GutsyGoodness

✿ BEHIND THE SCENES

Joel and Lisa are a husband and wife team who began their shop in 2015. Lisa sold jewelry from her locker in junior high to clothing boutiques in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon through her college days. When she moved to San Diego in 1992 she was still creating unique items from the room she rented while working at a non-profit organization. But all that changed a year later.

✿ WHEN HANDS DON'T WORK

"I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1993 and within days could hardly drive my car or open a jar." She vividly remembers calling her supervisor at work, trying to explain that her hands and wrists were so swollen she couldn't twist the door knob to even leave the house.

Since then, the progression of her rheumatoid arthritis has continued to grow, but she still seeks ways to keep busy and serve where God places her.

"If I stop using my hands, I lose abilities--permanently--so I approach everything I can do with them as some for of therapy."

She types with 3 fingers, has four silicone joint replacements, and has only limited use of all of her hands due to ruptured tendons. But she can still use a mouse and she delights in designing each piece.

"I love getting to use my creative side, designing the layout and message of each necklace," she shares. "And then I pass them along to my husband to do the logistics."

✿ WORKING TOGETHER AS A FAMILY

Joel, an audio editor for a major video game company, was laid off his job of 19 years in Spring of 2015. Lisa had recently purchased some jewelry supplies to make a few pendant necklaces for herself and gifts.

The expense of living and taking care of unpredictable medical bills hit their household quickly and Joel and Lisa looked closely at everything from their skills to limitations, and asked how God how He might use them all. They decided to open an Etsy store in hopes that it would assist their family during this career transition season.

Lisa and Joel have a son, 15, who also helps--sometimes as a volunteer, sometimes to earn a few dollars. In 2014 they made the challenging decision to homeschool. So, now, with all three of them in the house, it has become organized chaos--or . . . some days--just chaos.

"It has been fun for my son to see the logistics behind a business. From keeping supplies in stock to understanding advertising costs, he is learning some unique skills." And their son is learning how a family comes together to help pay the bills and how to work as a team for a mutual goal.

And at some point in Spring of 2016 it went from "What can God do?" to "Wow! What is God doing?!" The Copen family has had great success with Gutsy Goodness as it continues to grow. They delight in hearing how someone received a personal gift that touched them deeply and there are some days when they grieve and pray for those recipients of their jewelry who have lost a loved one or had a miscarriage.

✿ THE PASSING OF A LEGACY

Each piece--a necklace, keychain, or other item--is designed by Lisa on the computer, and then Joel and her glue and assemble them together at the 1940s green aluminum table of Lisa's grandmother, Austeen. Lisa inherited this table after her prayer warrior grandmother passed away in the late 1990s.

"Every time I visited my grandmother her Bible sat open on this table," Lisa explains. "This table was her 'war room.' If you have seen the movie War Room, well, my grandmother's prayers are 'baked in' to this table and I can imagine she is smiling seeing God's Word go out to thousands of people from where she prayed and served meals for those she loved.

"I know my grandma is looking down at our jewelry and is so joyful that her legacy of encouraging someone each day is being passed along from her own table. This is where she would invite someone in to have a piece of peach cobbler as she listened to their troubles and prayed for them. I have an amazing legacy and am accountable to honor it."

"I believe the Word never returns empty and it is my hope that every piece glorifies God," Lisa says, "even if it just about never giving up."

We hope that whatever item you choose for yourself or a loved one, you can feel the joy and love that goes behind it. We make a special effort to create not just a piece of jewelry, but an entire package that reminds you that you are loved.