Ijah Joy Creations

I wanted to share with you all how Ijah Joy Creations began and the purpose of this business. Firstly the name: Ijah is how Elijah pronounced his name at 9 months old - when the Lord gave me the business idea. And of course, Joy is my name. The day the Lord dropped the business idea in my spirit was the first day Elijah had tried to pronounce his name. It came out as Ijah and it was confirmed. This picture was of Elijah at 9 months old. The next photo was taken 3 weeks ago at 21 months old.

Today I was asked by a loan officer at my bank of why I feel that I have an edge on the market - why people should choose my jewelry over others. I never put that into words before. But here is what I told him - each gift is made with love. Long after the person has forgoten who made the necklace, ring, earrings, or bracelet - they will remember the person who gave it to them or the family member the peice celebrates. This is what makes me enjoy this work.

Also, as I hire people to do the store line (WalMart or other dept stores), I will hire local people, mostly women who are struggling, single moms, women living paycheck to paycheck, those who are one paycheck from loosing their homes. I would love to have women who are homeless working for me, see them make their own money, be able to purchase their own home and be able to provide for their families.

This may sound like a small amount, but I am going to pay 10% of the wholesale price of the peice to the one who manufactures. If the wholesale price is $35, they make 3.50 for making it. But most can probably make 8 to 10 rings per hour. This comes to $28 to $35 per hour. There are not many jobs where this kind of money can be made, without years of schooling. I can take a woman with no education, who has never learned to read and teach her to set gemstones. This will give her an opportunity to turn her life and the lives of future generations around.

From there, we can teach these ladies, train them for their GED's (high school diploma). Ijah Joy Creations will be a ministry too. This was my vision from the day that Ijah Joy Creations was given to me. They will see the ministry of Christ, His love though our company. It won't be all about money, but to lift up the broken and care for the weak.

Not until I began to type this did I see how the calling of the prophetic, intercession, worship can relate to the world in general. I want to be practical in ministry, not just "spiritual" to the church. So much of ministry these days is to the church itself - and the ones we are called to reach are left out. So many seminars on how to reach the lost, but we forget to do that in the midst of all our learning. Winning the lost and evangelism is not "come to my church, we are having a meeting" or standing on the street corner holding a sign that says "turn or burn". It is meeting the needs of the people, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the broken.

I can feel the burning inside of me while writing this. This is why the enemy has fought the birthing of Ijah Joy Creations - in this business comes the fulfilment of the words for the city, ministry to the hurting of South West Georgia, and breakthough for my family. Remember the word in the previous blog that birthed Ijah Joy Creations. The pastor said that God was going to birth a business idea in me that would finance ministry and bring my family out of debt. He said that God was going to take all that has happened and send me into the enemy’s camp to pull out those that are held hostage. It is being done even now, even as I create a peice of jewelry. That family has been prayed for as I set the stones.

This is the Mother's Pendant. One of my most popular requests.