Renewed

Made new.  Brand new.  Without blemish or spot, wrinkle or blot.  Fresh and clean.  Perfect white.  The title of this Cross Adornment (Ornament) is Renewed.  

Jesus' perfect and pure heart upon the cross as atonement for our imperfect and impure heart.  A renewed life begins at the cross!

A heart abloom in the center of an elegant open cross reflects a soul renewed in His perfect love.

This hand-crafted bisque porcelain cross design expresses encouragment and celebration of a new day and a new life.

There are many reasons to give and receive this cross ornament, but principle among them include celebration and commemoration of Faith, Easter, Salvation, and a Renewal of Commitment to Christ.

On the back of the Adornment package, you'll find this Scripture: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace - Numbers 6:24-26.

We've given this 2.75" cross design the item number C3N.

May God bless you today as you are Renewed when you meditate on His word.

We invite you to review our shop for this and other of our Cross designs, or Heart designs, or Angel designs, or Snowflake designs.

Blessings,

Jay & Janice

The Ultimate Gift

As we enter into a season of Thanksgiving and "Gift-giving" it seems an appropriate time to be reminded of the ultimate gift that our Savior freely gives to those who ask. It is called grace.  G-R-A-C-E  "God's Riches At Christ's Expense" as you may have heard it defined.

Each of our Gift Ornaments express this gift as a "surprise" scripture verse, Ephesians 2:8, hidden under the lid and revealed only when the lid is lifted open as the ornament is being removed from its package.

It sends a subtle message in a hidden place that is only revealed when the gift is opened.  Perhaps in a small way, its a reminder of His gift to us as we experience the unwrapping of His life in ours.  He's given us the gift, we only need to begin to open it and receive it as such, to find grace.

Blessings Jay & Janice

The Lord bless you and keep you:  The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:  The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace - Numbers 6:24-26

Waves of Joy

A beautiful open heart with intricately sculpted shells representing your moments of joy framing the heart. Celebrate those special memories of the ones we love... Like the grains of sand, too many to count!

This design's purpose is to celebrate life's everyday moments of  achievement, time spent with Family, "get-away" weekends with your special love, and heartfelt deep Friendship with those whom you live, love, and experience everyday joys.

The scripture that inspired this design is Psalm 139:17 "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with thee."   And forever recorded in the porcelain, the Scripture reference is backstamped on the reverses side of each design.   This Scripture verse is also printed on package side panel.

The size of this Gift Ornament is approximately 4".

On the back panel of the package the following Poetry can be found: WAVES OF JOY

Oh how I treaure the memories...

Such joy as they come to mind over and again...

Oh what a blessing you are to me...

Our prayer is that you receive the gift of memories with loved ones, too many to count!

Blessings,

Janice & Jay

Blizzard of Praise

This year's snowflake Gift ornament design is titled "Praise" and the Adornment design is titled "With Praise".

Our prayer is that every moment of every day in every circumstance we all would be able to praise our Creator, our Redeemer, our Holy, and loving God.

Blessings,

Janice & Jay

One bright star marked the moment...

Our 2009 Behold the Heavens Angel's wings are firmly held in place by a central Star of Bethlehem punctuated by a decorative pearl in its center of bright light. As your Christmas holiday plans come into focus, may they include a meaningful celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ....a celebration full of life and hope and faithful witness to your family and friends of our loving Savior.

Blessings,

Janice & Jay

Wedding Season

A few of our "Love Blessing" items transforms this simple yellow cake into a glamorous wedding and reception focal point. This month of May begins the traditional season for weddings and anniversaries, and Pure Grace has a wide assortment of designs to commemorate this event in a way that is unique; authentic; and expressed with an eternal perspective from the scriptures....inspired and reflecting God's beauty.

We encourage you to remember Pure Grace products are affordably priced at retail price points usually under $20, and often under $10, and yet reflect "Made in America" craftmanship, and are designed with high quality porcelain and gift packaged in our distinctive purple open-faced box.

When you need an authentic message on a high quality gift at an affordable price....think of Pure Grace!

Blessings,

Jay & Janice

Somewhere its Snowing

One snowflake.

Then another, and another.

Falling down.  Blowing around.  And then piling up.

A snowstorm shut down the runways in Denver last weekend for a couple of hours.  This "delay" was  just the right amount of time to reflect more fully on the previous weekend's Thanksgiving blessings.

Blessings of time spent with family and meeting with strangers who became new friends over a shared dinner that Thanksgiving eve.  And blessings of stories about how others were serving and making a difference:

One at a prison.

Another at a clinic.

And another ministering to students

unable to travel home for the holiday

Their gifts of time and attention.  Their commitment to vocations of purpose.......it all started piling up.  Piling up into a blizzard of service.  A snowstorm of daily life falling down and blown around.

And piling up.

And during this Holiday Season, this season of blessings remembered,  this season of thankfulness offered to our loving God, our prayer is that you too are "delayed" at some point this season for a moment to reflect on His purpose in your life.....one at a time.....piling up....into the person you've been called to be to all you're blessed to touch during His season.

