Mark 9:23
All things are possible when you believe.


Called Through the Lyrics of a Song,
The Mary's Lamb Testimonial
This is a lengthy story of the calling on one woman's life,
after 40 years of God's "toughen-up" preparation in her life,
LeFerna learned to read signs, but sometimes not until after she missed them!
Through many trials and misfortunes she found the faith
to keep looking toward God's purpose for her life, with a surprising reward in the end.
It all Started with a Song!
[click here to skip to the happy ending!]
Seven years before the launch of this ministry,
LeFerna was crunching a deadline, expected in Nashville in just two days.
She had to have ten original songs ready to record and she was on number nine.
Using a well known nursery rhyme as her inspiration
she wrote a song called "Mary's Lamb."
With a twist on words, the song is about letting Mary's Lamb (Jesus)
follow you to school even though He is not allowed.
The song is about having Him "with" you in your heart, everywhere you go, even public school.
The lyrics came to LeFerna while thinking of how many children in the world
needed to know Jesus,
to feel safe everywhere they go, especially in today's schools!
But the vision God gave LeFerna, while writing this song, was much greater than that.
The vision was of a cartoon lamb, cute and cuddly,

pictured on backpacks and school supplies belonging to the children,

taken into our public schools, the children all knew the lamb represented
Jesus, the actual Lamb of God. This cartoon character was quite a popular hit with the kids!
It was their way to make a stand,
to have Jesus with them everyday, even though the Lamb was against the rules!
Wow! What a great idea! But much too big for someone like me to handle.
There are a lot of schools in the world!
This was what LeFerna thought about such a huge vision.
(Yea of little faith! - All things are possible with God!!)
So LeFerna, who had only succeeded with music as a career most of her life,
went on with her plans to sing Gospel music with her music ministry.
With a chorus that says; "He's following believers everywhere they go,"
"Mary's Lamb" was the final song LeFerna wrote for her first Southern Gospel music project.

(Even though it was only the 9th song and her producer expected 10 for the CD.)
You see, LeFerna has been diagnosed with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (A.A.D.D.)
which makes it hard for her to focus on anything long enough to finish it,
(which is why the Mary's Lamb ministry has volunteers and advisors.)
Her world is in a fog most of the time, and she has to work harder than most of us
to remember things, and stay focused enough to complete the simplest projects.
Depression and fatigue is also something she fights along with the A.D.D.
So writing songs and singing, was the only thing she did
where she felt good about herself enough to focus to the finish.
The nine songs included, the one she wrote for her late parents,
(one died of cancer and the other died two days later of an aneurism.)
which was an important song to LeFerna, as she feels it was their death
that drew her closer to God. He was her only parent now,
and she used her music to please Him, just as she did her late parents.
She had lost her two biggest fans.

They were spending their golden years together with God.
Then LeFerna included the song she had written for her nephew's wedding,
which was intended for Amy Grant and Vince Gill,
but like many other things, the song was set aside to be forgotten,
and never given to them. (This was not in God's plan either.)
Then there was the song she had recently written for her son, Travis,
to sing in his ear while he lay dying in a coma!

Who would notice there was only nine songs on her CD? LeFerna thought,
not thinking of how a cassette tape needed an even number of songs on each side.
Then with only nine songs, one song would have to be left off the cassette!
(You can bet God made sure it was NOT "Mary's Lamb.")
This was only the first thing that went wrong with LeFerna's journey
towards this new ministry. She was simply heading in the wrong direction!
She had a huge uncomfortable feeling, like she was trying to make money off of God,
selling her craft at Church functions this way and all, but
this was the only way you could pay your bills
in music ministry. Selling projects and accepting love offerings.
Many people did it. But it didn't feel right for her though, and that came from God.
(More signs missed, and they only got stronger.)
It was the vision that came with the song that LeFerna was suppose to pay attention to.
The album meant nothing. Just one song needed to be written and recorded.
It was if the album was never suppose to go anywhere,
and neither was her music ministry!
Why couldn't she SEE it?
Just one song was used as a channel by God. And possibly two.
Travis' song, with lyrics that read;
Close your eyes and listen as soft as you can,
and you will hear angels whispering God's plan.
In all your tomorrows, His treasures are yours,
I love you, and God loves you more.
God was only using those focused music talents to contact her, since she
would not SEE things in any other way. This was her meditation, her contact with God,
what she felt and said in all her songs. This was their world, and His gift to reach her!
But unfortunately she was a tough nut to crack!
LeFerna had to learn the hard way.
LeFerna named the music ministry, the Mustard Seed Ministry,

and faith she did have, but luck as small as a mustard seed she did not!
