Remnant Items

  

We make our Remnant Pens from scrap wood that would usually be discarded by other woodworkers. Our remnants are a “word picture” of how Christ can take the parts of our lives – our mistakes, our history, our choices, our talents, our experiences - those things that others might say are errors and useless - and combine them to make something beautiful and useful to share His love to others!

I want to share with you the reason you have a second pen. To do so, I need to give you some back-story of how Pens With A Purpose came to be, our process and finally, the creation of your specific pen.

Several years ago I needed a hobby, one that I could use my mind, my hands, even my faith, yet somehow produce items that would be meaningful, and, privately prayed over. I started with creating walking sticks that I found in nature. I also refinished furniture, some family heirlooms. But soon, I stumbled upon hand-made pens. I was intrigued with the process, the precision and the patience it took to create quality pens. I started out making a thousand mistakes, but over time they started turning out somewhat refined, pretty.

In short, Pens With A Purpose has grown beyond a hobby. Our lives have changed because of it. Darren retired from his Wall Street-related career, I’ve committed to focusing fully on the Pens and the Purpose, and we’ve even moved from Metro-Atlanta in order to accommodate the need to nurture a young business. All of this was by God’s direction. Our commitment is three-fold: to pray for the recipient of each pen; to use a portion of the proceeds to feed/minister to those who are hungry; and to carve out a more intentional, Purpose-filled lifestyle. With each pen created, we are fulfilling all three.

Each pen created goes through a lengthy process. Each begins with raw wood or acrylic, mechanical pieces and “hope.” Most pens use solid wood/acrylic pieces. But over time, we realized that the discarded pieces, the rejected segments, (Remnant) could be used to re-create beautiful writing instruments. But, this process takes twice the amount of time and patience (as does any attempt to rebuild/recreate parts of our lives). We spend time and patience and prayer (and at times frustration) in building these delicate pens. Sometimes problems arise and we have to start over.

Then came your pen. We lost count of how many times we had to start over at each phase of the creation.  At first, we joked about the problems.  Then, because we are faulty humans, we got frustrated. But God reminded us of the first step in any pen – praying for the recipient. We were humbled, even alarmed. Why was Tamara’s pen busting, breaking, marring, smudging? We didn’t know (and we still don’t), but we focused less on the creating and more on the praying – for you. We’ve lifted you up to God’s throne of Grace and Mercy and we’ve committed to continue to do so. If you notice, this pen has imperfections. We keep most every pen that isn’t refined, but God led us to send this pen and this letter to you.