Blessings,

Jay & Janice

From Above

From our studio we see that Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson are now snow-capped and glow pink in the fading sunlight at the end of the day.

And in the morning as we begin our day at work, we see our kilns glowing pink at the end of their night's firing cycle, and together if they could cry out, the white snow capped mountains, and our white bisque porcelain ornaments would quote James 1:17 "Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights..."!

Snow transforms the landscape, crowns the horizon's peaks, and reflects the light in an array of beauty and colors often indescribable.

Our "From Above" Snowflake Angel series reminds us that our brief time together with friends and family during the holiday season vanishes as quickly as a snowflake melts in our hands. And while we have the memory of these special holidays, our hope is that this year's 2008 Snowflake Angel ornament will reflect the memories of those nearest your heart in an array of beauty that is indescribable.....and that you too would exclaim "every good and every perfect gift is from above".

Blessings,

Jay & Janice

Mesmerized

Ever more intricate. Ever more complex. Ever more involved. Ever more to see....

Yes, the beauty of a snowflake can be mesmerizing.....

How much more His word? His hand? His love?

We hope you enjoy our 5th annual Snowflake Ornament with the title, "Thankful" for our Gift size, and "With Thanks" for our Adornment size in a slightly different configuration, but same style.

May you have a moment to be mesmerized and captured by His beauty this season.

Blessings,

Jay & Janice

the Elder-One

Genealogy is best experienced “live” .....face to face ..... with all the Family Tree gathered around a potluck supper listening to the elder-one speak about “back in the day”. In those moments isn’t it clear that the branches reflect the roots.......as the personality does the soul? The drama and decisions and journey of a family unfold in the elder-one’s telling.....and if artfully done, will be picked up and retold by the next generation as tradition.

For some among us, the stories are simply the starting point of a journey to shake out the truth from the perceived exaggerations of the elder-one’s telling. Many among us find their reward by focusing on facts and data of those days gone by, rather than on the character and personality reflected in the roots of those stories. And we find our joy in the confirmation of facts that shaped the elder-one’s story. As though our discovery affirms and renews our faith in the elder-one’s telling.

Thankfully the Scriptures bring together both these camps by the inspired word of the Elder-one’s stories about our Family Tree. About our beginnings and rebellion. About our deceit and cunning. About our love and yearning. About His protection and provision. About Christ’s coming and salvation. About our reunion and eternal homecoming. At life’s most important moments ..... a birth.....a wedding .....a funeral ....a family reunion... may we remember that Our Family Tree is gathered around and listening and when it becomes our turn, may we be responsible and blessed to give an artful account of His active hand in the life of our family when we become the elder-one.

Whose We Are

We found recent industry surveys by leading trade press fascinating and very useful. We found a few points most interesting as follows:

Made in China? Made in USA? Where a product is made is making a lot of news lately, with an increased appreciation for domestically produced items, and the perception of a product’s quality being connected with its country-of-origin.

Hand-crafted? Machine made? How a product is made seems to be important these days, particularly as people pursue authenticity in their expressions.

Personality based? Purpose driven? Why a product is created is a key intrinsic component to today’s giftware industry. Celebrating a meaningful moment in life’s journey with a product that fits the occasion is a market force synchronizing a person’s values and how they express those values.

Yes, Pure Grace products are Made in the USA. Yes, Pure Grace products are hand-crafted. Yes, Pure Grace products are designed for a purpose by a company dedicated to purpose instead of personality.

BUT MOST IMPORTANT to us, knowing Where and How and Why a product is made is not as important as for Whom a product is made. You and your loved ones experiencing life together reflecting Who made us.....we are His craftmanship, made in His image, to glorify Him by our living and loving.

May you experience His Love, an Embracing Love, and Rejoice in your relationships this New Year 2008

Trade Press & New Items

Three (3) new Crosses and two (2) new Angels greet the New Year. We look forward to greeting YOU this show season in our corporate show locations, and our sales associates look forward to greeting you as well!

We were pleased and thankful for the opportunity to be included in recent trade press in Fall ’07 Gift Shop Magazine and in September ’07 Giftware News articles about Inspirational gift trends.

We completed our fourth (4th) year with continued growth in every dimension, and are excited to be celebrating our 5th year of business with you this year. Thank you!

Again, Janice and I thank you for the opportunity to serve you, and we’re grateful for your support!

Holiday Dinner

Few memories invoke an impression on ALL our senses as strongly as that special dinner at mother’s with extended family and long-time friends.......

Smell the fresh baked bread, Taste the heavily peppered and buttered mashed potatoes, Hear the tinkle of glasses and laughter of children, See the wrinkles of your elder aunts and uncles, Feel the firm handshake of favorite nephews.

And as we sense His presence,

May we remember how quickly this time passes with those we love....... And may we look forward to the day of enjoying those relationships once again, both here and hereafter.