LeFerna did concerts and tours only to face problem after problem.
Her music would not be cued up for her right, or she would be so nervous
that she would forget the words to her own songs!
There were times she tripped on cables and once she even fell off the stage!
She should have gotten the first hints, years earlier in her life,
iced with all the hard knocks she took in Nashville!
A possible career in country music showed LeFerna the worst
lifestyle possible
through people she worked with and THOUGHT she could trust!!
LeFerna had suffered many things that only this one special parent, God, and the ones who abused her knew about.
Many of them were more than just a little strange, too.
Obviously this parent, did not intend for her to have a music career, but why was the ministry getting knocks, too?
Maybe LeFerna just didn't have the right type of a music ministry.
But what other "type" of music ministries were there?
Even when she saw the signs, she read them wrong.
Because LeFerna had lots of faith in God, but very little in herself.
In 1998 Their family home burned and she lost most everything,
but all her music equipment was spared. She had most of it with her at the time,
as she was on a trip up in northern Michigan at the lake writing songs.
They family lost most everything.
The things lost that meant most to her, belonged to her parents.
Antiques and things of her grandmother's.
They are only material things, at least my family is safe. Thank God.
LeFerna's attitude spoke out. She knows all things happen for a reason,
so she took the fire to mean, that now she was rid of all her worldly possessions,
it was time to pick up her cross and follow Jesus!
She had already registered for a seminar in Estes Park, Colorado,
to learn more about song publishing in the Gospel industry
and having her own music ministry,
which was scheduled for just a few weeks after the fire.
She decided she would go anyway.
This was not a seminar on how to run a faith-based business,
so God spoke again. There was no need for this!
They weren't teaching her to breathe life into a lamb,
and put it in all the schools of the world. They weren't instructing her to
illustrate and write a story about this lamb to make him irresistible!
The fire left them without plane fare for the trip, and her husband fell in the shower
at the motel that was putting them up, and cracked his ribs!
Then the next thing that happened to slow her down,
was that she fell down some steps at her church, and sprained her ankle!
But with registration and class fees paid in advance,
she still felt like she should go to this Gospel music seminar.
She had to learn all she could if she was going too
represent Jesus with her Music.
She never thought that the accidents could all be detours.
So, with her husband finally healing and the swelling of her ankle going down,
LeFerna traveled 26 hours with her youngest son Destin (who loved Christian music)
to Estes Park for the seminar, and back again, by Bus!
While in Estes Park, LeFerna learned,
(besides that it was full of hills and no place for a healing ankle),
that her songs were "very good,"
but that having a good testimonial was the
better part of having a music ministry. You didn't even have to sing well,
if the songs and your story deliver a good message.
You just needed to love Jesus and if you wanted to reach more people,
a good miracle story always helped.
LeFerna's story was all about the fire and how her music equipment was spared so she could continue to write songs.
And what she had been most excited about that summer was that
she auditioned at the local community college and received a full music scholarship
at age 42! Now THAT would make a good testimonial she thought...
Thinking God wanted her to be the best that she could be in ministry before
sharing her music with the world, and He may have even wanted her
to have what it took to become a music minister at their church!
Was this woman totally ignorant? She misread ALL the detour signs!
Was it time God used a STOP sign?
LeFerna needed to quit trying so hard and just tune into her feelings more.
She constantly had second thoughts about getting back into any kind of music.
But she missed it so bad. It seemed like this started after her parents died.
Was she going in the right direction with her music now, or not?
She even thought of becoming a grade school music teacher. (getting warmer!)
Then, miracles and signs started coming in all directions!
And more in terms a child might understand.
She loved her Bible study, so it seemed that ministry was more
where she should be. She wanted her youngest son, Destin, to be raised in the church,
But maybe this idea of ministry was just a way to put her in a forgiving
position for all the people who were about to hurt her and her family!
After the fire, she felt school would be good for her,
while Roger, her husband, concentrated on rebuilding their home.
(This was when they believed the Insurance Company,
that it would only be a few months before they had a home again.)
Then on August 30, of 1998, just few weeks after the fire and the trip to Estes Park
(which by the way, was so beautiful it reminded her of what heaven should look like)
LeFerna's life changed even more drastically!
She started college and was in the second week of her music classes,
working on the scholarship she was so proud of.
Just seven weeks after the fire, they were still
living in their pole barn, so she was trying hard to concentrate,
since her oldest son Travis was being accused of arson on their own home!
It was a small town, and uncaring people were spreading rumors all over that Travis was an arsonist.
This was where he had grown up and went school, graduating seventh highest
in his class in 1996!
The rumors caused Travis to be very depressed.
He even drove his girlfriend of three years out of his life!
