This Month's Compelled Designs is featuring the Rancourt Family. $5 from each piece sold on our website in the August will benefit sweet Lily to help cover the enormous cost of her medical care.

Lily’s Story by Meredith Toering

There are people who come into our lives who inspire us, people who challenge us, people who we meet and just immediately know that our lives will never be the same. Lily is one of those people. 

Lily is sweet; Lily is sassy. Lily is as “Empress-y” as they come; loves princesses, Hello Kitty, and her Papa’s “noodle soup”. She loves doing puzzles, does NOT like to get dirty, and heaven forbid she step out the door without her signature bow, crowning her the true princess that she is.

And most of all, Lily is BRAVE. Lily was born with a very broken heart. She was born with an extremely rare, “one-in-a-million” combination of heart defects, down to the “upside-down-and-backwards” nature of her heart. Her heart condition was labeled “terminal” in China, but her Emily and Jacques, her Mommy and Papa, knew that she was meant to be a part of their lives, and they fought to bring her home. She had two open heart surgeries in China, while waiting for a forever family of her own, and then was adopted shortly before her 3^rd birthday. 

Lily has gone through a great deal since coming home. Several more open heart surgeries. Two belly surgeries. Countless weeks and months spent in hospitals. And most recently? Lily received the gift of life…a new heart. A brave new hero heart, which is now beating inside of her, strong and sure.

Lily is BRAVE, friends. Lily is a miracle. Lily and her family encourage us daily to choose courage. To dare. To risk. To live each day with “overflowing HOPE”.

Lily chooses to live with overwhelming JOY, finding laughter in the midst of pain. She is courageous and always concerned for others, even on her “this is not my best day” kind of days. Her heart story has touched thousands, and God has incredible plans in store for her life…we just know it. 

Lily’s family is faced with many upcoming medical bills in the weeks and months to coming, following Lily’s transplant. Right now, I want their focus to be completely on Lily and her healing…not worrying about financial issues. If you would like to help contribute to Lily’s medical fund, a YouCaring site has been set up. Please feel free to contribute, and share the link if you would like. Contact me if you have any questions or concerns! Thank you!!

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/lily-grace-s-brave-new-heart/191157

The Sparrow Fund

Have you been touched by adoption? We're partnering with The Sparrow Fund this month to

 "BUILD THE NEST" 

to support adoptive families.

My introduction to this amazing ministry called The Sparrow Fund was a complete "God thing". 
A friend of mine needed help getting some medical questions answered for a little boy in Africa. She emailed me some information and images. I called Lifeline and asked if they knew any doctors who would be willing to help. They pointed me to The UAB Adoption Clinic here in Birmingham. The sweet lady at the clinic told me about the Sparrow Fund, a ministry based in Texas that advocates for orphans and offers grants to families adopting children that need medical assistance. When the conversation ended, I turned to my husband and said "Listen to this great ministry she just told me about. We need to find out more about them." Later THAT DAY I was surprised when I got an email from Kelly Raudenbush, the director of The Sparrow Fund about something completely unrelated. She had gotten my info from another Facebook friend we had in common. It amazes me how God puts the pieces together in His perfect timing. I knew we were supposed to be connected to them in some way.

Since then I have learned more about them and all the great things they are doing. Mark and Kelly Raudenbush founded The Sparrow Fund in 2011 after the adoption of their youngest child from China. Since then, The Sparrow Fund has given well over 40 grants to adoptive families to bring home children from Ethiopia, China, Russia, India, Bulgaria, Congo, South Africa, Latvia, Ghana, and Albania. Not only do they offer grants, they also lead trips to orphanages over seas and offer training and support to families who are adopting. Check out this beautiful post about their recent trip to China.

Two years ago they took a leap of faith and added a marriage retreat for adoptive couples--Together Called. The need and desire for such an event became more evident when it filled up in only 10 minutes that first year. Last year it filled up in under 5 minutes.

This month (May 2014) we are participating in their Building the Nest campaign. $5 from each sale on our website (excluding fundraiser bundles) will go directly to The Sparrow Fund and their effort to serve orphans and adoptive families. PLUS by shopping with us and their other partners you are eligible to win this awesome iPad they are giving away! Check out the rules here  http://bit.ly/1iB2HDu

GIVEAWAY

Ministry Fundraisers

One way that our company has grown is through ministry fundraisers. These partnerships have reached to ministries throughout the world. God has faithfully allowed us to join what he is already doing around the world. 

Are you looking for a way to fundraise for your ministry? Compelled Designs wants to help support you! We can design custom jewelry specifically for your ministry.

In the past we have helped several different ministries create custom fundraiser pieces...

Village of Hope in Guatemala, a bracelet saying “Never Lose Hope” to raise funds for a new building to house special needs orphans

The Bartimaeus Project, a bracelet that saying "Walk" in braille on the front and the verse "We walk by faith and not by sight" on the back

Neverthirst, necklaces and bracelets with the Neverthirst logo to build wells in South Sudan

Mercy House in Kenya, necklaces and bracelets to support a maternity house for abused and/or abandoned mothers. Another necklace to help a mother who needed surgery after being severely burned

Lifeline Adoption Agency, Bracelets and necklaces for Mother's Day gifts to support orphan care projects

Back2Back Ministries, assorted jewelry pieces to support orphans and impoverished children in developing countries

Footprints Ministry, necklaces for mothers of babies in the NICU

Baby Steps , necklaces to benefit The Amelia Center, grief counseling 

How?

