We have this ominous bulletin board outside of our youth office space. It's one of those things that everyone sees week after week--hundreds of people walk past it as they journey in and out of our church--yet it stared blankly at us most of the time. With the roll out of our yearly calendars, events, and other fun stuff I started thinking about how we could display everything without falling back on butcher paper, newspaper, or even bulletin board paper (how boring compared to all of the layouts you can pick for your blog or myspace page right?)
I have a few leftover pieces of fabric where I miscalculated for a quilt I made. (Ok, I ended up making two quilts on accident. I can't help it I'm not so good at math.) I wondered what it might look like if I took some of the scraps and stapled them to the wall. I tried a few pieces but they weren't big enough. So I asked a friend of mine who sews all the time if she has any leftovers. She told me to come over and grab whatever I wanted. So I went back to our office and told our awesome assistant Matt about my idea. I could see the look in his eyes. "You want me to do what with these?" While he was away at a meeting I stapled them to the wall and loved the outcome. And it was cool to show Matthew what I was thinking in my head. I'll have to post a picture of the board with information on it too. It's exciting to see what a few scraps can amount to.
As I was working on it, a Gungor song I've been singing for a few months rang true in my head. "You make me new, you are making me new. You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of dust. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us." I could see God quilting away my life, taking the scraps and the pieces and making me new. The pieces that don't match or make sense end up working out after all.
I wonder how many loose ends we have lying around in our budget restricted ministries that might be useful to make something truly innovative and wonderful? I'm guessing we've got quite a bit on our hands and probably even enough to share.
Thanks M.E.K.O. for sharing your scraps with me. They have, in a simple way, helped us to think on such a great truth.
"Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Want to make a fabric bulletin board? Find the quilter in your church and ask to see the remnants. You might be surprised at what you'll find and the stories that go along with the pieces.Labels: Brooklyn Lindsey, Budget, creativity, Global Youth Ministry