Travis, for the first time, felt so unworthy of everything good in life!
He was once very close to his girlfriend's mother,
and she was saying things that hurt him.
He made the mistake of saying she hurt him so bad,
that for her to know how bad it hurt, he would have to burn her house down AND kill her dog!
(Which was only his example of how much a person could hurt inside)
But she told everyone, including the fire department that he threatened to burn her house down!
Then she also told the police in the report that his family had "red flags going off all over"-
and she didn't even know his family that well!
And he felt to blame for her saying this, too!
This was the last thing Travis heard about from the police before the accident. He watched all this talk and rumors hurt his mother, and
watched his stepfather Roger, how it was killing him. Roger was raised in the area, and couldn't believe what felt like such an attack on his family. Travis would never burn
his family's home down! He wasn't perfect and had a reputation for
partying and being the life of the party, but he was a good person. He would never hurt
anyone or anything deliberately. He had been moved out on his own for some
time, after all he was twenty years old. Roger and LeFerna were aware that all this made him feel very hurt and depressed,
but he seemed to be dealing with it okay, as he came to help them! He, too, lost many things in the fire. But also agreed they were just "things." LeFerna and Roger thought their youngest son
Destin, was being hurt worse
by all the rumors about the brother that he looked up to, on top of losing your home at ten years old. That had to be hard. He lost everything, too. Because the fire chief called the fire "arson," the family had to hire an expert out of state to
come in, who filed a report and proved otherwise. Only God knows why no one in Michigan would
get "involved," and for some reason the Michigan State Police
didn't even look for accidental evidence, The expert found combustible items from under
the sink that were not in the report, and pieces of evidence from the point of origin
that were never even disturbed! And the police investigation took many months! When the insurance company refused to cover
the family's losses, this began a seven year fight in court for
LeFerna's family. First they hired a public adjuster to help
them and the insurance adjuster said literally, that they "would be sorry."
One of the only truths she told. The family was expected to stay in two rooms of their mouse infested barn which the
claims adjuster said would only be "temporary."
The family had this Hastings, Michigan insurance
company for twelve years, and the next seven years were spent homeless
because of them. Then the family's lawyer, allowed the jury to be tricked
by unlawful instructions, losing their case even after the expense of
getting the arson part thrown out of court. Leaving them to hire a malpractice attorney
who discovered he knew their lawyer's partner quite well, and when the trial finally came
up, somehow forgot to show up in court... (and worse,... he still took a third of the small settlement
they got on the malpractice.) They had to hire one more lawyer and pay $10,000.00
to fight the insurance company, AGAIN, which was trying to get back what little money
they paid off on the mortgage just a few days before the trial (two years
after the fire) to possibly look good in court. The family ended up, after seven years, with
not quite as much money as they bought their home for, back in 1987. But to LeFerna, it was obvious! All things
happen for a reason. They weren't meant to have
anything, and what they did have was meant to be used up. LeFerna looked back and said that all the
problems with the police harassing Travis, the fire, and all the dishonest and selfishly cruel
people, were nothing compared to what happened just a few weeks after the fire, right after
LeFerna returned from her seminar and started school. She never expected the huge turn her
motherhood was about to take! She was closely watching her younger son, who started the new school year facing the rumors, braver than
any ten-year-old you'd ever seen, (maybe because he had just returned from the Christian Artist
Seminars and had the right forgiving attitude!) Travis seemed better too, knowing he was scheduled for a polygraph test he THOUGHT he was finally getting the chance to show everyone he was telling the truth about the fire! So what could be better? Right? WRONG. On the morning of August 30th, Travis was late for work, and driving too fast,
as usual, when he was run off the road at a high rate
of speed, sliding across a lawn, 470 feet, crashing his car into a CHURCH! Left with
a fatal brain injury to die! Of course LeFerna quit school and gave up
her music scholarship. The next few months for her would be spent
in the hospital by his side. Doctors all said Travis would die, or at best
be a vegetable the rest of his life! (Read Travis' Testimonial) LeFerna refused to agree, saying God would
not let anyone die who crashed their car into a church! Many things happened to LeFerna during her
stay in the hospital with Travis. Learning that the hearing is the last to go
in that situation, she first sent word out to their small town for everyone he knew to come see
him and talk to him while he was in his coma. She knew he was depressed, going
into the accident afraid the whole town thought he was such an awful person. He was
also feeling guilty for the way he broke up with his girlfriend. The last thing LeFerna remembered was how
he stopped by to loan her some money, since they were
still struggling to replace things lost in the fire, and Roger was not working. He did this even when he was running late. His accident
happened thirty minutes later. In the first two days, 38 kids from their
small village drove the hour's distance with some twelve to fifteen parents coming
through ICU as well. It was hard on the kids watching him lay there
near death, while a machine raised and lowered his chest, but LeFerna assured them that he
could hear them and to tell him he looked good, that he didn't
have a scratch, and reassure him that everything was going to be okay.
