That could not have happened!
Yes, I made a teddy bear and for some odd reason I decided to name it "No Nap!" It was the first bear that I made pajamas for... wrong preposition order...oops. Anyway, I made the pajamas of the softest material I could find, then I crocheted (who am I) around the fringes to make it look like pajamas. I also made a little blanket to go with it. I did that a few months ago...well around Valentine's day.
My little business brain said, "nobody is going to buy a teddy bear named "No Nap!" Are you crazy? Yet to be determined...lol. So, I put him on the shelf with the other "creations" and he just sat there...staring at me....like he was waiting for something.
I would go by my "inventory" and say "Sell!" It was like that teddy bear was saying "NO!" I have an vivid imagination by the way.
I talked a little about this in my previous blog, but I felt compelled to give my "inventory" away. I had made all these beautiful hats and teddy bears and they just sat on a shelf. I prayed and said, "Lord, it isn't fair that you give me of these ideas and they just sit here on a shelf!" "You know I need an income." "I thought you were going to use all of these ideas."
Then the thought occurred to me (Also known as the Holy Spirit)... "Why did you make all of these things in the first place?" So, I backtracked and said, "I made the hats to help cancer patients that were losing their hair to preserve their dignity while they go through the process of chemotherapy". "Well, are they doing that while they are sitting on the shelf?" You do know that God has a sense of humor, right? I rolled my eyes (come on you do it too) and I said, "no".
Then he said to my heart "Why did you make the teddy bears?" Ugh! For people who are grieving or need comfort. "Are they helping people on the shelf?" "No!" "Okay, so what do you want me to do with them?" "Give them away". At this point I wanted to say, "Get thee behind me satan." Oh come on, I had great expectations for my "ship" to come in through the "works of my hands". It was all spiritual and everything. So, I did what most people would probably do...I thought about it. I mentioned it to one person and asked them to pray with me about it. (really). Then I asked one more person to pray with me about it. You know there should be two to three witnesses to confirm a thing. (look it up).
Both of them said they thought it was a great idea. I wanted to say, "But you didn't work hard and you didn't pay for these items and well... you get the idea." But I said, "Okay".
The last person I spoke to was a physician. So I asked "Do you know of anyone who has lost a child or is grieving and needs a teddy bear?" Might as well start right away! That person hesitated and said, "you know there's a one year old child that's been in a coma for a month. It doesn't look good." Oh my...suddenly "NO NAP was screaming in my ear...NOW".
I did not pass go or collect a hundred dollars (Monopoly speak). I went home. I made a card and did something that was either going to be amazing or awful.
My grandchildren bought me coloring books for Christmas. Wow I wish I'd known about them before. "Stress management" in a box. So, I picked out a picture and folded it into a card and wrote these words. "Hi! My name is "No Nap!" "It's time to wake up!"
Be honest, don't you know that could have gone really, really badly? I spoke to the Lord and said, "Okay, you gave me the idea, I created this bear, you're telling my heart to give the away....so it's your job to heal this baby."
I wrapped it in its own blanket, put the card in the box with the bear and dropped it off. The physician who received it opened up the box and started crying. Then God.... yep.
The baby woke up. The baby started watching its parents, the BABY SPOKE!
I can't express the way this has changed my thinking. I have no more confidence in myself than I had before. It wasn't about me, but it was about me? I hear people say things like, "Well, it must have been God. Give Him all the glory." Those words are empty to me. What does that mean, "Give God all the glory?" He doesn't need me to give him glory? He is glory!
I wrote a song to the Lord, "You're ridiculous, You're amazing....I give these words back to you...then I sang "How Great Thou Art". Are you getting chills? What madness is this. God is absolutely ridiculous, beyond my keen ability to understand. Am I going to start selling the bears as "anointed Teddy bears?" No, that would be ridiculous. All I did was make what I saw in my heart and give it to who was supposed to receive it.
It's a miracle any way you look at it. It was a miracle that I made it, named it, decided it was time to give it away, the person told me about the baby, I wrote a card by faith that the baby would wake up, the baby woke up. Humility...not humiliation.
I am absolutely in awe of what God did and horrified that he used me. Yes, I did mean to say, "horrified." Who can see God and live? Who can experience his greatness and go unchanged? Not me.
The same day I loaded up my car with my hats and the remaining teddy bears and I said, "okay Lord, where do these go?" I mean, do I take the to a hospital, do I take them to a children's unit, do I take them to a cancer center? Where do I take them? How will they get to the people you had me make them for?
Then I remembered a group called "Joy in the Cause." ( info@joyinthecause.org ) Of course I had to argue with that. Why? Well, because they give away stuffed dogs, not teddy bears. They have a mission, a ministry, what would they do with my stuff? But, I said, "OKAY!" Not really. I was thrilled to do it.
I contacted the founder and asked her "do you have any use for these items?" She said she did. Well, somebody was supposed to be at their office, but when I got there, the doors were locked. "NO!" So I texted the founder and she texted me back "I just pulled up." Then she said, "I wasn't even supposed to be here today, but I had to run by and drop off something." What? Was this really happening?
Now for the really amazing part (part 2). She said, "We are going to minister to 75 cancer patients tomorrow. They will love these hats!" It seems that people donate hats, but they don't decorate them and donate them.
Are you amazed by this? I am. I shouldn't be because God is much bigger than my mind can comprehend, but I am. I am still just shaking my head and saying, "Wow!"
I told her who each bear was for. (there I go again). One bear was wearing a removable necklace and hair bow. I told her what the child needing that would look like. I told her that there would be a woman who lost her mother that needed another one, a man who lost his wife who needed another one. What is wrong with me?
I'm not a magician, a prophet, a healing evangelist, I just see bears and hats and I make them. Don't try to do what someone else does. Do you! You may be the miracle somebody needs. I've heard that cliche before, but I'm living it.
