So, after all the revelation and confirmation I received about the Dress A Girl project, I still had some hesitation. Wasn't quite sure why. I had to spend some time praying and pondering about it and it turns out I had a fear of failure. Afraid that I would let God down if the dresses didnt turn out perfect. Afraid that I just wouldnt be able to do it at all. I shy away from the possibilities of failure. Somehow, in my head, it was better to not do it, than to try and mess up.
Then He said to me: "Deb, it's really not about the dresses, it's about obedience." I didnt need to hear anything else.
During my devotions today, I committed to completing at least one dress before doing anything else. I had a 2:00pm appointment so that meant getting it done before then.
It was a stressful yet intersting journey. I got the pillowcases from my neighbour, but didnt prepare any other materials so my plan was to just start cutting then figure out the rest later. Then God took over. He lead me around the house to find all the ribbons and elastics I never realised I had. Just enough to complete the task ahead. Provider!
I made the first cut.
That was pretty basic. Measure a few inches for the arms and cut out a J shape.
I then made the first stitch.
Seemeingly an easy task also, until I took the material out and ooked on the other side. What a mess!!!
You can imagine that at this point I was completely discouraged. I CAN'T SEW!
I sat there with my seam ripper, trying to pick at the stitches one by one to remove them and start over. I was frustrated. I remember mumbling to myself, "God looks like you have to sew these dresses because I dont have a clue."
After about 20 minutes, and realizing I was using the seam ripper incorrectly, I was ready to sew again. I looked at the time and it was 11:30am, I had 2 hours to get this dress done.
I sat for a minute staring at the machine wondering why it was making a mess, and I realized it wasn't threaded properly... silly me! I chuckled and fixed the problem. It was smooth sailing (or sewing) after that. I comleted the dress with time to spare, so I made a bow!
I felt GREAT! Words can't express.
I went about my business but I couldnt wait to come home and try it again.
I made two more dresses.
So now, I am ready to package these dresses and ship them off to their new owner. I wish I knew her name!
So you wake up one day and in your prayers you say "Lord, use me!" Then you move into your day. The next day you wake up and pray "Lord, use me, I'm available to you!" Then you move into your day. Then one day you sit an ponder, why doesn't "God use me?" Ok, I don't know about you, but that happens a lot for me.
This morning God revealed two things to me:
1. You never pay attention to the things I'm trying to use you for.
2. It takes a minute to get you ready Deb.
God is always doing something. You'd be surprised how much goes on even in your tiny neighborhood. There are some things you will never become aware of, and then there are things God will reveal to you if your heart is in the right place, and if you are ready for it.
He prepares you, then uses you.
God wants us to be involved in what he is doing, and he will reveal His work to us so we can join Him. We need to open our eyes and our hearts and start to look around to see where God wants us to be working. God can use any method to reveal something to you. It could be a conversation with a friend, and commercial on TV, or an article on the internet. Many times we will come across issues that appeal to our hearts and we say "awww thats so sad" and then move on. We never quite make the connection that THAT could be God saying, hey, Deb I need your help on this project. No, we think it's sad, or cute, or even go as far as saying one day God will use me to fix t
he world hunger problem, then we move on with our day.
I can just imagine how frustrating it is for God trying to get us to look in the direction he wants us to. It's like trying to take a baby's picture. You need lights and whistles and dancing teddy bears to get our attention sometimes.
I think the first thing we need to do when we are ready to work with God, is pray for our heart to be in a place where we can recognize His call. That way, as we go through our day, we will be in constant conversation with God. Ok, I don't mean you're going to be talking out loud at your desk at work so everyone will think you're crazy. But if God says at any moment, "Hey look at this thing I'm doing here!" you can respond immediately, instead of our usual approach "Hmm, this looks like a God thing, let me go pray about it for a few months, if it still exists then I know God wants ME to do it." That's working backwards. Pray first, then listen and watch. Then start working.
So the second thing God scolded me about today was being impatient. Ok, so maybe he didn't give me an assignment right away, but it was because I wasn't ready. After you ask God to use you, give Him some time to get you ready, and lay the foundation for His work to be done the way he wants.