"Act normal" were her instructions
to tearful friends. LeFerna knew he could hear them when she saw a tear form a puddle in the corner of his eye at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. Many miracles later, Travis' fight back to
life was a success. LeFerna only left his side twice during his
coma. Once to appear at a deposition for their lawsuit, and again to take care of her husband
when the police put him through a polygraph test that he actually passed, but they lied
and told him he failed! They interrogated him for hours and he came
home with severe chest pains!! Travis was scheduled for that polygraph on this
same date, but when they found out he was in a coma,
and possibly never coming out of it, the police turned the blame of the fire on
to LeFerna's husband Roger! They even admitted in a second deposition
that they always tell people that they fail the polygraph, so they can
try and get a confession! And worse yet, many innocent people actually confess just to get out of there! DEAR GOD! Travis may have done that! Could this be why he was in a coma now? ...to stop him from confessing to something he didn't do? They nearly scared Roger to death with threats
to his family! What would they have done to Travis? With LeFerna away at the hospital with Travis,
the police told Roger that they could come
arrest him at anytime, and he was worried what would happen to their
youngest son Destin. Afraid social services would see the living
conditions the insurance company left them living in. (Although they had tried
to make it livable) LeFerna was able to calm her husband, when
they called HER to come in for a polygraph, too. She of course refused, and called them liars,
for what they did to Travis and then her husband! She and her husband were then convinced that
they would not be trying to pull her in for a polygraph, too, if they really were going to
arrest him like they claimed. So, just to be safe she took ten year old
Destin to the hospital to stay with her and his brother while she could. She gave him the cot and slept sitting up
in the chair beside her sons. LeFerna remembered thinking that night, how awesome the sacrifice was for God to give
His only son for us, so that we could have everlasting
life. >She would die before she gave up her sons without a fight! But then realized how much He DID fight to get us to quit worshiping other gods and sinning... and we were doomed if he didn't find a way to save us all! Can you imagine worrying about so many children as He has? Travis was a miracle. For the second time in his life, his mother
and his little brother got to watch him learn to sit up, feed himself,
talk, read, write and yes, WALK again. He had to relearn everything! He set goals
and made every one. (See his pictures) The one doctors said would die or at best
be a vegetable the rest of his life, was safely tucked away at Central Michigan
University setting goals for a degree just one year after his near fatal accident! This left LeFerna absolutely floating on God's love!
She always felt closest to God when she wrote music, she received this HUGE vision from God while writing "Mary's Lamb."
(Which is where this story began) LeFerna didn't return to college herself,
but the song she wrote for Travis, to sing into his ear the
entire time he was in the coma, became number one on Gospel music station
KLLN, right in the heart of our Bible belt, streaming
live all over the world. "God Loves You More." LeFerna's
music ministry was launched, if she had wanted it to be. So, even after all the previous problems and performing mishaps. She took her ministry on the road with her
two sons along to help. Her son Destin and his partner led the Christian
Swing Kids, spreading the Word of our Lord, attracting
the attention of other teens at fairs and festivals,
and Travis came along to tell his miraculous testimony, while LeFerna sang her songs, or at least
TRIED to. They covered 5000 miles visiting areas
and booking concerts around where relatives lived so they could
see them again, knowing how short that life can be, in just the blink of an
eye. Pulling a trailer with a new PA system, they
had trouble after trouble. Three flat tires, air conditioning that did not work in the
Nevada/California Dessert, the "new" PA system would not work
when they set it up. BUT, all in all God brought them home safe. The one thing that ended it all, was that LeFerna's husband Roger did not like
her being gone that long, so a traveling music ministry was out! Soon though, word of LeFerna's music got out locally, and the local paper wrote a story about her. The article said LeFerna's songs brought miracles! Speaking of the song she sang to Travis while
he was in the coma, the reporter made the story sound like the song
was what woke Travis out of his coma! At the time it embarrassed LeFerna that they
would do a front page entertainment spread, making it sound like her songs brought about
miracles! She had been misquoted in newspaper articles before... way back in her early career, when she had
won the first Wrangler National Showdown. All The popularity caused her to lose friends
and stopped her from going on and winning the competition. They misquoted her as calling her "boss" her "manager" which sounded a bit too "starish" 

But WAS it the newspapers?
