Meaningful Gifts for Those Who are Hurting: 4 Shops That Help You Show Love and Care - Love Does That | Christian Spiritual Director Kari Bartkus

Hey, my friends. Welcome back to Let’s Encourage One Another.

I have such a special episode for you today. I know that you are here listening to this podcast because you care so very much for those around you. God has given you a heart for those who are hurting.

And so when it comes to the holiday season, you want to find not just a gift off the shelf, but a truly meaningful gift, something that will comfort and encourage your friend and let her know that she is not alone in her hurt and grief.

Today, I am going to highlight four shops that are perfect for helping you find just the right gift. You will be able to find links to all of these shops in the show notes below, and be sure to follow and support them on social media, too, because they are on the same mission: to show love and care to those who are hurting.

Okay, are you ready? Here we go!

Love Well Collective

The first shop is Love Well Collective. Christy is the owner of Love Well Collective and started it after her experience walking with her dad through his cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Through her experience, she realized she wasn’t alone in feeling awkward when it came to supporting a friend during a difficult season. And she wanted to find a practical way to help others care for their friends who were hurting.

And so Christy created the Love Well Box. These are curated gift boxes that you can send to your friend when they are dealing with grief, miscarriage, job loss, or even in situations like a new move, a new job, or a college care package.

You can either pick one of her curated boxes or customize one of your own. There are items like coffee and tea, bracelets, key chains, mugs, notepads and journals, lip balm, sugar scrub, earrings, and more. Like, there is something for everyone here.

With each box, you get to include a personal note that she handwrites to your friend. I love that she does that.

If you are interested in checking out Christy’s shop, go to lovewellcollective.com.

Because Love

The second shop is Because Love. Arona is the owner of Because Love and she started her shop after her dear friend Jessica was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer at age 31. Arona used her art background to create a special journal for her friend to help her through that season.

That journal has become one of the products Because Love is known for. It’s called the Love Heals journal, and it was designed especially for those just diagnosed with cancer. You actually ship the journal to yourself first so you can add some special inspiration and messages to your dear friend, and then you gift it to her. It provides not just those special messages from you, but a place for her to journal through all the things going through her heart and mind as she embarks on her journey.

Another well-known product of hers is the Big Hug lap blanket. It is a soft blanket that you, again, send to yourself first and you write messages on the soft, writable tags that you then attach to the blanket. You can include a special memory or a Bible verse or quote. Then you gift the blanket to a friend. I mean, you can just picture your friend curling up in it and seeing your special messages surround her. How incredibly special.

If you want to check out Arona’s shop, go to itsbecauselove.com.

Purpose + Grit

The third shop is Purpose + Grit. Jessy Paulson is the owner of Purpose + Grit and she is a fellow Painted Prayers instructor like me. She does something really cool: she paints a prayer every week and then turns that painting into things like necklaces, jewelry, notecards, pillows, and more. Each product comes with a card that has the prayer she wrote for that specific art piece, and, you guys, the prayers are just so beautiful.

One of the prayers that has connected with me is called Holding Both, which actually goes along with what we were talking about last week, how it’s okay to feel happiness and sadness at the same time.

She prays, “May God show you how to hold both. Grief and joy, heartache and happiness, anxiety and peace all live at once inside of you. May He show you how to carve out space for everything you feel so you can understand your journey and reconcile your pain. May you dig deep to find the grit to bravely hold both while you heal. Amen.”

In addition to her prayer-filled pieces, Jessy also edits a magazine called Gritty Faith, and it is filled not just with inspirational art, but stories “of the fighters, the survivors, the dream chasers, and the determined warriors – the people living with Faith Over Fear,” as she writes. It is so beautifully designed, and the print version is just so high quality. I really encourage you to check that out.

Now, Jessy has her own story of grief and loss, but I’m hoping to have her on the podcast at some point to share that herself.

For now, to check out Jessy’s shop, go to purposegrit.com.

Love Does That

And, of course, there is my own shop, Love Does That. In my shop, I offer handmade gifts that you can pass along to your friends as tangible expressions of care. The most popular product is our Tear Bottle—a small glass bottle filled with three teardrop-shaped beads that remind us how God is close to us in our grief and heartache. It’s based on Psalm 56:8, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

I created the Tear Bottle during a season when my daughter and I were struggling, and God just brought this verse to mind. It has proven to be a meaningful gift to those who are grieving, something that lets them know they are not alone.

You guys, I pray while I make these Tear Bottles, and I also write a note for each order and record a personal audio prayer just for you. I send that to you because I really want you to know that this isn’t just another order for me. I care so much, and I want you to hear my voice, to know that you aren’t walking through this season alone, and that I am praying for you and your friend.

You can check out my shop at lovedoesthat.org, and know that coming up November 15 through 30, I will be holding my Thanksgiving Fundraiser, where I will donate 15% of each order to a local non-profit called Love INC, or Love In the Name of Christ. They do so much for our community and my husband and I love to support them in this way.

So there you are, four shops that offer meaningful gifts you can give to your friends who might be struggling this holiday season: Love Well Collective, Because Love, Purpose + Grit, and Love Does That. I am so thankful for each of these shops and the ladies who run them—Christy and Arona and Jessy—because I know that their products were born out of their own hardship and suffering. And now they are using that to encourage others. And that’s what it’s all about, my friends.

Thank you for being someone who cares. Someone who reaches out when someone is hurting. You are doing a good work, and I am honored to support you in any way I can.

That’s all for today, my friends. Until next time…