I prayed more than a few months ago "Lord, use me". Nothing happened, so I kept praying. But I still felt like nothing was happening. The closer I got to God, however through daily devotions, the more aware I was of the work he was doing in me and around me.
I was internetting recently, a few days after buying my sewing machine and I came across this project called Dress a Girl around the world. I did the usual, "awww that's sweet". and moved on with my day. Then I came across this other article and that's when the call became clear. I was supposed to make dresses for little girls and send them to Africa. Sounds like a joke right? Well it did for a while to me, but I kept coming across hints that I needed to get started on it. It's like God was saying: "you think I gave you that sewing machine for you?" :-) I smile!
So I complained to God. "I don't know how to sew" And he showed me that this was a simple assignment to turn pillowcases into dresses. He even lead me to youtube videos on how to do it. I complained again. "Where am I going to get these pillowcases from?" He gave me a long list of ideas. (Speaking of which, if you have any pillowcases you're not using send them my way). The more questions I asked, the more answers he provided. So I gave in.
Then God brought my emotions into the game. I saw these videos:
I started thinking about how I feel when I wear a dress, and I can't imagine a girl not knowing what that feels like. In my head it still is a pillow case, but to these girls, its worth smiling about.
Since giving in, I've still been trying to get started. Then my high school friend sent me a message that inspired me. In all my wondering about whether this is really what I should be doing, her message confirmed that God doesn't do anything random, everything has a purpose. Even me with my sad sewing skills buying a sewing machine out of the blue.
What have you been called to do, that you're still pondering and praying about?
After devotions this morning I checked my emails and I saw this message from a friend. It was received at the right moment, you'll see why.
Nothing is random and everything has a purpose.
A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances, said: My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!
One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty losing a finger.
Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman said "Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger."
The slave replied only "My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows the "why" of all these things.What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!"
Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.
Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made human sacrifices. In the altar, ready to sacrifice the noble savage had found that the victim had not one of his fingers, was released. According to them: it was not so complete to be offered to the gods.
Upon his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his slave that he received very affectionately. "My dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: If God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?" "My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I 'would have been sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger.
Therefore, remember: everything God does is perfect. IT is never wrong.
Often we complain about life and things that happen to us apparently negative, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.
Every morning, offer your day to God.
Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, to ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong!
You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because he never makes mistakes.......
The path of God and his word is perfect, without impurities. It is the way of all those who trust in him, as he says in 2 Samuel 22: 31
Surely the message arrived at the right moment. May God put in your heart the desire to send it to someone. Do not be afraid to send it to the wrong person; God knows, and He knows why.
God is never wrong! Have a blessed day...
.. and what he said to me!
This morning my devotional assignment was to literally go for a walk with God. Find somewhere you can be alone, and just enjoy God and what He has done.
I decided to take a break from working and go for it.
For some reason, while I walked, the Grace thrillers song "Can't even walk" kept playing in my head.
I took my camera with me, to document the walk, and every picture I took had a message for me:
Most times we look for answers in the wrong places.
Now it's time for new a way of life.
Change is essential!
Sometimes, being different makes us want to hind behind the bushes.
But it's time to stop.. and not just the things you feel like changing, you have to go all the way!
And show how the world your weird special self.
There is beauty even where there is imperfection.
All creatures were designed each with its own weirdness and specialness to fulfill a unique purpose.
No matter what you think, or what other people say, God sees you as perfect and beautiful in every way
I don't get it!
I went the whole week last week drinking tea and water, and while I had a few mild craving, It really wasn't a big deal. This week I decide to give up sweets and I'm just about at the edge of losing my mind. I feel like i'm starving.
I'll have a slice of multi-grain with a hard boiled egg and water. That's food right? But as soon as I swallow the last bite, my mind is in the pantry wondering what else is in there to eat. It's almost as if my weakness for sweetness is greater than my weakness for food. This week has been TOUGH! I still have two and a half more days to conquer, and I will, I just wish I could sleep through it and wake up on Saturday morning with a bowl of ice-cream.