She was clearly going in the wrong direction! Something had to stop her! If she had won this competition she would have gone on to a recording contract, and who knows what! The signs had been there for years already! It all started back when
she first appeared on local television at age fourteen! All this time, she was gaining precious
experience... and hurt after hurt? Every time she got too close to success with
the talent God gave her, it was like thousands of Angels were jerking
her back. Could that article about her songs bringing on miracles... be closer to the truth than she knew? Could all of her dead ends have been
ways of keeping her busy just until the time was right? Could Travis' accident and the fact that she
was so scared for him, and the fact that he wasn't baptized, have something to
do with the timing? (see their testimony) Could waiting on Travis to
graduate from college (Taking twice as long as the "normal" person) have anything to do with the
timing? LeFerna never thought of these
things before. It would be 2007 before Travis finished college. IF he could afford to finish!
And had she noticed all the nines and sevens
in all this timing? Or that it had been 40 years before she dedicated
her life to finding her calling? Like she had wandered in the wilderness all that time? Well, LeFerna did have A.D.D. all her life, and her sisters just passed it off as being a pest! She wondered, was she a pest to God too? She wanted to be successful at SOMETHING... ANYTHING. If it wasn't music, that she loved most of all, then she was confused.
He'd given her so many interests to choose
from!! She drew, she painted, quickly picked up desktop publishing,
computer design and she loved to write and illustrate children's stories, too. Did she have all these talents for a reason? Thinking back, LeFerna said that "Mary's
Lamb" was one of the only songs that she never forgot her own words
to! The song flowed from her heart like she had
a bunch of children cheering her on. Mary's Lamb was written in a time that the
Columbine tragedy was still fresh in her mind. And it was around the time that the Atheist
father went to court saying that he did not want his child to recite "under God"
in the Pledge of Allegiance, that it was unconstitutional! This vision of LeFerna's would bring Jesus
into more school children's lives and at the same time, surely cause some controversy
from parents like him! Was this nearing the right
time? A producer in Nashville once taught LeFerna
that controversy could also be a good way of getting good advertisement.
Like the movie, The Passion! This all played over and over in LeFerna's
mind. How people's beliefs were so different. How public children had to suffer because
of it. Including her own, when she thought her son
was dying, before He got to know more about Jesus! That was such a powerful memory! (Read Travis' Testimony) If the schools did take "under God"
out of the Pledge of Allegiance, that could be taking away the only way some
children ever heard of God! And it would take away the daily reminder
that our Christian children were watched over
daily by God. Good kids and especially the bullies needed
to know that God was watching over them, she thought. Thoughts like these really upset LeFerna,
who seemed to draw in the youth, everywhere
she went. God knows all kids were good, they just didn't
all show it. And she was a walking example of what A.D.D. could do to an adult!!! She spent years bouncing off the walls with project after project and never finishing ANYTHING! "It makes a person feel busy, but totally worthless!" LeFerna says. Her own sister said that when wrote letters, she went on and on and always "harped" on things as well! A typical example the adult A.D.D. thoughts that seem to crowd the mind and go on forever!
There are a lot of children with A.D.D. and the more hyper A.D.H.D. in the world today. They feel different, singled out, and unwanted in school! ALL children need to know they are
loved and protected by Jesus! Especially in schools where there's peer pressure and
we know, much worse things going on in the halls. From Moving Mountains to Just Moving On! As time went on, LeFerna continued to run
up against one mishap after another. She finally got the message that music
ministry was not for her and quit trying. Still loving God of course, just not making it so public! Worse than quitting her traveling ministry though, she quit singing her songs all together! She needed a job, though she had many talents, she had no formal training in anything! So she worked in screen
printing where she knew her trade, learned from hard knocks. She once owned her own business in screen
printing, encouraged by her husband. They were so good at it, that the business grew too large, and she couldn't hire people to produce the kind of quality she expected so she had to sell the business. She still dabbled
in it, since she enjoyed the designs... but that was all. Screen printing in the past, she had the idea of a making tiny t-shirts for dolls. Designing for all the local schools, mascots on fashion doll sized T-shirts, have made (she didn't sew) so there wasn't
enough profit to make it worthwhile. Yet another one of God's signs... she missed!
