A Dream Turned Reality

It’s Marcie here, I figured now that the Marketplace was over, I could write the last post to sum up what happened this past weekend. It was something so beautiful. An experience, a feeling, which words can’t quite seem to capture. But…I will try...

 

On Saturday, I walked over to the Thistle Farms booth. Shell, one of the workers from Thistle Farms was there, and as I walked over to her, she said “I heard you were adopting! Tell me your story. Everybody has a story.” As I began to tell her how the Lord had prepared a path of adoption for us, and as she listened with much interest and care, I thought of the True Beauty that was in that moment. Here I am, a girl placed for adoption as a baby by a birth mother who loved me so much but couldn’t take care of me. A girl who has faced the heartache of infertility in my life, and experienced the sweet grace of a Savior who loved me so much to lead us to His best plan for us…a plan of adoption. A plan that would completely turn our world upside down. A girl, who became a momma because of the heartache, loss and love of another momma. And now a girl, who longs for children across the globe that I’ve never met, but whom I know have faced so much heartache of their own already. Shell wanted to know this girl’s story. My story. And I needed to hear hers. A story of addiction and prostitution. Of deep despair and gut wrenching loss. But the story doesn’t end there. God did not discard her or forget about her. He sent his servant, a girl who had an idea. A seemingly simple idea. Love Heals.

 

Now, Shell has her own place and is employed at Thistle Farms. She has bills and she pays them. Once overlooked by society and considered worthless, she has been given purpose. A future. And a hope. I needed to hear Shell’s story.

 

 

This, to me, is the heartbeat of the Marketplace.

 

 

 

 

My vision was to create a space for people to share stories. Stories of redemption, of making old things new. Because that is what all of us experience in our lives on some level. We know someone, or we ourselves have experienced heartache, hard times, heart wrenching situations, and we have seen restoration, beauty, and hope rise up with healing in it’s wings. Love does have the power to heal everybody.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

This weekend at the marketplace, gifts of HOPE were purchased, stories of LOVE were shared, and many new relationships were made. And also, a little over $13,000 of revenue was generated and a huge percentage of that was made for various gospel work around the world. Our family raised a little over $4,000 for our adoption. My dream became a reality and it was SO MUCH MORE than anything I could have ever hoped for or imagined. God has a way of doing that.

 

 

 

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your participation in the Marketplace. In a world where we hear so many upsetting stories, it was refreshing to hear stories of restoration, redemption, and the power of good to triumph over evil. God is at work. And the power of His LOVE at work in His BODY has power to change the world. To be able to see just a glimpse of this truth….well…it’s more than my tiny mind and heart can handle. Praise be to Him. The giver of life. May you all enjoy every single thing you purchased this weekend, and may it serve as a reminder of what our Great God can do!!! Grace and Peace to you all!

 

 

We’ll see you again next year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

*images by Kaelin Large (thanks Kaelin!)

 



Vendor Spotlight: THE DREAM TEAM!

Happy Marketplace Eve, everyone! 

A New Thing Fall Marketplace opens tomorrow night for the Preview Sale from 7:00-9:00 pm. You'll need a ticket for the Preview Sale (see information on the sidebar.) Since there are so many custom made, one-of-a-kind items you don't want to miss this.

For example, who is going to snatch up this beauty from the Restored Attic booth?  It's a bench made of doors. Isn't it cool!?! You won't find another one of these on either side of the Mississippi!

THERE ARE ONLY 25 TICKETS LEFT and tomorrow is your last chance, so get on the stick! On Saturday you can pay a mere $2.00 admission fee to come shop - come one come all! Either way, we hope to see you there.

How often does something brand new come along? I know there are other holiday sales and of course there is Friendly Franks Flea Market, but there's never been a sale like THIS in Jackson, TN. Local artists, crafters, and creators gathering under one roof with their amazing goods and giving us an opportunity to Purchase with Purpose! My Christmas shopping will be all but finished by Saturday night and I'm going to love spending my money this year because I will know exactly where those dollars are going. Make your list, check it twice.

This year at the Marketplace we are hosting the DREAM TEAM of artists, crafters, and creators in this area! Would you believe I have even MORE vendors to introduce to you? These are amazingly talented people with hearts of gold and they are selling some REALLY cool stuff! Remember, a portion of all these vendors' profits are going to support the Autry's adoption, and some of them are donating more of their profits to support other ministries/missions.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you......

Origin Art - Carol Headen

OriginArt is a place where handmade jewelry, paintings, and drawings are sold. A portion of all proceeds are donated to www.kontaktmissionusa.org in support of the mission dreams of artist Carol Headen. Carol has been teaching art in Jackson, TN for over 16 years and has been an artist her whole life. Her son, Sam, and his wife, Tahlia, live in Sydney, Australia, where Carol is originally from.

Andersen Russell

I take my old sweaters to Goodwill.  Andersen uses her old sweaters to make these cozy scarves.  She knits, sews, and makes art pieces from handstitched fabrics. Andersen traveled to Central Asia last year on a mission trip and captured some of the images from her trip on these beautiful cards, that will be for sell at her booth. The proceeds from the cards will be given to support next year's Central Asia mission trip.