1. Come to us with your ideas for a jewelry piece. (or you can simply contact us and we'll brainstorm ideas to match your specific ministry) 
2. If your ministry has a theme verse, let us know! We can write this verse on the back of the jewelry. 
3. We only ask that you order a minimum of 50 pieces. (You have the opportunity to make $12 or more per piece!)
4. Sell! Sell the jewelry to friends and family. Sell it at women's conferences, ministry events or for holidays.

Please contact us! We would love to hear about your ministry and how we can help you.
compelled@compelleddesigns.com

I got an amazing email this week from a woman who shared how a compliment on her necklace led to an opportunity to share the gospel with a stranger. It is evidence that God can use the tiniest little thing to open a door if we are willing to be obedient and "make the most" of the opportunity.

Here is her story...


How God used this necklace! On a short little roadtrip, I had stopped at a gas station in Alabama for some water bottles and candy for my kiddos. I quickly got what I needed and got back in my van and realized I had completely forgotten to buy water bottles. I had all the candy we needed for the short hour and half ride home to Springville, yet I was so absent minded to forget our water! Aggravated with myself, I went back in the gas station and purchased the water. The attendant was a sweet Indian lady with the signature mark on her forehead. She saw my necklace and commented on how pretty it was. She asked me if it was a symbol for something. I proceeded to take the necklace off and show it to her up close. "Ah it's a flower!" She said. I turned it over and showed her the Bible verse on the back Lamentations 3:22,23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

I asked her if she was familiar with the Bible. She wasn't. I asked her if she practiced any type of faith and she informed me she was Hindu. She said she goes to a Hindu temple. I asked her if she had heard of Jesus Christ. She had not.
She had not!
In Alabama. Bible Belt central. She had not heard of Jesus Christ. Our merciful Father had opened a door for me to share the Gospel with this precious lady. There was someone in line behind me but I could not NOT share the good news of Jesus Christ with her! It is only by the grace of God that I can share this Gospel. I told her about sin and Jesus and the cross and His resurrection and Heaven and how we can do nothing to earn grace. So not only did she hear the Gospel, but so did the person behind me. :) I asked her name and told her I would pray for her. I got back in my van and told the kiddos we had to make one more stop. I found a store where I could purchase a copy of the Word of God for her to have. I drove back to the gas station, walked in and gave her the Bible, and showed her the book of John. I told her that was a good place to start reading, and she wrote it down on a sticky note and stuck it in the Bible. I learned that day that the fields around us are plenty and that we must be attentive to planting Gospel seeds. God used my forgetting to buy water and turned it around to bring the Living Water to a lost soul. All glory to Him. He used a necklace I purchased months ago for a sweet friends adoption fundraiser, and used it for so much more...to plant Gospel adoption seeds in a lost soul. My finite mind can only see a small bit of a much bigger picture that God is orchestrating in every detail of our lives!!!

This encouraged me and challenged me so much. I want to be this bold! 
Boldness, risk, and fearless faith have been themes in my Bible studies lately. How many opportunities have I missed because of fear? God is always working around us. HE prepares hearts. HE draws people to him. The Bible says no one comes to God unless HE DRAWS THEM (John 6:44) He does the work. All I have to do is be available, aware, and obedient. The Life-changing Bible study Experiencing God (Blackaby) points out that God is always at work around us. When someone ask us about God or about our faith, it is because God has already started something in their hearts. He is drawing them. In those situations we should drop everything and respond. Blackaby goes on to say that by showing us where he is already at work, God is inviting us to be involved and be used by Him. It's like a flashing neon sign that says "Start here".


So why am I not more bold? 

Idolatry. I, like many people, worship the approval of others. I thought about how I might have handled the same situation. In that gas station with the Hindu woman, I probably would have worried about making the guy behind me wait, or seeming pushy, or doing a bad job of presenting the gospel, or just making a scene. I may have given her my necklace and hoped she would google the verse when she got home but I probably would not have taken the time time to dig deeper, ask questions, and risk embarrassment. I probably would have missed the opportunity. Thank you God for drawing this to my attention...again.

Continuing to pray for boldness and opportunities.

P.S. When I asked if I could share this story, the sweet author of the email replied "yes, you are welcome to share this testimony wherever you would like, but please leave out my name so all glory will go to GOD for it is due Him!!

Glory to God!

Valentines Adoption Fundraisers Now Available

Valentine Day is right around the corner. Now is a great time to sell!
If you are trying to raise money for your adoption, email us about
our fundraising packages.
You don't pay for the pieces until after you sell them and you can
return any unsold pieces, so there is no risk.
We have worked with hundreds of families and ministries.
Email us at compelled@compelleddesigns.com for more information.

Like us on Facebook for Specials, updates, and new designs
 Compelled Designs
Visitit our website
www.compelleddesigns.com