Then as callings go... in 2003, LeFerna was hired by a teddy bear company to teach them how to make their own transfers for their tiny
t-shirts. Was this only a coincidence? By this time LeFerna had become obsessed with
collecting lambs for some reason. She remembered the vision... but still thought it was much too large for her to tackle. By collecting lambs, she learned that there weren't hardly any popular plush lambs! You
rarely found a stuffed lamb anywhere, (they have since grown in numbers) but what WAS clear, was that teddy bears were everywhere! With so many bears, there was lots of competition. So there were lots of gimmicks! LeFerna noticed. it was the personal clothes that were selling these
bears where she worked. One day LeFerna found herself
making a T-shirt for for a fluffy white teddy bear, that read;
"I'd Rather Be a Lamb" and she kept it on her desk in the screen print department. The ministry was finished, and so were all her bookings, but LeFerna kept one final music engagement at
a fair in Aline, Oklahoma, a place she loved, where her parents met and
fell in love, near where she was born. She made the drive from Michigan alone, playing her songs on the car's player to practice
them along the way, since she hadn't sang them in so long. When "Mary's Lamb" played, she was singing, and noticed
a sign on the roadway that read; "Benjamin Lamb Memorial Highway. "(The name is changed here)
It was if God was saying;
"Remember Mary's Lamb!" and the vision came back to
her very strong, just as the original was. Then once in Aline, the engagement was rained out, and a big disappointment
for her, as usual, but at least she spent time with good friends,
and didn't fall off the stage! LeFerna never sang any of her ministry songs that day. She set up a small concert across the street and sang her old standard country songs, using her favorite single instrument the omnichord, to entertain the local crowd. But on the way home, she decided to listen
to her southern Gospel songs once more. Thinking how they were not really southern Gospel at all, but more Christian contemporary country! Just as Mary's Lamb started playing, like a children's Christian song, she turned
onto one of the back country roads, taking as new way back, there was a sign
that read; "Lambs For Sale" It was a small sheep ranch in dry dirt Oklahoma! Didn't cattle ranchers run the sheep farmers out? LOL... that was WAY back... but LeFerna loved to, more then anything else, entertain HERSELF! The trip home after that was full of her vision.... God's vision!
The two signs on this trip could not have been anything other than strong signs
of communication from HIM! She FINALLY got it! The rest of the trip was full of ideas for
school lamb designs. She would draw him under a desk, on a school
bus, under the lunch table, on the slide. He could be on backpacks, lunch boxes, binders,
folders, etc. Then reality would hit! How was she going to do this? She knew what it took to start a business, and she didn't have it. MONEY! So she had to go back to work and quit "dreaming!" Right? Wrong. There is a difference
between a dream and a vision! Once back to work, she went to her normal
lunch spot, and across the way at the church, a new sign
had been put up. The sign read; "Our Savior's Precious
Lambs Daycare Coming Soon!" LeFerna couldn't believe it! Another sign! She burst into tears, she was so overwhelmed! She was filled with the vision again, and
much stronger than before! LeFerna could see this cute little lamb in
her mind now, more vividly. But how would she make him so popular that
kids would want to take him to school? Jesus was already known by all, so Christian
stores were her best bet. But would this be seen as just another fad? Would people think she was trying to make money off God??? PANIC!!! "NOPE, NOT FOR ME!" she told herself. Then on the way back to work, calmer thoughts hit her. But was Jesus really KNOWN
by all? Did all children really know the TRUTH... or just the sugar coating? This must be why the vision showed the lamb on school supplies! and she went on to wonder how she would do it. Thinking large department stores would get more supplies
out to the kids in the everyday, what LeFerna called "unchurched"
families. LeFerna wanted her music ministry to find the lost
and bring them home. Like lost sheep. LeFerna needed to reach out
far and wide with Mary's Lamb. Could she really teach children to be "Good Shepherds" like Jesus? This is what the vision was showing her to do. In order to do that, God had put her right
where He wanted her. She began to envision a plush lamb like the sign she had already been given months earlier of the shirt she made that
read; "I'd rather be a Lamb!" At this time, stuffed lambs were hard to
find. You may find them on Easter or as nursery gifts for babies.
But it was limited at the time. (Now more and more lambs are being produced in the Christian market. God was showing her a plush
version of Mary's Lamb and even had a name for him! But they can't take that to school! Unless
it's a plush backpack!! Which was why God showed me his picture on school supplies. How can public schools ban certain school supplies? God intended this lamb to be on school supplies, because just the sight of this lamb told the TRUTH! LeFerna pressed on. She learned all about this multimillion dollar
bear business she worked for and knew just how to make a lamb business in
much the same way. But where would she get that kind of money? But when LeFerna was close to sharing her ideas with
them, all of a sudden, she began to hear rumors that they were going
to fire her as soon as she trained someone to screen print that made
less pay. And then she was printing shirts for her supervisor
that were going in and out the back door and wondered if she was being used to cheat
her own company. She knew the profit was in the shirts, not just the printing, so something didn't seem right. Many things happened, including
not getting the raise she was promised. So before LeFerna could share her ideas with
the company, or even realized what was happening, she quit
her job! That day on the way home she passed several
young sheep grazing on the side of the road. Not abnormal, but in all the years she traveled
this road, she had never noticed them there before. Giving in to God's suggestions and designs, she went right home and drew the Lamb!! When she finished, the message came loud and
clear. "His name is J.C. Lamb!" Then with an amazing desire to go with God's
will, she asked her husband for a sewing machine. Not just any machine, but one that would also
do embroidery. Since she could not sew, and patterns for lambs were practically unheard
of, it took LeFerna a long time, but she finally did it! She designed the first J.C. Lamb prototype! The words in the song gently played in the background. He's Following Believers
Everywhere they Go, Following Believers with
hearts as pure as snow! Just the sight of Lambs
at school is comforting and cool, to know that Mary's Lamb
can follow you Though He's against the
Rules! The Production of J.C. Lamb had begun! China made a sample for LeFerna, but her minimum
order would be 200 dozen Lambs!!! This was how the multimillion dollar Teddy
Bear Factory made all their profits, by buying in quantity to keep the price down.
