Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie and Rick Drew.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jackie and Rick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
A little over two years ago, my husband Rick and I were in a season of unrest. He was working at a local oil and gas company, and I was a stay at home mom to our three children. I began to pray that God would open doors widely or shut them loudly. I wasn’t sure what He wanted us to do, but I knew we wanted to be in His will!
During this time, we were in our Sunday School class one morning and we were brainstorming an idea of what to get a pastor that was leaving our church. Rick remembered that he had some wood in the garage, and he thought he could make a cross out of it. He decided he could add nails to it, and our pastor could then use the cross to nail his burdens or worries to it.
After he made this cross, he began to make more like it, and the interest started to grow! As he created more of these “Surrender™ Crosses,” I was watching his passion and excitement grow as well! He was so excited to be doing something with his hands that had a purpose.
For months, he continued to work at the oil and gas company and then he would come home and make crosses. On Tuesday, May 3rd, I called him in the morning and asked him what it would take for him to quit his job and we just work on the crosses full time. He laughed and said he had just been crunching some numbers to see if it was even possible.
That evening, Rick came home and I knew something was different. It turns out that he actually had been let go from his job that afternoon!!!! When he told me, I laughed (which was not a normal response for me). God had answered my prayer and closed the door to his old job and opened the door to our new business, RAD JOY.
This May, we will celebrate two years of owning RAD JOY. It has been a wild faith journey for us as we are learning how to surrender to Christ. We have a heart for encouraging others in their walk with Christ as well.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since we started RAD JOY, we have always felt a sense of peace that this is what God has wanted us to do. In the beginning, we also had several “signs’ that were confirming that this was His plan. Having said that, the past two years have been very difficult. We both have more “Type A” personalities, so as we help others surrender, we are learning a lot ourselves!
Just in terms of our own family and financial planning, we are learning to rely on God for our “daily manna.” We have months that God has showered down blessings, and months that are extremely hard financially. Yet, God has proved faithful every month, and He has continued to provide a way for RAD JOY to be our sole income. We read in a blog post once that in the Bible, God never gave anyone a 5-year plan. This has been a challenge for us, but we are learning how to obey promptly and trust that He will provide steps 2 and 3 when it’s time.
We also have encountered a lot of other struggles on the way. Several months into us doing RAD JOY, Rick became very ill and was in ICU. Jackie had dealt with anxiety in college, and it has reared its ugly head over the past year. We also had a very unexpected family fallout with some extended members of our family. Yet, throughout all of this, God has remained faithful, has held us close, and has been our Redeemer!
RAD JOY – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our mission is to create products that help others live a life surrendered to Christ.
Rick handcrafts wooden Surrender™ Crosses that are used for piercing your burdens to the cross. Each of these crosses is made from reclaimed wood and because each piece of wood is different, each cross is one of a kind. All Surrender™ Crosses come with pre-drilled holes and nails for piercing your burdens to the cross.
As part of our ministry, our children write down words on sheets of paper, and we blindly choose one and we pray over each cross before we send it. Rick also handcrafts RAD Boxes that are used to help organize your Bible, devotion, and any other “Quiet Time” materials. We also sell prayer cards for young kids, preteens/teens, adults, and married couples!
We have also been working hard on a new product that we will be releasing in the summer. It’s a journal that will be a practice guide for prayer as well as a place to organize all your prayer requests. We know that sometimes people can be overwhelmed with prayer, and our hope is that this journal will help women be more intentional and focused as they abide in Christ.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Some of our “big” highlights have been being interviewed on the Glenn Beck show, sharing our story at the Pink Impact Conference, and having the opportunity to be interviewed on several podcasts. These have been huge for us because they have given us the opportunity to share our story to larger groups at one time It’s always a joy for us to share how God has been faithful.
Some of the neatest moments have been those unseen to most people. One of those things has been working together as a couple and as a family. In hard times and good times, we are learning to lean on each other and our Savior even more! Another really neat aspect is that Rick’s dad has been working with us. This has been such a special time for them to grow closer as well.
We also LOVE hearing back from our customers and friends how their crosses have impacted their life. To know that we have helped others grow in relationship with Christ has truly blessed us SO much!
Pricing:
- Surrender™ Crosses, $49-$63
- Small Surrender™ Crosses, $14-$28
- RAD Boxes, $49-$63
- Prayer Cards, $14
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rad-joy.com
- Phone: 844-RADJOY1 (844-723-5691)
- Email: jackie@rad-joy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radjoy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/radjoy/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/radjoysurrender
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/radjoycross
Image Credit:
Forevermore Photography and Caroline Rook Photography
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