Kelsey Nagy

How do you make a butter dish look happy? You probably didn't think that was possible, but that's because you haven't laid eyes on the work of Kelsey Nagy. Kelsey works with a porcelain clay. All the pots are handmade as well as handpainted. (Microwave and dishwasher safe!) You can always buy Kelsey's work at Botbyl Pottery located at Crown Winery in Humboldt and also at the Tennessee Artisan Market in Dickson. But, just make it easy on yourself and come to the Marketplace this weekend and visit her booth. Her website is http://kelseynagy.wordpress.com/

Anna Avery - The Caged Bird

Anna's shop is called "The Caged Bird," a nod to the Maya Angelou poem as well as the desire for Heaven in the heart of the Believer. She'll be selling items she has sewn, including pocket tees, applique shirts, banners, bunting, baby items and tutus. She will also have homemade heat packs for the winter, scented with locally grown lavender and rosemary. Anna will be donating an additional portion of her profits to another family in her church who is in the adoption process. Soon, you can find more of her creations at www.becominghisbride2012.blogspot.com

Russ and Hether Pflasterer

I can't tell you all about our beloved Pastor and his precious wife in one paragraph. Let's sit down for coffee sometime, and I'll tell you the whole story of how the Lord called them out of their many years of teaching in Jackson's public school system to start a church in the heart of our city. Here is the prayer and purpose of City Fellowship Baptist Church:  "As a church we desire to become a Bible-saturated, Cross-centered, multi- ethnic family that seeks to demonstrate the reconciling love of God through Gospel-driven deeds of mercy." (taken from the City Fellowship website)

Russ and Hether are donating the profits from their booth to the City Fellowship Christian Community Development Fund, which enables our church to minister through various programs in our community, including: a lunch buddy partnership with Alexander Elementary School, a tutoring program, and Baby University (a program providing early childhood develpment classes and a support network for moms in our community). You can find our more information about Baby University at www.mybabyuniversity.org. 

You'll see from the pictures below that Russ and Hether are incredibly creative and talented and pour their heart into whatever they are doing.  They will be selling their own creations, which were inspired by homemade Christmas gifts they gave each other last year, as well as posters designed by members of our church with lyrics of songs we love to sing together as a church.

Personally, I love that this A New Thing Fall Marketplace is happening at the building where the church of City Fellowship meets to worship and our eyes are continually lifted to see that God is doing A NEW THING in our city.

Vendor Spotlight: THE SMITH'S

A Bible teacher / mentor of mine once said - "We are not trying to raise our children to follow in our footsteps; we are trying to raise our children to follow Christ."  That means they may not make decisions as we would, handle their money in the same way, raise their kids as they were raised, or choose a career/life path that makes us comfortable. She also says that the process of releasing our children is WAAAAY harder than the process of raising them.  (Lalalalala - I don't wanna think about it.)

The second mom in my story of "two amazing moms" is Allie. She has been raising her daughter, Parker, to follow Christ for thirteen years now, and for Parker's thirteenth birthday she got what she wished for - a mission trip to Africa. Allie said she wanted Parker to see that there is more to this world than what we have here in Jackson - that God could take her anywhere. And to see that He is everywhere.

I had the joy of making the trip with these two, and I saw Parker come alive with my own two eyes.  She was undaunted by the unknowns of international travel and the lack of (ahem) "amentities" in a third world country. In fact, she loved the simplicity of it all. I watched as she embraced the new culture, new people, new experiences. And some of those experiences were not easy to embrace. She and I were seeing suffering and devastation like we'd never seen - me, 25 years older than her. And yet, she did not shrink back. In fact, she said she could stay there forever.

I haven't ask Parker this, probably should, but it seemed to me that she felt useful in Africa. That, perhaps, God has made her for something like this. She loved loving on the children at the center where we stayed. And they loved her. She seemed to feel completely at home in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Maybe someday she will be.

Now is obviously not the time for that. But neither is it the time for nothing. I remember the night Parker and I were sitting on our mosquito net covered bunk beds and she said, "Miss Angie, do you think I could make enough money babysitting to sponsor Alford?"

Of course you can, Park. You can do anything God calls you do to do, by His grace.

Alford found a special place in Parker's heart the first morning we were at the center. This photo was taken as we were walking back from the welcome ceremony that the children and staff so graciously held for our team. Somehow I knew to snap a picture - that this was a significant moment.

Parker now sponsors Alford. For her forty dollars of monthly babysitting money she is able to help provide for Alford's physical needs and send him her love through letters and monthly Skype sessions. If you read my story on The Raining Season, you already know my deep love for this organization and the sheer genious that is their sponsorship program. You can go HERE to find out how to become a sponsor, too.

Allie says that Africa was the first time she's ever seen Parker smile THAT smile. It looked as though this young woman's soul was filled to the brim and overflowing. What better 13th birthday gift could a mother give her daughter than realizing the pure joy of following Jesus?

This weekend at the Marketplace the Smith family will be working The Raining Season's booth and all profits from this booth go to TRS. They will also have merchandise of their own to help fund their next trip to Sierra Leone, hopefully this summer.

Here's a sneak peek at some of what the Smith's will be selling. Just give them some scrap wood and a little yarn....