We needed to do that, to distribute more lambs. When LeFerna researched, she didn't find any
bears made in the USA, that weren't priced out of a ministry's reach.
Though they were much better quality being made in the USA. Almost all of the larger popular plush makers
had them made overseas. After all, Mary's Lamb Ministries had to give
these to poor children around the world so they too could be reminded of the comfort
of Jesus and how much He loved them. They needed to be as low in cost as possible. This meant keeping up with the competition.
Soon an entire business plan was developed
and grants were looked into, but until the ministry had grown into a nonprofit
corporation, it needed partners, volunteers and a lot of prayer! Was the Timing Still Off? Travis was still in college,
majoring in chemistry... And the China sample ended up missing! The toy company rep took LeFerna's sample
money and he never returned the sample after sending it back for the eyes to be redone... TWICE. This added a certain urgency to the creation
of J.C. Lamb. Maybe J.C. needed more than faith to come
to light. And maybe He needed legal protection! Expensive trademarks and copyrights
were needed, to keep the vision alive and not allow someone else to
destroy what God had planned for JC Lamb! Only JC has this blessing, others could go ahead of him
Maybe she should share her ideas with this company? Good idea, she thought!
But not with copyright and trademark protection!
All this happened, when LeFerna's husband
suffered congestive heart failure and had to cut his hours down at work. Travis was in his sixth year of college and
second year of Bible study by now, and followed his mother's project very closely.
He was also praying that the design hadn't fallen into the
wrong hands. He had been encouraging his mom not to give up. Since this is a huge quality of Adult A.D.D. people! As usual, LeFerna's husband came up with the money by selling off his collections, so she could secure the trademarks and copyrights she needed. It worked out well, as God was in control. JC Lamb's important little
life was protected. This was becoming a family effort. They all wanted to see JC come to be, and teach
more children the truth about Jesus, Remembering the scare LeFerna went through trying to get Travis' Christening in the ICU. Travis started showing more interest in the marketing
and business end of the project as his Bible classes drew his interest more toward spreading the TRUE Word of the Gospel. His thought was, how was his mom going to make this lamb popular enough to reach all the children in the world?
He was getting the same message from God his mother was, that JC Lamb needed to be everywhere! They prayed about it, and tried to stay focused. Then God showed LeFerna one
more way to bring J.C. Lamb to life. He reminded her of the book she once wrote
for her son Destin, called "Peanut Butter Toes." He arranged for her to attend her niece's
shower that asked for books instead of cards. Until this time, she had forgotten all about
the book that she wrote and illustrated several years earlier. What a great idea! She had some college training
and the desire to write, and she already had the illustrations in mind, so LeFerna set out to write
an educational introduction to JC Lamb, building his
personality to heights all children
would love. She gave JC Lamb human characteristics like
talking, sneezing, snoring and even getting the hiccups from oatmeal cookies! She also gave him magical characteristics
like having a heart that spoke out from the WORD all by itself! And best of all, he was only visible to the
ones who... well I can't spoil the story here! A Must Read! It wasn't as easy as she thought. There was
too much to say and too much to remember from the writing
classes she took years earlier. Then, when she was feeling discouraged, She bought a book to brush up
on her writing skills, then noticed it was written by Nancy LAMB. Something she didn't even notice until she got in
line at the checkout! Another sign she was actually going in
the RIGHT direction this time, and not to quit! (Like she did so many other projects with her Adult A.D.D) But still it was long and hard –lacking confidence, she kept putting it
on the back burner. She had to work and help support the family now. Then God led LeFerna to meet
another writer who also had A.D.H.D. Someone to encourage her and help with editing. She also became a very good friend, and a wonderful inspiration. Then, like most insecure people, LeFerna started second guessing herself. Her
Bible knowledge needed refreshing. So God led her to Kerby and Annette Fannin. They had a wonderful Bible study in the village. Kerby Fannin is the author of "While Men Slept,".
a popular novel about the history of the Bible, how man has changed it,
and a closer look at the dangerous new universal Christianity that is growing in our Society.
