given you?

 

 

To celebrate the launch of our fall line and the beautiful handiwork of our artisans, I am giving away a $50 dollar Noonday gift card for you to spend as you wish!!!

 

There are lots of ways to enter... so choose one or all of them.

1.  Head over to my website www.lindsaychambers.noondaycollection.com and then comment below to let me know your favorite item.

2.  Share this giveaway on Facebook and comment below to let me know that you shared.

3.  Follow my blog or let me know that you already do for another entry.  Comment to let me know you're following along.
4. Pin your favorite item from www.lindsaychambers.noondaycollection.com to one of your Pinterest boards and comment below to let me know you did.
 

Make sure to leave separate comments for each of the four, or you'll only be entered once.  The contest will close Friday, September 27, 2013 at 9pm Eastern, and I'll announce the winner soon after that.  Thanks for entering and for letting me share!!!

 

And make sure to enter Emily's giveaway from yesterday and check out Elizabeth's tomorrow!