I can actually say, "Thank you Jesus for letting me have a part in this." How humbling is that?
My little business brain said, "nobody is going to buy a teddy bear named "No Nap!" Are you crazy? Yet to be determined...lol. So, I put him on the shelf with the other "creations" and he just sat there...staring at me....like he was waiting for something.
I would go by my "inventory" and say "Sell!" It was like that teddy bear was saying "NO!" I have an vivid imagination by the way.
I talked a little about this in my previous blog, but I felt compelled to give my "inventory" away. I had made all these beautiful hats and teddy bears and they just sat on a shelf. I prayed and said, "Lord, it isn't fair that you give me of these ideas and they just sit here on a shelf!" "You know I need an income." "I thought you were going to use all of these ideas."
Then the thought occurred to me (Also known as the Holy Spirit)... "Why did you make all of these things in the first place?" So, I backtracked and said, "I made the hats to help cancer patients that were losing their hair to preserve their dignity while they go through the process of chemotherapy". "Well, are they doing that while they are sitting on the shelf?" You do know that God has a sense of humor, right? I rolled my eyes (come on you do it too) and I said, "no".
Then he said to my heart "Why did you make the teddy bears?" Ugh! For people who are grieving or need comfort. "Are they helping people on the shelf?" "No!" "Okay, so what do you want me to do with them?" "Give them away". At this point I wanted to say, "Get thee behind me satan." Oh come on, I had great expectations for my "ship" to come in through the "works of my hands". It was all spiritual and everything. So, I did what most people would probably do...I thought about it. I mentioned it to one person and asked them to pray with me about it. (really). Then I asked one more person to pray with me about it. You know there should be two to three witnesses to confirm a thing. (look it up).
Both of them said they thought it was a great idea. I wanted to say, "But you didn't work hard and you didn't pay for these items and well... you get the idea." But I said, "Okay".
The last person I spoke to was a physician. So I asked "Do you know of anyone who has lost a child or is grieving and needs a teddy bear?" Might as well start right away! That person hesitated and said, "you know there's a one year old child that's been in a coma for a month. It doesn't look good." Oh my...suddenly "NO NAP was screaming in my ear...NOW".
I did not pass go or collect a hundred dollars (Monopoly speak). I went home. I made a card and did something that was either going to be amazing or awful.
My grandchildren bought me coloring books for Christmas. Wow I wish I'd known about them before. "Stress management" in a box. So, I picked out a picture and folded it into a card and wrote these words. "Hi! My name is "No Nap!" "It's time to wake up!"
Be honest, don't you know that could have gone really, really badly? I spoke to the Lord and said, "Okay, you gave me the idea, I created this bear, you're telling my heart to give the away....so it's your job to heal this baby."
I wrapped it in its own blanket, put the card in the box with the bear and dropped it off. The physician who received it opened up the box and started crying. Then God.... yep.
The baby woke up. The baby started watching its parents, the BABY SPOKE!
I can't express the way this has changed my thinking. I have no more confidence in myself than I had before. It wasn't about me, but it was about me? I hear people say things like, "Well, it must have been God. Give Him all the glory." Those words are empty to me. What does that mean, "Give God all the glory?" He doesn't need me to give him glory? He is glory!
I wrote a song to the Lord, "You're ridiculous, You're amazing....I give these words back to you...then I sang "How Great Thou Art". Are you getting chills? What madness is this. God is absolutely ridiculous, beyond my keen ability to understand. Am I going to start selling the bears as "anointed Teddy bears?" No, that would be ridiculous. All I did was make what I saw in my heart and give it to who was supposed to receive it.
It's a miracle any way you look at it. It was a miracle that I made it, named it, decided it was time to give it away, the person told me about the baby, I wrote a card by faith that the baby would wake up, the baby woke up. Humility...not humiliation.
I am absolutely in awe of what God did and horrified that he used me. Yes, I did mean to say, "horrified." Who can see God and live? Who can experience his greatness and go unchanged? Not me.
The same day I loaded up my car with my hats and the remaining teddy bears and I said, "okay Lord, where do these go?" I mean, do I take the to a hospital, do I take them to a children's unit, do I take them to a cancer center? Where do I take them? How will they get to the people you had me make them for?
Then I remembered a group called "Joy in the Cause." ( info@joyinthecause.org ) Of course I had to argue with that. Why? Well, because they give away stuffed dogs, not teddy bears. They have a mission, a ministry, what would they do with my stuff? But, I said, "OKAY!" Not really. I was thrilled to do it.
I contacted the founder and asked her "do you have any use for these items?" She said she did. Well, somebody was supposed to be at their office, but when I got there, the doors were locked. "NO!" So I texted the founder and she texted me back "I just pulled up." Then she said, "I wasn't even supposed to be here today, but I had to run by and drop off something." What? Was this really happening?
Now for the really amazing part (part 2). She said, "We are going to minister to 75 cancer patients tomorrow. They will love these hats!" It seems that people donate hats, but they don't decorate them and donate them.
Are you amazed by this? I am. I shouldn't be because God is much bigger than my mind can comprehend, but I am. I am still just shaking my head and saying, "Wow!"
I told her who each bear was for. (there I go again). One bear was wearing a removable necklace and hair bow. I told her what the child needing that would look like. I told her that there would be a woman who lost her mother that needed another one, a man who lost his wife who needed another one. What is wrong with me?
I'm not a magician, a prophet, a healing evangelist, I just see bears and hats and I make them. Don't try to do what someone else does. Do you! You may be the miracle somebody needs. I've heard that cliche before, but I'm living it.
I can actually say, "Thank you Jesus for letting me have a part in this." How humbling is that?
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