Thankful

Thankful

We are so grateful for the opportunity to be involved with you in being a blessing to those who give and receive Pure Grace gifts. Meeting so many new Believers at the shows, refreshing so many friendships during our travels, and receiving a few blessings along the way with affirmation from many of you, from Gift & Dec, from AmericasMart, and from Gift Beat,.......we’re so excited that these avenues have recognized Pure Grace and our prayer is that God would receive the glory and some in our “gift” community would receive pure grace from the only One able to give it......and maybe this Easter would be the time!

Again, Janice and I thank you for the opportunity to serve you, and we’re grateful for your support!

Looking Over Her Shoulder

Looking over her shoulder from afar, you see our new line of Angels gazing toward heaven with outstretched arms in humble adoration crying "holy, holy, holy" in awe at the works of His hands. Each item beckons you to join the eternal chorus! The first in an annual series of angels celebrating and proclaiming the glory of God's creation is titled "Behold the Heavens".

Also, in a series of annual "snowflake" angels, we are introducing "From Above" which is intended to celebrate our brief time together as family during the Christmas holidays. This angel's message reminds us that as quickly as a snowflake melts, our time with our loved ones during the holidays is just as brief.

Finally, the third angel in our new introduction is "Peace". This line of annual angels expresses God's grace and love inspired by creations in the garden....in this case the "Peace" rose, which together with the cross invite each of us to have peace with God through his Son.

These angels will be available for shipping to retailers in August. And that's not all......we have many other New Designs that we think you will enjoy! We will be sending you more information on these in the coming weeks.

A Quiet Moment

So many of you came by at the trade shows to say hello, see our newest items, and reorder our existing products! We are very grateful for the opportunity to continue serving you with affordable unique high-quality porcelain gifts to express a life of joy in every circumstance. Renewed. Peace. Alive. Beside Still Waters. Pure.

The titles of our designs express the sentiment and purpose of each gift item. Did you find yourself resting in the moment, yearning for a time of reflection as you read through the titles above? Take a moment and remember your purpose as a spouse, a parent, an entreprenuer, a friend.

Having purpose is powerful, isn't it! As we turn the calendar soon to celebrate Easter, lets rejoice in the purpose that Jesus came to fulfill.

In Circles

Are you running in circles? Going fast; but making only limited progress toward your goals?

Last weekend was the running of the annual "Turkey Trot" fund-raising 5K run. Maybe you had an event like this in your town too.

The lead group of about 15 runners missed the sign marking the race route because they were concentrating on each other, on their competitor's pace and position, and where they were ranked among the leaders.

As a group they "zigged" when they should have "zagged". After more than a mile detour loop, they met back up with the stragglers walking and limping toward the finish line. And as a group they wondered "what happened"?

How easy it is to be distracted! Distracted by the competition and heat of the race, only to lose your way with unhappy results. The detour in this year's "Turkey Trot" reminds us to daily ask these questions:

What Signs to Watch? Who do we Serve? Why do we Serve?

Stay alert to the Signs your business generates to avoid costly detours. What product lines are performing NOW? What lines can deliver NOW to meet your customer's needs? Today, what have you and your associates learned new about your customers that you can act on NOW?

Stay focused on Who We Serve. The signs your business generates gives you important indicators of PAST performance; and while useful for steering your business in the future, there's no better method of avoiding detours than by listening hard to your customers.

Serve them. Listen to them. Delight them with surprises. Look to the future WITH them. Special order for them. Ask them what they'd like to see.

Stay focused on Why We Serve. Do you remember why you got into this business in the first place? To express yourself? To create a safe place to enjoy with friends and new-found friends? To minister to your community with meaningful products for meaningful times in their lives? You make a difference in your community! Be encouraged by remembering your purpose and work hard to make more of your day "purposeful".

The "Turkey Trot" lesson rang clear for me this weekend: While watching the competition is important....don't let it be consuming. Don't let it detour you! Watch the signs, listen to your customers, and remember why you're in this business..... Act with purpose!

We selected this last snowflake pictured above, our best selling Fall/Winter item - "By Design", as a reinforcement to this month's "Inspire" message. The scripture reference associated with this item is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope".

Amen.

Back to Normal

Whether your store was in the swath of the recent hurricanes or not, your business has likely been affected in many unforseen ways.

Influx of new residents; Outflux of local resources to relief efforts; And little flex in your ability to meet your sales projections, or increase sales volume, with these events pushing "normal" activities off the agenda for most of your customers.

Our hope is that you've had ab-"normal" opportunities to engage these fluxes with active ministry of hands helping hands, and hearts touching hearts: with neighborly outpourings of support and with an extra dose of Christian hospitality and witness, where able.

With the change in season; temperatures dropping; leaves turning color; and school activities kicking into high gear we encourage you to proactively seek opportunities to continue your support. For many of us, the best way to do this is by getting back to "normal"...by meeting needs in the market-place...by helping those you serve achieve their hopes and dreams with the goods and services you provide.

Now....let's help one another move on toward "normal"-cy.....