like a paper sack flower

...that was the brain child inspired from a craft project I came across on the internet recently. I have been really excited to present at an upcoming Radiant event because it was a fun way to illustrate how we need each other as we are sent out in ministry for the Lord.

Unfortunately, I still need a little work and experience before groups with this kind of thing...I left out a few key points as I was sharing, so I decided to rectify that here, where I can take my time and think.

We begin here...

with the humble paper lunch sack. We need 8 for a big fluffy flower. 

step two, trim away parts of the sack, illustrated above. We used scissors, but the Lord often uses those who we "do life with" to mold and shape us, knocking off rough edges and trimming away with something beautiful in mind down the road.

Step three, each person wrote their name on the side of each bag (hidden in this pic), then exchanged with others, keeping one original bag with their name on it. In the end, each person had seven bags with friends' names and one with their own name. This will represent the people we do life with, or a ministry team, like Radiant, the missions team we just sent to Belize; your family--any group. 

Next, we added double stick tape as shown above. After that, use a hole punch to add a hole to each sack, as shown, and tie it with a string or yarn, but keep it loose. I left slack about equal to the end of my little finger to give room for what's next...

and that's the way we should walk with others in ministry, isn't it? Giving room for mistakes, growth, failure, forgiveness, etc.   It's bonds of love that hold together a ministry team, just like the double sided tape and string we added to each sack. Bonds of love in Christ and the fact that we each carry the fullness of His Spirit inside of us are the glue, or the knitting together (if you will allow me to mix my metaphors) of each of us who minister in the name of Christ.

Hey, now it's beginning to look like something! Bring the ends together, and secure with more tape. Be sure to bring the string up through the middle of the two pieces of tape so it can hang like this:

The finished product! I don't know how they got the center so perfect--mine still needs work, but we had a lot of fun crafting and laughing together.  You know, we could have cut the shape of a flower with our original single paper sack, but it would have been flat and one-dimensional. When we added seven to the one and shaped each to form the petals (believers, formed and shaped uniquely in the hand of God), then added the tape (bonds of love) and string, we could bring it all together and make something beautiful (a trophy of grace perhaps), something we could not have had with just a single paper sack. There is no mistaking this fact: we need each other.

So, who are your fellow paper sacks? God is using you in their lives, and them in yours to shape you into something beautiful in His hand. Believe it.

Aren't they lovely???