“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”—Acts 1:8
This year, the church where I attend is doing a series called, “Better,” going through the book of Acts. When I was listening to the sermon this past week, and the pastor talked about how sometimes in life the power of the Holy Spirit will actually descend upon us and give us the power to accomplish something supernaturally, I automatically thought about how I recently experienced this.
The only way my book, Knit,Pray, Share has become a reality is by the power of the Holy Spirit. My original manuscript that was submitted to Harvest House Publishers is not what is going to be published. They suggested a bit of a different concept and asked if I would be willing to write something different than what I had written.
My agent knew I had poured my heart and soul into my original book, so I feel pretty confident that she was unsure of how I would respond. I told her, “Actually, I like what they are proposing better. That just means I will have another book to publish at a later date.” I had written more of a Bible study type book that went along with knitting monthly projects. Initially, I thought that I would use some of the material from my original work.
The publisher asked for me to write several sample pattern/devotions. When I sat down to do this I have no doubt that the power of the Holy Spirit descended upon me, because in less than a week I was able to come up with ten samples for them. When my agent came back to me and said, they loved it and wanted me to come up with about 40 more, of course my initial thought was, “40 more? There is no way I can do that in 3 months!” And then God reminded me, “Lisa, I gave you ten in less than a week, I will give you what you need to accomplish this work that I have started within you until it is brought to completion.”
By faith and by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, God gave me the words and knitting skills to come up with over 50 patterns and devotions for Knit, Pray, Share. All I can say to that happening in a 3 month time span is, “Only God.” Only God can accomplish something like this, not me. I give Him all of the credit. He laid Deuteronomy 31:8 on my heart to memorize so that I could be reminded that God has not taken me this far to fail or abandon me. Praise God that He speaks to us through His Word when we need it the most.
During this past 1 1/2 years as I have been knitting, praying and sharing my handmade gifts as encouragement to those that make a difference in my life, God continues to remind me that my ministry is all about Him and I am just a vessel that He is using to accomplish His will. 15 years ago, I would have never thought or imagined that God would use my knitting as a platform to share the love of Jesus.
How can you let God use you to make a difference? Lately I have been knitting some quick and easy headband/ear warmers to bless people with. If you would like to join me, check out this pattern from the above photo. To keep the “threads with red theme”, I single crochet in red around both sides and knit the center piece in red as well. Again , this makes our Knit, Pray, Share projects unique as well as it serving as a symbol of how we are sealed with the blood of Christ from the beginning to end.
Dear Lord,
Thank You that when I am in need of accomplishing something that seems impossible that You are able to supernaturally provide what I need. Help me to remember that all I do isn’t about me but about You and sharing Your love with those around me. I praise You for blessing my hands and heart to be able to make a difference in my corner of the world. I pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Please make sure you tweet @ThreadsWithRed or share your projects on the Knit, Pray, Share Facebook page or Instagram using the hashtags #ThreadsWithRed and #KnitPrayShare be sure to attach a tag to whatever gift you make.
Memory Verse: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” —Romans 15:13