Was this another case of perfect Timing? How such wonderful and knowledgeable people
could be in the same little village she had prayed for strength to forgive?
LeFerna read Kerby's book and became filled with a new excitement!
Almost as if given a new project! Perfect for her A.D.D. characteristics.
LeFerna told Travis about it, and it also enriched his own Bible study at college.
The vision she was given was covered in Kerby's book, too!
Today, Satan's age old plan to confuse man has developed into more of
a "universal" Christianity, creating hundreds of lost sheep!
LeFerna was writing about this very thing, but couldn't explain it well enough for children!
Now she could! It was all coming together! No wonder they sugar coat is so much!
JC Lamb is on a mission! A mission for God!
He's an un-secret agent!
Exposing the Myths!
It is time for the Truth to be born again!
Many have a God, but not all of them believe in the right God!
They think they are safe on good deeds alone.
JC is here to remind us of the sacrificial Lamb,
the triune God. The ONLY God.
God in the flesh. JESUS.
Who came to save us from our sins.
We ALL need to become good shepherds like Jesus
by allowing JC Lamb to follow us
Everywhere we go!
Just the sight of him will tell the world what we know!
Could this get any better?
YES!
In the fall of 2006, Travis' accident, his miracles and his college education
began to look as though it was all part of God's plan for him, too.
After six years of working towards a major in chemistry,
Travis was losing ground at CMU.
He found out they didn't have tutors for the final and extremely hard
chemistry classes he was required to take for his major!
Travis could not write quick enough in class to keep up,
so they supplied him note takers, but all the students used tutors,too, not just him!
And when he got to his final year, they didn't have tutors in chemistry!
A counselor told him that this was because there was a very low percentage
of students that majored in chemistry at CMU.
No one told him this until now?
Against all odds, Travis beat the vegetable treatment in the hospital,
so was he expected to beat the odds here, too?
God would provide an answer.
He was due to graduate the next year and already falling behind and having to drop classes in chemistry!
This was very upsetting for LeFerna, that he had come so far,
not to mention being at last count, $44,000.00 in debt with college loans by then!
It made since that the tutors are usually under grad students majoring in Chemistry, too.
But shouldn't they have told him this would happen to him?
All in good timing!
The only thing he could do was change his major, and then double minor in chemistry
and math, since math was going to be his minor with the chemistry major.
He had his minor in chemistry already.
He had a choice of majoring in psychology, which he got As and Bs in, or math,
and a few others. He had so many credits in science and math,
missing only calculus 3 for the minor in math.
For having a brain injury, this man was doing quite well!
He'd had calculus one, calculus two, calculus for scientists and engineers...
His main goal was to work for a top chemical company.
Then CMU suggested he change his major
to entrepreneurship or business if he wanted to take a few more
courses, which would be very easy for him after what all he had already taken.
They say, that most employers now, look for training
in all the entrepreneurial skills.
LeFerna was very surprised to hear he wanted to do that...
when it sounded more like something he could have gotten at a community college!
But he opted for more classes and credits now,
to be able to learn more about finance,
marketing and business law! (Which he ended up getting an A in)
Why?
Travis told his mother that he made this choice,
so that he could help her run Mary's Lamb!
Something he couldn't see back when he started college in 1999.
As it was not God's timing yet.
Talk about a surprise ending to this LONG journey!
Now, LeFerna is thrilled that he wants to take over the business end,
so she can be free to do God's will by creating more products,
illustrating and writing more books about JC Lamb.
A new song now plays in LeFerna's mind.
Your son will never leave you the way a business partner might.
Free your mind to create. Let him take the reins.
God loves you so much that he sent His only Son to die for you.
The ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice.
The Lamb of God.
And God said;
Create the lamb, name him, give him personality and use him to
teach the Word to all My children, young and old.
Let your son lead the way as Mine did for Me!
And now you know the truth.
Your testimonial will help you make this lamb popular
so that the truth is spread everywhere he goes!
Place him in the schools, in the churches, in every home and
even on the roadways. Give him to the poor, and
see that he continues to multiply until the end of days.
A note from LeFerna-
"This is God's call for me...
How many times has He told us in the Bible that
only some will truly SEE?
I no longer feel like the blind leading the blind.
God has given those like me a visual aid
to help us teach the truth to His lost flock.
I want to be like the Good Shepherd,
Don't you?
For those whom God has led across my path!
Lamb hugs to all of you! "
LeFerna
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